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Going to Ireland for a couple days. Never been to Europe. What do I need to know? (1 Viewer)

TheFanatic

Footballguy
Guinness is flying me to Ireland to some Meatopia event at their brewery in Dublin the first week of July. It's just me going. I'll be at this event in the evenings but will have time to explore during the day. What should I see or do? Also, anything I should know about traveling abroad in general?

 
Guinness is flying me to Ireland to some Meatopia event at their brewery in Dublin the first week of July. It's just me going. I'll be at this event in the evenings but will have time to explore during the day. What should I see or do? Also, anything I should know about traveling abroad in general?
I've never been there but know a decent amount of people who have.  They all recommended getting a vehicle and doing some traveling.  Check out some of the smaller villages.  Go golfing.  Travel the western side as it's suppose to be pretty awesome with the cliffs.  I'm sure there are others that know more than I do though.

Enjoy the fresh Guinness.

 
The best day trips from Dublin in July would be Glendalough in the Wicklow Mts, Newgrange in County Meath and the racemeet @ the Curragh, all an hour or so coach ride from the city with plenty running. The Book of Kells at Trinity College & pub crawls, along with Guiness itself, are Dublin's highlights. i prefer the golf in the south & west of the country, but there's some nice hilly courses near the capital.

ETA: If you rent a car, spring for an automatic - driving on the left is enough a challenge as it is. Also, in Europe, esp if you're traveling on the business dime, rely on your hotel concierges for pointers, tickets, reservations. enjoy -

 
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Went to Ireland last year and did a ton of driving around on my own. IMO get out of the cities and see as many "castles" and small towns as you can. The "back roads" are very narrow but nothing you cant handle if you take your time. 

 
I do have real advice too. Cork is nicer than Dublin if you have time to visit. I am doing Bushmills when I visit in July. I have never been, but hear good things. What sort of things would you like to do? There is really not a lot you need to know to travel in Ireland. Don't be a jackass and you generally will get along with the Irish.

 
play that country game where dudes roll the heavy metal ball as far as they can & all kinds of old men gamble #### loads of money on it

box a Roma fella

 
Guinness is flying me to Ireland to some Meatopia event at their brewery in Dublin the first week of July. It's just me going. I'll be at this event in the evenings but will have time to explore during the day. What should I see or do? Also, anything I should know about traveling abroad in general?
Assuming you will br driving:

1) make sure you have car insurance for international rentals.  

2) learn what to do in a roundabout

3) shoulders are soft so move your ### over

4) enjoy it

5) get an automatic

Ring of kerry and dingle peninsula are well worth the visit.  Spend some tine drinking at a pub.

Bring someone who doesnt like guiness to the guiness tour so you can get their pint.

 
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The best day trips from Dublin in July would be Glendalough in the Wicklow Mts, Newgrange in County Meath
As cool as Glendalough is (my wife's family is from there - 1/2 of the gravestones have her name on it, it's very cool even without all that), Newgrange is a lifetime experience.  Just go.  It's simply astonishing.

 
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Bring someone who doesnt like guiness to the guiness tour so you can get their pint.

Assuming you will br driving:

1) make sure you have car insurance for international rentals.  

5) get an automatic
If you rent rent from a place that has the super insurance included, otherwise you can get really hit hard on that.  Dan Dooley is one of those.

Part of the charm of Dublin is the sheer terror of driving a stick on the wrong side of the road in city traffic through roundabouts going counterclockwise.

Ring of kerry and dingle peninsula are well worth the visit.  Spend some tine drinking at a pub.
Too far for a couple day jaunt.

 
Ah, sweet memories.  Nightmares for my passengers.
No joke, one of the indelible memories my wife and I had from our 20th anniversary we spent there was in the car driving from the airport.  Not half mile away from the airport I slowed down a bit due to traffic and one of our hubcaps rolled past us.  Completely surreal.  When we turned it in the guys at the rental place completely didn't believe us, but since we had the supercover it didn't matter.

As far as driving on the left side I didn't have a problem with the big stuff (shifting was fine, traffic was fine).  It was the small stuff - exit from a gas station and instinctively turn right type stuff.  

 
I second Wikkid on Glendalough and the Book of Kells.  Near Trinity College is the National Museum of Archaeology -- the bog bodies on display are worth checking out, and they also have a bunch of Viking artifacts.  

