With a good nights rest we woke up bright and early to start our first official Irish adventure. Our first stop was to the Giant’s Causeway where we saw rock formations that looked too perfectly placed to be real. If you get the chance, definitely look up the myth and legend of the Giant’s Causeway!

The Causeway has 5€ cash parking, and it is free to walk down to the rocks. There is a shuttle option for a fee but I definitely recommend walking the short 5-10min journey. 

Our next stop was to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. When we got there we got the authentic Irish weather experience as it began to rain. The bridge does close when it gets too rainy so we were crossing our fingers and hoping for the best! Once we got there we were pretty underwhelmed at how short, and safe the bridge was due to the recent construction of the bridge to make it safer for visitors to walk on. On the other side, there is a little fisherman’s hut and a tiny island you can explore in 5 minutes. This was a good thing to say we saw, but definitely not worth a drive out of your way to see! Tip: don’t pay and walk to the bridge but do not cross it!

The bridge has free parking and a small cafe to buy home baked goods and warm drinks. To cross the bridge itself it cost 6.50€.

Following the rope bridge, we proceeded to the Dark Hedges which we were both so excited to see! The parking is tricky to find because it’s in with the hotel but google maps will lead you in the right direction! You will walk through a “magical forest” to get to the hedges and don’t worry you WILL know when you’re there! I felt like we got the perfect gloomy weather to match the spooky hedges, making up for the tour bus of tourists that had arrived at the same time as us.
 The Hedges have free parking (as far as we know) and are just a short 3 minute walk away.

The Hedges were a great way to end our first day in Northern Ireland out exploring. When we got back to the hostel the party didn't stop there! We had a room full of great people who we went to a local bar with for dinner, live music, and of course beer. Little did we know that bar food isn’t really a thing in Ireland as it is in Canada so we had a healthy bag of chips and Big D salted peanuts. We all had a few drinks and listened to the high spirited Irish music and even learned how to Jig from a local, Doug. When they say there’s nothing like an Irish pub they mean it! 

Accommodation ⌂ Belfast City Backpackers Hostel $25.00 CAD each / night

Day 4 was a wake up when you wake up type of day. Eamon woke up with the sun as per usual and us girls woke up a little later in the morning. We ate breakfast and decided to have a girls day and Serena would take us to see some hidden gem sites. Ali was relieved to not be driving, and I was relieved to not be sitting on the left hand side but in the back seat! 
We started the day at Powerscourt Waterfall where we saw the waterfall from below and then continued on a short path to see the waterfall from above. This park wasn’t as exciting as expected but there was a crazy forest on the way out with wiggly trees that were leafless. These was definitely the highlight of the park for us!
 The park/ waterfall has an admission fee of 6€ per person which seemed a little too much for what was offered.

Not only were the attractions amazing but the drive was also so beautiful through the mountains. Our next stop was at a view point of Guiness Lake, which literally looks like a Guiness beer because of how black the water is topped with a white sand beach. We parked on the side of the road to see this one which was so cool besides the guy with the loud drone! 
Our third stop was my favourite of the day; Glendalough. This park starts off with a small medieval settlement from the 6th century as well as a graveyard. You can also walk around the lake here, which is an easy 6km of beauty! There’s cute cottages along the way tucked into the forest, a beach, beautiful walkways through arches of trees, and lots of ducks to be seen. This was the perfect walk to watch the sunset too!
 This park is free to enter, but has a 4€ entrance fee per car at the upper lake lot.

Accommodation ⌂ friends // $0.00 

Today we ventured off to explore the South and West of Ireland and boy oh boy we are excited! We heard nothing but good things about Ireland but people raved to us the most about how beautiful this part of Ireland was!

