Top Ireland hotels
Drinking Dublin
37 Reviews There is a famous saying that god created alcohol so that the Irish won’t take over the world. Indeed, some of the most popular sights in Ireland are alcohol-related such as Whiskey tasting or a visit...
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Irish language Cork
3 Reviews Irish people promote the use of Irish Gaelic, which they call simply Irish, in all areas of life. Dual street names are just one sign of this, but there are also Irish names of pubs, signposts in both...
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Smoking. Galway
1 Review Basically, you can't smoke in any 'workplace'. So that includes pubs, cafes and restaurants. Some pubs have set up smoking areas outside, and you can smoke at cafe tables on the pavement. I liked the...
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General Information Waterford
2 Reviews Smirting is a combination of the words smoking + flirting, geddit? It started when people had to go out for a ciggie after the ban was enforced, and got chatting to fellow smokers outside on the...
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Hurling Kilkenny
2 Reviews Hurling is an ancient Gaelic sports and very popular in Ireland. We happened to be in Kilkenny two days before an important hurling match. It was the “All-Ireland Championship”, where Kilkenny and...
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Gaelic language Sligo
1 Review Ireland has a strong gaelic culture. To promote the irish gaelic language, most roadsigns are bilingual: english and irish gaelic. The irish gaelic language is usually known just as irish. The photo...
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Food Festival Kinsale
1 Review The Kinsale Gourmet Festival held every October is by now world-famous. All the best restaurants and chefs showcase their talents.As Kinsale is twinned with Antibes in France and Newport in Rhode...
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Language Dingle
3 Reviews Dingle is in the Gaeltacht area of Ireland, which means it is an Irish speaking area (Don't worry, they speak English aswell). Simple words like Conás ata Tú (Pronnounced con-as-a-ta-tu) which means...
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The Rose of Tralee Tralee
1 Review Tralee : The Rose of Tralee festival takes place every August. The basic legend was immortalised in song . A young woman is nominated to represent her city/region every year and the event is televised...
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Newgrange Drogheda
1 Review Not that far from Drogheda you can find Newgrange, a unique stone aged tomb. The great megalithic tomb at Newgrange is over 5,500 years old. Their survival through more than 5,500 years reflects the...
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Language Derry
1 Review Language - or more to the point Derry lingo can be a bit of a communication barrier sometimes. Derry people do not speak normal English!! And they talk fast which really doesn't help matters. I was...
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Famine Houses County Clare
2 Reviews The Great Famine in Ireland lasted from 1845-1852 during which approximately 1 million people died and more than 1 million more emigrated to other countries. Although many factors contributed to the...
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General Information about Dublin Dublin
26 Reviews Smirting is a combination of the words smoking + flirting, geddit? It started when people had to go out for a ciggie after the ban was enforced, and got chatting to fellow smokers outside on the...
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Local Drink Cork
3 Reviews Beamish is Corks other stout that is still brewed in the city. I enjoyed a pint at Cork Opera House during our VT Taste of Cork meet. (I must confess that Beamish is my least favourite stout when...
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Reginald's Tower Waterford
1 Review Check out Reginald's Tower. The tower dates from the late twelfth century and is the most historic urban monument in Ireland. The heritage museum houses two collections; artefacts from the Viking and...
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Cat's Laughs Festival Kilkenny
1 Review Every June bank holiday, Murphys brewery sponsor a comedy festival in Kilkenny, attracting top comedians from all over the British isles and even some Americans like Dan Castellata (the guy who does...
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W.B.Yeats Sligo
1 Review The Wild Swans At Coole by W.B.Yeats. THE trees are in their autumn beauty, The woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight the water Mirrors a still sky; Upon the brimming water...
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Matchmaking Festival County Clare
2 Reviews Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking festival takes place annually in September in the town of Lisdoonvarna. It goes back a long time and was a way for the local single farmers to come to town and find a wife....
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Irish language Dublin
10 Reviews The notorious 1980s bronze monument to the personified river Liffey, Anna Livia, was removed from nearby on O'Connell St. A woman sitting on a slope with bubbling water running down past her...
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Gaelic Language Waterford
1 Review Ireland has a strong gaelic culture. To promote the irish gaelic language, most roadsigns are bilingual: english and irish gaelic. The irish gaelic language is usually known just as irish. The photo...
See All 10 Local Customs in Waterford
History Kilkenny
1 Review When you're in Kilkenny, this would apply to Waterford too, you will probably see lots of references to 'Ormond', like Ormond St/road, businesses & hotels with Ormond in the name. And you might just...
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Tipping Dublin
6 Reviews In some restaurants I found that the 10% tip was included in the bill, which is something I dont like. I understand that I should tip someone when I get a good service and not because I am obligued...
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Smoking Dublin
8 Reviews I am SO glad they've outlawed smoking here. Makes for a much nicer time in the pubs and restaurants. I know everyone claims business will be lost when these bans go into effect but place after place...
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St. Patrick's Day Parade Dublin
3 Reviews OK, I will have to confess my bias here as I don't particulary enjoy the post-parade part of the day where you see people throwing up, urinating, throwing rubbish, fighting, or staggering around on...
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Irish Hospitality Dublin
5 Reviews I must say the Irish are good ol' wacky people who are extremely genuine and hospitable not to forget one of the friendliest people I've ever met. The accent is just kinda hot and such a turned on!...
