The biggest mistakes you can make while traveling in Ireland

cindyohcindy - look up Bus Eireann on line. It will tell you everything you need to know.

Where do I get the knowledge on which busses leave Dublin airport for Co. Clare.. Thanks

Hertz and Avis did everyone a favor when they wouldn't allow cars to travel to N.I. - I just suffered through a few days in Belfast ...... when I escaped, the motorway to Co. Clare was smoking!

" it's also called Londonderry.." Only by those interested in disinforming

@joanxis "What do you suggest if you need to rent a car" One thing you may consider is flying into Dublin and just take the "hop on and hop off bus" to tour the sights. Then take the Citylink bus direct Dublin to Galway 2hrs (great comfortable trip). When you arrive in Galway you can pick up your rental in Galway downtown center (Budget)and become relaxed driving in the west where it is much easier to drive. You can also take many (1 day)tours in the area with the Galway Tour Co. which is fantastic. Enjoy

@ grandpalovett the sign over tassies,meant the british english not the american version.besides that is have the fun of ireland ripping the english.

As regards avoiding renting a car in Dublin, one suggestion would be to take a one-day trip to Belfast from Dublin. Takes about two hours each way, so you could leave at say 9 a.m and be in Belfast by 11. There are several ways for doing the trip, bus (two options) and train. I recommend bus from the Dublin Airport. Gets you to Belfast in even less than two hours, and, if I remember correctly, cost me only ten euros round trip. Folks visiting Ireland should do a little work on the internet before hand. I know some of the real good bus and train deals e.g Dublin-Galway etc. are available on the net only.

A word of warning on Irish "round-abouts". The larger ones are OK, however, due to the fact that many County Councils and Boro Councils are loath to spend taxpayer's money except on pay-offs, foreign junkets and booze-ups they have created the mini-round-about at intersections that should only be controlled by traffid lights. Traffic lights are expensive to install and are a long term expense to maintain. However the mini-round-about (many the size of a gargage can lid) only require a gallon of white paint in oreder to make a white circle in the intersection. NOW, Irish rules of the road declare that once a round-about is established the inter secting roads no longer intersect, ergo the laws regarding an intersection do not apply. Especiallu dangerous is the fact that you may legally do a 360-degree turn at a round-about. Sounds good? Watch out when the round-about is only a dot in the road. Round-abouts are also not pedestrian friendly. No traffic light sequence to allow a walker to cross the road. Run at your own risk. Basically, the Irish government places the saving of money over lives. Speed limits are arbitrary. No studies are done. 120kph on Motorways, 100kph on national roads. Local councils have the authority to set limits on dual lane national roads. That's like the town of Elizabeth, NJ setting the speed limit on the NJ Turnpike. WHY, they lower the limit on a curve and set up a "speed camera" more moola in fines from the motorist. And in Irish law, if you contest the charges in court and lose (as usual0 the fine is doubled and the penalty points doubled as well.

Visiting Northern Ireland is a must. We actually went there by mistake, several years ago, and spent the night at a Bed and Breakfast hosted by a Protestant family (We're Roman Catholic) It was still a bit tense then but our attitudes changed quite a bit at the hospitality given us. The City is beautiful with some great sites and sounds. Highlight of our Ireland trip, along with my parent home town, Tralee, Kerry.

Suggestions? Yea, be yourself. Any pretensions? They will cut you to pieces in minute...just for sport. Otherwise, attend a horse race if you can or place a bet in any sports parlor and go to the local pub to view the results. Talk it up to the punters w/o being obvious. Avoid Killarney and the Ring of Kerry...just more Americans. Go to Laoish or Offaly...no Americans go there. Love Sligo but only go there after the cottage Yeats industry has finished...visit Shoot the Crow at 11:00pm to meet the world. 1st descent American who lived and worked in Ireland, owned a car (citizenship), but found out I was probably more American than Irish...strange conundrum. Bill of Rights, etc. Defending executions, gun laws, etc. which I don't believe in but I was the Yank at the bar. Great sport and craic. The Irish read many more papers than we do so be prepared...intellectually.

Not booking a B&B ahead of time as you travel by car, especially on Bank Holiday weekends as I was left with an 82 year old mother, a sister and two little boys without a place to stay until a kind hearted Wexford couple took us in and put their own kids out of their beds.

Use a fake Irish accent. Really? Who does that? I do not think I have ever heard a foreigner in any country trying to ape the accent of the country they are travelling in. My advice. Go to Ireland, be yourself and enjoy. Do not worry about Northern Ireland, Gaelic football matches or Dublin. I have gone to the West of Ireland more than twenty times and I can tell you not visiting Dublin or NI is not going to be the "biggest" mistake you are going to make. For that matter, I would not worry too much about saying vacation, french fry, etc. For goodness sake, just have enjoy the country, be respectful and have a bit of humility. Commonsense!

Yes, visit the relatives in England while you are in Ireland. Ryan Air is extremely reasonable if you reserve early. You can even get free tickets (tax only). You have to reserve early. We too the ferry from Belfast to Stranaer and then across to Scotland to Northern England. We stayed two nights and then drove back and took Ferry back to Belfast. WE could have flown for less.

In fact, DO ask for directions. Some of my best evenings began that way. And I've never met a local who is hesitant to offer help. As for clothing, layer, layer, layer. I always bring Wintersilk longjohns and undershirt, that is so light you can stuff it in your purse if it gets warm, but cuts off Irish wind very nicely. Joanxis--I agree not to rent in Dublin. It's pointless. What we always do is taxi or bus into Dublin, then taxi back to the airport to pick up a car. Yes, all car rental is a rip-off, but half the fun of traveling is those wonderful back roads and farmhouses the buses just won't drop you off at. As far as going places you're not wanted, never been there. Met surly drunks, sure, but heck, I've met plenty of those here. I just remember it's not my house, and watch to see how the locals interact(which is true anywhere in the world) before speaking up. And if I want to have some good craic, I ask directions.

I used Bus Eireann to get from one city to another. It was pretty reliable. Dublin has a city bus system, but it was a little confusing to me. Some of the cities have a hop-on, hop-off bus that takes you around to the popular touristy places if that's what you want to do. It's very convenient.