We started with the Blarney Castle + Gardens. The castle itself was just like any other castle, except for the Blarney Stone on the very top. There are lots of tales about the Stone and why it is where it is and where it came from which are interesting to read as you wait to kiss it. I personally still don’t fully know why it’s important to kiss the stone other than for goodluck but I did it anyways because why not kiss a bunch of strangers. The 60 acres of garden was the best part of the whole place, with hundreds of different flowers and trees and shrubs growing everywhere you look. This wasn’t Ali’s favourite attraction and felt like she would enjoy it closer to 80 which a good majority of the crowd’s thoughts as well but I thought it was great for photo ops!
 The Castle+Gardens costs 18€ at the door, but you can save 2€ when booking online. The Castle and Gardens are one ticket, meaning you have to buy both not one or the other.

Continuing our way down South, I searched up some must see places on google and it came up with Nohoval-Rennies. This place looked just stunning and I knew we had to go but I didn’t know the two way road to get there would really barely be a one way. After practically giving Ali a heart attack, we were able to see some beautiful old castle ruins and sit on the top of a hill with an amazing view of caves and natural rock formations in the blue water. 

Tonight our Airbnb was another highlight of the trip. This wasn’t any ordinary Airbnb, this place was a “Quirky land boat close to the beach with donkeys”. As soon as we saw that we were sold and it didn’t disappoint! The boat was so adorable, warm, and spacious and the animals were all so friendly and loved to be in front of the camera!

Accommodation ⌂ Airbnb $107.61 CAD

After a quick breakfast with the donkeys we were off to start our journey through the Ring of Kerry. Our first stop along the ring was Ballinskelligs; a short pathway to a small ruin of a castle with a cemetery along the way and all beside a beautiful white sand beach.
 Ballinskelligs is a very low traffic area in beautiful surroundings. It’s free to park and we noticed mainly locals there walking their dogs.

We continued on to our Airbnb which was just across the street from the Cliffs of Kerry in Portmagee where our host gave us a free entry pass to the Cliffs which were just stunning! There was very low traffic here and lots to see. It was a short, steep climb to each side of the cliffs with a railed path at each end, extending out as far as you could go. These cliffs are a great alternative to the Cliffs of Moher, being higher and much less traffic.
 The Cliffs of Kerry are 4€ per person, or free when you stay with Marie at her Airbnb!

Accommodation ⌂ Airbnb $74.50 CAD 

Day 7 was one of my favourite days in Ireland! The second half , or the more northern half was definitely my favourite. We started with the Gap of Dunloe where if you research in advance many people say that driving is not allowed which is not true at all! This rule is mainly applied for the peak months so crazy tourist drivers don’t cause crashes on the tiny winding road, or spook the horses as they’re pulling people along. Being the non-rule followers that we are, we proceeded in our car passing only 2 other vehicles along the way and a few hikers. Ali and I are both avid hikers and still would not want to walk this 11km pathway especially in the rain! Through the gap you’ll see beautifully lush rolling hills, rainbow sheep, and small bodies of water along the way.
 The Buggie rides cost between 20-40€ per person — Tip: if you are not a confident driver do not drive this Gap!

Following the Gap of Dunloe, we stopped at Ladies View. The day we went was misty and slightly foggy day making it hard to see lots of the view but what we could see was beautiful! Behind the lookout there is a Leprochaun Crossing sign that we saw on a post card a few days earlier thinking it was a funny joke, not realizing it was an actual sign!
 It is free to park at the Ladies View Lookout, and there is a small bakery with delicious home made treats and a place to use the washroom.

Almost finishing the Ring, we stopped at the Torc Waterfall. Walking to the waterfall was short and easy. There is big, green, swaying trees all around you and a calming river to your right. The waterfall itself is just like any waterfall but the pathway leading to it is definitely worth a stop.
 Note: Tour buses do stop here so the traffic was moderate because of this. Parking here is free!

After our big adventure we thought, why stop there! On our way up the coast, we decided to take a chance and hope that the weather would be better in the Dingle Peninsula to see the Dunquin Winding Road view, one that is very famous on social media. It was definitely worth the drive, and was very low trafficked which made it even better.
Parking here is free, but is very limited to a small parking lot and street parking. You will only need 10-15mins at this attraction!

