Holiday in Southern Ireland

[k11jrp]

Looking at renting a cottage next year (maybe May/June). We quite fancy a bit of the "real" Ireland. Can anyone recommend an area we should take a look at? We are after something central for touring round, coastal location prefered but not essential, village rather than a town/city, couple of decent pubs would be a bonus... I guess we will fly in to Cork and rent a car from there.

Bit vague I know but recommendations appreciated..

Many thanks
Jon

[bobo06]

I would go to County Kerry it's the best part of Eire used to go all the time when I was nipper. You have a selection of villages there for the coast you have Dingle bay for night life you have Tralee there is a big Forrest park also in Killarney and you can kiss the Blarney Stone if your into that .Also it's not far from Cork

[elephantsoup]

My suggestion would be west cork. Bobo06 is right kerry is good too.

[New Art Riot]

I went to Galway a few years ago and stayed in a thatched cottage. It was very nice.

[stevo25]

Depending on how far you want to drive, I'd go with the trip to Galway especially along the coast and Clare as well.
Oh and don't forget to go and Kiss the Blarney stone while your there.

[akimba]

I would go to County Kerry it's the best part of Eire used to go all the time when I was nipper. You have a selection of villages there for the coast you have Dingle bay for night life you have Tralee there is a big Forrest park also in Killarney and you can kiss the Blarney Stone if your into that .Also it's not far from Cork

I used to live in Kerry down by Tralee, it is a loverly part of the country well worth going to ;-)

[4031283]

I would go to County Kerry it's the best part of Eire used to go all the time when I was nipper. You have a selection of villages there for the coast you have Dingle bay for night life you have Tralee there is a big Forrest park also in Killarney and you can kiss the Blarney Stone if your into that .Also it's not far from Cork

Another vote for Kerry, I usually end up there 2 to 3 times a year. Ring of Kerry is great for a drive and just hop out when you fancy it.

I'd base myself in Kerry but take some time and plan a trip to Cork for a day and also a 2 day trip up towards Galway. Anywhere along the West Coast of Ireland is beautiful but be prepared for the weather

[stevo25]

Oh yeah, make sure you have plenty of Euros. ROI stands for Rip Off Ireland or so my Dad says who lives there

[akimba]

Yeah Kerry stunning views but I also would say if you want a bit of City Life then go to Cork rather than somewhere like Dublin as Cork is a great city ;-)

[4031283]

Oh and if you do end up near Cork then you should look this one up
https://twitter.com/RealTiaBell27

[maltloaf]

I would car ferry fishguard to rosslare then drive your own car. Have done it three times and loved it each time. Stayed around the Waterford/Wexford area and toured a bit too..

[pmg68]

As mentioned above, Ireland is expensive and it rains a lot, all year round.

That said Waterville in Kerry gets my vote. My mother is from nearby and we spent our entire summer holidays there as kids.

Plenty of good holiday homes, 4 or 5 decent bars, one of the world's best golf courses (damn fooking expensive for a round), Fishing (river, lake & deep sea), or just sight seeing.

Theres a larger town about 10 miles away if you're looking for a wider choice of nightlife. Tralee and Kilarney are about an hour away depending on your rally skills....

Skellig Rock is a must see, 8th century monastery perched on top of a tiny rock, 7 miles out to sea. Boat takes an hour to get there and there are over 600 steps to climb to get to the top, but its an amazing experience. Really gets you thinking how easy we have it today.

If you're taking kids, there's a water sports place in Valentia that has a giant floating trampoline out in the bay that my kids loved.

Take your own car and fill any spare space with supplies / alcohol, 'coz if no ones mentioned it, Ireland is expensive

[k11jrp]

Thanks for the fab replies all!!! We will fly into Cork as the missus will not do ferries unfortunately. Night life isnt going to be important really, we just want a local decent village pub to sample real ireland. Views are a must and some great ideas above. It looks like County Kerry is a good base. I also fancy walking up Carrantuohill which I believe is in that direction. I think we will try and get a cottage for a week and eat in quite a bit to cut down on cost. Really looking forward to it now. Thanks again all :-)


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[maltloaf]

As mentioned above, just be aware that everything is expensive. The Irish economy is screwed because of the euro and hence the exchange rate is shit. You'll pay over £4 a pint and more ike £6 in the cities.

[4031283]

No way is a pint £6, we have it bad but if you're paying ~€7 a pint you're being robbed. Expect about €4.50 to €5.50 in Dublin City Centre, same for hotels etc. in tourist spots. You'll find plenty of proper pubs in Cork/Kerry less than that. Price of a pint just went up 10 cent in the budget though.

Take a walk up Torc waterfall seeing as you're into walking. Also Inch beach is lovely and you can learn to surf there if you're into it.

If you're looking at exchanging a fair bit of sterling for the trip I'd recommend Currency Fair if you know anyone with an Irish account. Much better F/X rates than banks etc. and no exchange fees. Only problem is they don't have branches so you need to transfer to an account.

[EvilBoB]

My wife is Irish and went to Dublin about a month ago with her sister. £5 a pint was the norm in most bars.

Everything in Ireland is expensive at the moment.

[maltloaf]

I was paying 4-5 quid a pint in wexford 2 years ago.

[JonEp]

I've just come back from a weekend flying in to Gibraltar and traveling down the coast to catch a plane back from Malaga a few days later.

Most drinks were 4 or 5 euros a pint along the coast and the resorts were dead. In one bar they tries charging 9 euros for a bottle of Magner.

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[bobo06]

20 smokes + 2 pints = 20 quid all day long Cost you more in Dublin.