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The ring fort Grianan of Aileach, Burt, County Donegal
Having returned from my third trip to Ireland, I consider myself an amateur expert (sure, there is such a thing) on things to do there. I wouldn't be as egotistical to say that I could give advice on things to do throughout the entire country of Ireland, but on a few places in Northern Ireland...sure! So, why Northern Ireland? I'll explain that in a minute.
Getting There
Budget wise, traveling to Ireland from Charleston, WV is not as expensive as you may think. Delta (www.delta.com) offers a one stop connection from Charleston, WV to Dublin, Ireland, connecting in Atlanta, GA. So, its actually a very easy trip. Of course, winter airfares are generally cheaper because not many people want to travel to a freezing North Atlantic Island in the dead of winter, but travel in the spring can be affordable as well. When I went in May of this year, my round trip airfare from Charleston was only $582 total. You can't book a flight within the continental U.S. for that...well, for most destinations anyway. My favorite site when shopping for cheap airfare is www.kayak.com. This site pulls together all the prices from many different sites and always quotes total prices, including airfare, taxes and fees. Cheap airfare can be found, it just takes some time in front of the computer browsing the Internet.
Where do I stay?
My recommendation would be to stay in Derry, Ireland in the North. Not that there are not other great places throughout the country to stay, I have no doubt there are! However, I only will give advice on personal experience...things that I have seen, done, eaten, etc., first hand.
You may notice that I do not give advice on hotels in Ireland either. Why not? Well, I'm lucky enough to have my own personal tour guide and inn keeper in Ireland...my boyfriend Barry lives in Derry...and that falls within the "not giving advice on things I have not experienced first hand" statement. So, you will have to add in the hotel costs when planning your own trip, unless you want to work on developing a long distance relationship (romantic or non-romantic) with a lovely Irish citizen. I wouldn't recommend that to most people, I consider myself lucky in finding the one I did. But, if you're feeling lucky too, my first piece of how to advice on that would be to join social networking sites popular in Ireland such as Facebook (www.facebook.com) or Bebo (www.bebo.com) and connect with the Irish network. Then, get to chatting...and eventually...voila... free place to stay!
OK, so once you get to Derry, what will you do? Let's get started...
Homebase: Derry
Well, to enjoy Derry properly...you have to get there. Getting to Derry is no trouble. I recommend flying in to Dublin even though the Derry airport and Belfast airport are much closer. Flying in to Dublin will give you cheaper airfares and shorter travel times, as mentioned above. There is still about a 2 and a half hour drive to Derry once you make it to Dublin, but its a pretty drive...of course it helps to have your own personal chauffeur and tour guide like I do. OK, OK, not everyone is lucky enough to have one of these. BUT, even without a personal tour guide, getting around is not problem. Just remember, they drive on the opposite side of the road there.
Derry (Doire, in Irish) is the 4th largest city in Ireland and is known as the Walled City. Derry isn't just a great home base, there are great things to do there as well. Walk on the walls around the town center, take a stroll "out the line" as the locals say, visit the cemetery (nice views of the city from here as well), check out the Bogside murals depicting the troubles in the North, the Free Derry corner monument, and 2 beautiful cathedrals,just to name a few. Aside from your food and drinks of course, everything I mentioned to do in Derry is FREE. More information on Derry can be found at www.derryvisitor.com.
With Derry, in the north, as my home base, I can plan trips to just about anywhere in Ireland…and so can you.
Road trip time--County Donegal, Buncrana, and Burt
One great short trip from Derry is to take a day or two and travel to County Donegal (pictured above). Think of all the movies you see showing scenery of Ireland...County Donegal is where you will see the scenery you expect of Ireland. Think green rolling hills, huge sea cliffs, country roads...and of course sheep...TONS and tons of sheep (unfortunately the leprechauns never did make an appearance). A little warning however about the sheep...do not try to pet them...they do not like this...and they will try to attack you...take it from me...I have first hand knowledge of this. I could almost see the headlines "American girl killed in cliff side sheep attack."
