Ireland Travel Deals and Vacation Packages

Discover the taste of the real Ireland!  An array of great travel deals and vacation packages to this “Celtic Tiger” offer a variety of options for a travel experience with the most enchanting scenic attractions, rich with history and folklore, old churches and monastic settlements, intermingling with an idyllic green landscape.

The Republic of Ireland is the second largest island in the British isle, separated from Great Britain by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George’s Channel.  It constitutes the main portion of the island of Ireland, with Northern Ireland-which is part of the United Kingdom, covering the remainder in the northeast.  Ireland is a treasure trove of a variety of natural and urban attractions. It consists of a ring of mountains along its coasts surrounding the low central plains.  The terrain is awash with green vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but low rainfall, thus earning the sobriquet “Emerald Isle.”

September is usually the best time to visit Ireland.  Ireland is dominated by a generally stormy weather.  On the average, it rains 150 days in a year in the east and southeast counties, and up to 225 days in the west and southwest counties, while May to June are the hottest months.

Ireland’s cities are great tourist destinations, with the capital Dublin being the most popular.  The city is an interesting mix of excellent pubs, fine architecture and good shopping, and of course the famous Guinness Brewery, making it as the fourth most visited European capital.  Other popular cities include Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Waterford. Golf is a popular sport in Ireland and golf tourism is a major industry.

Thousands of visitors continue to flock to Ireland with varied interest and with a wide range of budget.  There is a long list of great adventures and attractions for those out to hit the golf course or those wanting to try out trekking, boating on a river or lake, driving through downtown Dublin, etc. Within a half-day’s drive of downtown Dublin brings you to a great discovery of Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age forts, early Christian monastic sites, Viking city walls, and vast Georgian estates. Centuries-old castles stand anachronistically in pastures, with ponies grazing nonchalantly around them. The past is all around you here: Prehistoric stone tables stand in backyards, and farmers drive their tractors carefully around ancient stone circles. There are thousands of unexcavated ancient sites dotted around the countryside, waiting to be explored. Others are marked, but open to the public — most of these are in perfect condition, protected by the general population who has a profound respect for these mysterious sites that were, until recently, believed by many to be protected by fairies.

Visitors may also take a more adventurous discovery tour of Ireland.  Though much of the cities are well-trodden routes of tourists, it would be perhaps exciting and pleasantly surprising to venture beyond the usual paths and discover some new attractions.  For example, Limerick is known for King John’s Castle and The Hunt Museum, but lesser-known Cratloe Woods is a great, low-cost family activity with an obstacle course for kids.  Galway is said to be the fastest growing city in Western Europe, and has an exciting international scene. Plenty of cafes and the quiet harbor give the backpacker-laden city a more relaxed vibe than Dublin.