Emerald Isle travellers tips

Try not to talk about Cromwell a lot.

Do try an Irish fry, consisting of Potato bread and soda bread.

Take a  camera and say your a friend or relative of Jack Charlton

Ballyshannon.  Birthplace of the late Rory Gallagher. Depending on when exactly you're going, you might be able to catch the annual RG festival.

I don't actually know who Rory Gallagher is/was....

I’ve been going to Ireland for years, including working in Galway on & off since 1980’s

Galway, Cathair na Gaillimhe, city of the tribes & the best city in Ireland,  friendly, multicultural, busy bustle, lots to do, pubs, food, music.  

Pubs are too many to mention, but you must go & send time soaking up the atmosphere & craic even if you don’t drink.

Some pubs do traditional (folk) music, some is for tourists, but some is for real music & musicians. The Kings Head is a good starting place & just check out the pubs within 100 yards,  by this time after a pint in each you will be legless, so lots to choose from.

For a good rock or electric folk bands check out who is playing at The Quays, it’s huge pub that gets totally packed but can have some good bands late into the night.

Food, like pubs,  is just too many to mention, follow your nose & just window shop to whatever you want. 

IMO the best steak in town is Park House Hotel, its more formal & has a quiet reserve, its very popular so I advise booking especially Fridays & Saturdays. If you want your steak rare please be sure to ask for “very rare” & make sure that is clear as all Irish restaurants tend to over cook.        

Best fish is Mcdonaghs, its a basic & very simple restaurant but the many types of fish & ways of cooking is as good as it gets & its cooked to perfection.  Its a good place to get vac packed smoked salmon to take home. 

Good all puspose food all over but my favs are Casey Blakes, McSwiggens, Tigh Neachtain, Tamarind, Spanish Arch & on & on & on but one of my favourite out of town romantic overlooking the bay sunny evening best place is O'Grady's at Barna - look out for seals on the "beach"

The Burren is a special place, flowers unique to the area, moonscape, desolate, the most peaceful stillness on earth if you get a day with no wind (like once every 10 years)   

Its remote, but north Burren has the road around the coast overlooking Galway Bay so it’s not so hard to get around.   Biking distance from your cottage is all of the Burren area, the local tourism guides will fill you in but ........

Cliffs of Moher, highest in Ireland. But now a rip off as the new car park charges are taking the piss.  I used to go there when an ol’ fella sat on a wall & politely asked if he could “min’ yer car sor”

Ailwee Caves, interesting but not Cheddar.

Bike the coast road down to Lahinch & back home over the top – or the other way road.  

From Galway various bike rides, but better to leave busy roads around Galway & start further out.   But get the tourism guide for the many many things to do.

The best IMO is to head for Clifden direction, Maam Cross has a good car park & the bike ride is 360 degrees all around, welcome to Connemara, stunning scenery, Twelve Pins, mountain bog, turf cutting, stone walls, heft'd sheep, hardly a tree in sight, Kylemore Abbey,  gods country.

A must do bike ride with a difference is to leave your bike at home & take a day trip to the Arran Isles.

The boat from Rossaveal – prebook tickets for a bus from Galway city or take your car to the harbour at Rossaveal – the boat takes you to the largest island, Inis Mhor, & where you can hire bikes for the few miles on the roads around the island.  Its the way Ireland was many years ago, the hotel pub is an excellent lunch venue or just pack your own.       

I could say have a great time,  but that comes free of charge.

When I was a child my aunt guided us to what seemed a secret coral strand on the west coast - over toward Lettermore and Lettermullen. Years later I found it again and it still delighted.

It may be a small pleasure but, as you mention the Burren, I suspect you might like it. It would be lovely to cycle the area, approach quietly and leave it as you find it - I hope to return some day.

The miracles of Google have let me find where I think it must have been. 53.2466,-9.6261 should get you near to it.

You should try the islands. I never did but I should too.