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Warm winds from the Gulf Stream allow a lot of plant life to flourish here including Palm Trees. Huge Fushia & Hawthorn hedges adorn the roadsides although we were told that the fucia hedging was to be taken out because it is not native & replaced with wild rose.
Somewhere near Adare this interesting outside museum displaying early Celtic history showing what life in early Ireland was like. Standing stones engraved in Old Gaelic & Legends can be viewed.The stone throne is said to be the crowning place of Irish Kings - nothing about Queens - but took a seat anyway...
Needless to say Guiness is Irish national beer and one of two national drinks, with whiskey.I have been told Guiness has a different taste in Ireland than in any other country because of the ingredients they use there. Thing is Guiness in Ireland is amazing, I mean amazingly good. Much softer taste than in France in Ireland.During one of my pub conversation, I talked with an Irish that explained me one of many possible solutions to why Guiness could be better in Ireland than elsewhere. Apparently, it is because the beer is more often draught that it becomes better. Well, I am not sure if I am clear... Lets say a pub sells more than 200 Guiness a day in Ireland while another one sells 10. The first one provides a softer beer than the second one. Sounds like it could be true.Anyway, Guiness is a must drink in Ireland. For those who tried it in their country and thought it tasted like sh.t,...
There is a well known legend has it that St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland, well believe it if you like. The story goes that sometime back in the fifth century he stood on the mountain that is now 'Cragh Patrick' (about 10kms from Westport) and used a staff to drive the slimy little things into the sea.There maybe no snakes in Ireland but - there were probably never any snakes in Ireland. It has more to do with the vagaries of geography than any little miracles performed by St. Paddy.
I was talking the other day to the most important man in any Irish town...the man who delivers the Guinness to the pubs.He said that an average pub would, even just a few years ago, take about a dozen kegs of the black stuff to keep drinkers happy for a week. These days most average pubs, outside of the main cities, only need to take half that amount. It didn't seem to him that the Irish (plus a few tourists of course) are drinking any less. it's just that they have switched to other drinks....which Guinness also supply !
Any visitor to Ireland will quickly note that drinking stout in a pub is the most prevalent local custom. In fact, I suspect Guinness is more important to the Irish economy than oil -- even though they look about the same. Of course, unless you are an abstainer, it will be impossible to visit Ireland and not try one of their delicious stouts. Guinness is by far the most popular, but Andrea preferred Murphy's, which is sold only in the very southern counties (at least on the west coast). North of Galway we saw no Murphys. By the way, I know there are many people outside of Ireland who claim they don't like Guinness. If you are one of these people, I urge you to give Guinness a try in Ireland. It truly does taste better there than anywhere else.
Anything that would be grape-flavored is black currant-flavored in Ireland. Candy, sodas, you name it.One of the more unusual things I tried was black currant syrup in my Guinness. It was really different and made it a sweet and fruity tasting. I know, I know...blasphemy, right? It wasn't bad at all.
the weather in Irland is your constant companion. one day rain and the other raining again. in between rainbows and sunshine, its gettin wet again. do as the locals do, when fine enjoy the great outdoors, when pissing down again there is always a pub nearby
A couple of times you see questions from people on how not to look like a tourist. http://forum.virtualtourist.com/1/discussion-124943-1-17-Travel-0-217-Ireland-discussion.html?wosid=HtkjO5lcEG8lrN8UQko9H0http://forum.virtualtourist.com/1/discussion-107684-1-20-Travel-0-217-Dublin-discussion.html?wosid=HtkjO5lcEG8lrN8UQko9H0Well I have just read the answer in the newspaper, just get yourself a Manchester united or Liverpool football shirt. No matter how big your hair is, how bright your teeth are, the shirt will ensure you look like a localAnd it'll work in the UK too..........................Alternatively I did like Risberg's story - Black pants and shirt - you will be mistaken for a priest - could be a good way of getting a free drink in pubshttp://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/e6640/
If you'll be staying for a while and you have a compatible mobile phone, it's a good idea to purchase a sim-card on one of the three Irish mobile phone networks. I chose Vodafone because it had the best national coverage and I was to be spending a lot of time in remote areas. For 19 euro in Dublin I purchased a sim-card with 10 euro preloaded onto it. By submitting the registration I got an additional 10 euro credit on the card. You are able to see a running balance of your credit by calling a special free number. In-country calls were fairly inexpensive - MUCH less than international roaming - and all incoming calls and text messages were free! Text messages to the United States were 0.25 euro each. Calls to the United States were over 1 euro, so keep them short or have people call you instead.(Do you like this tip? Please rate it, thanks!)
Westbury Hotel Dublin
4 Reviews and 722 Opinions If location is a must and you have the extra to spend, Westbury's is certainly a place to go. Just...
Fitzgerald's Vienna Woods Hotel Cork
1 Review and 172 Opinions
Park House Galway
2 Reviews and 657 Opinions I selected the Park House Hotel because it is very convenient to both the bus and train stations in...
Reviews and photos of Ireland attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Ireland sightseeing.
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Q: Hi everyone! We are planning a trip to Ireland, 12 days, in May. We are going to drive from Dublin out West and circle back...
A: Any of the worldwide (Avis, Hertz, Enterprise etc), or Europe-wide (Autoeurope, Budget, Thrifty etc) or local firms will be fine imo. Car hire in Ireland is regulated....
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