The Old Jameson Distillery is also worth going to while in Dublin.  The tour is pretty interesting.  Ends with a glass of Jameson.  My wife got to be a "taste tester" which meant she also got shots of scotch and bourbon to compare to Jameson.

(I'm assuming things like Cliffs of Moher and Ring of Kerry on the other side of the island are too far away from you.)

ETA:  The Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus is a good way to get around Dublin.  Runs a big loop with stops at all of the major sites -- narrated tour as well.  

 
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Few other things

  • Their beers have much lower alcohol %
  • DO NOT DRINK and DRIVE. They are really strict on this
  • Make sure you have cash for tolls if you go to northern Ireland
  • Prepare to see a fair amount of littering. I was absolutely stunned at how many people walking down the street would just drop bags of trash. I was constantly picking up trash and putting it into the bins that are all over the place. I was stopped a few times by older locals and was told that "I must not be from around here". 
  • If you are a Game of Thrones fan there are 10 Pub Doors scattered all over, tons of locations to check out etc 
 
Few other things

  • Their beers have much lower alcohol %
  • DO NOT DRINK and DRIVE. They are really strict on this
  • Make sure you have cash for tolls if you go to northern Ireland
  • Prepare to see a fair amount of littering. I was absolutely stunned at how many people walking down the street would just drop bags of trash. I was constantly picking up trash and putting it into the bins that are all over the place. I was stopped a few times by older locals and was told that "I must not be from around here". 
  • If you are a Game of Thrones fan there are 10 Pub Doors scattered all over, tons of locations to check out etc 
this was not my experience at all, I thought Dublin was cleaner than NYC and its the only real city this side of Cork or Galway that I saw.  Cork is a blue collar town but didn't recall excessive trash.

 
this was not my experience at all, I thought Dublin was cleaner than NYC and its the only real city this side of Cork or Galway that I saw.  Cork is a blue collar town but didn't recall excessive trash.
That doesn't refute what he was saying.

 
Guinness is flying me to Ireland to some Meatopia event at their brewery in Dublin the first week of July. It's just me going. I'll be at this event in the evenings but will have time to explore during the day. What should I see or do? Also, anything I should know about traveling abroad in general?
A lot of the pubs are cash only.  Buy some Euros from your bank before you go to avoid huge fees.  Highs are going to be between 60-70 every day.  Don't order a black and tan.

 
If you want to blend in, don't sport New Balance or [insert brand here] tennis shoes when walking around town. 

 
Check out some GAA Hurling if you can, as its popularly described as a cross between field hockey and murder.  There should be weekend games a Croke Park (pronounced Crowe Park)
Wife and I had an incredible time at one of these.  We caught a game in Thurles.  Limerick fans for life now.

 
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PS - If you're there by June 26th, I'll buy your first beer.  After that, I'll be leaving for Galway, Killarney, and Cork.

 
Any way you can tack on some vacation time on top of the business trip?  I spent two weeks there and I still felt it wasn't enough to see everything.  You need to take a couple days in Northern Ireland...go see the Giant's Causeway on the coast as well as the Titanic museum in Belfast.  Awesome stuff.  Have fun. :banned:

 
rascal said:
Assuming you will br driving:

1) make sure you have car insurance for international rentals.  

2) learn what to do in a roundabout

3) shoulders are soft so move your ### over

4) enjoy it

5) get an automatic

Ring of kerry and dingle peninsula are well worth the visit.  Spend some tine drinking at a pub.

Bring someone who doesnt like guiness to the guiness tour so you can get their pint.
If you do decide to drive, the rental insurance is very expensive.  You can get around this, like in the U.S., by declining coverage and paying for the car using a credit card; HOWEVER, most credit cards that offer rental insurance have exclusions for Ireland (among other countries).  You need to call your credit company and get an e-mail verification that rental insurance is applicable in Ireland.  I called all of my credit cards while trying to rent a car there.  The only one that had coverage with no Ireland limitation was Citi card - the one that was issued to me by Costco.

 
If you do decide to drive, the rental insurance is very expensive.  You can get around this, like in the U.S., by declining coverage and paying for the car using a credit card; HOWEVER, most credit cards that offer rental insurance have exclusions for Ireland (among other countries).  You need to call your credit company and get an e-mail verification that rental insurance is applicable in Ireland.  I called all of my credit cards while trying to rent a car there.  The only one that had coverage with no Ireland limitation was Citi card - the one that was issued to me by Costco.
The Chase Reserve Sapphire also has Ireland coverage.

