Ireland Honeymoon

clare25

Does anyone have advice for good places to visit in Ireland for our honeymoon?

p.s. we're not really into the city scene so much

Thanks

LaFemmeRousse

Well, I think it's worth it to spend at least a day or two in Dublin to start out your trip.  It's a very fun city with lots to do and see and a lot of history, and it's definitely not quite as bustling and high-energy as places like London or Paris.  In Dublin, I would definitely do the Guinness factory tour, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College and especially the Long Room and Book of Kells.

As for the countryside- so many places in the country are so pretty.  Shannon airport also has lots of international flights if you decide to skip Dublin entirely.  Galway is great.  If you want to splurge on a place to stay- especially for a honeymoon!- Ashford Castle is amazing, amazing, amazing.  It's in Cong, 20 minutes north of Galway on the west coast of the country.  Other cute towns nearby in the southwest include Glendalough, Kilkenny, Blarney, Cork, Kenmare, and Dingle.

Other places to visit: Lahinch and the Cliffs of Moher.  Mt. Croagh Patrick in County Mayo is a popular pilgrimage site, and many people climb it every day (non-technical climbing, more like hiking).  Northern Ireland is an interesting trip as well, and if you make it to Belfast you should also visit Giant's Causeway on the coast.

There are lots of buses that go around the country if you don't want to drive, but driving is fine too, with two caveats- you have to be comfortable driving on the "wrong" side of the road on narrow roads, and if you cannot drive a manual transmission be sure to book your automatic transmission rental car well ahead of time.

prideeinpynk

I didn't spend long in Ireland (just 3 days) but we didn't really enjoy Dublin all that much. Granted, we just came back from Prague which was AMAZING and everything paled in comparison afterwards. We did, however, go to county Wicklow and took a bus tour through that area. BEAUTIFUL! I highly recommend getting out to see the countryside.