Can you think of a country you’ve wanted to visit for the past 20 years? For me, that country is Ireland, and I am grateful that I visited County Kerry, Killarney, Ireland in May 2012. From the moment it was decided in early January that I was just going to do it and plan the trip, I thought of Ireland practically every day. Incredibly, many people are not avid travelers and, especially Americans, many do not travel abroad frequently. When you limit yourself to staying in your country and perhaps visiting neighboring countries, you miss out on a lot of what life has to offer. Let me tell you a few things about why I wanted to visit Ireland.
Back in the 1980s, when I was a U2 fan, I wanted to visit the country that the rock band hailed from. He was just a teenager at the time, so he fantasized about traveling to Ireland one day. Consequently, I began to pay more attention to the culture of Ireland, to mainstream news, to watching Irish-themed films, and to adapt my hobby to some Irish actors. But before deciding to travel to Ireland, my fascination with England prevailed so much, that during the 15 years that I have been on holiday in England, I always flew through Ireland, often thinking, I will get there one day.
However, after my last trip to London in December 2011, which was my ninth trip, I thought it was time to do everything I could to make a trip to Ireland possible. I started researching some local travel agents but they weren’t helpful, and they were also overpriced and featured places in Ireland that I didn’t want to go to at the time, and focused on large group travel. I knew I wanted to visit the resort town of Killarney, which is located in the southwestern part of Ireland. And since I was on my own, I was better off making plans on my own using popular travel websites to find information on flights and hotels. I bought several different books about Killarney and the South West of Ireland to help me with my trip planning.
One very important thing to remember when it comes to making vacation plans is deciding when to visit. Due to work and university obligations, and for budgetary reasons, I decided that the end of May was the ideal time to go. I saved over €100 by booking a six night stay at the Killarney Court Hotel (May 24-31), instead of staying there for five nights a week later! Peak touring season begins June 1, and doing a simple pre-booking price check on hotels in the area clearly confirmed that. Another caveat when traveling to Killarney is that because it is such a popular vacation destination, you should book your hotel in advance. There is nothing more painful than being induced to book a vacation in a particular city and then being left out of all the hotels in the city and having to book a hotel outside of the city where you need to rent a car to get to the city. No thanks, I’m picky so I booked early. I stayed in a popular hotel, and it was a ten minute walk to the center of town. This was perfect as it allowed me to walk for a short period of time through a Killarney neighborhood and therefore allowed me to truly enjoy local life.
I chose Killarney also because of the Killarney National Park and its beautiful hiking trails. I spend a lot of time in the park enjoying views of beauty that I don’t see here at home or have seen elsewhere. I also used Deros Tours for day trips to two key travel adventures – The Ring of Kerry and The Gap of Dunloe. Simply put, these two tours are must-sees for visitors to Killarney. The Ring of Kerry is almost an all-day drive that takes you in a circle of Co. Kerry and Dingle Bay, and it’s absolutely beautiful. But my favorite was the Gap of Dunloe because as a hiker I was able to walk through a mountain valley and feel like the only human being around…until I saw a car go by or a car jaunting with people in it. The rocky mountainous scenic views are reminiscent of Middle-earth from the Lord of the Rings movies. Only the brave and strong walk the Gap of Dunloe, and I am one of them. As an avid photographer, the photos I took on these tours were fantastic! I’ll enlarge and frame them, and hope to sell some to local businesses, and maybe give one to my brother for his law firm.
Killarney people are lively and polite and the food was excellent too. I particularly enjoyed a delicious meal of duck and buffalo mozzarella at the West End House, presented by attentive staff. Killarney has been voted the cleanest city in Ireland, and it’s true, the city was spotless. I’m lucky that I can travel, and I travel to really nice cities, and they all stay with me and I always long to go back to them. But there is something spiritual about my visit to Ireland. It is a country so mystical, relaxed and beautifully green that it invites you to visit it again and again. Had a chat with an American couple who were on their fourth visit to Killarney in seven years! That was proof to me of the power of Killarney to attract its visitors again and again. I think about my trip to Killarney almost every day, and I can’t wait to visit it again… It will be much sooner than later.
I look forward to traveling there again with a friend or two, just so I can enjoy the adventures and talk to someone along the way. I also want to go up to Dublin for a few days on my next trip. The convenience of Ireland is that all the big cities are connected by train or bus. And it is common for travelers to Ireland to fly into the airport of their choice, stay in that city, and then take the bus or train to other cities. I flew Aer Lingus, a nice little plane, to Shannon Airport. From there, I took two buses to Killarney. You can hire a car at the airport to drive to Killarney, but only if you’re used to driving the British way. It sounds cumbersome, but the connections between buses in Limerick give you plenty of time to change buses. So if you feel like it, visit Ireland, there is no other place like it. And by the way, I added a few nights in London after Killarney. Some travel habits are hard to break.
