Hey there,

True, not a TON of things to see – the countryside has a lot to offer. It all depends if you’re flying to Spain, Amsterdam or Italy from Ireland, since Ryanair and Aer Lingus leave from Shannon and Dublin to different destinations.

It’s worth spending a day in Dublin – Trinity College, Guinness Storehouse, St. Stephen’s Green, Iveagh Gardens, Jameson Distillery. The next day, take the morning bus to Glendalough, walk around, then head back for a couple of pints and a bite to eat in Temple Bar (get a ham hock at Gallagher’s Boxty House, for example).

If flying out of Shannon, take the GoBus or Irish Rail to Galway and check this town out for a day. It would be worth spending an extra day to tour Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher!

For more airline options , Shannon is a good alternative, even though Cork has an airport too.

Have fun!

Skip Naples, add a day to Venice.

Backpacker, once again, thank you so much for the help! We are planning on flying from either Dublin or Cork to Malaga, Spain using Ryanair, but I will have to look at Shannon now. I don’t suppose you have any secret intell on the best way to get from England to Ireland. I’ve looked up some relatively cheap flights (about $30 average) but saving more time/money is always a plus!

I’ve heard so many mixed things about these two!

Naples: We’re going for Pompeii so we were going to make it a day trip (albeit a long one) from Rome. I have heard, however, that it is a bit shady. . .

Venice: I’ve heard that it’s a must, but I’ve also heard that a day is a good amount of time to spend there. I don’t really know what there is to do there aside from the gondolas and the general atmosphere. Have any insights?

Thanks so much for the help! ! !

Ok, yea it does make sense to do Pompeii as a day trip from Rome. It’ll be a long day but really worth it

I love Venice, and it’s a place to really be savored, not rushed through in a day. Sure, you could “see” everything but you won’t actually experience it. Also, you’ll want to be there when all the day-trippers have left for the day; it’s wonderful at night.
Some of my favorite things I did in Venice: La Basilica de San Marco; Peggy Guggenheim Museum (very cool, and I am not a museum girl), gondola ride, trip to the island of Murano to see glass-making and browse the shops. Walking around is fascinating and could easily occupy most of a day. Doge’s Palace is something I skipped, and wish I didn’t.

I’m guessing your time is tight for the trip so of course, you could do Venice in a day. I just feel you’ll appreciate it more if you take your time.

It’s more expensive than other parts of Italy (and Europe in general, of course) but I didn’t find it ridiculous. We found good, cheap restaurant food. Walk everywhere, and save on the (very expensive) ferry buses.

No problem!

Are your flights set already.. or still planning? Flying into Shannon (on Aer Lingus, Continental or Delta) and then heading to London can be easier than the reverse, especially getting a flight to the Costa del Sol region (as that area is known to be mostly full of Irish and English anyway ).

If you’re looking for transport between London and Dublin/Shannon/Cork, there are several options – but during the week is when you can find the better offers (sometimes ‘just pay taxes’ specials).

Other than the Glastonbury festival, heading that way might not be worth a day’s excursion. But this is your trip, so that’s all up to you!

I am super stoked to see Pompeii. I recently read an article that they’ve finally gotten back some artifacts that have been on the road for a while, so it’s the first time in a long time that the museum will be relatively ‘complete’.

I totally understand what you’re saying about Venice, and I’m glad to know more about what’s there. I suppose we’ll have to play it by ear and see if we should stay longer— from your description I am going to guess that we will.

I’m fine with the money as long as it’s worth it! I had quite a bad experience with Geneva where I couldn’t find a meal for under $30! I’ve heard Switzerland is like that though. . .

Also, since Italy seems to be your forte, how do you find the language barrier there? I was in Florence this past summer and found it hard to converse, but luckily I was staying with a friend who spoke Italian. Of course I don’t expect people to speak English; I just want to be prepared.

