VeeshanVault

Now that the EQ Fan Faires are a bust, Bakara and I are planning on taking our first REAL trip together, alone, and we are thinking about Ireland. It probably won't be until June when a project I'm working on ends, but never too early to plan. Anyone been? Please tell me what you liked and didn't, any tips, recommendations, etc. If it ends up being June, I'm shooting for June 16th in Dublin for Bloom Day, something I've wanted to do for years, although I guess it means I should finally finish reading Ulysses...

We may pop over to London and/or somewhere in Scotland for a day or 2 depending on how much time we have, so any must-sees for these locales would be excellent too.

Also, if anyone has any tips on how we can write off a portion of our trip (we are both self-employed) by attending some kind of conference or trade show, that would be very appreciated.

Dublin Temple Bar.
A maze in the city centre full of Dublins best bars and clubs and music venues. Bizarre bazaar.

Various parts of Ireland are much much better than others visually, essentially to find the best places you need to get as far from the people as possible. They have ruined a lot of nice places but the South West and the North East are generally still pretty and stunning in places. Cool in the summer, horrific in the winter.

Antrim Hills/Mourne Mountains. Slim pickings. Giants causeway. Frankly I would think Scotland would be a better choice. Scotland is beautiful.

He's just trying to keep you away from his pot of gold!

Fash wrote:He's just trying to keep you away from his pot of gold!

LOL

the sad trooth

One thing that hurt me when I was backpacking Europe was the fact that the american dollar is worth just about nothing right now.... when I was last in the UK it was almost $2 to 1 british pound. So make sure your budgeting more than you think youll need. A friend of mine did 2 weeks in Ireland while I was there and said the best place to go is the western coast of Ireland, he got some kickass pictures of castles and stuff. Ill find out exactly where he went and what he thought was best.

If you have time... find a flight to Budapest while your there for a weekend... the baths kickass and the people, food and wine rock. You should be able to book ahead for a weekend return for about 30-40 pounds (60-80 bucks) you wont regret it. Oh and stay at the Backpackers Guesthouse in Buda... you can get a double room for like $20 a night and that place is awesome, best hostel I stayed in. Or when your looking into flights you can arrange to fly into Heathrow or whatever airport is in Ireland and fly back from Budapest or wherever you happen to be.

Just my 2cp

My wife and I are going to Ireland this coming June as well, but will miss Bloom Day. We are going to visit Shannon, Galway, Aran Islands, Dublin, then the southern coast around to Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Penninsula.

Teeny, any good spots to hit in that circuit? We are big on nature, landscapes, old stuff, unique stuff. Not too vague, am I? heh.

Also, are there any customs/mores/traditions we should know about to avoid looking like typical tourist jackassholes?

Well if you do that plan you will see an abundance of the things you are looking for.
Sounds like a great trip

Only custom/tradition is to be wary of getting in the way of a man and his pint

BAD Dokuranger, youre supposed to praise Denmark

they serve you OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of potatoes

Fan Faires are a bust? Why?

Ireland is great. I spent a week there with my father - best vacation I've had in quite a while. We spent two days in Dublin, and then rented a car, drove west, and then came back to Dublin by following the coast to the South, stopping each night in small villages. It still has sights that seem unreal, or prolonged moments of silence that can be quite eerie. Nevertheless, it was simply amazing. As for your money needs - unless you plan on going through UK, Ireland has the Euro now. Even with that, the country remains quite expensive. I can't comment on the time you chose to travel - We were sightseeing, so we expressely avoided periods that are heavy with tourists, such as June to early September.
Don't miss the fruit crumble if you go through there Oh. Another thing. Best night we had was when we decided to try out one of those upper scale Bed & Breakfasts. It turned out it was in an ancient and gorgeous mansion in the middle of nowhere. And the weather that day really agreed with what you might think of Ireland - it was windy and dark. To top it all, the same night we went to a genuine, honest-to-god Irish pub. You could see the people there had been there their whole life, and the feeling was surreal.

I hope you have an excellent trip - the country is worth it!

PS : On a side note - for any men thinking they can go there and pick up chicks... Well, you might. I, however, in a WHOLE week, saw not ONE (1) good-looking woman.

It wouldn't even be funny if it wasn't so true.

The attractive woman scale here is about 1 to every 1000 munters.

/cry

All the good looking irish women are backpacking in Australia =)

Which is where I would be if I had any sense.

wtf you forgot to mention that you're going to SWEDEN

GO TO WALES INSTEAD.

JUST DON'T ASK FOR DIRECTIONS, YOU'LL BE CLEANING PHLEGM FROM YOUR HAIR FOR A FORTNIGHT.

If it is business related then you should be able to justify the expense of the trip. Just make sure that you keep track of what days you did "work" and those you didn't. I believe that meals are only deductible on days you are working. Taking business meals usually raises a red flag so I usually don't bother to even put them on my business expenses. Good thing about the IRS now is that they have to prove you did something wrong, you don't have to prove anything to them.

I loved Ireland when I went. Friendly people, good beer and food, beautiful scenery.

You walk into an Irish pub, and you're instantly a regular. Never felt so comfortable with total strangers.

Born and raised in Scotland...Teeny is right though...summers are cool and winters can be brutal on the Isles. Still, there is something about the sky and the sea that is beautiful and different from any other place I have ever been.

I can't believe I am agreeing with Teeny again...but...he is right about getting away from the people. If you want to see the true beauty you have to get away from the places that have already been ruined.