Affordability tips for Garden Lovers
It’s not just because of the green fields that Ireland gets its Emerald Isle nickname. In the summer, the gardens are overflowing with lush greenery and beautiful blooms and throughout every region there are plenty of gardens waiting to be discovered. A useful website to log onto is www.castlesgardensireland.com which lists houses, castles and gardens throughout Ireland. The average admission is about €5- €7 per person and while many have cafes where one can get a good simple lunch or a pot of tea, with some advance planning you could bring your own picnic and find a great spot within the grounds to sit down and enjoy your surroundings.
 In Mullingar (County Westmeath), Belvedere House, Gardens and Park, www.belvedere-house.ie is suitable for the whole family. The old stable houses a restaurant, interpretive centre and children’s playground. Once you leave the stable, walk up to the Victorian walled garden, past the famous Jealous Wall folly. The garden is undergoing restoration but is in a wonderful state and its borders are overflowing with colourful flowers.
High on the walls, foxgloves are growing out of the crevices and the statues of two lovely ladies are practically enveloped in tall grasses. The only sound you’ll here is the buzzing of happy bees and the hushed voices of visitors exclaiming over a beautiful find. Leave the garden and walk up to the house itself which sits on an elevated spot overlooking the vast Lough Ennell. You enter the house at the lower level where there is an interactive tour featuring the “Upstairs Downstairs” aspect of the house. The upper rooms are full of colour and have breathtaking plasterwork on the ceilings which are not to be missed.
Walk out of the house onto the terraces which look down onto Lough Ennell. The view is absolutely spectacular and one can walk down to the lakeshore where there are picnic tables and incredible views across the water. You can opt for a longer walk along the woodland trails, as the property has some 164 acres of parkland to enjoy, or meander back up the hill to the stable.
 Another useful website is www.garden.ie. This is affiliated with Ireland’s only garden magazine, The Irish Garden. Click on Gardens to See and you’ll be able to access a listing throughout the country. It’s also a great website for general garden enthusiasts who want to join forums on gardening in Ireland. Members can post photos of their own gardens or gardens they’ve visited. It’s well designed and organized.
In Clonmel, Country Tipperary, Killurney Garden was begun in the mid-80’s by Mildred Stokes. Open until September by appointment, the best time to visit is July. (Admission €5). Surrounding an 1880’s farmhouse, the garden has a stream running along the side of the property. Over 80 roses grow throughout the grounds along with many unusual trees and shrubs including a Judas tree and a giant fir cone. There’s a large collection of grasses, hellebores and clematis as well. The overall garden has been planted in groupings of colour. At the front of the farmhouse, there is a border devoted to blue plants including Salvia and Agapanthus. A gold border includes golden lilies and Anthemis tinctoria ‘Sauce Hollandaise’ Killurney Garden is located in Ballypatrick, Clonmel, County Tipperary. Ph: 353 (0) 52 33155.
back
to top
Ireland at Value: Can You Afford Not to Go?
 How do you put a value on the experience of a lifetime? You have not lived until you have walked the stones at the Giant’s Causeway, or ridden a horse along the stunning beaches of the Kerry coastline, or settled down to an evening of fine food and dancing at the Bunratty medieval banquet. These are just some of the highlights that make Ireland a unique vacation destination and a must for 2008.
Ireland offers a wide range of attractions. There are accommodations to suit every taste and pocket, from ancient castles and luxury five-star hotels to golf and spa resorts, from modestly priced hotels to cozy guesthouses and family-run farmhouses. You might even rent your very own cottage!
 Leading tour operators have developed an exciting array of tour packages, ranging from deluxe to value-priced, and offering choices of escorted coach tours, chauffeur-driven tours, independent self-drive vacations and rail trips that make it easy to enjoy Ireland by train.
Ireland is rightly famed for its natural beauty. It is indeed a land of verdant hills and fields, rumpled mountains laced with peaty streams, and stunning beaches. But it is equally renowned for its warm welcome and for the value for money it offers its guests. Discover our hot offers at www.discoverireland.com/us/ireland-travel-offers/2008.
This is the time to make that trip to Ireland, the time to make your dreams come true and to ask yourself a question. Ireland—can you afford not to go?
back
to top
Discover Ireland for Under $100 a Day
 The ideal way to enjoy yourself in Ireland on $100 a day is to stay in one of Ireland’s many bed-and-breakfasts dotted throughout the country. Rooms can start at as little as €30 depending on the season and almost always include breakfast. A great place to look is www.discoverireland.com/bb. It provides a full listing of B&Bs, and you can shop around. You will find hundreds with rates of €30 to €35 per person. With breakfast included, skip the lighter fare and opt for the full Irish breakfast, which usually includes two eggs, rashers (good meaty bacon), sausages, black and white pudding and sometimes even beans and toast—it will definitely keep you going all morning. Then set out to explore the local attractions. Whenever possible, embark on foot—you’ll get a vivid, up-close view of the sights, and may have an opportunity to chat with some of the locals.