A few recommendations on places to visit in Donegal. Glencolmcille...a small coastal town on the Slieve League Peninsula. Its a curvy drive getting there, but the scenery is worth it. On your drive, be sure to pull over, get out of the car and just listen. You will hear...ABSOLUTELY nothing. Its so quiet on this road that you could almost be convinced you'd gone deaf. Here you'll find cliffs, mountains, beaches and a friendly small village. If you're hungry, I recommend stopping in at the Village Cafe for some chicken curry and chips...although the fish and chips (and of course by chips I mean fries) looked really good too. Eh, just order one of everything...you're on vacation (holidays) after all. If you go in the Summer, walk down to the beach...but, fair warning...you are in the North Atlantic Ocean and the water is FRIGID even in the summer. We actually got to see a seal pup (pictured above) down here...but, unfortunately he didn't look like he was in good health. But, a stroll on the beach is still relaxing nevertheless. This is an Irish speaking community, although, you won't have trouble finding folks who speak English. But, just in case you're feeling brave. Here are a few Irish words you could test out on the locals (but, they may laugh at the "know-it-all" American...and who could blame them...you'd do the same.
Slainte (pronounced--Slaunt cha): Cheers
Failte (pronounced--Fall cha): Welcome
Cad á mar tá tú?" (pronounced--Caa jay mar a tat too): How are you?
Go Maith (pronounced--go my): Doing well
Do a simple Google search for more Irish words.
While your are in the Glencolmcille area, check out the Slieve League cliffs (pictured above). These are the 2nd largest sea cliffs in Europe and it really is an awesome view, especially at sunset. You can actually drive all the way up the cliffs to the top for the scenic views...even though there is a fence blocking the road, you can easily open it up and drive. If not, you're looking at a 3 mile hike to the top...and who wants to do that...ALTHOUGH...we almost did, not realizing you were able to remove the fence and drive on up...that is until cars started passing us on our walk, or HIKE, to the top looking at us like we were idiots...and of course, at that moment, we were. This is also where I encountered the evil sheep mentioned above. More information about Glencolmcille can be found at http://www.gleanncholmcille.ie/.
In all honesty, it doesn't matter where you go in Donegal...any where you drive, you are bound to be viewing some beautiful scenery and quaint small villages around every corner..just keep your camera handy. Aside from your meals, all the things to do I mentioned in County Donegal are FREE. More information on County Donegal can be found at www.donegal.ie.
While Donegal will require a day or two of your time, you won’t need that time to visit one of the coolest places in Ireland. Take a half day and venture out to Burt. Just a few minutes drive from Derry, in the town of Burt, you'll find Grianan of Aileach (pictured above). A ring fort built around the same time as the birth of Christ. It's free to go to and you'll get some really awesome views from the top (pictured above). It gets rather windy up here, so if you're thinking of taking a picnic I wouldn't recommend it unless you like eating large portions of your wind blown hair along with your sandwich (of course I'm mostly directing that to the ladies).Grianan is probably my favorite place to visit. I go every time I'm in Ireland.
Once you leave Grianan, head down to Buncrana. Buncrana is THE place to vacation in the summer if you're from Derry (sort of how Myrtle Beach is THE place to visit if you're from West Virginia ). Don't forget to stop in at Doherty's Cafe for some fish and chips (fries) for your tea (dinner) on your way to Buncrana. Once you get to Buncrana, walk through the town centre and then head down to the Buncrana Shore Path. It's a nice walk out across the Crana River (pictured above) to Ned's Point on Lough Swilly (which sort of reminds me of a mini Giant's Causeway--see picture above) and to Father Hegarty's Rock, the sight where Father Hegarty was decapitated by the British for holding church services. Swing by the Drift Inn for a pint after you're done with the walk. Again, all the things I mentioned to do in Burt and Buncrana aside from your meals and drinks are FREE. More information on Buncrana can be found at www.buncrana.com.
Quick Tip:
A few quick pointers about Derry. Derry is close to the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and is technically considered part of the U.K. So, to travel around Derry and Northern Ireland you will need to use the British pound for currency. Travel through the Republic of Ireland, which includes County Donegal and Buncrana, will require the Euro. This can be confusing especially since there really are no marked borders between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I recommend changing your currency in a bank or credit union once you get to Ireland for a better rate. Exchanging money in airports will always result in a loss of some extra cash you could be using on pints of Guinness. Also, if you try to exchange money in Charleston, you'll run in to some headaches. You can only exchange currency in the large main banks downtown, not the branches...and, they will charge you a fee.
Also, if you travel to Ireland in the summer, you'll find yourself with more daylight hours to explore...the sun comes up around 5 am and it doesn't get dark until about 10:30pm. Winter time is a little different however with the sun not rising until about 9 am and setting about 4:30pm.
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