Guinness, Green Hills & Good Craic: Adventures in the South of Ireland
Why Ireland?
Potatoes. Just kidding. Or am I? All jokes aside, I have always wanted to visit Ireland, and for my first adventure, I wanted to choose a country that 1. I spoke the language, 2. felt safe, and 3. had beautiful sights. Ireland checked every box for me.
After researching lots of options, I decided to book a 7-day adventure tour with Vagabond Tours. I absolutely LOVED this tour company! They made planning so simple and seamless! This tour also included entry into Cliffs of Moher, Sheep Dog Demonstration, Rock of Cashel, and Blarney Castle, and the Ferry across the Shannon. I highly recommend them if you would like to see a lot of Ireland without the hassle of booking hotels, rental cars, and excursions yourself. My biggest advice for clothing is to bring layers! We had cold rainy days, and sunny days. My most used items were my hiking boots, zip off hiking pants, baseball hat, raincoat, and woolen long sleeve shirt!
Day 1: Boston ➡️ Dublin
I took an overnight flight from Boston and landed in Dublin around 8 AM. The Dublin airport was easy to navigate, and everyone was so friendly. I went down to the ground transportation area and purchased a bus ticket. The kiosks to purchase bus tickets are right outside the airport and the employees were so helpful in making sure I chose the correct bus. I was dropped at the bus station and walked the rest of the way to Grand Canal Hotel. I planned to store my bags and explore Dublin. However, I was able to check in early to my room and BONUS they upgraded me to a nicer suite! So I ditched those ambitious plans of exploring Dublin and I took a 3 hour nap. 🤣 Note: This hotel was a bit on the pricier side, but was convenient for the tour pick up, and their breakfast was amazing.
After my nap, I walked to the Temple Bar area for some sightseeing. This was about 1.5 miles. I got myself a mango gelato, and then went to the Guinness Storehouse. I enjoy a good museum, and it was very interactive and full of history. Make sure to book your ticket in advance because time slots do fill up! At the end of your tour, you get to enjoy a Guinness at the Gravity Bar! If you do not like heights or crowds of people, maybe skip this part. I grabbed an Irish Stew to finish the night, and headed back to my hotel.
Day 2: Dublin ➡️ The Burren ➡️ Cliffs of Moher
The morning came and I had a filling breakfast at the hotel. Let me just say, the breakfast options in Irish hotels are so much better than what I'm used to in the US! There were so many delicious pastries, fresh fruits, eggs, potatoes, meats, and always a fresh pot of tea brought to your table. I headed outside to meet my group and my tour guide, Eamonn. He loaded my suitcase into the van, and we all set off on our tour! There were fourteen of us, and everyone on our trip was so nice! Eamonn was an excellent driver and tour guide. He taught us so much about the history of of the country and Irish culture. I wish I could remember everything he said! Our first stop was in the village of Kinvara to pick up lunch (I even found a coke with my name on it), and we took a stroll through Burren National Park. The wildflowers here were beautiful, and the rock formations quite interesting (Having a little science teacher moment).
We continued on to the Cliffs of Moher, which were breathtaking. My photos of them do not do it justice. We lucked out and had great weather, it was just a bit windy. You could hear the sound of the ocean crashing against the cliffs, and I loved looking for caves and sea stacks along my walk. We spent about two hours here enjoying the views and taking pictures. At the top of the walking path was O'Brien's Tower. In the parking lot, there are a variety of vendor shops which were also fun to meander through. We ended the night at The Armada Hotel in Spanish Point. This hotel was lovely and cozy. We ate dinner together, and I had a delicious meal of fish and chips! After dinner, I took a stroll down to the beach, but the rocks were very slippery so I decided to turn in for the night.
