Want to plan for 2018

[WannaTravel]

When we travel we like to hike/walk, sample the local cuisine, meet the locals and admire the scenery and architecture. Driving on the left (wrong side) does not worry me.

The fact that Ireland can be rainy and cold any day of the year does not bother us. That is why all the pictures show green. We would most likely be landing in Cork and travel west and south west of there.

Any comments or suggestions as to what to see and do? I think Guinness is as common as the rain, which is fine with us. What is the food like? My guess is that it is not the mediterranean diet.

We would either book a rental through Untours or consider inns and/or B&B if someone here thinks that would work. And if we were to do the latter, how soon should one stop to ensure lodging? For a few nights.

 

[Felicity]

You sound lovely and positive!

Just a comment on the food as I have already commented on the stopping thing. You will be amazed at the level of culinary expertise now in Ireland (of course there are always exceptions) but you can indeed experience the mediterranean diet if you choose, without searching too far, while at the same time finding restaurants and pubs with 'typical' Irish meals of Irish stew and Bacon and cabbage, with soda bread, and the universal offerings of 'fast food', of course which you probably want to avoid. In the main, the eating possibilities are many and various (and some of an extremely high standard), especially in the bigger centres.

 

[Eleanor]

Kinsale just a few miles south of Cork used to market itself as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland a few years ago and was very much on the tick list at the time.
http://www.kinsale.ie/

You don't say when you are visiting and this will affect how easy it is to find accommodation. I'm not clear if your question is how soon should I start to book accommodation for 2018 or whther it is what time of day do I need to start looking for accommodation that night....

In popular tourist areas, the best accommodation will book up quickly and well in advance, especially for the summer holidays. You will be able to find somewhere at short notice but it may not be where you want to stay and may be quite a drive. You will find that there is an unofficial network and B&B owners are very good at suggesting other places to try if they are full.

Don't miss Sheeps Head Peninsula, Ring of Beara, Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.

Also don't underestimate driving times in Ireland. Distances may not look far on the map but will take a lot longer to cover than you might expect. Many of the roads are narrow and traffic doesn't go very fast. In summer there are the dreaded campervans that trundle along evn the smallest roads with a huge queue of traffic behind them. Then in farm machinery and animals too.

I always use AA route Planner. Driving times are MINIMUM times with no allowance for breaks and you need to add at least 25% if not 50% to them.
http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

 

[WannaTravel]

Thanks to you both for your responses.

Our travel times are usually early summer, May, and then September and October. The last several times we were in Europe we rented for two to four weeks at a time and did day trips. Having a home base, and an assured place to sleep worked for us. Also did not want to waste time packing and unpacking to move on to the next stop. Felt like we lost a day every time.

This Fall we will be in the Alsace for six weeks staying at one rental. The plan is, as we explore, to have a duffel with stuff we need for an overnight just in case. September 1st is when we leave home.

If/when we go to Ireland it seems having a home base is the way to go, at least for us and way we travel.

As for food, is it Galway that has the great sea food? Oysters and the like.

The RV's seem to be everywhere in the high season here too. Timing is all. Most seem to rise late so we hit the roads early.

 

[Felicity]

Yes, you are right in thinking Galway is a place for sea food and you might want to be there in September http://galwayoysterfestival.com/index.php/festival-programme/. But all around the coast, if you do your research well, you will find great sea food and Kinsale, as mentioned by Eleanor, is one place for it.