Current Country Count: 23

Country Count: January 2015

With Ireland, my country count jumps to 24. We considered side trips to Scotland and Northern Ireland but scrapped the idea when we realized how much there is to do in the southern half of Ireland.

Trip Background: A few months ago, I found a fantastic deal on http://www.theflightdeal.com and snagged two seats. If you have not yet bookmarked this page, do so now. That’s where I found a $620 round trip flight to Marrakech (on American Airlines) in December 2014 and my $520 flight to Dublin on US Airways.

The Irish Coastline
Photo courtesy of http://www.gaelcoin.org/

Ireland is known for Guinness, potatoes, and a series of naturally stunning sights that line the coast of this island nation. Since I knew very little about the country, I went to the SF Public Library, checked out a few guides on Ireland and then sourced suggestions from my friends. This was the result:

Ireland Driving Route

Our plan is as follows:

Day 1-2: Dublin

Day 3: Kilkenny, Cashel

Day 4: Youghal, Cobh (Titanic Museum), Cork

Day 5: Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle

Day 6: Limerick, Cliffs of Moher, Galway

Day 7: Ashford Castle, Connemara

Day 8: Dublin

Day 9: Fly home to California

I’ll post an update in a few days once we’ve gotten through part of our journey. If you have suggestions or thoughts on our agenda, feel free to leave them here!