Unfortunately, yes, they are. We are flying into and out of London, so I suppose we’re going to have to fly from Ireland (somewhere!) to Malaga. I’ve found some pretty alright flights for around $100-140 (I think they’re alright anyways). I’m hoping to meet with my friend sometime this week to buy that ticket. Do you find that getting from Dublin/Cork/Shannon proper to the respective airports is easy? Are there metro systems? I’ve found information about the Luas system in Dublin, but it all seems to be a bit shady and questionably completed. . .

About Glastonbury… ughh, I know. My friend really wants to go there whereas I am not so stoked about it. I’ve tried to drop subtle hints, but it’s give and take and it seems like I’m giving on this one I guess it’ll be nice to see more of England than just London though.

Hi She, add a day to Toronto. This city is worthwhile to visit

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NO SPAM ALLOWED!!

Pompeii as a day trip is doable, I’ve done it. It is a long day but not too bad.
Bring your own water.
Bring an Italian phrasebook. It also helps with the Latin on Roman ruins.

Hey She,

First, about Glasto, if you can get a cheaper airfare to Dublin from Bristol instead of London, then it might make sense. I would think that heading to Birmingham, Glasgow or Edinburgh for the day could be more fun – but still, a day.. don’t try to cram so much into the plans. You might just decide to skip Ireland for now!

However, here’s the story about the airports. Yes and no.

For Dublin: Metro, not for decades. Luas is for commuters and it’s already broken enough as it is. The DART rail system is fine to take a day trip to Dun Laoghaire, Bray or Malahide Castle, but no way to the airport. Dublin Bus and Aircoach are two of the only ways. The bus is around 2-3 Euro, but takes an hour through the villages. Aircoach can take around 20-30 minutes to downtown for a little under 10 euro – and one leaves every 10-20 minutes.

Shannon: Take the bus from Galway, similar to Aircoach in Dublin.

For Cork, no clue. But it’s gotta be the same!

Well, I can speak Italian and when I was there last year I was nearly fluent (definitely gotten rusty which is not good!) so I didn’t have the language barrier problem. It seemed like a lot of people (hotels, restaurants, etc) could speak English, however. Definitely bring a book with simple phrases and you should be fine.

Thanks for the confirmation on Pompeii!

I’ve read conflicting opinions about tap water in Italy as well as much of Europe— some say it’s totally fine while others are absolutely against it. I personally have no reservations about drinking tap water, so I’m planning on bringing a nalgene and just filling it up as we go as bottled water gets expensive. Do you think this is alright to do?

Ohhhkay, that’s good to know about the airport(s)! I was really hoping that we would not have to arrange for a cab as they kinda sketch me out.

I agree about Edinburgh— I’ve been there once before and absolutely loved it. It was the highlight of the trip, but unfortunately, it didn’t make it in the plans as Glastonbury was chosen over it. OH WELL. Since we have to buy plane tickets to get around this whole area of the trip, I think it’s pretty much set as is. I am going to talk to my friend about possibly taking a day off of Dublin in exchange for somewhere else. Might even add a day trip from London for Stonehenge as I couldn’t make it during my last trip.

Thanks again for the help!

I drank from the tap water every day in my host mother’s apartment in Rome every day and never had a problem. Also drank tap water in my trips around the country. Restaurants will make you buy water from bottles, though, and that can be expensive- better to bring your own. Bottled water in supermarkets are pretty cheap, however.

Yeah bring water to pompeii cuz it gets really hot there (it’s all rock and ruins, very little shade).

I bet the ony reason you’re going to Malaga is cuz you got a really cheap airfare (lol). Malage is overrun with English tourists (so is the entire Costa Del Sol). There’s probably more British pubs in Malaga than London. I’d take Seville and its Flamemco over Malaga any day.

Naples is a dump and the petty crime capital of europe…though they do have a good museum with artifacts from Pompeii. I’d probably cut a day from Rome and Add it to Amsterdam