The Kilcullen Seaweed Baths at Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, http://www.kilcullenseaweedbaths.com/ might be worth at visit. I find the the bath incredibly relaxing yet deeply, deeply disturbing. I have an abiding suspicion of sea swimming over kelp and this colours my enjoyment of lying in a scalding bath of the stuff.

You come out slick as an otter and slightly smelly.

A bit like the strand - I had a glimpse of heaven while being driven back from these baths in response to an urgent call - no time to dawdle. Somewhere along the road back to Pontoon we passed the most beautiful coast area, possibly islands but haunting in the evening slant light although everything looks a little grander with the Atlantic behind it.

Again, it might be an area to drive to then sniff around on bikes.

I'd look around Lough Mask but that's just because I spent a lot of my youth there. Corrib, for me, is too big to be interesting. Upper Mask (the one below) is narrow and there are (were?) some nice roads that probably go around it. My memories are from another century but the West doesn't change terribly quickly.

The Ring of Kerry must be beautiful. I got dragged around it when my brother and family came over to visit and hated the car-among-a-million-other-cars experience.

Beautiful but not from the road.

 Rory Gallagher (1947-1995) High in the pantheon of guitar all-time greats, master of the blues, crucial to the history of Irish music, and to the development of the Irish rock scene.

"A Million Miles Away" from Tony Palmer's award-winning documentary, "Irish Tour '74", now available re-mastered (nicely):

http://youtu.be/3w0kQ74kZcw

Re:  The miracles of Google have let me find where I think it must have been. 53.2466,-9.6261 should get you near to it.

This is it,   "Coral Strand" near to Carraroe

Take the R336 coast road from Galway,  at Costello take R343 to Carraroe,  follow signs to Coral Strand

A magic place - the ivory white "coral" beach is ground up shells

Its a quiet inlet overlooking Gorumna Island with views towards Aran Islands & the Atlantic.  

Crystal clear water, fish coming & going, rock pools, gorse & heather, stone walls, hookers, black donkeys, inquisitive cows. Just sit on a rock and quietly soak up the rays, or stay in the car and watch the soak on a soft day.

Great tips all. We will ride 50 miles a day generally so looking at the map we can cover a fair few areas. Great to have some ideas. We will have to do the Irish pub thing even if it means cuddling a pint all night, we are both shockingly useless drinkers.

I'd looked at the Arran Islands in Lonely Planet and thought 'Tourist trap'; perhaps I should relent!

Bruce

We stayed in Liscannor a few years ago within spitting distance of Lahinch Golf Course

A great base for touring Co Clare. Plenty to see& do

http://www.doonbeg-ireland.com/gallery.htm    A good place to start

My wife is Irish and we go to see her family 2 or 3 times a year. The whole west coat is very beautiful,  and there are fantastic restaurants to be found. Tips: take a wet suit for swimming [it doesn't matter if it's raining when you're in the sea], take plenty of money, it can be much more expensive than the UK or southern Europe, be prepared for a lot of rain, last time we were in Kerry it rained 12 out of 12 days [August!] and was cold. We usually have a good time.

All the best

SJ

Bruce, the Aran Islands are magical and Inishmore, the largest,  just a short ferry ride from Galway. I dare say they do attract the tourists, but my memory is that once you head inland and get lost in the maze of dry stone walls it feels like you have the entire island to yourself. It would be a shame to miss them if you're in the area.

Regards

Nigel

I cycled from Mizzen to Malin Head last summer with a bunch of folks over 6 days.  Definitely enjoyed the cliffs of Mahor - well worth a trip and guaranteed to blow away the cobwebs.  The weather was fab for the Burren coastline which looks amazing with the trees standing at crazy angles reminding you of the winds which must tickle the coastline from time to time. There was a tea shop along there which had the bestest home made scones and jam I have enjoyed in many's a year!  I really enjoyed cycling further south in Cork where I presume the milder weather provides for a rich contrast to the somewhat bleak but amazing Burren

Peter