Allison and Greg had an amazing honeymoon in St Lucia in 2015, and came back to me this fall to plan an anniversary “escape” to Ireland. We put together an ambitious week of sightseeing, and they hit the ground running! Based on the trip report below, I don’t think they missed a thing 🙂

Hi Ann,

I finally have some free time and wanted to reach out to you with our trip review.

We had an amazing time in Ireland. We loved the itinerary that you planned for us and all of the suggestions you made.  Below is a rundown of the details by day.

Day 1: Dublin

After we landed in Dublin, we went right to the hotel to check in and store our luggage.  Our room was not ready, so we decided to go to breakfast and do some exploring.  We went to Trinity College and paid for the campus tour, which included the Book of Kells exhibit.  The line was really long to get into the exhibit, since it was a Sunday, so we saved our ticket to go back another day.  Later that day, we went to the Guinness Storehouse.  We didn’t love the storehouse, we thought it was a bit gimmicky and touristy, but the view from the Gravity Bar up on the 7th floor was worth the visit.

Day 2: Dublin

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Kilmainham Gaol (jail).  We purchased tickets online ahead of our trip, because some friends told us it is almost always sold out.  We were so glad that we did.  The tour guide was incredible and he really told us so much about Ireland’s history.  The jail itself was fascinating.  We would definitely recommend this to others!

Day 3: Railtour to Cork, Blarney Castle

We loved our trip to Cork and the Blarney Castle. We both kissed the Blarney stone! We enjoyed exploring the grounds at the Castle and grabbing a bite to eat at the Post Office cafe at the bottom of the grounds. Cork was gorgeous and full of history too.

Day 4: Railtour to the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, Doolin, and Galway

The Cliffs of Moher was our absolute favorite part of the trip.  To say that they are breathtaking is an understatement.  We truly can’t recommend this trip enough!

Day 5: Bus tour to Belfast

We were so glad that we got to visit Belfast and only wish we had more time to enjoy it.  We would have loved to do the Titanic Museum there, but simply didn’t have enough time. However, we did get to see so much of Belfast including Dundrum Castle, St. Patrick’s grave and cathedral, the peace wall, and much more.

Day 6: Howth

On our last full day, we decided to go back to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells Exhibit and the Long Library.  It was well worth it! We then hopped on the train and went to Howth, a small fishing village, only about a half hour and 6 euro from Dublin.  It was a quaint town with a lot of restaurants and scenery.

We went back before dinner and explored Grafton Street in Dublin for some shopping.

 

Dining

Eating gluten free in Ireland was so easy! Nearly every restaurant had a gluten free menu.  If they didn’t, every restaurant seemed to mark the major allergens in each dish, which made it really easy to maneuver around my allergies. Some of our favorites were Beshoff’s for authentic fish and chips, FX Buckley for an amazing steak dinner, and the Rustic Stone.

Pubs

While in Dublin, we tried to visit as many Irish pubs as possible.  We only stayed in the Temple Bar area one night, because we found it to be very expensive and touristy.  For the rest of the trip we ventured out further to find traditional pubs with live music.  We loved Darkey Kellys, which wasn’t too far from the hotel.

Temple Bar Hotel

The hotel was perfect for what we needed. It was close to everything and allowed us to walk almost everywhere.  The complimentary breakfast downstairs was great.

Please let me know if you would like details on anything else! I hope this helps your future adventurers!

Allison and Greg