Day 3: Cliffs of Kilkee ➡️ Sheep ➡️ Dingle
Our first stop today was the Cliffs of Kilkee, which (don't judge) I liked more than the Cliffs of Moher. There was no fencing blocking the views, far less people, and we got to see cows and horses along the way. I felt like this walking path had more vantage points to see the cliffs and to take amazing photos! At the end of the pathway there was a little cafe and beach area, and I watched a group of people take a dip in the ocean! Even though it was July, the water was still very cold!
We hopped on a ferry to cross the River Shannon to go to our next stop, a sheep dog demonstration. This was amazing to watch! The trainers had excellent control over the dogs, and they took turns showing us the commands the dogs listen for. We learned about the sheep too. We also got to bottle feed a lamb! For lunch we stopped at The South Pole Inn, a pub opened by Tom Crean, who was an Antarctic explorer. The pub was decorated with photos of his explorations, and it was very inspiring. It made me want to go to Antarctica! We ended the night at our hotel in Dingle at the Skellig Hotel. I enjoyed an ice cream cone from Murphy's and got a cone with butterscotch and whiskey chocolate. Eamonn wasn't kidding when he said it was Ireland's best ice cream!
Day 4: Exploring Dingle
This morning started out with a horseback ride. My horses name was Blackie, and he was in love with another horse, Dolly. She did not reciprocate feelings. LOL. The horseback ride was pleasant, but it was very rainy and cloudy, so we did not get to enjoy the scenic views. We drove around the Slea Head, which is part of the Dingle Penninsula, and found an old stone beehive. We stopped at the Blasket Island Centre, and learned about the people that used to live there until very recently (without electricity, running water or wifi). It made me realize how spoiled we are.
On our drive we saw many remnants of stone circles and stone walls that marked potato farms. We headed back to the hotel and then Autumn (one of the girls on my tour) and I went for a kayak ride with Irish Adventures, which was awesome! The Sun decided to come out just in time. We put on wetsuits and lifejackets and walked down to the docks. We hopped in the kayak and followed our guide into the ocean. We learned all about Fungie the dolphin, went into a cave, and even saw a seal. Paddling in the ocean was no joke, and we were SO tired after! I found a cute restaurant for dinner called Land to Sea, and treated myself to steak medallions, croquette, and a well deserved glass of wine. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip! We also got to experience a homecoming parade of the Kerry All Irish Football Team! They were visiting towns all over Kerry and celebrating all week. We happened to catch the parade in Dingle. People were lined up on the street for miles and it was a lot of fun to see the excitement of the crowd and the players with their trophy! Tonight I relaxed and enjoyed the hot tub in the hotel after a jam packed day!
Day 5: Killearny National Park ➡️ Portmagee
Today we took a bike ride through Killearny National Park. Our guide Jay was very knowledgable about all the plants and wildlife in the park. The park had a one way system for bikers which I thought was very smart. We learned all about the Yew Tree and its toxic powers, went into a cave on the side of the trail, and stopped at the Torc Waterfall. The leaves were twirling and spinning around as we hiked up to the waterfall, it felt very magical.
We stayed at The Moorings in Portmagee. I loved Portmagee, it reminded me of Maine! I had scallops for dinner which were served on the shells with the orange part. I've never seen that before and I ate every piece! I later discovered the "orange part" is the reproductive organs of the scallop. 🤢 I'm glad I found out after. I also got banoffee pie, which is banana + toffee. It was SO good!
Day 6: Skellig Islands ➡️ Kenmare
Today was a wet and wild adventure to the Skellig Islands! If you don't know, these islands are famous for appearing in the Star Wars movies. The larger island, Skellig Michael is known for the beehive shaped monastery on top, where monks used to reside. The monks that lived there carved all of the steps by hand and built the beehive huts at the top. We learned about several raids by vikings and storms that caused waves to crash hundreds of feet high. You can visit the island and walk up the stone steps to the top, but that was not included in our tour. They only accept a limited amount of visitors each day and this usually books up very quickly, so if you are interested, plan far far in advance!
