Trip through Ireland

I would love to spend 10 days in Ireland during the Easter break with a friend of mine.

Unfortunately, we do only have a budget of around € 2000 each. That is why we have chosen to make a backpacker/caravan tour through Ireland to visit the places which are most worthy to see. Unfortunately, we have only got 10 days and therefore can’t see everything.

We will book a flight from Bravo Fly, because a return flight only costs €134 per person.

We have arranged to stay the first as well as the last night in a small hostel near the airport where a double dorm costs €24.

On the second day we can pick up our not too big, not too small campervan from the company Detour. For 8 days of rent we will have to pay €376 in total.

First of all we will explore the city of Dublin, which means that we will do some sight-seeing. We’re going to visit the O’Connell Street and the General Post Office because both played important roles in Irish history which really impresses me. In further, we will visit the National Museum where an exhibition about Kingship and Sacrifice is taking place at the moment. At the end of the day we will visit the Guinness Storehouse, which is a part of the original brewery and where you can taste different kinds of Guinness.

In the evening we will try to find a cute and comfy Irish pub where we can have dinner and beer.

There’s so much to see in and around Dublin that we will stay for another day. On the second day we will visit the famous Trinity College Dublin, which is considered to be the best university in Ireland. Some of its buildings are hundreds of years old. The universities library is especially famous and  definitely worth checking out to see the Long Room. Last but not least we will visit the Temple Bar in the evening. This Pub is foremost famous for its entertainment, art and culinary specials. The bar is known for its great, vibrating parties and its wide variety of different groups of people (this means older and younger people, different social groups). The only thing is that you can also find many violent, drunk people and even pickpockets there after it has turned midnight. Therefore it is recommended to see the bar before 11pm.

After these three days we will still have left around €1500 each.

On our fourth day we’re going to start our real trip through Ireland. We leave Dublin and head to Boyne Valley in Meath, because it is not too far from Dublin and you can find some of the most impressive and important historic monuments and sites there. The best prehistoric monument is probably Newgrange which dates back to ancient times. I’m a bit sad, that we can’t be there on the 21^st of December. On that date the Winter Solstice is taking place, where the whole tomb gets illuminated, which is said to be an unimaginable phenomenon. It is possible to take a guided tour which includes visiting Dowth, Knowth and of course Newgrange.

Close to these prehistoric monuments is the site of the Battle of Boyne, where William of Orange defeated King James II in the 17^th century and became officially king of Ireland.

After this exhausting but impressive two days we will try to get some pizza and beer and go to bed straight ahead.

On day six we head to the famous Ring Of Kerry. This place lets all imaginations about Ireland’s picturesque landscape and greenery come true. This town is said to be the only one  that has more restaurants than pubs. In those cosy restaurants culinary food is served e.g. seafood, local cheeses and shellfish.

The breathtaking scenery with the incomparable cliffs, bays and unspoilt, enjoyable beaches attracts not only tourists but also famous sculptors, artists and writers.

As we are in time we will also spend day 7 at this wonderful place checking out all corners of this stunning corner of Ireland.

Before we head back to Dublin on day 9 we will spend one day and one night on the Aran Islands. We have to leave our Campervan on the mainland and reach the Islands by ferry, which will cost €20 per person (it is so cheap because we get a students discount). The Aran Islands offer visitors a glimpse into a way of life that has mainly disappeared from the rest of Ireland. The Islands are unspoilt and of raw beauty without luxurious, large and ugly buildings or hotels. If it is possible at the time we will there we are going to rent a car to drive around the coasts of Inis Mór to enjoy the beautiful, stunning landscape, the bursting Atlantic on the West coast and the calm sea on the East coast.

On day 9 we will leave the islands unhappily to go back to Dublin where our plane is going to take off the next day. As I already mentioned above we have already booked a little dorm in a hostel. My friend and me will use day 9 in Dublin to relax and sit back not doing any sight-seeing anymore. We will have coffee and cakes in a nice, cosy, little café without thinking of anything than our cultural experiences we had during our journey through Ireland. What does on need more than a cup of tea and a good tasting peace of cake?

I hope that our budget will be big enough, however, we will try to not waste money for unnecessary stuff like senseless souvenirs or unaffordable restaurants.

All in all I am convinced that this trip will be a great, character-sharping experience which will broaden our minds!