Accommodation ⌂ Airbnb $90.55 CAD / night

If you have an extra night in Ireland I would definitely recommend visiting one or more of the Aran Islands! We spent one night with Serena and Eamon on the biggest island, Inishmore in our very own glamping pod, which felt more like our very own hostel! To access these remote islands you have to take a 45-60min boat ride from Doolin Pier. Once you get to the island there are no cars other than a few that the locals own for farming meaning your only transportation is your two legs or a bike. After dropping off our stuff our biking journey begun! When you rent the bikes they give you a map of the island and a route that you can take to see all the top attractions. We very loosely followed this map and were headed straight to the Worm Hole. This was very difficult to find but eventually we made it to a rock with arrows painted on it leading the way. Once we got there it was definitely under whelming but the walk there was super cool being right beside the water, walking through the naturally formed rock. We saw nobody else on our way to the worm hole, or even at the worm hole.
 It cost us roughly 20€ for a round trip to and from the island. To park at the pier, you can either pay with change or pay on an app on your phone — 1€ 0-2 hours, 5€ 2-30 hours, 15€ for up to 1 week.
 Bike rentals cost 15€ per person for 24 hours. 

Following the worm hole, we headed to the Dun Aonghasa Ruins which are left over forts and walls from a previous battle. These formations are so cool to see and sit right on a un-railed cliff. There was very little traffic at this attraction but can definitely get busy during peak season!
 The Aonghasa Ruins cost 5€ per person, or free with your glamping pod reservation. 

On our way back to our pod, we stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some snacks for the night and breakfast for the morning. We also stopped at Joe Watty’s Bar and Restaurant where we got a bite to eat and a hot toddie to warm us up from our long biking day. Back at our pod we played cards, had some drinks, and headed to bed early because we were all pooped from our crazy biking day!

Did you know “sh” is pronounced as a “s” in Ireland, and rain boots are called Wellies! Getting use to the lingo definitely took a couple days!

Accommodation ⌂ Glamping Pods $50.00 CAD each / night

On our way back to the Pier there were boat loads of people coming in for what we forgot was the long weekend! When we got back to the car our road trip continued to Galway. Galway is a lively town with tons of people and live music everywhere you walk! We didn’t spend too much time here because of the crowd from the long weekend but we stopped at Dough Boys for dinner where we got some delicious pizza that took pretty long to get but worth it! Parking is hard to find here but we found a great spot near the Eglinton Canal Sea Lock. I would definitely like to spend more time in Galway the next time in Ireland to see more than the main strip!
 Street parking is 2€ per hour.

Accommodation ⌂ Airbnb $63.83 CAD / night

For my full day in Dublin I woke up nice and early to catch the first bus around the city after getting a quick breakfast from a nearby McDonalds. I decided to do a full loop of the city and then get off at the main strip to get a souvenirs and take some photos. Before coming to the city I read that Dublin is also a great city to take free walking tours, which is true! I decided to take the folk lor tour where they take you around town and tell you crazy mythical stories about the city from before it became a city. This tour wasn’t really up my alley because of how bizarre the stories were but it was still fun to walk around and meet new people. 

Half way through the tour, I realized I had to get my bag from the bag hold at the hostel before heading to the bus to go back to Naas and almost left it in the city! I quickly walked back to the hostel and grabbed my bag and headed straight for the bus stop. In Ireland when travelling between cities, you take a coach bus. This bus has designated stops, one of which being the one I was waiting at. Another thing about these busses is that you have to wave them down as they drive by. As I saw the bus approaching I waved it down as the bus driver made eye contact with me and drove right by. WHAT! I called Serena and we had a good laugh before figuring out what the next move was. I quickly hopped on a city bus to the next station and caught the next bus thankfully! 

After my crazy bus experience I finally got back to Naas where we all caught up and had a yummy dinner, followed by an early bed time. 

Tip: I love to explore McDonalds anywhere I travel at least once to see what kind of whacky things they have on their menu compared to Canada!

Accommodation ⌂ friends // $0.00