The islands are about 8 miles off the coast, and it took about 2-3 hours round trip. When we got on the boat we had to put on life jackets and then these giant raincoats that looked like trench coats. They were "waterproof." We laughed and thought, we won't really need these, this will be a nice calm ride. Oh, how wrong we were. About 10 minutes in we were getting DRENCHED with cold seawater. It was actually ridiculous. I had water in every crevice and in my eyes. It was so windy too. The boat was bobbing up and down so much whenever we stopped. I don't usually get seasick, but I was very nauseous. Luckily I did not puke. Our captain told us that this was not even that bad! I don't want to know what it is like on a bad day. My trench coat did not doo much, and by the time the ride was over I was completely soaked from head to toe.
However, with all that being said, I still think this was worth the trip! Even though it was a little miserable, at least we suffered together. We got to observe the colonies of Gannets and Puffins that nest here every year. There was bird poop everywhere! From the boat we could see the stone steps and the beehive huts. It was amazing to think that it was all built by hand so long ago. One of the smaller rocks on the way called Lemon Rock, which was used for a scene in Harry Potter when Dumbledore apparates to a cave to find a horcrux. There was also a helicopter pad on the island for landing. Overall, it was worth it, but I wish I knew how wet I would get!
We visited the Skellig Chocolate Factory, which was very cute. I did the tasting and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the white chocolate with citrus! We stopped at Derrynane and visited the O'Connell House. The nearby beach had a ton of jellyfish and shells! There was also a stone circle and many hidden fairy houses here. We ended the night at the Coachman's Hotel in Kenmare, and my room was huge! I spent some time blow drying my hiking boots that were still wet from the boat. I think Kenmare was my favorite little village we stopped in. We got dinner in the pub and enjoyed live music. The singer had a Bruins shirt and sang a song about Boston!
Day 7: Kerry ➡️ Cork
The road from Kerry to Cork was very windy and had many beautiful views. We stopped to look at an old stone bridge that was built during the famine relief program. We saw the Dunboy Castle remains and did a hike. Eamonn then treated us to an Irish coffee afterwards. For lunch we went to Castletownbere and stopped at MacCarthys. This pub was opened by an Irish war hero, Aidan MacCarthy, and is still run by his two daughters. He survived the atomic bomb in Nagasaki, and received a Samurai sword for the lives he saved. On a slow day, you can ask his daughters to view the sword, but sadly it was too busy. There is a book about his story called A Doctor's War. There is also a documentary. We stopped in Glengarrif for a stroll around the Blue Pools. The hotel tonight was the Gougane Barra and it is run by a very nice couple, and is set on the most beautiful property. There is a little church called St. Finbarr's Oratory right by the water with mountains in the background. Eamonn treated us all to a drink at the bar to celebrate our trip and our last night together. Dinner was AMAZING. I got the three course meal of butternut squash soup, roasted duck, and an apple crumble.
Day 8: Blarney Castle & Gardens ➡️ Dublin
Today was the final day of the tour. On our way back to Dublin, we stopped at the Blarney Castle. I was going to kiss the Blarney Stone at the top of the castle, but the wait was almost an hour long! We did not have much time so I decided to explore the gardens instead, and I am so glad I did. It was a beautiful sunny day, and there was so much to see. There was a courtyard filled with carnivorous plants, tunnels under the castle, a witch stone, wishing steps, and a stone circle.
We then headed to the Rock of Cashel which was really cool and looked like a big fortress. Eamonn gave a summary of our tour, and then gave us a quiz about everything we learned! I think I got 8/10 questions correct! We arrived back at the hotel and said our goodbyes. I spent the night writing all my postcards, doing laundry and eating a delicious Thai meal at Red Torch Ginger!
Overall, my experience in Ireland was excellent and I am so happy that I went! I was most impressed by the kindness of the people, the cleanliness of the little villages, and the quality of the food at the restaurants I dined in. My favorite excursion was the kayaking in Dingle. I really enjoyed learning about the history and culture and of course, seeing so much of Ireland! Till next time.
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