Ireland on Film

Was December in Ireland cold and wet? Yes! Would I do it again? Yes! Cooler weather cut down on the tourist crowds and Christmas markets and decorations in Dublin were a huge plus. Thinking of a trip to Ireland? I'll share what worked great for us and what we were able to do in 5 days!

We went on two bus tours with Wild Rover Tours. This was the best choice for us to see both ends of the island in the most efficient way. Our first trip with to Belfast and Northern Ireland. When in Belfast we were able to visit the Titanic Experience and not only learn about the building of the Titanic but also stand on the exact location where they put the ship together and launched it.  

Dunluce Castle was the next stop on our tour. These ancient ruins were set up a picturesque cliff surrounded by the blue waves and black boulders of the ocean below and the green grass of the hillsides.

The Giant's Causeway is a beautiful world heritage site at the top of Northern Ireland. After our walk down and climb over the rocks we enjoyed the best fish and chips and hot drinks at The Nook, a pub near the visitor's center parking. 

On our full day in Dublin we visited the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street. Then walked around the Grafton Street area for shopping and bookstores and meandered around St Stephen's Green. We ended our Dublin tourist explorations by seeing the Book of Kells and the Trinity College Library. 

Our second bus trip with Wild Rover Tours was to Galway, The Cliffs of Moher, and the Wild Atlantic Way. It was so windy at the cliffs but thankfully we were able to do the walk along the cliffs before the heavy rain came! 

On our last full day we took the train to Howth, a beautiful seaside town outside of Dublin. We enjoyed lunch along the harbor and then worked off any calories on the Howth Cliff Walk. This was wasn't for the faint of heart. Most of the trail was wide enough for single file hikers with no fencing in between you and falling off the cliff onto the ocean rocks below.