 Since all national museums in Ireland have free admission, stop by any in your area to glean some local history; a handy website, www.goireland.com, provides a listing of 144 museums in Ireland so you’ll be sure to find one close by. Alternatively, visit the local tourism office (or www.discoverireland.com) to find out if there are walking or hiking tours nearby. For lunch, most towns now have at least one if not several cafés offering fantastic homemade soup and fresh brown bread, both filling and economical (about €5); finish it off with a cappuccino or tea (about €2.50), and you’ll be set until dinner. In the afternoon, you might explore some of the local shops while checking out a good pub for dinner. While you’ll find an abundance of pubs wherever you are, not all of them serve food, so ask around for recommendations. Dinner at a local pub should top off your busy day perfectly—many serve a variety of cuisine, but when in Ireland it is great to enjoy some of the traditional favorites such as fish and chips or shepherd’s pie. For less than €20 you’ll have a fine meal, and will go back to your B&B full and happy for your night’s rest.
back
to top
Discover Ireland for Under $200 a Day
 To keep costs below $200 a day, it’s still advisable to stay in a bed-and-breakfast, but now your budget will cover more local tours and higher-priced attractions.
If you stay in Dublin’s city center, B&B rooms start around €35 per person sharing. You’ll still want to do a lot of walking to see the sights, but starting at €15, you can get a 24 hour bus ticket to jump on and off at the various stops; visit www.dublinbus.ie for information. Attractions such as the Guinness Brewery are certainly worth a visit (€12.60 per adult; €30 for a family of up to six). You’ll get a complete history of the famous black stuff, a look at the brewery’s famous advertising campaigns and retail store—and, of course, some samples at tastings.
If you are staying in Cork, which boasts the second-largest natural harbor in the world, a great way to see the sights and catch up on your history is via a harbor tour (€30 per person for groups of up to 5 people; €25 per person for larger groups). Tours last 1½ to 2 hours and encompass history, a look at current commercial traffic and, with some luck, a little dolphin watching (visit www.whaleofatime.ie).
 In Northern Ireland, the natural attractions are world-renowned, including the Giant’s Causeway, often described as the “eighth wonder of the world.” If you’re staying nearby, borrow a bicycle from your B&B or rent one in town and cycle to see this amazing grouping of hexagonal columns made from cooling lava millions of years ago (www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com).
Those interested in learning about what thrives in the waters around Ireland should stop in at the Atlantaquaria or National Aquarium in Galway. Adults and children alike will find it easy to lose a couple of hours wandering through such exhibits as the Wreck, the Estuary, the Ocean Tank and the Touch Pool. (Adults pay €9, children €5.50; www.nationalaquarium.ie).
back
to top
Soothe Your Soul with Great Value in Luxury Ireland
 Luxury means different things to different people—sometimes it can just be a quiet, comfortable place to gather with family or friends, cooking delicious meals and sleeping in comfort. For this kind of luxury, why not consider renting a house or cottage for a week instead of staying in a hotel? Coolcronan House and Cottages in Foxford, County Mayo, has three delightful properties: the Coach House, Oak Cottage and Elm Cottage. Each sleeps up to eight people, and you can arrange for a private chef or have home-cooked meals delivered to your door. Right on your doorstep is the River Moy, with some of the best salmon fishing in Ireland. Enniscrone beaches and seaside attractions are also nearby, and walking enthusiasts will find Foxford Way close at hand. The Coach House is €950 per week (or €150 per night); each cottage costs €1,500 per week (€250 per night). Visit www.coolcronan.com.
 For an entirely different approach, rent a boat! Nothing is quite as luxurious as viewing Ireland from its inland waterways, either from a cruiser or slowly moving along in a barge. On www.shannon-river.com you can look through a selection of about 70 boats, select the size and dates you need, and you are on your way. A cruiser starts at €685 per week, (which breaks down to about €56 per night for two people). Barges cost about €1,475 per week but comfortably hold at least three or four, so it’s only (about €65 per night for four people).
You really couldn’t come to Ireland without considering staying in a castle—or maybe even a lighthouse. At www.irishlandmark.com your dreams can come true! Clomantagh Castle in County Kilkenny has a tower built in the 1430s and a farmhouse built in the 1800s. The two have been connected, so one can literally walk through history. The castle sleeps ten; prices range from €612 for a 3-night midweek stay to €1,256 for a 3-night weekend stay. That’s not bad for ten people (as little as €41 a night). You could also opt to stay in the Wicklow Lighthouse, built in 1781. It sleeps four and costs €495 midweek and €972 for the weekend.
Discover our hot offers at www.discoverireland.com/us/ireland-travel-offers.
back
to top
|