 
Kanil said:
A lot of the pubs are cash only.  Buy some Euros from your bank before you go to avoid huge fees.  Highs are going to be between 60-70 every day.  Don't order a black and tan.
Great advice!

 
Any way you can tack on some vacation time on top of the business trip?  I spent two weeks there and I still felt it wasn't enough to see everything.  You need to take a couple days in Northern Ireland...go see the Giant's Causeway on the coast as well as the Titanic museum in Belfast.  Awesome stuff.  Have fun. :banned:
I can't tack on any extra days at all. See this is not for my main job, it's my side gig. In my main job, there are two of us in my role. Only 2 of us in the whole company. He's on vacation the day I get back. Can't have both of us off the grid as he's camping and will have no wi fi. This just sort of fell in my lap. My coworker already had his trip booked so I'm stuck with what I have. Still. A weekend in Ireland for free is pretty cool. 

I like the idea of the hop on/hop off bus. I might do a little exploring that way because I wasn't planning on renting a car. I'm actually hoping Guinness will have something of an itinerary set up for us. 

Good call on getting some cash ahead of time. I'll do that. 

And not a black and tan fan. Give me straight stout all day long. Really excited about getting some straight from the source. 

I would love to see some old castle or little country town, but I might just stick to Dublin and Guinness. Might have to look into some good Irish Whiskey distilleries. 

Thanks fellas! Keep them coming!

 
 Might have to look into some good Irish Whiskey distilleries. 
Jamison is there and has some cool tour options on their site.  I have not actually been there but will be there on the 24th and will try to remember to report back before you head out.

 
I'm not sure what Guinness is offering you, but if you like it, I would very highly suggest doing the VIP tour they offer (https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/connoisseur-experience).  It was only a few euro's more than the regular tour and so much worth it.

If you only have a few days, I would suggest just staying in Ireland.  Dublin is cool enough for you to walk around/cab it to different bars/pubs and have a great time.  For a day trip or two, I'd also highly suggest Paddy bus tours.  They are economical and plenty of fun to do alone or in a small group.  

As far as money goes, I would highly suggest scoping this out beforehand as fees can really add up.  Put as much as you can on an c/c without foreign transaction fees.  Plenty of banks have atm's in Europe, although sometimes in a different name (like BofA allows you to withdrawl at Barclays ATM's which are pretty wide spread over the UK).  Do not get euro's beforehand, imho.  Banks/airports exchange rates are often silly and really the only thing you may need it for is transportation to the hotel from the airport.  If you can arrange that beforehand and pay with credit card, do it.

I traveled around Ireland without renting a car and it wasn't much an issue.  

 
West coast is definitely where it's at but that's more than a day trip if you have to be back in Dublin by the evening.  If you can swing a few extra days without committments I would definitely get over there for Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, and some of the cool little sea towns over there though.

As far as things to know I believe Ireland is one of the few countries on the list that your credit card will not cover insurance on your car rental, and you have toe actually pony up for the insurance upcharge the rental company offers.

 
Guinness is flying me to Ireland to some Meatopia event at their brewery in Dublin the first week of July. It's just me going. I'll be at this event in the evenings but will have time to explore during the day. What should I see or do? Also, anything I should know about traveling abroad in general?
Imo it's worth hiring a driver. Not expensive and solves all problems of getting around. Newgrange/knowth are worth a visit and not far. I'd also spend a bit of the afternoon in Drogheda if you do it. Neat little town on the coast. Brui de Boyne is nearby and if you enjoy history it may be worthwhile but it's kinda meh imo. Take in a hurling match at Croke if you get the chance. 

Cork and the Cliffs are a hike. 4 hours or so by car. So while lovely, wouldn't recommend without planning a day or so on the southwest coast. If you go to the Cliffs drive up the coast spend the night in Galway. Awesome town. I'd skip the Blarney Stone unless you just want to say you did it. 

 
I am doing Bushmills when I visit in July. I have never been, but hear good things. 
Bushmill's is okay for a distillery. Nothing special. (sidenote: Bushmill's is protestant whiskey. It may not mean much to Americans but lots of Irish won't drink it and you can't find it much in the Free State. They do bottle Jamey now too though). But 20 minutes away is the Giant's Causeway which is pretty awesome and Carrick-a -Rede. Both worth a trip. There are also some nice restaurants in Portrush. We picked a couple of random places that were awesome. In the summer the area is pretty nice even if they all talk with weird scot-like accents. 

