Must See Attractions In Ireland

 

No matter how much you budget for a typical holiday in Ireland, there is a good chance you will spend it. While one can find a large amount of accommodation and food experience on a trip to Ireland, the cost of seeing some of the country's most fascinating places can be quite expensive, especially if you are traveling with a large family.

 

The economic downturn has severely damaged the tourism all over the world and this is reflected in the dramatic decline in tourists in places such as the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and Blarney Castle in Cork, where there is a charge entry fees.

Nowadays, people are looking for those interesting free entry points, where it is possible to enjoy a wonderful site, but without any extra charges to your budget.

Here we present to you our top five attractive sites that are a must see during your Irish vacation, and you will be surprised to know that they are free of charge:

1.Killarney National Park, Kerry County. Some of the most beautiful places in the world can be found in the magnificent Killarney National Park, the most important is the famous Killarney lake. Here you will have the opportunity to have a relaxing walk or, if you prefer you can try a ride on a bicycle.

 

2. National Gallery, Merrion Street, Dublin 2. This is truly an unmissable attraction for anyone relying more on art and culture. Here there are beautiful paintings from all the ancient artists and all the great Irish artists, it will be an amazing experience, that you will never forget.

 

3. Giants Causeway, County Antrim. This beautiful 60-year-old rock building is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was voted as one of the 10 free attractions in Europe by Trip Advisor. Certainly, it is a site that you should not miss.

4. Glendalough, Co Wicklow. One of Ireland's most popular touristic attractions is actually  free to visit. Here you can find the famous circular tower and the Church of St. Kevin, that will give you the experience of a jump in the past.

5. Trinity College, Dublin 2. This beautiful location is located in the heart of Dublin City and offers the visitor the opportunity to explore one of the largest universities in the world. Access to everything is free, with the exception of the Book of Kells viewing room.

Most probably, you had the opportunity to read about Ireland and to dream about a holiday there. Well, now you can read about the most famous and important places to visit in this evergreen and wonderful country. First, I would like to suggest you to read some travel guides that will give you a raw idea about some sites you might include in your itinerary. Beside this, I think it is good to ask for the suggestion of friends and family members that already went there and that they can advise you about which places you should not miss during your Irish vacation.

After collecting all the ideas and tips from different sources, it is good to create a list of the places to visit and, if you are travelling with someone else, be attentive to consider all the opinions and to include all the sites that got the most votes. It is good to do activities that the majority of the people like, even if this means to sacrifice some ideas that were supported by a minor part of the group.

The list is ready; it is time for you to put on black and white your itinerary. This will help you to make your ideal vacation a reality and not just a dream.

Now it is time to bring our a map of Ireland and to start to mark on it the places that you absolutely need to see and the one you would like to see, but are already a kind of second option. Be focused when you mark the places to see on the map, make sure to include as much as possible, but without overdoing any plan. This to say that you should visit many sites, but without forgetting to give yourself the time to enjoy each place and to spend some part of the day there.

Imagine to be in a rush even when you are in vacation; this will spoil your entire journey and you will get only disappointment. Make sure to plan the whole itinerary in consideration of the time you have available and without putting too many spots to visit in a day.

After that, you need to consider also the means of transport. You can choose to rent a car, hire someone that will be your private driver or go on a group tour with a bus. If you decide to drive, you need to consider that you will be the tourist and the tour guide in the same time, but if you hire a private driver or you will use a group bus, in this case you will have someone that is local and will give you direction about what you should visit.

One more note about the transportation is the advantage of having a private driver that, certainly, it will cost you more than using a group bus, but you will have the benefit of more flexibility in your itinerary and the driver will satisfy all your requests about the sites you want to visit. This is not possible in case of a group bus, where there is a whole group of taking care of and your individual needs will be a little sacrificed.

The option that will give you the most freedom certainly, is driving by yourself, you will have your rental car and you will be the absolute director of your trip. However, if you decide to use this option, keep in mind that the Irish road are quite small and the drive in on the opposite side. Do not get afraid; driving in Ireland is not very difficult; the main challenge is only to get mentally ready and to be relax.

My suggestion is to start with a small drive, possibly in a road with low traffic, to get used to the different way to drive respect your home and you will see that day by day you will feel more self-confident and your Irish driving experience will be one of the best remembrance of the whole vacation.

If after the first day of driving there you think to need a little bit more of extra personal training, it is advisable to go in Shannon that is located in a rural area, where you will be comfortable in trying the left-side driving.

 

All is almost set and now you have to think about which accommodation you will choose for your holiday. Ireland is a place where it is possible to find many different kind of places where to stay. Certainly, the cheapest ones are the bed and breakfast. 

Here local people will share a part of their home with tourists from different parts of the world and in the morning, you will enjoy the typical and generous Irish breakfast. 

Staying in a bed and breakfast will allow you to meet many new friends and you will experience a very free stay in Ireland, in fact, you will have the key of the room as well as the key of the entrance door, so you will be able to manage your vacation at your own pace.

If you prefer to stay in a more typical accommodation, you can choose one of the numerous hotels that are present there, but always keeping in mind that high rated hotels will be much more expensive that a simple bed and breakfast.

When you are planning about where to stay, you should consider also the Irish Manor House Hotels that are affordable places with amazing amenities. Here you will to be a king or a queen and you will have the joy of the trip linked with the joy of a place where you will be pampered, all without spending a bunch of money.

The last option you have is to choose the 5 stars Deluxe Castles, that offer you an unforgettable experience that will make your vacation a memorable remembrance. Here the price, as you can easily imagine is quite high, but you can opt to give yourself a treat at least for a night.

 After completing all these plans, you have to think about the flight ticket. First, you need to know that you can fly in one airport and depart from another one. And also the car rental agencies are really helpful about this, in fact you can drop off the car in a different location respect the one you took the car, and all without any extra charges; amazing, isn't it?

I would like to give you an important suggestion that will make you go extra mile. If you plan a one-week vacation, it is recommendable to start from Shannon and end in Dublin or vice versa; you will have the opportunity to see more places and saving time.

To end this quick guide for your trip, I would like to give you one more tip. Become familiar with your itinerary, and be ready to have a new exciting experience. Ireland is a wonderful place that will welcome you warmly and where you will discover many amazing places and you will interact with a lot of nice people. Be ready for your trip; Ireland is waiting for you.