I just got back from a twelve day trip to Ireland. My goals for the Ireland trip were to practice Portuguese (surprisingly effective in Ireland), meet a Brazilian friend that I met through studying Portuguese online and of course bask in the beauty of the Emerald Isle herself. Did I meet my objectives? Yep! Here is how it went.
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Ireland Trip Overview
I conceived of this Ireland trip back in January. I thought at first that I would travel to Brazil this summer. I had been practicing Portuguese on and off since 2019 (mostly off tbh). My Brazilian friend mentioned that she would love if we could travel to Brazil at the same time, but the difficulty was that I could only travel during June or July (teacher life) and she would not be able to travel during those months. So I suggested that I would travel to Ireland and visit her instead!
I was nervous about traveling to Ireland because I knew that my costs would be much higher than traveling in South or Central America or Mexico like I usually do. But I felt a peace when I decided to book the trip so I knew everything would work out in the end. My travel philosophy is jump first and ask questions later.
I found a flight deal for early June and booked my flight. The flight wasn’t THAT cheap. In fact it wasn’t cheap at all, at $900. But I felt satisfied to have at least saved a little since researching flights over the past couple of months everything was around $1200. Being a teacher and being limited to travel during June or July, the high season, limits the types of flight deals that we can encounter. It isn’t impossible. I like to check Scott’s Cheap Flights for updates.
Getting to Ireland
Getting to Ireland turned out a little trickier than expected. My flight from DFW to London was delayed by three hours. Even once we boarded the plane there was a further delay as some mechanical issue had to be fixed.
The delay also caused me to miss my connection and I had to book a much later flight to Dublin. This was a learning experience for me as I had never missed a connection before! I talked to someone at the airline and they rebooked me.
THEN once I arrived in Dublin at almost midnight my bag was lost. I waited around at the bag carousel for a long time until most of the people had cleared out, not really knowing what to do and then filed a missing bag report (they have an electronic kiosk for that). This seems to be an issue in Dublin at the moment because I saw a TON of unattended luggage sitting around everywhere roped off.
Once out of the airport, sadly bagless (but still with my little backpack full of my camera and lenses) I had to figure out how to get to my hostel. The bus I had planned to take had already stopped running for the day. I hopped in a taxi instead and made it to the hostel.
Where I Stayed in Ireland
Although my Ireland trip was focused mainly in and around Dublin I ended up staying in different types of accommodations. The hotels of Dublin proved very expensive so at first I opted to stay in a hostel in the city center. After that I spent two nights in Belfast in a different hostel. The rest of my trip I spent with my friend at her house.
Splitting my trip this way helped me save a lot on accommodations!
Dublin Garden Lane Backpackers Hostel
My trip to Ireland was roughly divided into two parts. The first five days I stayed at Garden Lane Backpackers Hostel. My goal here was to save on accommodations as the hotel prices in Dublin were absolutely ridiculous. Even staying in the hostel in a shared room with 6 beds was quite pricey.
Pros
- Clean
- Comfortable bed
- Privacy curtain & light
- Great location
Cons
- A bit expensive
- Breakfast is minimal
- Has many long-term residents so feels less like a backpacker hostel
The great thing about Garden Lane was that it was quite a calm and quiet place. Many people there were actually long term residents attending an English learning program, so they were not having parties or making a lot of noise. I had some great conversations, especially since I am a language learner as well. I got to practice my Spanish and a little bit of Portuguese while meeting some interesting people. Reception was always kind and friendly.
The hostel also had free breakfast, but not like you’d expect. They had certain food items that were classified as “free food” that you could eat whenever. It consisted of coffee (powdered instant), tea, sugar, fruit, bread (for toast), jam, and cereal. They also had a large container which always had hot water ready to use.
The bed was very comfortable. The shower was hot although Ireland showers are a bit strange looking! You definitely have to bring your own towel.
Belfast Vagabonds Hostel
After being in Dublin for five days I stayed a night at my Brazilian friend’s house and then took a short two night trip to Belfast to see the Giant’s Causeway. The link takes you to the exact trip which I booked through Get Your Guide.
While in Belfast I stayed at Vagabonds Hostel. This hostel was, shall we say, interesting. I liked that I was able to book a bed in an all-female dorm. The hostel is located close to a university and is in an old renovated building.
The building itself is beautiful, the details of the ceiling were gorgeous. It has a spacious living room and kitchen area. The bed was pretty comfortable and I slept well. The bathroom situation was a little weird, but I suppose this is due to the hostel being in an old house.
