Oh Ireland. Home of Gaelic football. Hurling. Irish Catholics. Pub after pub. Unpredictable weather. Crazy curvy one lane roads with crazy drivers. Incredible accents that you just want keep using. Sheep everywhere – EVERYWHERE! And how could we forget they are the founders of St. Patrick’s Day? Thank you to Ireland for this great day.
During the past eleven months of my journey around the world, I have wanted to see as many places as possible. I love being inspired by meeting new people and by seeing how they live. I love to learn new cultures. I love to try new foods (most new foods). And I have quickly moved around from place to place.
This moving around can be both very expensive and very exhausting since I am constantly packing up and traveling to the next place. I decided to travel back to the United States for a couple months in July and August to be with my family and be in one, familiar location for a while.
But after a couple months, I find myself back out in the world traveling – it is certainly my passion. However I want to do it a bit differently this time around. I want to actually stay long enough in each location to “live”. To be able to create somewhat of a routine.
I started out this part of my trip on September 11 to Iceland. My time in the land of waterfalls was certainly not relaxing. It was seven days of driving around the entire island. Of course it was stunningly beautiful and worth seeing, but it went against what I was hoping to get out of my next trip. Then I flew to Portugal for a week to attend the Digital Nomad X conference which was a ton of fun. More fun that I ever imagined. I really didn’t want to leave Portugal, but I was unable to get into any kind of routine because I was busy just meeting people and bouncing around the city from get together to get together. I know, this sounds like such a bad time, right?
So I was looking to relax at my next destination: Ireland. I had never been to Ireland so I wanted to see what it was like. I landed in Dublin and it was much colder than it was in Lisbon. Brrrr! I only stayed in Dublin for a day and a half before deciding to rent a car and head out west. My goal was to find quiet! And quiet is exactly what I found. Here’s what I experienced during my peace and quiet in the land of the leprechauns…
NO PUB BUT BEST BURGER IN DUBLIN
I only stayed a day and a half in Dublin. Yes, I am sure I would have loved it if I stayed longer, but I wanted to get out into the countryside where it was quiet. I stayed at the Jacobs Inn. For the price and location it was a great find. But I was getting pretty exhausted sharing a room with a bunch of strangers. I did manage to head to the touristy restaurant area and found this awesome burger place, Bunsen! OMG. I am sure this is really touristy but it was one of the best burgers that I have had in a very long time. Double cheeseburger. The fries weren’t all that great, but the burger…. Salivating.
Key Takeaway: Staying in Dublin for a couple days is adequate, but get out and see the countryside!
ONE OF THE COOLEST TAXI DRIVERS IN THE WORLD
I decided to get a rental car to head west (thanks to my followers on Facebook for the crowdsourcing advice – @ThereIsCory). I ordered an Uber from my hostel to the car rental place (Uber rates are exactly the same as hailing a regular taxi so Uber hasn’t become cheaper yet). But my taxi driver was one of the coolest guys I have ever met. He was a corporate guy for a long time. He lead large teams. But he wasn’t fulfilled in life. So in his 50s, he left his job one day and pursued his passion: driving a taxi. I love this story.
I love meeting people around the world who have become brave to go out into the unknown and follow their dreams not knowing the outcome will be – but knowing that they will be happier as a result. He told me when I got out of the car that over the past five minute cab ride, that I inspired him greatly. His energy was infectious. He said he wanted to drive me all the way to Galway (two hours away) just to hear my stories.
If you are ever in Dublin, please get in touch with him. @Rods DublinTaxi on Facebook! Tell him Cory referred you! This guy is a legend. He is one of those people that you will remember for the rest of your life even after only meeting him for five minutes!
Key Takeaway: Always be open to meeting inspiring people in the least likely places!
MONEY PIT: CAR RENTAL INSURANCE IN IRELAND AND ONE WAY RENTAL FEES
I typically decline all car rental insurance when renting a car because my American Express credit card covers any damages in most foreign countries. But I learned in Ireland that my credit card company does not cover any damages. But at least that is what the car rental guy told me. And I learned that if you have any type of coverage (say from a rental car aggregator site like Rentalcars.com) that your credit card won’t insure any damage. I would certainly verify that your credit card will cover any damages before you arrive. I decided to opt out of all additional coverages and risked it.
Also, pay attention to one-way rental fees (not returning the car to the place you picked up the car). Usually there is a one-way fee in the United States so when I saw the €7.40 fee when I contracted the car online with the aggregator, I didn’t think it was a big charge. In fact I made flight bookings out of another airport since it was cheaper combined with the one-way rental fee. But when I arrived to pick-up my car, the agent charged me €74.00. Usually I am paying close attention to the fees when renting a car and I really think the website showed €7.40 when I was booking my car. But the decimal moved on the confirmation email which I thought was not fair. There was not much that I could do at the car rental agency since I had booked with a third party.
Key Takeaway: Book with an actual car rental company instead of with an aggregator site and double check with your credit card provider if they will cover any car rental damages in the country you are traveling in.
DRIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION MESSES WITH THE MIND
When you are used to driving on the right side of the road, driving on the left can certainly mess with your mind. But then add in operating a manual transmission on the opposite side that you are used to driving and that really messes with your mind! Luckily my first car when I learned how to drive was a manual transmission so that knowledge came in handy.
I’ve driven on the left side before. But if it is your first time, just always remember to took both ways when turning. Your muscle memory makes it easy to look left when making a right hand turn but the danger is that oncoming traffic is coming from the right. So just look both ways multiple times.
