Ireland??

[RMurph007]

Is it better to visit Ireland in November or February? Any "not to miss" suggestions? We are going on a self driving tour. Thanks

[AnnaBanana]

There is so much to see in Ireland... November may be a little better (weather-wise) although Feb is still a good time (there is not usually snow anywhere). Check rain forecasts - i don't recall which time would be better for that...

Here are some great places to see:

-Ring of Kerry (west coast)
-Blarney castle
-Galway
-Cliffs of Moher (amazing...)
-Belfast (for the history)

Also, if you have the time to drive to Northern Ireland, the northern coast is beautiful, lots of amazing small towns, the Giants Causeway (google it!) and lots of history in Derry (cue Sunday Bloody sunday by U2!).

There are amazing B&B's along the way, the roads are easy to navigate, and there are ruins, high crosses, ancient cemetaries and castles EVERYWHERE. You will love it!

[Bazooka Joe]

There is so much to see in Ireland... November may be a little better (weather-wise) although Feb is still a good time (there is not usually snow anywhere). Check rain forecasts - i don't recall which time would be better for that...

Here are some great places to see:

-Ring of Kerry (west coast)
-Blarney castle
-Galway
-Cliffs of Moher (amazing...)
-Belfast (for the history)

Also, if you have the time to drive to Northern Ireland, the northern coast is beautiful, lots of amazing small towns, the Giants Causeway (google it!) and lots of history in Derry (cue Sunday Bloody sunday by U2!).

There are amazing B&B's along the way, the roads are easy to navigate, and there are ruins, high crosses, ancient cemetaries and castles EVERYWHERE. You will love it!

There's nothing I could add that isn't covered here. The B&B's are the only way to go, you'll love them and score big points with the lady in your life.

One thing to add I guess, if you like to explore bring a good, small flashlight with you to blarney castle (bring 2 cause you wouldn't want the first one to burn out on you half way :)). When you get there you'll understand why.

[hoob]

There is so much to see in Ireland... November may be a little better (weather-wise) although Feb is still a good time (there is not usually snow anywhere). Check rain forecasts - i don't recall which time would be better for that...

Here are some great places to see:

-Ring of Kerry (west coast)
-Blarney castle
-Galway
-Cliffs of Moher (amazing...)
-Belfast (for the history)

Also, if you have the time to drive to Northern Ireland, the northern coast is beautiful, lots of amazing small towns, the Giants Causeway (google it!) and lots of history in Derry (cue Sunday Bloody sunday by U2!).

There are amazing B&B's along the way, the roads are easy to navigate, and there are ruins, high crosses, ancient cemetaries and castles EVERYWHERE. You will love it!

I just recently completed a 7 day 3000km random driving tour of the coast from Belfast counterclockwise down to Kerry, and can pretty much echo Anna's comments. Lots of sites to see, and I focused on the scenic/non-town aspect of things for this trip. I went into it without any formal plan, just set up my nights at various small lodges/hotels around the country to give myself milestones every day. Drive along with a map and a GPS and just stop where things seem interesting.

I think either November or February is going to be about the same. It will get cold and likely below freezing now and then, but everything should still be fine. One thing to keep in mind is that Ireland is quite far north so you really won't have much daylight to see a lot of things.

Some pictures from my trip: http://hoob.smugmug.com/gallery/6016420_eAeKQ. of the attractions AB mentions, I was actually a bit disappointed with the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry. They come highly recommended and are quite scenic, but overall I preferred the Connemara and Donegal areas in the north/northwest of the country. The "famous" sites really are more synthetic/touristy than I'd really like and I preferred the random scenic stuff (e.g. Dingle Peninsula drives I preferred to Ring of Kerry.)

If you're comfortable behind the wheel, you should have no problem driving in Ireland. The secondary and tertiary roads aren't busy and the narrowness can make you nervous, but in my experience all the other drivers *know how to drive* and you can trust them.

In driving the rural roads, there are many places where it's one lane only. Don't overdrive your comfort level: speed limits bear no relation to possible speeds, and curves aren't always signed. During the day I found everything fine but driving at night was definitely white-knuckle at times. If you're a "driver" it IS really fun to take the small twisty roads "aggressively" when lack of traffic, sightlines and weather allow. Given that a lot of the rural parts are bare of vegetation except grasses, you can often see quite far.

Away from the big cities, gas stations close at around 8pm, though more and more 24-places are opening up. Given that you're planning off-season many pubs/B&B's/etc are probably closed, but you should still be fine. One comment, if you're using a GPS the coverage is reasonably accurate but sometimes the roads are offset by 100-300M so the unit gets confused. At least that was the experience with my TomTom.

[JeffTaylor1985]

One comment, if you're using a GPS the coverage is reasonably accurate but sometimes the roads are offset by 100-300M so the unit gets confused. At least that was the experience with my TomTom.

I remember you mentioning that you had the XL330s - is that correct?

I have gotten feedback from a lot of TT owners from N.A. that have done trips like yours, and the Map Share data helps to keep their maps more updated.

Are you using Map Share?

Or are you "off-roading?" :D just kidding

[hoob]

I remember you mentioning that you had the XL330s - is that correct?

I have gotten feedback from a lot of TT owners from N.A. that have done trips like yours, and the Map Share data helps to keep their maps more updated.

Are you using Map Share?

Or are you "off-roading?" :D just kidding

No, I have a TomTom GO 920, and it was completely up-to-date before I left. Out in the boonies it was usually off by a bit but usable, but there were a couple of spots where even the *main* road (N59 for example) was completely out of place.

[RMurph007]

I have found several 5, 7 & 10 day packages for the self driving tours of Ireland. Can anyone suggest a company that will allow me to plan my own tour, using all the great suggestions I received from this site, for a 12 night package? Any suggestions as to which companies to try would be appreciated. Hopefully, this will be a trip of a lifetime for us. Thanks

[hjello]

I have found several 5, 7 & 10 day packages for the self driving tours of Ireland. Can anyone suggest a company that will allow me to plan my own tour, using all the great suggestions I received from this site, for a 12 night package? Any suggestions as to which companies to try would be appreciated. Hopefully, this will be a trip of a lifetime for us. Thanks

Personally, I love trip planning, if you want to self drive I would just plan it yourself without a tour company.

My husband and I spent 10 days in Ireland on our honeymoon. Absolutely wonderful vacation. We did 3 days in Dublin and then headed up to Donegal area and rented a cottage on the coast and toured around up there visiting cliffs, beaches, small towns etc. Giants Causeway is a must! Enjoy you will have a fabulous time.

[hoob]

My husband and I spent 10 days in Ireland on our honeymoon. Absolutely wonderful vacation. We did 3 days in Dublin and then headed up to Donegal area and rented a cottage on the coast and toured around up there visiting cliffs, beaches, small towns etc. Giants Causeway is a must! Enjoy you will have a fabulous time.

One comment too.. When planning keep in mind the scale of the island. In off-season you can pretty much drive between any two extremes across the island in 6 hours or less. So things on the map that in the same general area (Co Clare, Donegal, etc) really are close and you don't have to worry about exceedingly long drives between attractions.

Of course, doing the Coast Drives (which seemed to be well signed, for the most part) are attractions unto themselves and can take much more time than point-to-point driving.