For my thirtieth birthday I decided I wanted to make it a girls trip with my nearest and dearest. Considering that prices were at an all time high, it was important for me to find a trip that would be aesthetically pleasing but not break the bank. I am also a very serious itinerary planner, much to my friends dismay, although, they might also appreciate it – who knows! So please feel free to enjoy this Ireland Travel Itinerary
Day One: Travel Day
We departed from JFK towards Ireland on 11/26 and arrived in Dublin by 10AM on the 27th. We headed towards our hotel in a cab and after we freshened up we decided to roam and eat in Dublin. Although I did have a map planned for this day, we did not follow it to its entirety, which was fine because I allocated roaming time in our schedule. Have you noticed I am A-typical yet?
We strolled around Trinity College, Fleet Street, and around the shopping district in St. Andrews which was wonderfully decorated for Christmas. We ate at The Old Mill on Fleet Street where we tried an assortment of potatoes because – IRELAND followed by a pub where we drank till it was just late enough for us to get a good nights rest for the following day. Side note: the Smithwicks pale ale was the best beer I have ever had in my life.
Day Two:
On day two we woke up pretty early and headed to meet our tour guide. We booked two tours through Finn McCools Tours (which were highly recommended on Trip Advisor) and the first one was the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant Causeway. Our tour guide, Anthony, was very funny and light and was not cumbersome with facts. I slept a lot on the bus, but I am a sleepy girl at heart so that is to be expected.
The cliffs were windy and I lost my hat but the views were immaculate! After the tour, they let us roam in Galway, which was a super cute town and had a cozy feel. When we got back, we showered and freshened up and headed to this really cool restaurant speakeasy called the blind pig. If you are ever in Dublin, I 10/10 recommend. The food was great, the little secret entrance was great.
Day Three:
Day three we spent back in Dublin and it was officially my birthday. We began by Dublin Castle and then made our way towards Trinity College and then we roamed the streets. By the afternoon, we headed back to change and have a drink for lunch. We took photos by Temple bar but ended up drinking a little further down the block because *pricing*! That evening we got all gussied up and headed out to dinner at Ryleigh’s Rooftop Steakhouse – and the service was amazing as was the food.
Day Four
Day four was one more tour, again with Finn McCool. We chose the game of thrones tour and this time our tour guide – omg- was draining. He would not shut up and you know your girl was trying to sleep. We saw the dark hedges and yes it was cool, but probably could have been better. I cannot tell you what else we saw that day, I was pretty sleepy, but I am sure it was beautiful. I cannot for the life of me recall the name of the first place we went to but it was super cool, the rocks, the water, the cliffs. The tour ended in Belfast where there was some political explanation which I cannot remember again (in my defense, I was drinking beer the entire time)
Final Day
Our final day, we spent in Dublin again. It began by walking to the Jameson Distillery and had the Whiskey experience. Followed by bar hopping, random bites at local shops, and we also went to the Brazen Head. Brazen Head is Ireland’s oldest pub. We had the last bit of beer and whiskey and returned to our hotel to pack. It was definitely a jam packed experience and people always tell me that my “vacations” are not vacations but they are actually trips that require a lot of walking. And that is most definitely true and I would not have it any other way because I get to see everything and do everything with limited time and budget so I get a lot of bang for my buck!
The cost for the entire trip, with airfare, hotel, and tours came out to about $996.00 and I spent about $700 on food, drink and shopping. We stood at the temple bar inn – which was on directly on fleet street so it was convenient – however it was busy and bustling. For a thirtieth birthday this extraordinary week in Ireland was quite memorable!
