Ireland: Tripping to the land of "Eire". All advice welcome. Thanks

[santiam bicycle]

Thanks again Peter! I'm bouncing up and down in my chair! Can't wait to go!

[destination]

Oh, how funny. Someone more excited then myself. (smile)

[twinkletash]

Hello.
I did a quick three-dayer in Ireland this year with a few friends and found it great fun.
We started at Belfast (that's Northern Ireland/Great Britain) in the north East.

We then followed the eastern coast line and went down the small roads to a place called portaferry (where you take a ferry over a ferry strait), before carrying on agin down the coast through Dundalk, and Newcastle, Newry and then finishing at Dublin.

The only bad part of that trip was around Newry, which was very hilly. The rest was very reasonable.

I would give you a few pieces of generic advice.

1.
Ireland was windy, and the prevailing wind comes from the south west, so cycling from bottom to top would be advisable.

2.
It rained a LOT. Often heavy and suddenly, but it was not all the time. Do take your waterproofs

3.
Ireland, especially Dublin was super expensive. At the current XR, don't be surprised to pay $8 for a pint of beer!

4.
The Irish (especially the Northern Irish), are very very friendly and welcoming.
Get ready to share a few stories with them.

Thanks,
Dan

[santiam bicycle]

Thanks so much Dan. I've heard it was pretty expensive these day. I really love to stay at hostels and hope they've maintained a reasonable price. I'm sure we'll stay at a few B&B's, but only if they aren't outrageous.

A couple of questions:

A: How many miles a day did you ride?
B: What time of year were you there?
C: What type of lodging  did you use?
D: How long did the rain usually last. (I know this can be super Variable, but just curious what your experience was.)

I read a book recently that said early June was better than July and August for finding lodging. In all my travels, I've rarely called ahead to reserve my night's lodging more than a day ahead of time. I want to avoid frustrating my lady because we have to search for a place to stay after a day's ride. (Remember, the goal is to convert her to a bike traveler.)

[Galloper]

July and August tend to be the busiest months for tourism and also the best weather but it's like most other places, you can have good weather or bad weather at any time of the year.

When you're looking for somewhere to stay, most of the larger towns have tourist offices who will have a list of Bed and Breakfast places as well as hotels and hostels.   Unlike the USA, B & Bs tend to be relatively cheap.   The tourist offices will generally have a list of prices and will call ahead for you. 

[santiam bicycle]

Now THAT is great news! I love the Hostel experience the most, but a B&B is a close second. Thanks again!

[Galloper]

Glad you're looking forward to it.   These guys can help:

http://www.discoverireland.ie/

May the road rise up before you!