“Where are you from?” asked our Airbnb host. “We’re from India,” my friend and I replied. “You came all the way from India? Why?”
This was not the first time we were asked this question, which always baffled us. I mean, “Why not?” But apparently, the Irish see Indian visitors only from neighboring countries like Scotland and England but not someone all the way from India. Which, I think is a shame, because it’s such a beautiful country.
So, if you’ve got the travel bug and you like Europe, consider visiting Ireland, the land of St. Patrick, the land of no snakes and the land of whiskey and Guinness and music because I loved every single minute of it and it’s a place I dearly miss.
Now, getting down to business.
What visa do you need to visit Ireland?
- You need an Irish visa. This is not the same as a Schengen visa. You can also get a UK visa instead and apply for a BIVS, so that you can freely travel to Ireland from the UK.
- What is BIVS? Whether you go for an Irish or UK visa, I would recommend you get BIVS. BIVS stands for British-Irish Visa Scheme, which allows foreign nationals to travel freely between the UK, Scotland and Ireland.
- Why do you need BIVS? Because your visit to Ireland is incomplete without a visit to Northern Ireland which comes in UK territory.
- And lastly, you need a great itinerary, which is where I come in.
When to Travel to Ireland?
The best time is July. June is still cold and rainy while in July it starts getting sunnier. The air is less nippy and you might be as lucky as us and get a window of the perfect, most charming weather.
Important Notes:
You cannot see the whole of Ireland without a car. Train travel is possible but it will limit your movements to only the cities and towns accessible to trains which will leave out all the beautiful sights along the Wild Atlantic Way. So, hire a car.
Initially, I was planning a very elaborate circuit around Ireland, with 1 or 2 day stays in each place. I didn’t want to miss anything! But it did not seem very practical and Ireland is a small country where you can easily drive to places. Also, I believe travel should not be stressful. So, I changed the itinerary to a simpler one, keeping certain places as the centre and then driving down to the places we wanted to see. Here’s the basic itinerary:
| Sr. No | Date | Day | Loc ation | Activity |
| Day 1 | 4th July | Mon | Arrive in Dublin | Sightseeing in Dublin |
| Day 2 | 5th July | Tue | Dublin | Visit Kilkenny |
| Day 3 | 6th July | Wed | Dublin | Knowth & New Grange |
| Day 4 | 7th July | Thu | Killarney | Killarney National Park |
| Day 5 | 8th July | Fri | Killarney | Whale Watching in Dingle |
| Day 6 | 9th July | Sat | Killarney | Kayaking in Cork |
| Day 7 | 10th July | Sun | Killarney | Killarney National Park |
| Day 8 | 11th July | Mon | Galway | Cliffs of Moher and Galway |
| Day 9 | 12th July | Tue | Galway | Kylemore Abbey, Connemara National Park |
| Day 10 | 13th July | Wed | Galway | Sightseeing in Galway |
| Day 11 | 14th July | Thu | Dublin | Rest/Sightseeing |
| Day 12 | 15th July | Fri | Belfast | Visit Derry-Londonderry |
| Day 13 | 16th July | Sat | Belfast | 1 Day bus tour- Giant’s Causeway, Dark Hedges, etc. Mussenden Temple? |
| Day 14 | 17th July | Sun | Dublin | Sightseeing in Belfast, Return to Dublin |
| Day 15 | 18th July | Mon | Dublin | Rest/Sightseeing |
| Day 16 | 19th July | Tue | Return to Mumbai | Departure in the morning |
Of course, an itinerary is never fool-proof, and you might deviate from it a little. There are things we missed out on which I would love to go back and do, if I could. For details on each place and where to stay, watch out for my upcoming posts.