In the past few months I have had several requests for suggestions of places to see while visiting Ireland.
I love the island of Ireland and would find it difficult, and gain enemies if I tried to cover the whole place in just 1,000 words.
I could write for a month and still not cover all the wonderful aspects of my native land, so instead I decided to dip in and out of the counties, over several weeks, and include various links that you can explore at your leisure and return to many times before finally planning an Irish Holiday.
Ireland may look small and seem like you could travel from one end to the other is a day, it is in fact possible and only worthwhile if you enjoy watching the road. The island covers 32,599 square miles, at its widest the island is about 174 miles and at its longest (north-south) it is 302 miles.
For my friends across the pond, Ireland is about the size of the State of Indiana (U.S.). Indiana is 35,910 square miles in area. The population of the island of Ireland is between 5 and 6 million, much the same as Indiana.
Map courtesy of Our-Ireland.com.
The coastline is magnificent, it extends for over 3,000 miles and is indented by numerous peninsulas. There are mountains along much of its perimeter. Carrantuohill is the highest mountain in Ireland. It is part of Macgillicuddy’s Reeks, a rugged twelve-mile ridge which stretches along the south west corner of the island, not far from the Atlantic shore. Along the West coast it is possible to find hidden beaches with only the birds and the sound of the breeze for company.
So today I will stick to the basics, the information you need before any holiday to my part of the world.
The island includes the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of the UK.
The currency for ROI is the Euro (€). The Euro comes in denominations of: Coins:1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, €1, €2. Notes: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, and €500. The coins have a map of Europe on one side and the national symbol on the other, Ireland’s national symbol is the harp, but it can be used throughout the 12 participating EU states. The notes have a map of Europe on one side. **
Northern Ireland still use the Pound Sterling (£) but many places will accept the Euro.
Major Credit Cards – particularly Visa, MasterCard, and American Express – are widely accepted though some B&B’s will only accept cash. You can also use them to withdraw cash from Ireland’s many ATMs.
While on the topic of money – I suggest you guys stitch up the back pockets of your jeans before travelling. A bulging wallet protruding from a back pocket is an invitation for nimble fingered thieves. You have been warned!
Remember in Ireland we drive on the left hand side of the road, and all cars are right-hand drive. A manual transmission car is standard but automatics are available. EU driving licences are treated as Irish. If you’re from outside the EU its generally a good idea to obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP), obtained from your local automobile association.
Traffic speeds are in Kilometres in the republic and in MPH in Northern Ireland(UK). In cities, it is usually best to avoid driving during the morning and evening rush-hours, especially in Dublin.
You need to relax and soak up the scenery, the people and the atmosphere, yes that includes the rain, but without it Ireland would not have those wonderful 40 Shades of Green! All you gain from rushing about is raised blood pressure and or an ulcer, neither a souvenir you want to take home. Away from the hub-bub of the cities you will find the speech sl..o…w….s down and people move at a more relaxed pace. Live it and enjoy!
So what do you need? Stout walking shoes to begin, and dress like an onion! Plenty of layers to peel on and off as needed. We are known for having all four seasons in one half hour, but not for wearing green – only American Tourists do that! 😉 A waterproof layer is essential, but on occasion I have been proved wrong. Better to have it and not need it than to be continually soaked.
Everyone speaks English and An Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts that Irish is the predominant language. They are mostly on the west or south coasts of Ireland.
Urban Ireland became very cosmopolitan with the Celtic Tiger, with a large variety of International restaurants springing up, offering food from all corners of the globe. The day of the token ‘vegetarian’ option is fast fading.
Starting next Sunday I hope to begin my journey around the country by taking an area or county and pointing to the high points. If you have suggestions or questions let me know in the comments and I will try to answer or find the answers for you. Remember that like in all things I do, I am no expert and only sharing what I know or have experienced.
I hope you will join me and enjoy the journey.
** UPDATE: See Elly’s comment below about the large denomination Euro notes.
*** UPDATE 2:
Electricity
Mains electricity is supplied at 220 Volts (50 cycles) and the plugs are flat with three pins. An adapter is needed to convert to the right plug size. A transformer is needed to convert American appliances (except for dual-voltage equipment which needs only an adapter).
Emergencies
In case of emergency, Dial 999 or 112 and ask the operator for the emergency service you require: Fire, Gardaí (Police), Ambulance, Boat & Coastal Rescue, Mountain & Cave Rescue. When the emergency service answers, state the address or location at which help is needed. Calls to these services are free of charge.
Internet Café’s
Internet Café’s will now be found in many cities and towns. Prices vary.
In practice, many shops will not accept €200 or €500 notes, as they are quite rare and usually forged. It’s an important point as if you change money in a bank before you arrive you may be given notes that you will find hard to spend.
I’d advise requesting the currency in denominations of €50 or less as you will have no problem in spending these!
Great beginning for a much needed subject. I look forward to traveling along with you.
Hi GM,
Elly is quite right. I have a friend who went to Ireland and was given large denominatiom bills and , as Elly said, no one was willing to accept them. She luckily found a bank who changed them to smaller bills for her.
On your mileage conversion chart, I have a small suggestion. When converting km/hr to mph just multiply the km by 6 and you will be very close to
mph.
I really look forward to future Sundays and touring Ireland with you.
Make sure you take us to the Crown in Belfast, reserve a snug and order the drinks and tissues for your stories.
Elly – Thank you for that, I have updated the post.
Ramana – I hope it will be helpful to many travellers to our shores.
Nancy – Nice one Nancy! Dropping the 0 and multiplying X 6 works close enough and keeps you on the right side! 😀
The Crown Bar will surely make an appearance at a future date.
Looking forward to learning more about Ireland.
Great idea GM!
XO
WWW
What a great idea for those lucky enough to travel your green country and a boon for the rest of us. Thanks for all the information.
Mike – I will do my best.
WWW – It has been on my mind for some time and instead of drip feeding and repeating things over and over, this way everyone can access and bookmark the parts they are interested in.
Darlene – I do hope you will be an armchair companion along the way.
I’m looking forward to following you around Ireland!
Judy – You will be welcome.
Ooh lubly. I’m irked that I’ll be so close and yet so far so looking forward to the tour.
Baino – Maybe next time so!
looking forward to the tour, I visited in July and loved the city of Westport
Would have been nice to read your weekly articles sooner as we’re leaving now for a 21 day stay in Ireland. When we return we’ll read your reports and hopefully we didn’t miss visiting the good stuff.
patty – Westport will feature at a future date.
Ray – Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy your stay in Ireland, and will relive your holiday over the weeks ahead with my posts.
Hi GM, what a great idea to give us a tour of Ireland! I have visited several times, and look forward to seeing if any of my favorite places show up in what you write.
I’m a Hoosier, but I didn’t realize that Indiana and Ireland were similar in both size and population. No wonder I feel at home there! ;^)
BTW, I wanted you to know I did finally get the whirligig clothesline up! You can see a picture here: http://stresscafe.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-grandmas-yard.html Now I just need to make a clothespin bag like yours.
Thanks again!
Oh, and I’ve had excellent luck over the years simply using my ATM card in Ireland. Depending on your bank’s policies, it may be less costly than making a cash advance on a credit card.
stwidgie – I look forward to you joining my little trips around this island each week. Thank you for the info about using your ATM (Debit/Metro) card at the ‘Hole-in-the-Wall’ while here on holiday.
The whirligig clothesline looks very much at home in your garden.
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