There were bathrooms and showers located on the bottom floor (3 showers in the ground floor and one of those with hot water 24 hours a day), another bathroom and shower on the 4th floor. My room was on the fifth floor so I had to go down a flight of stairs (or more) to access the bathroom. The bathroom never seemed super clean, but wasn’t dirty either. About what you’d expect at a place with a bunch of young people staying there.
A lot of travelers were staying and so the conversation was interesting. There were a lot of young people but I also met people my age (30s). The place was quiet at night. There was also free breakfast. There was a hot water kettle and instant coffee available all day, but in the morning you could also have toast and jam.
Overall I would recommend staying there as long as you have the type of expectations that you’d expect for 20 pounds a night!
Pros
- Decent location
- Great price
- Friendly staff and guests
- Comfortable bed
Cons
- Not the cleanest
- Only two floors have bathrooms
- Frat house feel
Couch Surfing in Dublin
I spent a lot of days couch surfing at my friend’s place in Dublin. I found this to be the best option of all because it was free (I tried to be a good guest) and with the added bonus of being able to converse with my friend who I had never met in person before, and her significant other. It felt very good being on the outskirts of Dublin in Lucan, with the peace and tranquility that this entailed after being in and around the Dublin City Centre for several days.
I am very grateful to my friend for hosting me and being so hospitable! I’m also grateful to have been able to spend a lot of time touring with them, and I am grateful that they took me to some places that I would not have been able to visit since I hadn’t rented a car.
I also loved that she had a cat come visit for treats every day, and hedgehogs wandering across the patio at night.
Ireland Trip Highlights
Did I enjoy my time in Ireland? Although my heart resides in Latin America and I feel most at home there, I enjoyed Ireland quite a bit!
Difference Spotting
When traveling my main occupation is admiring the beauty of a place, and its beautiful and unique characteristics which make it different from another place. I take my camera everywhere and use it to focus my attention on finding beauty wherever I go.
I loved so many things about Ireland but some of the things that come to mind first are the luscious green landscape that peaks out everywhere, even in unexpected places.
The chimney pots are usually adorned with grasses and flowers, rooftops are sometimes covered with this swaying beautiful grass which is determined to grow out of every crevice. The green reaches to the very tips and edges of the cliffs at the edge of the ocean, even to some of the jagged rocks on the way down.
I loved seeing flowers blooming everywhere, especially the daisies which are much bigger than those we have in Texas.
I loved the pastures filled with sheep and cattle happily grazing and resting in the sun, easily that happiest livestock in this world.
I loved that Dublin was full of seagulls chattering away and begging food from passers by. The first birds I heard in Ireland, they are ubiquitous everywhere. My friend said, “beware of the seagulls, they are criminals!” which made me laugh.
Cliffs of Moher
My second full day in Ireland I booked a trip through Get Your Guide to the Cliffs of Moher. The Irish mostly pronounce the last word as “mow-her”.
I love saving money on my lodgings and then spending a little on guided tours. I love traveling by tour bus as it lets me see the countryside and relax, knowing all the details are already worked out. The Get Your Guide app on my phone was a nice addition!
The tour group met early in the morning to start the trip from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher and afterward to Galway. Our guide was interesting and interactive which made the trip even better. I was traveling alone so it makes all the difference when the guide is good!
The cliffs were absolutely stunning. I took many beautiful photos, determined to be delighted with everything I saw. There is a short wall protecting tourists from plummeting to their untimely death. The wind was intense, but it was a sunny and beautiful day.
Our tour group broke out in spontaneous group rendition of the Bohemian Rhapsody on the bus as we wound around the narrow stony roads on the coast of the west of Ireland. It was so beautiful and cohesive.
Exploring Castles
I was able to visit many castles while in Ireland. Some are set up like museums with beautiful grounds and information, and others are crumbling and completely abandoned ruins. Some of my favorites to visit were Blarney Castle and Cahir Castle. There are others closer to Dublin which I did not get a chance to visit, or did not enter (Malahide).
Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone
Blarney Castle is famous for being the home of the famous Blarney Stone. The story goes that if you lay on your back and lean back to kiss the Blarney Stone upside down you will be granted the gift of eloquent speech and the ability to insult without causing offense.
There was quite a long queue up to the stone but after about thirty minutes of waiting in line it was my turn. I leaned back to kiss the stone which felt surprisingly far down as the attendants made sure I was safe and gave the stone a big kiss.
