Rick Steves Ireland

by Rick Steves, Pat O'Connor

Overview

From rustic towns and emerald valleys to lively cities and moss-draped ruins, experience Ireland with the most up-to-date 2021 guide from Rick Steves! Inside Rick Steves Ireland you'll find:

• Comprehensive coverage for planning a multi-week trip through Ireland
• Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites
• Top sights and hidden gems, from the Rock of Cashel and the Ring of Kerry to distilleries making whiskey with hundred-year-old recipes
• How to connect with local culture: Hoist a pint at the corner pub, enjoy traditional fiddle music, and jump into conversations buzzing with brogue
• Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight
• The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a Guinness
• Self-guided walking tours of atmospheric neighborhoods and awe-inspiring sights
• Trip-planning tools, like how to link destinations, build your itinerary, and get from place to place
• Detailed maps, including a fold-out map for exploring on the go
• Useful resources including a packing list, Irish phrase book, historical overview, and recommended reading
• Updated to reflect changes that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic up to the date of publication
• Over 1,000 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down
• Coverage of Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, County Wexford, Kinsale, Cobh, Kenmare, The Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, County Clare, the Burren, Galway, the Aran Islands, Connemara, County Mayo, Belfast, Portrush, the Antrim Coast, Derry, County Donegal, and much more

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Ireland.

Planning a one- to two-week trip? Check out Rick Steves Best of Ireland.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641712781
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Edition description:	20th ed.
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	1,096,356
Product dimensions:	4.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 30,000 travelers to Europe annually. He does all of this with the help of more than 100 well-traveled staff members at Rick Steves' Europe in Edmonds, WA (near Seattle). When not on the road, Rick is active in his church and with advocacy groups focused on economic and social justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger. To recharge, Rick plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. Find out more about Rick at www.ricksteves.com and on Facebook.


Connect with Rick:
facebook.com/RickSteves
twitter: @RickSteves
instagram: ricksteveseurope
Pat O'Connor, an Irish-American, first journeyed to Ireland in 1981, and was hooked by the history and passion of the feisty Irish culture. Frequent return visits led to his partnership with Rick, his work as a tour guide for Rick Steves' Europe, and co-authorship of this book. Pat, who loves all things Hibernian except black pudding, thrives on the adventures that occur as he slogs the bogs and drives the Irish back lanes (over 2,000 kilometers annually) in search of new discoveries.

Table of Contents

Ireland 5

Ireland's Top Destinations 11

Planning Your Trip 18

Travel Smart 27

Republic Of Ireland 30

Dublin 36

Dun Laoghaire 130

Howth 134

Near Dublin 140

Boyne Valley 140

Trim 150

Glendalough & the Wicklow Mountains 156

Irish National Stud 162

Kilkenny & the Rock of Cashel 165

Waterford & County Wexford 188

Kinsale & Cobh 208

Kenmare & the Ring of Kerry 236

Dingle Peninsula 270

County Clare & the Burren 322

Galway 347

Aran Islands 367

Westport & Connemara 387

Donegal & the Northwest 408

Northern Ireland 424

Derry 433

Portrush & the Antrim Coast 457

Belfast 476

Bangor 523

Ireland: Past & Present 529

Practicalities 552

Tourist Information 552

Travel Tips 553

Money 554

Sightseeing 560

Sleeping 565

Eating 578

Staying Connected 583

Transportation 588

Resources from Rick Steves 603

Appendix 607

Holidays & Festivals 607

Books & Films 609

Conversions & Climate 612

Packing Checklist 615

Index 616

Map Index 636

Post-Pandemic Travels: Expect a Warm Welcome…and a Few Changes

Research for this guidebook was limited by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the long-term impact of the crisis on our recommended destinations is unclear. Some details in this book will change for post-pandemic travelers. Now more than ever, it's smart to reconfirm specifics as you plan and travel. As always, you can find major updates at RickSteves.com/update.

Editorial Reviews

"The country's foremost expert in European travel for Americans."—Forbes

"Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world's greatest cities, towns, and monuments."—USA Today

“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness."—Society of American Travel Writers

"Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided."—NBC News

"His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around."—The New Yorker

"Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury—it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet."—The New York Times Magazine

"[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar's appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free."—TIME Magazine

"Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture 'beyond Orlando.'"—Forbes

“…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans."—Outside Magazine

"His books offer the equivalent of a bus tour without the bus, with boiled-down itineraries and step-by-step instructions on where to go and how to get there, but adding a dash of humor and an element of choice that his travelers find empowering."—The New York Times

"His penchant for creating meaningful experiences for travelers to Europe is as passionate as his inclination for making ethical choices his guiding light."—Forbes

"[Rick Steves'] neighborhood walks are always fun and informative. His museum guides, complete with commentary about historic sculpture and storied artworks are wonderful and add another dimension to sometimes stodgy, hard-to-comprehend museums."—NBC News

From the Publisher