Ireland Vacation Report – Highlights from a July Trip

Quite a bit of my Ireland vacation coaching begins in the middle of trip planning. Families have often booked their flights and lodging before reaching out to me to assist with the ‘fine tuning' of their activities.

The plans for this 10 day trip at the end of July were adventurous- taking the family from Dublin to Clare to Donegal, through Northern Ireland, and back to Dublin. A variety of family interests and a few mobility issues meant careful planning was necessary. I was so thankful to receive an email and a few photos following the trip.

With permission I am sharing the email (edited to remove names) and photos from a few of their favorite spots in Ireland.

We had a great trip and the high points were:
Gleann in Derry – WOW. No one will ever forget that. My highlight of the trip was that tour.

Editor note: Gleann is the owner of Derry Guided Tours and your guide through the city's history. From atop the city walls down to Bogside, Gleann draws you through time, from the building of the walls to Bloody Sunday- and beyond.

My other favorites were the jail in Dublin, and the murals in Belfast.

Also loved Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren since we were so close we were the only ones on 2 different evenings there. So beautiful & peaceful.

My son loved the Burren too and the Giant’s Causeway as well as both the jail and the Derry tours. I think those were the highlights for most people. Everybody really liked the Burren and wandering around in the quiet.

Editor note: lots of family fun in the Burren.

Newgrange was also fascinating. Our daughter loved the pony & trap ride around Inishmor. The guide, Thomas, was very nice. Also she (& we all) really liked the Titanic Museum and SS Nomadic.

We did a great boat ride to the Slieve League Cliffs. That worked perfectly for us. It was gorgeous and we loved the guide. It wasn’t Paddy but a younger guy he had helping him, so interesting hearing about his sheep farm and seeing his sheep on the cliffs near Slieve League. I grew up on a sheep farm so it was really neat to talk to him about the differences etc… We had a nice break in the weather around 1 and our boat ride was 2-3:30 so it worked out well.

Was surprised how many flags were flying in Northern Ireland for the UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters), etc. Hard to imagine there is any sort of peace with such strong feelings on both sides. It was really eye opening.

Editor note: Northern Ireland really is its own country. Some differences are subtle and others… not so much.

A great trip overall and thank you so much for helping us get it put together!

Are you planning a trip to Ireland? Let me know how I can help!