Northern Ireland is well known for its natural beauty. Celtic ruins are perched along the coast, green river valleys spread all around, and cities come with a rich history. Although Northern Ireland has a lot to offer, you can still squeeze all the main sights in two days, which makes it perfect for a quick weekend getaway.

TIP: If you cannot fly into Belfast directly, look into Dublin. The bus from there takes 2 hours and costs €10 one way.

Sights

Below you can find a list of places that you simply have to visit.

The Dark Hedges

The avenue lined with beech trees twisted branches forming an arch over the road is mostly famous for its short appearance in S2 of the widely popular Game of Thrones. Can you see the similarity with the King’s Road?

Read More

No pictures or information online can really prepare you for the trip to Ireland. It’s hard to believe how much this small country has to offer. One week is far from enough to see it all, but we knew that before coming and I can’t wait to be back.

If you ask me, the best time to travel in Ireland in spring, because of the weather (less rain than in winter) and also, because it’s low-season, so the prices are lower than in summer. You’ll probably have to dress for winter weather, though. Unless you’re British or Irish, then you can use T-shirt and shorts.

DAY 1: Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough

Pick your car at Dublin airport in the morning. We were staying in Dublin for a night and then headed to the airport using the local bus next morning. We had pre-booked a car using a German site.

Ok, time to start the journey. Your first stop is Powerscourt Waterfall. Well, that’s the first one planned, I’m sure you’re going to stop several times before that.

TIP: Pay your Dublin’s M50 (it is a barrier-free toll road) toll fee at petrol station. Tell them your car license number and once you pay, they will delete you off the system.

Yesterday me and my boyfriend returned from Dublin, where we eneded our one week roadtrip. Because it’s all still fresh, I thought I could share the expenses with you, so you have an idea how much such roadtrip costs. Please note that I first write down the price we paid together and then calculate how much it was per person.

CAR

Rent for 7 days: €77
Petrol: €46 + €8 + €42.8 + €10 = €106.8
Toll fee: 3 x €1.9 + €2.9€ + 6.2€ = €14.8
Parking: €4

Expenses per person: €101.3

We did a little under 1500 kilometres.

ENTRANCES (student tickets)

Powerscourt Waterfall: €11
Rock of Cashel: 6€
Prehistoric Fahan Beehive Huts: €4
Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden: €18
Guinness Storehouse: €32

Expenses per person: €35.5

Some of them planned, others not. No regrets for any of them.

Read More

On my first day off, I chose to see the city just one hour away from where I’m staying. Kilkenny is a small city (which makes it very cosy) you can easily walk through in a day (or even less), best known as Ireland’s medieval capital, steeped in heritage. Although it’s supposed to be a very popular tourist destination, I didn’t get that feeling when being there, but this may be because it’s off-season and we visited on Sunday.

1. Walk around Kilkenny castle
The castle is beautiful inside and out. The entrance fee is very reasonable, 7€ per adult (for more info click here), especially since the guides are very knowledgeable and always happy to answer any questions. On a nice sunny day, you should take some time for the grounds around the castle too. We had a very pleasant walk around. And it’s free!

Read More

Hi!

I just want to give you some updates on my life and what I’ve been up to. I’m going to post rarer this March because I’m currently in Ireland, doing my dream job. I’ll be here for the whole month working at the guesthouse and a hostel. To get here, I had to fly twice and then take two buses. Sleeping at the airport is not something I’m unfamiliar with, but this time I had a worse experience than I did before. I kept waking up every half hour, Italians were loudly chatting on my right side and a some guy tried to fall asleep on me. Literally. He only put his lower part of the body over my lower part of the body. I understand he wanted to spend the night on seats instead of floor, but seriously? I was honestly too tired to fight, at 3am I just gave up and went through the security check. My morning flight was lovely, though.

English countryside shot at my 6am flight from Stansted.

Today was my second day. I’m so excited, every minute here feels like living my dreams. There are lovely people I hang out with all the time, my boss is very fair, the town is cute… Feel like a better version of home, if this makes any sense. I’m happy. Yesterday I had a nice talk with one of my roommates about hostels in Portugal, another country I’m very eager to visit. Who knows, maybe I’ll go there next. Right now I feel like I’m exactly where I belong.

My work depends on what hour I start and how busy that day is. Today for example we had plently of check outs, but since I started at 7am, I first had to prepare breakfast (I learnt how to cook Irish breakfast!), do the laundry, clean some dishes, tidy around the kitchen and do two rooms. Yesterday I was mainly cleaning. The rooms, kitchen, bathrooms. The best part are evenings, when we all gather and prepare some dinner. Last night we decided to go to an Irish pub after – it was so much fun!

That’s it for today, I’ll be posting more in the next few days, if my schedule allows me.