Ireland Castle Hotels

Best Vacation I Ever Had: Republic Of Ireland

My most memorable vacation was Ireland. The trip was very valuable to me because I did a great deal of research on the history of Ireland before I visited it.

Because my family is Irish-American, my grandmother considered it important for me to see Ireland. I traveled with her as well as my great aunt and second cousin. My grandmother and great aunt were in the sixty-plus age range; my cousin was a mid-teenager and I was eighteen.

We arrived from a short stay in London, flying into Shannon airport via Aer Lingus. Even though the flight was under an hour, we were offered hot towels, tea, and delicious cheese and brie.

Because we disembarked at a small airport, it took very little time for us to figure out where we were going. Our car rental had been prearranged. My grandmother, who had visited Ireland previously on several occasions, told me that driving through Ireland was the best way to experience it.

Our first stop involved seeing the Cliffs of Moher. These promontories are the most famous view of the west coast of Ireland. En route, I observed many bilingual signs appearing in both English and Irish. At one point, we made a wrong turn and a farmer was kind enough to direct us back to the cliffs and the main road-otherwise, we might have driven straight off a not-so-dramatic cliff in an all-too-dramatic vacation adventure!

When we arrived at the cliffs, it was rainy as it often is in Ireland. While I was impressed with the view, the area was littered with other tourists. It was difficult to get a shot of the cliffs without other tourists in the way. We did get to meet some of the tourists who were from other parts of the world. We met many Australians there also on personal quests for history and heritage.

Moving north, we drove through Sligo and Limerick. In the future, I'd rather stay in one of these places for an extended amount of time. I found the shopping to be best there, especially since I was on the lookout for mythology, history, and poetry books which were harder to find in America.

While we opted to stay in larger hotels due to my grandmother having trouble with her knees, I noticed that it would be quite possible to travel through Ireland without a real plan. She did have a bit of trouble climbing Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone because the steps are worn away by tourist traffic and acid rain. Even though the locals apparently urinate on the stone at night, I was still very much willing to receive the gift of gab.

Our most unforgettable night involved attending a show in Bunratty Castle. There, we sampled mead and wine produced famously in Bunratty and toured the restored castle. Madrigal singers regaled us with songs and tales, and it was the first time I had gotten drunk (this was before I went to college and was also able to drink legally at eighteen in Ireland).

Before heading to Dublin, we visited Donegal. County Donegal is a sparsely-populated county in the North West part of the republic. To get where we were going, we did take a road through Derry and were required to display our passports to the occupying British forces. There was extra security due to the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement, but we did not have trouble.

Donegal proved difficult for me because I was a vegetarian. Because fishing is common there due to the coastline, even Donegal spaghetti contained fish, which I didn't eat. I'd recommend vegetarians and those who don't like fish (or are allergic to shellfish) pack alternative foods before heading to Donegal.

Our trip concluded in Dublin, where we stayed in a lavish hotel and experienced Dublin Castle (a socio-political location of contention). We were disappointed to find the castle empty of everything valuable, but we were told this was due to aggressive activities. Dublin Castle was a highlight, however, due to the extensive history in the basement of the castle. One can literally track Dublin's history by looking at the artifacts found in layers of dirt, and the active excavation piqued my interest.

While I enjoyed Ireland, I would not recommend rural Ireland to an elderly visitor or to anyone with a physical handicap. Rural terrain is rough and there are no elevators in castles or ruins.

Now that Northern Ireland is more peaceful, I would instead recommend Belfast. Belfast is a city yet unexplored by many tourists due to past violence, but able to accommodate a diversity of visitors.

I would certainly visit Ireland again. I hope to visit Ireland with my husband before we have children. We are both very much into history and photography, and Ireland is a great place for those hobbies. Since my husband toured in the Marines, he is a self-sufficient traveler and I look forward to charting our own path in Ireland someday.