Ireland Planning a Trip
How to get there, how to get around, where to find stuff and how to ask for it. These are tips from the local insider to make your stay here a breeze
Marlborough Hostel - Trekker’s Hostel Highlights
Greetings and salutations fellow travelers. Over the next few weeks I hope you will join me as I explore Ireland. During this time I will be writing thumbs up or down on the numerous hostels scattered throughout the country. Due to the high number I was unable to stay at them all so these reviews are my initial take on the vibe, the cleanliness, how friendly the staff was and all that jazz. Feel free to comment or if there is an Ireland hostel you want to hear more about be sure to let me know.
Fàilte or Welcome to Dublin. After facing the masses in London and drinking to friends in Scotland I have made my way to Dublin’s fine city. My initial research into the hostels here did not prove very fruitful but after arriving I soon realized there are tons to choose from.
So, without further comments here’s the review for…
Marlborough Hostel
Starting on the North side of the river Liffy we find Marlborough Hostel appropriately named after its location on Marlborough Street. The staff is very friendly and you are greeted by music in the reception area. The entire building is very secure and the location is just one block from one of the main streets, O’Connell, and right on the bus route to the airport.
Date: June 20th, 2008 |
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Ireland Deals on New Travel Deals Website
When you’re planning a trip, it’s really nice to feel like you’ve got someone in your corner, looking out for your best interests - which, in most cases, involve finding the best deals on things like air tickets and last minute hotels. And that’s why I’m proud to introduce a new blog in the BootsnAll universe that’s dedicated solely to locating and pointing out great travel deals to destinations all over the world - Cheap Travel Scout.
The team of writers at Cheap Travel Scout (which includes yours truly) have kind of divided up the globe so …
Date: June 2nd, 2008 |
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Tipping in Ireland
To tip or not to tip - that is the question! Tipping is one of those things that vexes travelers the world over. Do you tip at the bar? Do you tip your waitress? Do you tip the taxi driver? Is there an automatic tip added onto your bill? These are all questions which can confuse and confound, but don’t be confused about the issue anymore - here is what you need to know about tipping in Ireland.
Tipping has traditionally been considered not necessary, but a nice gesture in some cases (with a particularly nice meal or helpful waiter).
More recently, tipping has become more common - perhaps due to the large percentage of foreign tourists who tip as a matter of habit at home - although 12-15% is considered the upper end of the scale.
Date: January 9th, 2008 |
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10 “useful” phrases in Irish (as gaeilge)
You probably know I’ve been running posts on Irish slang. You may remember back in May I published a substantial post about the use of the Irish language in modern Ireland. Heck, I even auditioned for the Irish Sesame Street as gaeilge, but I’ve actually made very little mention of the Irish language itself on this blog.
The truth is, you won’t NEED any Irish language during your visit to Ireland. But, it’s a cool thing to know a bit of Irish, so here’s my challenge for you, o visitor to the emerald isle: attempt to use all 10 of the little bits of Irish listed below in a single day.
Date: September 18th, 2007 |
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Flying to Ireland with an Infant
This is going to be an entry about babies and transatlantic flights.
You know that baby on the airplane? The one that just Won’t. Stop. Screaming. Hmm? This is every parent’s nightmare - for that to be YOUR child. Well, this last flight home from San Francisco to Dublin - poor little munchkin was THAT child. How did it happen? Well, I’ll get to that.
Her reaction was really distressing because the munchkin has done a lot of flying (especially for someone her age) and has never had a problem. At six weeks of age she flew to England. At three months her first transatlantic flight to New York. At 9 months it was France. This past February she flew home to San Francisco. Throughout all of these experiences she was manageable, if not a model of good behavior. So, two weeks ago we flew from Dublin to San Francisco again and she was an angel. An active, fidgety angel who didn’t sleep but one hour of our 13 hours in transit, but hey - for someone her age she was great. The way back - woah nelly.
Date: June 9th, 2007 |
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U.S. State Dept issues Ireland travel warning. Seriously.
I don’t know anyone who would check with the U.S. State Department before planning a trip to Ireland. I mean, it’s Ireland - it’s in Western Europe, so it must be perfectly safe, right? Well, that’s where the State Department thinks you’re wrong. They’ve just issued an “unprecedented alert to American tourists coming to Ireland,” saying that increasing levels of crimes such as murder and burglary warrant precaution.
The statistics quoted in the new alert include a 20% rise in homicides in Ireland, as well as a “substantial” rise in organized crime activity which have “resulted in fatalities among innocent …
Date: June 10th, 2008 |
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BootsnAll TV Features Ireland Videos
The folks at BootsnAll (who host this fine Ireland travel guide) have been dipping their toes into the internet TV pool lately. They’re producing some of their own videos, but also collecting travel-related videos from the vast collection of what’s already available out there. So, rather than searching and sifting through pages and pages of weird videos on YouTube, be sure to check the BootsnAll TV blog - you can search for a location and find travel videos related to that place.
I did a quick search for Ireland today, and came up with two videos - one that …
Date: May 29th, 2008 |
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Plan your visit to Ireland
The only post you’ll ever need: this is your one-stop Irish travel guide!
So, after a year and almost a thousand posts on Ireland, I thought I’d put the site to the test and demonstrate how to use Irelandlogue.com to plan your visit to Ireland. What follows is a step-by-step process using the logue to plan your trip:
Date: September 28th, 2007 |
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Tipping in Irish pubs
During my brief visit to the bay area a few weeks ago I did somehow find the opportunity to have a couple of beers at a bar and it all came back to me.
Allow me to provide some context: like most socially-minded young men I spent a number of months tending bar around the time I was in school, so I’ve experienced the perspective from both sides of the counter. I can assure you that in the United States of America the customers who leave healthy tips not only receive a bartender’s gratitude but it pretty much guarantees prompt service and the occasional generous pour. Those customers that do not tip . . . wellll, let’s just say they might be waiting around a while for their drink. Yes, the USA is a capitalist nation; God bless America.
So the thing is, after several years in Ireland you forget that things are different elsewhere.
Date: June 28th, 2007 |
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Adjusting to Irish time
Going from Ireland to California isn’t too bad. There may be 8 hours in the difference between them, but when you arrive in California from Ireland, the challenge is to simply stay up later. You’re wide awake in the mornings and tired in the evenings - no problem. Going the other way though is a nightmare.
Arriving in Ireland from Pacific Standard time is a miserable experience. You’re wide awake in the evenings and exhausted during the day.
One must struggle to fall asleep when one’s brain is insisting it is early afternoon. One must fight to keep oneself alert mid-afternoon when one’s body is telling one that it is 4am and one hasn’t slept. The experience must be exponentially worse for babies - the poor little munchkin is far too young to understand why she is being put to sleep when she wants to stay up and why she is expected to be sociable when she’s cranky, tired and ready for bed.
So, what should be done? Well, here’s what we’ve found works the best:
Date: June 4th, 2007 |
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