And then it took me about 10-15 minutes to get used to the manual transmission. It’s like riding a bike: it came back to me but I was using my left hand instead of right hand to shift. A couple times I stalled out in an intersection and people honked their horn at me but I didn’t care. Just be patient and take your time. Although the poor transmission got grinded up a bit from my driving!
Key Takeaway: When driving on the opposite side that you are used to, always look both ways when turning. And with a manual transmission, you need to push the gear shifter down for reverse. It took me about five minutes in a parking lot to figure that out. Thank goodness no one was watching.
STRAIGHT, WIDE ROADS DON’T EXIST IN IRELAND
Driving in Ireland certainly is not boring. There is no such thing as a straight road. It is curve after curve. And the local roads are extremely narrow. It is tempting to look at the beautiful countryside pass by as you are driving but you must always pay attention! You can’t pass cars coming at you on most country roads without slowing down and pulling over into the grass on the side. And sometimes there is a large fence or shrubbery along the road so one of the cars must back up to find a place to move to the side so the cars can pass each other.
Key Takeaway: Drive with extreme caution on the local roads and pay attention at all times!
AIRBNB HOST WHO DIDN’T WANT TO SHARE COMMON SPACES
When AirBNB owners share a private room in their home, they list the kitchen and some other common spaces as available to use. I found a remote AirBNB north of Galway that was a large property with a private room and shared bathroom. The listing also listed that breakfast was included. To eat healthier and to save some money, I decided to pick up groceries for my five day stay. When I arrived, the host was confused that I had a bagful if groceries to prepare all of my meals. You could tell he was very reluctant about opening up his kitchen for my use. He specifically asked for privacy in the evening but I managed to use my charm to negotiate a time that I could use the kitchen to prepare my meals that wouldn’t interfere with his girlfriend coming over.
Key Takeaway: Sharing space with AirBNB hosts can be tricky but be patient and find unique ways of navigating the environment. You don’t want to upset the host early on during a longer length stay.
HAVE YOU HEARD OF IRELAND’S NATIONAL SPORTS?
Have you ever heard of Gaelic football or hurling? I hadn’t until my AirBNB owner explained them to me. And in fact there was a hurling club across the street from my AirBNB. So here’s a brief description of each:
Gaelic Football is a mix of soccer, rugby and basketball. It is played with a soccer ball but you can pick the ball up with your hands. Every 4th step you must do something with the ball. You can score like a soccer goal or by kicking it between goal posts like in rugby.
Hurling is similar to Gaelic football but the players use a wooden stick to hit a ball that is similar to a baseball. Scoring is similar to Gaelic football but you must use the stick to hit the ball instead of kicking it. It is said to be one of the fastest team sports in the world since the ball moves so quickly.
Key Takeaway: Its good to know what Gaelic football and hurling are, but unless you are Irish, you most likely won’t experience this in your life!
GO WEST
I polled my friends on Facebook along with some Irish friends to see where I should venture off to in the Irish countryside. West Ireland kept coming up. Here is a list of hot spots:
Cliffs of Moher (stunning cliffs worth the entrance fee)
Aran Islands (Inisheer if you only have time for one)
Kylemore Abbey (one of the more beautiful Abbeys in the area)
Ring of Kerry (many sites along the ring)
Key Takeaway: If you are looking for one region to explore in Ireland, go West!
ADORABLE IRISH TOWNS
As you drive through the Irish countryside, you will pass through many small Irish towns filled with pubs, small shops, historic churches and castles. I’m only listing a few places that I drove through that would be worth exploring if you had the time:
- Cong – very wealthy town with a castle turned into a luxury hotel (Ashford Castle)
- Clifden – starting point for Sky Drive But has some cute coffee shops and bakeries
- Lahinch – coastal town with shops and restaurants
- Ennis – very cool downtown area with a river running through it
Key Takeaway: Stay in and explore a couple Irish towns during your visit!
DON’T GET ARRESTED FOR FLYING YOUR DRONE
Over the past few years, countries are establishing new laws and guidelines around flying drones. And each country is different on how they regulate the usage of unmanned flying objects. Most regulations include prohibiting flying within certain distances of airports, cities, and groups of people. In Ireland, you also must register your drone online before flying.
Read my article on almost hitting people when my drone crashed
I had registered my drone and had a great time flying it around many castles and abbeys. The Irish regulation prohibits flying over national monuments or other special properties. While driving, I found this very cool castle (Aughnanure Castle) and reviewed the signage to look for any messages about flying drones. I didn’t see any signage (usually a sign is posted) and no tourists were actually at the facility so I decided to launch my drone.
I got some great shots and about five minutes into the flight, a woman who was working at the facility came running out yelling to me to tell me that I couldn’t fly the drone. She was a mess and she told me to take my drone down immediately. I told her I had registered my drone, I had reviewed the rules and I was not breaking any of them. She said I was breaking many rules and demanded I bring the drone down. I told her I would bring the drone down but she was furious.
After I landed the drone, she brought me a piece of paper that showed all of the rules. It was something I had reviewed online when I registered. I reviewed it again and looked at her like she was crazy. I packed up my drone and left. So bizarre.
Key Takeaway: Research the drone laws before traveling to a specific country or landmark. More and more people are becoming annoyed at drones so they are more willing to say something to you. Just be very observant when flying and make sure you don’t fly over people.
I hope these tips and fun facts helped give you a better idea of what to expect when visiting Ireland. Of course this was just my experience and there is so much to do in this beautiful country.
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