So many people told me the nicest thing to do on Ireland is to get around by car. So you can discover the beauty of the country and not just the ugly drinking habit of all the locals and tourists in Dublin. For that reason I went once more to enterprise rent a car and got a car for 6 days. This time alone but after all I would say it was worth it.
I started the trip in Dublin and returned to Dublin as well. The trip was basically clockwise along the cost once around the southern part till galway and from there a west-east crossing back to Dublin.
First stop was in a little pretty town called Kilkenny in the south-west of Dublin. Don’t now much about it but nice streets and a little castle like many places around this area …
The first two nights I spent in Cork. First challenge was to find a parking space for the car which is not hard but to get a free one is either lucky or impossible. First I had to learn how a parking disk looks like in Ireland. Its a paper card with fields you have to scratch off and its only one time valid and furthermore it cost you 2€ for 1 or 2hours so not free at all!
Second thing I learned about parking a car is: Never, never park underneath power lines or cables. You will know the morning after why. Just mention little bastards which like to hang out up there!
The surrounding of Cork has a couple of nice places. Cobh is a little harbour town and used to be the harbour for Cork.
On the other site of the bay is Crosshaven and in the hills behind it is a nice little grave yard on top of a hill. An abandoned place which might be quite spooky during nights but not on such a nice day as it was.
But the most famous sight might be the Castle of Blarney and the Blarney stone. Shall give you some magic power if you kiss it … Stupid touristy thing but they like to do it.
But actually the part I enjoyed most was driving on the awesome streets along the coast in Ireland. Sometimes you feel like a rally driver but you should never forget that there is traffic coming across you.
Another highlight was the national park of Killarney a very green forrest not far from the coast. Nice place for a few walks which unfortunately are most likely designed for tourists.
On the way around the south I heard about the place Dingle which shall be quite nice. So I went there. The only thing for which Dingle is really famous is this beach … a dolphin beach. Or actually there is just one specific dolphin around here but that since over 30 years. I didn’t see the attention whore as locals call it! Fungi usually shows up as soon as tourists boats sail around the bay but not as it seems not if a stupid tourist like me stays on the beach.
From Dingle you can go on the slea head drive, another costal ride with the car which gives you incredible views.
My last night I camped in the car around Galway but before I visited the biggest city in the west of Ireland. And the most amazing thing I discovered here was this kind of water ball but with kaiaks. Just awesome 🙂
After 5 nights – almost a day before contract end – I was back in Dublin and had enough of driving. 1450km is the distance I traveled in those 5 days and a bit in the car. Have seen a lot of the beautiful landscapes of this country and I totally agree that a car is the best option do explore this country.