 
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Since you mentioned a few times that you won't have extra vacation time to spend and you'll have activities in Dublin, you should think about going to Paris one morning. They have croissants there and everything.  It's so worth it!

If you're into history and/or Liam Neeson, see the movie Michael Collins as you'll get a good crash course on some Dublin history in 100 minutes.  If there is gaelic football or curling going on, def check that out.  Timing may not work out. Even if you just stay in Dublin, just explore Temple Bar, Trinity College and St. Stephens Green on foot.  Touristy, but it's your first time in Europe so it'll be new to you. 

 
So, what do I need to know in terms of local customs what should I do to prepare for an international flight. And do I need to get an international calling option on my phone?

I'm planning on not checking anything and carrying all I need on the plane and off. Other than that, I've got no clue on what to expect or to do. 

 
I'm not sure what Guinness is offering you, but if you like it, I would very highly suggest doing the VIP tour they offer (https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/connoisseur-experience).  It was only a few euro's more than the regular tour and so much worth it. 
Since this is move by their PR firm, I'm guessing I will have my run of the place and probably get something even beyond the VIP tour. At least that's how this stuff has worked in the past. They will give me as much opportunity to find cool stuff to photograph and video to put in front of my following. 

 
So, what do I need to know in terms of local customs what should I do to prepare for an international flight. And do I need to get an international calling option on my phone?

I'm planning on not checking anything and carrying all I need on the plane and off. Other than that, I've got no clue on what to expect or to do. 
I'm just going off of some of the stuff I've read but:

Don't order an Irish Car Bomb or Black and Tan.

If you go to a pub and there are only a couple others there, it's pretty common to buy a round.

Corn beef and cabbage is not a thing.

Don't bring up America politics

 
I'm just going off of some of the stuff I've read but:

Don't order an Irish Car Bomb or Black and Tan.

If you go to a pub and there are only a couple others there, it's pretty common to buy a round.

Corn beef and cabbage is not a thing.

Don't bring up America politics
Not a fan of either drink

I'm good with that

It's a thing, but not something I would bring up

I avoid American Politics in this country. What both sides are doing is disgusting. 

 
So, what do I need to know in terms of local customs what should I do to prepare for an international flight. And do I need to get an international calling option on my phone?

I'm planning on not checking anything and carrying all I need on the plane and off. Other than that, I've got no clue on what to expect or to do. 
Only if you want to make or receive calls. Oh, and turn the mobile data off, Roaming charges are quite high (everywhere)

 
Expect to be bored on the flight. Bring stuff to entertain you if you can't sleep sitting up (or if it's a day flight)

 
msommer said:
Only if you want to make or receive calls. Oh, and turn the mobile data off, Roaming charges are quite high (everywhere)
I will definitely need to be able to make and receive calls. I have a couple small businesses to run. And I'll need to be loading pics and video to Instagram.

 
msommer said:
Expect to be bored on the flight. Bring stuff to entertain you if you can't sleep sitting up (or if it's a day flight)
Just ordered two more books. Thinking of loading the iPad with a couple movies. I don't really use my ipad for much but this sounds like a good idea. Or maybe grab my external DVD drive for my Mac and bringing some disks. 

 
Just ordered two more books. Thinking of loading the iPad with a couple movies. I don't really use my ipad for much but this sounds like a good idea. Or maybe grab my external DVD drive for my Mac and bringing some disks. 
The movie options on international flights are pretty good these days. Definitely bring good earbuds/headphones. IPad is good as on one flight I had everything was cast to your device (instead of a screen in the seat).  I wouldn't sweat this too much.  I'd worry more about trying to grab a little sleep as the best way to conquer jet lag is to not take a nap/sleep when you arrive - much better off powering through until night.  Hopefully when you wake up the next day you're good to go.

 
Bring someone who doesnt like guiness to the guiness tour so you can get their pint.

If you rent rent from a place that has the super insurance included, otherwise you can get really hit hard on that.  Dan Dooley is one of those.

Part of the charm of Dublin is the sheer terror of driving a stick on the wrong side of the road in city traffic through roundabouts going counterclockwise.
Pretty sure they go clockwise

 

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