Options For Touring Ireland

You've been dreaming of visiting for Ireland for years, and now the time has finally come. But how best to see this wonderful country?

One option, favored by a lot of people, particularly on their first trip, is to sign up for a package tour. The advantages are that you'll have people familiar with the country to guide you, to you show where the points of interest are, and to provide you with relevant and colorful history. And these packages aren't limited to you getting on and off a bus. There are many options available to for seeing this spectacular country in just the way you’ve imagined.

Some of the most popular tours are golf tours. Ireland has hundreds of exquisite golf courses. Touring just the major ones can account for several memorable Irish vacations. You can find escorted bus tours, drive yourself tours, or tours designed just for the courses you want to play. One advantage of booking a tour is that they’ll arrange all your tee times for you and are privy to the best accommodations close to the courses. If you don’t mind doing a little research and have the time, however, you can do most of this from your own computer.

Are you an avid outdoors person, but not a golfer? There are walking tours, bicycling tours, and rafting tours. There are tours that will keep you busy for your entire stay in Dublin, or tours that cover a great deal of the countryside. Just want to see castles? That can be done.

The important thing is to decide beforehand what kind of traveler you are. I have friends who have seen a great deal of the world from a bus and are more comfortable with the structure of that kind of tour. Others chafe at the thought of not being able to spend an extra day if they find a particular place more interesting.

My favorite way of seeing Ireland was to buy a bed-and-breakfast package, combined with a rental car. We landed at Dublin Airport, picked up our car, and set off to see the countryside. The first night's stay was booked before we arrived in Ireland, but from then on the only requirement was that we book the next night's stay a day ahead. This allowed us to wander at our will, and there were a couple of times that we ended up staying longer at a place than we'd originally planned. We visited places recommended by local folks, places we might not have seen otherwise. There were a couple of times that it took two or three telephone calls to find a room available, but there were plenty of choices, and we always found a place to stay. The most difficult is to find accommodations in or around Dublin, so planning ahead for those nights is recommended.

You'll want to check all your options, and an easy way to do that is on the internet. There are deals available only on the web for airfares, car rentals, and even hotel or bed-and-breakfast packages. The internet is particularly helpful for lodging; you can often see pictures of the rooms and get a sense of where the establishment is in relation to the rest of the area. This isn't to say you shouldn't use a travel professional; they can also finds deals you might otherwise not know of or find by yourself. If they’ve been to Ireland, they may be able to suggest places or experiences you haven’t considered.

With just a little bit of planning and thinking about what you want from your Ireland experience, you can have that vacation you've always dreamed of.