Ireland!

THE_Chris · Post by **THE_Chris** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:32 pm

There arent a whole lot in Cork, Blarney is probably the one to do.

I will be bold and hype my own though.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... b1f8455455

Its not really to be missed IMO. Even if you're not religous, check it out for the scale of the thing.

love · Post by **love** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:59 am

THE_Chris, It's been added to my bookmark list, thanks!

jme1979 - that video is perfect, thanks! Seeing what I'll be getting myself into makes me think that as long as I have decent weather I can manage the hike. Semi-related question - what is the average sunrise/sunset time in early March? I don't ever like to be caught out on a trail after dark unless I'm with people or I know the area very well.

So I've gotten some good tips on caching and such...now to the important question. What pubs can not be missed?

As I've told my friends here, I will be more than happy if my dinner every night consists of Irish Stew and a pint of Guinness.

Spark_ie · Post by **Spark_ie** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:05 am

Hey Love

Great to hear you're coming to Ireland, I can remember you were fantasising about coming here when I met you not so long ago !

Unfortunately I won't be there to show you around or anything, but theres some fantastic caches and landscapes out there to find! I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Kili or bust · Post by **Kili or bust** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:33 am

Oh Lord, what pubs!!!!! Well there are two caching pub crawls in the north and south centre city of Dublin that are well wroth a visit. That way you would see many of the "important" Dublin ones anyway.

Others may tell you about rural areas but "Dirty Nellies" near Bunratty in Co Clare is good too. The Laurel pub in Killarney. Stikes me that to see all the good ones you might have to come and live here. A short time wouldn't do it at all, at all!

jme1979 · Post by **jme1979** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:12 am

The Crown in Belfast is a must-see if you are there (http://www.crownbar.com/), it really is something special

daraconn · Post by **daraconn** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:16 am

love wrote:Semi-related question - what is the average sunrise/sunset time in early March? I don't ever like to be caught out on a trail after dark unless I'm with people or I know the area very well.

Daylight hours in early March are from around 7:00 to 6:30.

love · Post by **love** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:25 pm

Good information, thanks everyone! Keep it coming! I think I'm getting close enough where I can start counting down the days and not seem too obnoxious about it.

So I was reminded of a not-so-nice reality this past weekend as I had my car broken into and my wallet stolen from the trunk (or should I say boot?).

How should I be about security when I'm traveling around the country? Mainly when I'm off hiking - should I try not to keep anything in my car (not even in the trunk)? I remember when I last traveled to Hawaii, I didn't bother to go on a nice hike to a geocache because almost every single log talked about having their car broken into.

johnrm · Post by **johnrm** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:45 pm

If you're getting a Hertz car those little yellow '1' stickers on the rear windscreen are a bit of a giveaway, I'd take it off.
Other than that, as with any other country, bring your cash etc. with you and keep your stuff in the boot (trunk)

klossner · Post by **klossner** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 12:20 am

My daughters and I had the pleasure of visiting southern Ireland last July. A few notes:

It takes a lot longer to get somewhere by road in Ireland than it does in Washington. Except for the motorways, the roads are narrow and offer few opportunities to pass. We spent a lot of time following farm equipment or slow-moving trucks at leisurely speeds. Double your drive-time estimates.

We would have been hopelessly lost without maps in my GPSr (Garmin's City Select Europe.) For hiking, get the free contour maps.

County Wicklow is indeed the Garden of Ireland -- and it looks just like the Pacific Northwest!

We found the Burren to be utterly enchanting. GC167W0 is there.

love · Post by **love** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:31 pm

johnrm wrote:If you're getting a Hertz car those little yellow '1' stickers on the rear windscreen are a bit of a giveaway, I'd take it off.
Other than that, as with any other country, bring your cash etc. with you and keep your stuff in the boot (trunk)

Maybe I should bring a magnet travel bug just in case?

