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Ireland Itinerary

St. Patrick's Day

By Tanya ArseneaultPublished 4 years ago 7 min read
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In this post, I will go over what would be MY ideal itinerary during a trip to Ireland. I obviously included some St Paddy’s day celebrations in there since I think that would be a pretty cool experience, but other than that portion, you could really follow this itinerary any time of year. This country has been on my bucket list for a few years now, so I was excited to dive in and research what I really want to see. From epic scenery, to food, to castles (including haunted ones), I can’t wait to be able to see these places in person!

Saint Patrick`s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17th, which is the traditional death date of Saint Patrick. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, however, there has been criticism of the celebrations becoming too commercialized and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people. Nonetheless, I think it’s a great excuse to take in all the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations on the Emerald Isle itself!

Arrival – Dublin

Obviously, I want to be in Dublin for all the celebrations come March 17th, but I would want to arrive a few days early to get a chance to explore the city before the big parade and others festivities. As you will see, the first few days in Ireland are pretty busy with things I want to do and see, but as I move along my journey, I leave a lot of leisure time to simply relax.

Where To Stay

For my time in Dublin, and after looking at countless hotels, the one that caught my eye the most was the Fitzwilliam Hotel. Not only do the pictures of the rooms, bar, food, etc. look incredible, the main thing that attracted me to the hotel was their customer service. Apparently, when you book one of their rooms. you tell them what you really like and look for in a room and they will give you a room that ‘feels like it was made for you’! I love when hotels or resorts go out of their way to make you feel important and special to them. That is what I call great customer service and it will win me over every. single. time.

Photo courtsey of the Fitzwilliam Hotel

Things To Do

Ideally, I would spend 3-4 days in Dublin before moving on to other parts of the country. Here are a few ‘must dos’ while I’m in Dublin:

Guinness Storehouse

Okay, so I’m not a beer drinker, but you can’t go to Ireland and NOT visit this place! The self-guided tour allows you to explore seven stories of the visitor experience or you can book special tours. They even have special events for St Patrick’s Day! I can’t think of a better way to kick off the celebrations than visiting the Guinness Storehouse

Trinity College Library

I may not be a beer drinker, but I’m definitely a book worm, so seeing this place is on the top of my list (yes, I know I put it second in my list of activities, but that’s not the point). The Long Room is considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful libraries and houses some old flippin’ books! I can just imagine walking down that library. For some reason, I keep picturing the Beast’s library from the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast! The smell of old books and the magic that is associated with the history of the place makes me so happy. Anyway, crossing my fingers I get to experience this place sooner rather than later.

Long Room at Trinity College Library

Leprechaun Museum

I mean, how can you not?! The National Leprechaun Museum offers a day tour (which is family friendly), as well as a night tour for those who are 18 and over, because we all know how naughty these leprechauns can be!

Dublinia

I came across Dublinia as I was doing research on my itinerary and I thought it looked pretty cool! They have interactive exhibitions that lets you engage and learn. You can visit Viking and Medieval Dublin, see Archaeology as a History Hunter and climb the medieval St Michael’s tower. I would definitely try to fit this in my days in Dublin.

Photo courtesy of Dublinia

St Patrick’s Day Parade

Based on the parade description, it seems to me that this could be Ireland’s equivalent to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Parade (sans beads). I assume the pub crawl starts directly afterwards?

Oldest Bar In The World

After a great St Paddy’s Day celebration, my next stop would be Wineport Lodge in Athlone. I chose this place because the view looks incredible!

Photo courtesy of Wineport Lodge

Add that on top of an incredible spa and a hot tub and I’m sold.

To be honest, the thing that attracted me to this part of the country was so I could go have a drink in Ireland’s oldest bar! With a documented history dates back to 900 AD, this pub has earned the title of Ireland’s oldest bar (and maybe even the oldest bar in the world!)

Fairytale Castles….Or Is It?

After a night or two in Athlone, it’s castle time! There are many castles throughout Europe, but these two seemed to be on the way to my next destination and they caught my eye, so they would definitely be on my list.

Leap Castle

Hey honey, let’s buy Ireland most haunted castle and live in it shall we? Yes, some people actually live there, ghosts and all! The current owner of Leap Castle offers tours of his home, and honestly, just looking at pictures gave me the creeps so why not stop in to get a good scare while we’re at it?

Leap Castle

Charleville Castle

While I’m certain it’s impossible to escape ghost stories when talking about old castles, let’s hope these ones are friendly ghosts! The Charleville castle was saved from ruin by volunteers from the Charleville Castle Community. This place is run by volunteers and they rotate duties year round, 24/7.

Charleville Castle

After these castle visits, let’s set off to Limerick!

Adare Manor say what?!

I don’t even remember how I orginally found out about this place, but I will 100% fan girl when I walk into this place one day! Yes, it’s possible to fan girl over a location. This one was a no brainer for me. I’ve been following Adare Manor on Instagram for a while now and I’m just obsessed. The grandeur and architecture of this place just blow my mind, not to mention the rooms! The windows! If you look at nothing else on this post, at least go take a look at the pictures from this place. I could probably write pages about it so I’ll stop now, but I will die a happy woman if I ever get the chance to stay at this location.

Adare Manor

I plan on taking a few days and just soaking in the luxury that is Adare Manor, however, there are two things to do before the end of my trip: Cliffs of Moher and Doolin Cave.

Cliffs of Moher

If you go to Ireland and don’t go see the Cliffs of Moher (and ‘gram it), did you even go to Ireland? Known as Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction, the scale and beauty of these cliffs never cease to amaze!

Doolin Cave

Last thing I’d like to check out while in Ireland would be Doolin Cave. This cave houses the longest free-hanging stalactite in Europe at a whopping 23 feet! There’s also a nature trail and a gift shop/café on site.

Time To Go Home

I’m sad it’s time to go home and I haven’t even been there yet! This wraps up what I picture my itinerary to look like whenever I’m able to make it to Ireland. Since I like to have some leeway when I travel, this itinerary is not strict or rigid. I prefer my days to be open to what I could do during the day, but also have flexibility to do impromptu activities if the opportunity arises.

My trip to Nice, France was perfect for this reason. Some days were open for us to do what we wanted, but we did have a few planned tours which gave us the best of both worlds!

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About the Creator

Tanya Arseneault

Discovering what the world has to offer through travel and culinary experiences

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