Blarney Castle also has beautiful, and I mean GORGEOUS and magical grounds. I would have liked to have been there for many hours wandering around, meditating and thinking. I loved visiting the poison garden, a garden full of poisonous plants. I touched the plants and enjoyed their powerful energy.
There are also caves underneath the castle which I didn’t have time to visit, and many other gardens.
The link above is to the exact tour that I booked, and I recommend it.
Cahir Castle
I also visited Cahir Castle as part of the same tour in which I visited Blarney Castle. I chose this particular tour because it included a visit to an extra castle (Cahir) instead of Cork City Centre.
The tour guide of Cahir mentioned that they had been filming for Vikings there a few days previously and that there had been a lot of good-looking men around!
An interesting experience that I had there was that as I was exploring the castle the energy felt normal and clear. Until I headed up a tight spiral staircase to one particular room where the energy felt heavy and somewhat forbidding. I left that room quick, but it was interesting the way I could feel the difference in energy there.
Cahir also has a couple of cannon balls lodged in the walls from battles past!
Ireland Trip Challenges
Throughout my Ireland trip I found myself working on detachment and letting things flow more than anything else. Sometimes when you are traveling things just don’t go as planned. Sometimes I find it hard to let go and see where things end up. I am not much of a planner and I travel by intuition and pretty spontaneously already, but there is always the opportunity for me to see just how controlling I am being regarding how things should be happening during my travels. But control keeps me in my comfort zone and if I stay there I won’t grow as a person or a traveler. Sometimes you have to let go.
The Airport Lost My Pack
If you read my section about getting to Ireland you will see that merely GETTING to Ireland was no easy feat. There were many, many, delays. But the one that challenged me the most was that the airport lost my pack.
It was really concerning because I didn’t have any extra clothes whatsoever. And I was traveling in Crocs. Crocs, for Heaven’s sake!
In the space of time of not knowing whether my things would be delivered at all I had to adjust my plans and expectations. Instead of spending my first day in Ireland touring sites on my itinerary I was asking reception where to buy cheap clothes and then shopping at Penney’s. I ended up buying a pair of jeans, a skirt, a pack of underwear, a pack of socks, a pair of shoes, a hoodie and something to sleep in.
I felt truly grateful after having found these things for myself! It also had the added benefit of getting me out of the hostel and exploring Dublin City Centre.
And after arriving at the hostel with all of these items I took possibly the best shower of all time!
Public Transportation Fails
It isn’t surprising given that I live in rural Texas that I find public transportation absolutely daunting at times. It’s super intimidating to me because there are so many unknown variables, and I never feel that I quite know how to behave, the social expectations or even the basic mechanics of how things work.
Dublin Buses
My first challenge was taking a bus to my friend’s house outside of Dublin. She texted me that day, “quick tip–to ride the bus you need to have coins, probably 3-4 Euros in coins.” This was something I had never considered and something I was grateful to know.
I ruminated all day on how I would take this bus. How would I know which one to get on? How would I know where to get off?
Luckily I discovered that Dublin has a handy public transportation app into which you can type in your destination and the app gives you all of the available options along with their ETAs of each prospective bus.
Dublin Trains
I had a little trouble with Dublin trains as well, although I really enjoyed riding them!
I told my friend, “It’s really not hard for me. To take the wrong train.” Which is highly accurate.
My friend dropped me off at the station near her house for me to catch one particular train to Connolly Station in Dublin. I went on to immediately miss that train although I was at least 15 minutes early. I was standing in the wrong spot on the platform and I did not understand how quickly the trains zoom in and zoom out. I swooped into the next train quickly after that!
I also got into the wrong train on the way BACK to my friend’s house. When you purchase your ticket you can choose a particular station, but once you arrive at the platform it usually only says the name of the FINAL destination in the route. This makes it somewhat tricky to know which one you need to take if you are not accustomed to the routes. The best bet is to stick to the EXACT time listed on the timetable when you check the same transportation app.
Despite the hiccups I really enjoyed taking public transportation in Dublin. I found it to be highly efficient and effective. I took a fast train from Dublin to Belfast with no problems and saw some very nice countryside along the way.
Ireland Trip Update Conclusion
Overall I had a great trip! It was a great first time traveling in Europe and Ireland was beautiful. These were my takeaways from the trip but if you’d like to see my spiritual takeaways, read Spiritual Lessons from Ireland.
Have you been to Ireland? Leave your recommendations below!
