Ireland is an easy country to get to.
If you are a U.S. citizen, you don’t need a holiday visa if you’re staying less than 90 days.
Just your current passport will do.
It is the closest European country to the United States, so there are good deals to be had for affordable flights.
Norwegian Airlines is one of the major carriers flying into Dublin airport, but the U.S. airlines that fly direct to Dublin from major U.S. cities are American, Delta and United.
That said, there are also less expensive airlines that fly from major cities to Dublin, such as Aer Lingus (Ireland’s national carrier).
Getting between cities is a breeze.
There are trains connecting all of the major cities in Ireland and are comfortable, with free WiFi and bathrooms on board.
Carriers such as Irish Rail usually offer online booking discounts for tickets purchased in advance.
Public transport or tour buses are also affordable.
For example, for about 20 Euros you can get from Dublin to Galway.
When taking a city bus, you will need to flag them down at bus stops, as they won’t automatically stop for you.
For getting around many of the major cities, consider purchasing a visitor Leap Card if you plan on taking the bus a lot.
They are available as 1-, 3-, or 7-day cards, and are good for unlimited travel on participating bus services.
Taxi drivers are more expensive, but can be useful in a pinch.
They are usually tipped 10 percent of your fare, but this is totally at your discretion.
What you may want to avoid, however, is driving your own rental vehicle if at all possible.
It’s one of the overlooked travel tips for Ireland, but unless you’ve driven in this part of the world before or you’re otherwise familiar with it, driving in Ireland can be hard on your nerves.
For instance, most rental cars are manual transmission models, which means that you’ll be working the stick for perhaps the first time in years.
Not to mention, that shifter will be on your left, as vehicles in Ireland are righthand drive.
All of this creates a situation where you’re going to be doing everything from the opposite direction when you’re behind the wheel.
That’s difficult in itself, but when you’re driving through small towns and the like on surface streets, you’ll find them to be extremely narrow.
Vehicles will pass by you and come within inches of you, but they are accustomed to this type of driving while most of us from this part of the world are not.
Save yourself the stress and find a driver or some other mode of transportation.