My Top 5 Ireland Must-do’s

Good morning! Thanks to all for your blogger burnout feedback! I am definitely thinking about taking a day off this weekend, and I actually didn’t write a new post last night. I did want to share with you a guest post I wrote for Colleen’s blog, The Daily Craic, while she was in Ireland for her sister’s wedding. It’s been awhile since I have shared a travel post about anywhere other than Sonoma and Napa, and I thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit.I had SO much fun writing this Top 5 travel tips for Ireland. . . you certainly won’t see it in any travel book! Thanks again to Colleen for the opportunity to guest post! Have a great day everyone!

1) Leave Dublin. Really, even if you fly into Dublin Airport, get out of Dublin as soon as you can. Ok, you can stay and tour around for a couple of days, but no more than that. Dublin is fine, but it is definitely not my favorite world city and definitely leaves a lot of Ireland to be seen. My brother in law once referred to Dublin as a “city on the West coast of England”. Enough said. There’s a lot more to Ireland than Dublin, and I want to make sure you see it.

There are buses leaving for Galway from various bus companies on the hour, there are car rentals, or you can take Iarnroid Eireann, the train service as well. If you stay in Dublin or even just the popular tourist cities, you miss seeing this. . .

Top 5 Must See in Ireland – Connemara

And this. . .

And this. . .

2) Eat local food. Like any high volume tourist destination, many Irish restaurants, especially in cities and other well traveled areas, do their best to cater to tourists offering convenience foods and bland, fattening options. All Irish food is not like this, and if you look around a bit, you will find a burgeoning cuisine that is based on fresh, local, delicious goods. Smoked salmon, prawns, Irish cheddar, lamb, and fresh vegetables make the base of many of these dishes, and I can’t emphasize enough that you should seek out these ingredients as often as possible. You will not be disappointed; the taste of real food from the land is as important a part of Ireland to me as the beautiful countryside is.

3) Have a pint of Guinness. Unless you don’t or can’t drink, I suggest having a pint of Guinness in its home country. Maybe you haven’t liked Guinness in the past, and maybe you won’t now, but it’s definitely worth a try.

If you hate the Guinness, there are plenty of other delicious Irish libations like Bulmer’s cider and Smithwicks.

4) Go to a pub and listen to traditional Irish music. Pretty much anywhere you are in Ireland, you can find traditional music any night of the week. My favorite places for trad are Galway, Westport, and Doolin. If you need specific suggestions please feel free to email me! And don’t forget to stop at a chipper on your way home for some garlic and cheese chips. You won’t regret it (Well you might, but it will be worth it!)

5) Get outside! Yes the weather may suck at times. It could be rainy, blustery, cold, cloudy, and even hailing small frozen peas from the sky. But you can see 4 seasons in a day in Ireland, and your best bet is to just get out there. Make sure to pack enough clothing to wear layers, lots of light wool, lots of socks to make sure you have dry ones, and good walking shoes. I have experienced so many different days where it has been pouring in one place and gloriously sunny in another; if we never went ahead with hiking or running plans because of the rain, we would spend a whole lotta time in my husband’s house! Even when the sky is threatening, the scenery can not be beat.