Tips for Rick Steves Travelers

• Don't steal my limerick!

• Pack lightly. You will have to carry your own luggage between the hotel and bus. Some of the hotels have very small elevators or none at all.

• Plan for at least one extra day in Dublin up front. That gives you a chance to acclimate to the time change and visit some of the museums. I highly recommend going to Bru na Boinne and the EPIC.

• Before leaving the US, install What’s App on your phone and create an account. If you already have it installed, make sure your account is working. What's App regularly updates security, and you may be locked out. It's way easier to fix this while at home than abroad. Lolly used What's App for all the tour communication, and while I hated to be tech support for it, I found it so useful that I'm surprised that not all RS tours use it. (Except for the ones in Russia, of course.) 

• Read and reread the Rick Steves guide before the trip and plan what you want to do in your free time, even if it’s just relaxing.

• If you’re reading this, you probably want to know if it’s worth doing something as extensive as our Pre Tour was. We loved Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, and our trip to Ireland would have been less special without it. Kilkenny was charming, and we really enjoyed it, but it’s similar to towns you’ll see on the tour. I had to see Cork because of my ancestor leaving Ireland from there, but if you don’t have that kind of personal connection, you could also skip that. Or you could go to Cork from Kinsale on your partial day off; Lolly said people do it, but it seems challenging. Of course, this extra week added a big expense to our trip. We found it worthwhile, but we had spectacular weather and great local guides. At the very least, though, as I said above, you should add an extra day or more for Dublin.

• Do not make train reservations from Belfast to Dublin before your tour. There are buses that are more convenient that will take you straight to the Dublin airport.

• As you approach Cashel, your guide will tell you your lunch options. Pay attention! You might have less than an hour to use the restroom, find a place, get seated, order, eat and walk to the Rock so if you waste time wandering about trying to figure out where to eat (like we did), you’re going to be late for the tour. If you can hold it, go straight to the restaurant and order before using the restroom. 

• Try to listen to traditional music in pubs in every town you visit. Yes, the songs are mostly the same, but the vibe is different from musician to musician, pub to pub, town to town.

• The owner of the Kissane ranch died in January 2025, so they don’t know what will happen with the ranch. The dog show might not be included in future tours. 

• Your free day in Dingle: read the section on Dingle many times to decide what you want to do that day. Some people went bicycling, some hiked, and many took boat rides. We're so glad that we chose to go to the Blasket Island, but it's definitely not for everyone. If you're thinking of going, read some of the Blasket books that made the island famous 110 years ago.

• Dingle is a good place to have your laundry done since you're there for three nights. 

• Don’t be afraid to skip something for fear of missing out. Listen to your body. Sometimes you just need to rest instead of go-go-go. The people who stayed in Galway instead of going to the Aran Island said they just needed to recharge and had no regrets.​

• Titanic Experience: if you didn't read my details already, walk quickly through the first-floor exhibits on pre-Titanic Belfast and take the gantry elevator up as soon as you can. Do not skip "the Ride" even if the docents tell you it's OK to skip it. We found it well worth the wait. And be sure to give yourself at least 10 minutes to take in the big, multimedia display near the end of the experience.

• After taking seven RS tours, we’ve found that on a typical tour the staff tries to give each couple (or single) at least one great room and no more than one not-so-good room. Ballycastle was our not-so-good room, with a bunk bed jammed next to a double bed so there was not much space to move around. There was a balcony that overlooked the biggest intersection in town so it was also noisy. I’m not complaining because the rest of the rooms on this trip were great. And we’ve been on enough of these tours to understand that not all hotels have enough great rooms to accommodate everyone. We try to roll with the punches and we said nothing here. In a big hotel, you can see if something else is available but if there isn’t one, just tell the guide “you owe me a great room later on.” They'll do their best to make it up somehow.

• Seriously, don't steal my limerick!

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I hope you found this helpful, and if you have any questions or comments, you can reach me at r_newcombe@yahoo.com

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