Ireland

The Cliffs of Moher are absolutely amazing.
The Ring of Kerry is cool.
Galway was cool.
I loved Cork,

I agree with Jen252 on these.  We rented a car and went from Shannon straight down through the towns to Cork and Kinsale then west and up to the Ring of Kerry, Doolin (for music), and others.  I can't remember what my favorite place was!  It's been so long.  I like Galway too, but it was a place near Dingle...maybe it was Dingle!  I need to look it up on the map. 
There's a fabulous book of B&B's published and we used that to book places as we traveled.  Ireland was wonderful! 

I can't believe how much I can't remember!  What's the name of that road, the one lane supposedly dangerous/adventurous road --- is it Connor's Pass?  Is that right?  We did that; there was a fabulous view at the top.

I'm not sure about the whole paddywagon thing, but then again, if I were backpacking again, I might consider it. 

Have fun!   

Just got back about 5 minutes ago.  The trip was pretty good, but I'll never stay in a hostel again.  16 people to a room in some of them, and very few washrooms.  Oh, and take a plane, guys.  The bus up was horrible.  No heat, and a very long stop in an empty lot in Birmingham.  Yippie.

Otherwise, everything was much better than I had imagined.  Gorgeous country, friendly people (especially in Cork.. although they seemed a bit crazy, too..)  Food was good.  Now time for bed.

Just got back about 5 minutes ago.  The trip was pretty good, but I'll never stay in a hostel again.  16 people to a room in some of them, and very few washrooms.  Oh, and take a plane, guys.  The bus up was horrible.  No heat, and a very long stop in an empty lot in Birmingham.  Yippie.

Otherwise, everything was much better than I had imagined.  Gorgeous country, friendly people (especially in Cork.. although they seemed a bit crazy, too..)  Food was good.  Now time for bed.

Thanks for the report. More later I hope.

Can't let the violence in NI keep you away - otherwise you wouldn't be able to visit Bushmills! 
You would also miss Giant's Causeway which is really an awesome sight too.  Plus so many things of beauty up in that part of Ireland. 

Just got back about 5 minutes ago.  The trip was pretty good, but I'll never stay in a hostel again.  16 people to a room in some of them, and very few washrooms.  Oh, and take a plane, guys.  The bus up was horrible.  No heat, and a very long stop in an empty lot in Birmingham.  Yippie.

Otherwise, everything was much better than I had imagined.  Gorgeous country, friendly people (especially in Cork.. although they seemed a bit crazy, too..)  Food was good.  Now time for bed.

Glad you got back safely and had a nice time!

Thanks!  Oh, and Elynor, even if I had had my keys to the hostel in Belfast, it wouldn't have helped.  They'd given me the wrong ones.  Thanks again for trying to find me a decent place to stay!

We only stayed in Belfast for a night, for the black cab tours.  Our drivers were nervous, and wanted to be in (Bogside, Catholic) Derry asap.  They wouldn't even stop in Bushmills, as it's a solid Orange town.  Bah!!

Highlights of the trip:  The Antrim Glens, Ballintoy Harbour, Giant's Causeway, the taxi tour of Belfast, the road to Malin Head, the place in Connacht where the flight of the Earls occured, and the seat of the ancient Kings of Ulster...Yeats' grave, Lord MountBatton's summer house, beaches in Sligo, Glebe stone circle, Croagh Patrick, although we couldn't climb it due to weather, the famine trail with it's abandoned houses and make-work walls, Galway, Doolin, the Ring of Kerry, Staige Fort, Dingle peninsula, the cliffs of Moher, Macroom, the Lee Valley, Cobh, a Jameson's tour (OK as not Orange..), Kilkenny, a Guiness tour..then the best bit..

A hotel room with a bathtub and TV and a big bed in Dublin, and a change to a flight home.  No more buses!

We missed quite a bit, no idea why there was no stop in Tara, for example, but I guess 10 days only gets you a taster.  The food was pretty good everywhere, great chowders and homemade bread, the local mussels are delicious, and of course the beer and whiskey were fine.  The weather was OK most days, but it wasn't the right time to go to beaches... extreme wind on the West coast, heavy fog in the North.  (We went anyways.) Similar to coastal BC weather in February. 

Back to bed, I'm sick as a dog.   

Thanks!  Oh, and Elynor, even if I had had my keys to the hostel in Belfast, it wouldn't have helped.  They'd given me the wrong ones.  Thanks again for trying to find me a decent place to stay!

Glad you got in, anyway!

We missed quite a bit, no idea why there was no stop in Tara, for example

Believe me, you didn't miss anything at Tara. Think muddy grass full of sheep droppings. And that was in July, not February!

I guess I saw enough mucky sheep droppings.. yikes my clothes are filthy.  Oh, about the torched buses.  They think it was a rival tour company, and are hiding the buses at the Europa hotel at night, which makes me giggle.  (If you don't know, it's famous for being bombed about 36 times.)

Just got back about 5 minutes ago.  The trip was pretty good, but I'll never stay in a hostel again.  16 people to a room in some of them, and very few washrooms.  Oh, and take a plane, guys.  The bus up was horrible.  No heat, and a very long stop in an empty lot in Birmingham.  Yippie.

Otherwise, everything was much better than I had imagined.  Gorgeous country, friendly people (especially in Cork.. although they seemed a bit crazy, too..)  Food was good.  Now time for bed.

Glad to hear you had a great time.

Not all hostels are that miserable!! I just stayed at a really nice one in Israel. It is worth doing your homework if you decide to go that route. The internet is great for that. In Venice I once stayed in a convent with well over 20-30 female travelers in a room. All single beds with Jesus Christ looking over us the whole night.

Long distance coach travel does bite though. I just did London-Belgium on Eurolines. Not too horrendous with the ferry transfer to break up the journey but the immigration controls were a pain in this set up.