Klossner - I have heard that about the roads there, good tips for driving. Thanks! I'm wondering if it's similar to New Zealand - I remember driving on narrow winding roads there quite a bit - although I also remember 100km speed limits on those same roads, even when they were dirt!

Almost ready for the big trip! I'm excited to meet anyone who will be making it to the event in Dublin.

One last thing I'm wondering - should I plan to have cash on me or will most places accept credit cards? I'm mostly wondering about pubs and hostels, etc.

Donmoore · Post by **Donmoore** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:50 pm

Another pub worth a visit is right on the east coast near my old home and some caches in and around the area

MEant to be the oldest pub in Ireland

http://www.graceneills.com/

Most places will take credit cards but it's always best to have a little cash on you in more rural areas. sometimes even something to barter with. (bring some shiny coins from the New Knighted States)

Kili or bust · Post by **Kili or bust** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:06 pm

Most places take Visa, Mastercard and American Express. After those it may be a bit hit and miss with other cards.

dino · Post by **dino** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:29 am

Good luck using Aerican Express outside of bigger towns. Not many places (except restaurants) accept it as the charges for the business are much higher. Mastercard and Visa are widely accepted but cash is king.

Also bear in mind that you will need Ã¢â€šÂ¬uro in RoI and Ã‚Â£sterling in Northern Ireland

love · Post by **love** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:35 pm

Just a day and half before I board the airplane! I can't wait.

Thank you again for all your help so far. It's made my trip planning so much easier! Hopefully I'll get to meet a lot of you at the Six Nations event.

Since I've been hearing that the drive time is a lot slower than people imagine - can anyone tell me a rough estimate of the drive from Galway to the Giant's Causeway area? I'm trying to decide if I'll be able to fit Northern Ireland into the trip. I really, really want to get up there, but I just don't know if it's going to be trying to do much.

I should run my pocket queries now.

Kili or bust · Post by **Kili or bust** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:54 pm

I guess you would be doing well to get there in 3 hours. If you were our Steve on a 4x4 caching expedition you would probably do it in less time but I reckon a stranger to the roads in a hired car would probably take a bit longer. I suppose it depends on the time of day too. Early hours of the morning would not be too bad but after that it could be slow going.

Safe trip, and hope you have a ball!

beefy4605 · Post by **beefy4605** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:35 am

In a truck limited to a top speed of 56 mph it takes almost 6 hours to travel from the Giants Causeway to Galway .From Sligo to Bushmills it is all good roads (by Irish standards).In a car on strange roads etc you should probably allow around 5 and a half hours to make the journey plus time for stopping to eat etc . It's a trip of around 215 miles.

dino · Post by **dino** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:23 am

I agree with Beefy at 5-6 hours. Galway to Donegal via Sligo is 3.5-4 depending on time of day/week and Causeway is at least another 2.

Try not to be travelling that road between 5 and 7pm on any evening but especially Friday. Friday evenings are worse as people travel home for the weekend from work/college.

Also allow loads of time around Claregalway. There are currently roadworks there and it took me 1 hour just to get from Galway City Centre to the far side of Claregalway on Tuesday evening. This would take max 15mins of the roads were clear.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday

Spark_ie · Post by **Spark_ie** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:00 am

Safe Flight !!

love · Post by **love** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:36 pm

Yay, I'm loving it here so far! Took me a bit to get comfortable with the car - I only drove a stick shift in New Zealand a couple times - it's very different to shift on the left.

I've found a couple caches so far...which reminds me, I need to log those.

Love · Post by **Love** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:55 pm

I loved my first trip to Ireland so much that I'm coming back again this March! I'll be bringing my mother along with me this time as she was quite jealous of my trip last time.

We've planned a few extra days than I had for my last trip so we'll be including Northern Ireland this time. If anyone has any must-see locations or good caching suggestions, please do tell!

I'm thinking a Return to Six+ Nations event (http://coord.info/GC1MTT2) will be in order for this trip. Be watching for an event listing. I'm looking at having the event on March 12th in Dublin.

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