Touring Ireland - any recommendations

[dweezle]

DH and I have 10 days in Ireland - ferry to Stranraer, and we thought we'd have a look at the rope bridge and Giant's causeway, then Inishowen and follow the coast south from there. We don't want to miss stuff by trying to do too much, and going too far. Does anyone have any recommendations for:

Places to stay (on tight budget)
Places to eat (ditto budget)
Things to see - we're more outdoors types.

come see me in galway!

it's beautiful on this side of the country and i've never had an MN meetup

galway city, knocknacarra.

will be moving to the countryside soon though (i hope!)

The University of Ulster (Coleraine campus) may have student apartments to let (I would expect availability to be better in the summer as students would all be away).

Otherwise there are some caravan sites on the north coast which would be a good base for doing Giant's Causeway, rope bridge).

If you're outdoorsy, you should consider Rathlin Island (ferry from Ballycastle) - not sure what accommodation is available on the island now.

Portstewart and Portrush are two of the larger towns near Giant's Causeway and you'll have a better choice of places to eat in both those places than in smaller towns along the coast.

Enjoy yourselves, I used to live in Northern Ireland and miss it.

I have read that Cork is one of the best places in Europe for whale watching. There is a scuba diving place where we go in Galway.

Thanks all - we'll definately be in Galway - my MIL is originally from Gort, but now lives in Oz, so we've promised to send her some pics of the old home town. 'Tis funny - I never thought I'd hear anyone say we'd find things expensive anywhere after living in UK.......... when we came back from Australia I had to force myself to stop converting everything back to Aussie $ and being horrified at the price!

that's definitely, obviously

excallant, when you going to be over?

the whole west of ireland is beautiful tbh and very peaceful and relaxing for the most part so you should have a lovely time

tis very expensive though, shockingly so.

there is a thriving B&B set up over here - but sorry can't recomend anywhere. 10 days will be a lot I would think. Most places in the north will be over priced, not good value for money or closed!

If you're outdoor types, we found the Burren (Co. Clare, so you could go visit PT after ) was incredible- realy stunning! Years since we went, we stayed in a cottage but it was cheap as we went in October (pre- Dh thats how long it was ago!).

Anywhere along the coast - Donegal is beautiful. It is more expensive for food and accommodation in the south - we rent a house every summer for a week and it works out ok as I can bring lots of food.
Eyewitness guide is very good - worth getting.

Sligo and Mayo - after the joy's of Donegal of course!! - much cheaper than Glaway/clare/kerry/Cork etc - but fabulous too!

check out Enniscrone good accommodation etc - but please give "funktion" night club a wide berth!

dweezle check out the national trust for northern ireland , theres loads of places to visit with kid space! also W5 in belfast, fermanagh is also v nice as well as sligo!

Hermykne - where are you? I'm in Co Armagh (sorry - shameless hi-jack)

just come back from a wedding in sligo I was a little disappointed with sligo itself but thought the country side was very beautiful.

That damn rope bridge was nearly the death of me and my marriage when dh started jumping on it

multitasker
i'm in dundalk but regularly in newry /warrenpoint, dh has family there and lived there. so i'm a cross border girl!

Good to know there are a few fellow Oirish about - I get the feeling sometimes my turn of phrase is not understood!!

lol multitasker, i know what you mean.

i make comments sometimes that would make sense here and am met with the internet goblin equivelant of blank stares

mayo is lovely too, my parents live up there and it's beautiful with lots of great places to visit.

even if your not outdoorsy the burren and connemara are some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth and well worth a look (biased, moi?

Oh yes Connemara was beautiful we managed to find this lovely secluded beach there, which on a sunny day was so beautiful that people were convinced we were lying when we told them it was Ireland (though that might have been the sunshine.)
I was quite impressed with Galway when we went there too. lovely place. We did a driving holiday on the west coast last year when dd was 6months, but didn't make it up as far as donegal