60 Top websites to help you plan your Ireland Holiday

By Jayne Leonard
26 Mar 2015

 

If you are planning to visit Ireland, here are over 60 good websites that will help you when organising all aspects of your visit.

Planning your Journey to Ireland

 

  • Tourism Ireland is responsible for promoting the Island of Ireland, and their website is a comprehensive guide to ALL that Ireland offers. See www.Ireland.com 

  • Fáilte Ireland’s Discover Ireland website is also very useful as a source of information and special offers in the Republic of Ireland, while the Northern Ireland’s Tourism Board’s Discover Northern Ireland has similar content for Northern Ireland. See www.DiscoverIreland.ie and www.DiscoverNorthernIreland.com
     

Travelling to Ireland by Air

 

There are so many airlines flying into Ireland, it’s not practical here to give all the links. However, the Irish Airport websites are useful to check to see who is flying to them:

Ireland’s two major airlines are:


Tip: Understand your travel itinerary when choosing your airport (if you have a choice of airports to arrive to). If renting a car, consider which airport might be best to start from if you’re not familiar with driving in Ireland, particularly as we drive on the left hand side!

If this is your first time visiting Ireland, make sure to check out our page ‘Know Ireland’ www.TopAttractionsIreland.com/static-pages/know-ireland and our Top 10 Tips for First Time Visitors www.TopAttractionsIreland.com/the-ireland-blog/top-10-tips-for-first-time-visitors-to-ireland/
 

Travelling to Ireland by Ferry

 

Ireland’s ferry ports are located at Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Rosslare, Cork; and Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland.  Check out these ferry websites to help you decide which route is best for you:

Places to Stay

 

Whether you want to stay in a lighthouse, a castle, a pub or a 5* hotel, Ireland has the accommodation choice to suit you. These useful links will help you find what you are looking for:

Georgina Campbell’s Ireland is one of Ireland's leading independent hospitality guides listing places to stay, eat and drink - check out www.Ireland-Guide.com; or try Lucinda O’ Sullivan’s Little Black Book of Great Places to Stay & Eat at www.LucindaOSullivan.com.

In addition, see Ireland’s Blue Book listing Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants at www.Irelands-Blue-Book.ie; and Hidden Ireland listing Historic Country Houses at www.HiddenIreland.com.   For very unusual places to stay from lighthouses and tower houses to stately apartments, check out www.IrishLandmark.com. 
 

Food & Drink in Ireland

 

Visitors to Ireland can be assured of great dining experiences, from culinary masterpieces to traditional and tasty ‘pub grub’.

Good Food Ireland lists over 600 of Ireland’s leading restaurants, hoteDining Outls, cookery schools, shops, pubs, cafes, markets and food producers - see www.GoodFoodIreland.ie. To view menus, book tables and see reviews go to www.MenuPages.ie. Both Georgina Campbell’s Ireland (www.Ireland-Guide.com) and Lucinda O’ Sullivan’s Ireland (www.LucindaOSullivan.com) list some of Ireland’s best places to eat and drink. The Restaurant Association of Ireland lists hundreds of restaurants as well as the Irish Restaurant Award Winners, and can be found at www.rai.ie.

If it is pubs and bars you are looking for, you can search through Ireland’s offerings using the Vintner Association of Ireland’s Pub Finder: www.vfi.ie/PubFinder. 

For more ideas, you can also check our Blog Post ’10 of the Best Foodie Experiences in Ireland’ - www.TopAttractionsIreland.com/the-ireland-blog/10-of-the-best-foodie-experiences-in-ireland/
 

Car Rental and planning your Route

 

Ireland is a small island and is generally easy to get around. Rental cars are available in all the main airports and ferry ports as well as the bigger towns and cities. Some of the main rental car companies include:

Route Planner: The AA Route Planner if a useful tool to help you plan out your driving routes - with distances and estimated journey times and fuel costs. www.TheAA.ie/routes.
 

By Bus / Tram / Rail

 

If you wish to use public transport, try the Irish Rail website and Bus Eireann - the national bus service. For travel within Dublin and surrounds check out the Luas Tram network; the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), run by Irish Rail; and Dublin Bus.

  • Iarnrod Eireann Irish Rail & DART:        www.IrishRail.ie
  • Bus Eireann:                                          www.BusEireann.ie
  • Dublin Bus:                                            www.DublinBus.ie
  • Luas                                                       www.Luas.ie
     

Within-Ireland Ferry shortcuts & Boat to Ireland’s Islands

 

Shannon Ferries operates a car ferry between Killimer in Co. Clare and Tarbert in Co. Kerry, for those who don’t wish to drive the whole route. Details and Timetable available at www.ShannonFerries.com.

There are hundreds of small islands off the coast of Ireland - some of which can be reached by ferry or boat (or even by car!) - see www.DiscoverIreland.ie/islands for more information on reaching these unique and charming destinations.
 

TRAVEL IN IRELAND FOR VISITORS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY

 

Accessible Ireland provides information on the accessibility of hotels, restaurants, pubs, transport entertainment venues and more across the country - see www.AccessibleIreland.com.

Each of the above listed airports, airlines, ferry lines, and public transport operators provide further information on their websites regarding accessibility. In addition, the National Transport Authority lists all the wheelchair-accessible taxis in Ireland (www.NationalTransport.ie) and Motability Ireland provides car rental to wheelchair users both in the Republic and Northern Ireland (www.MotabilityIreland.com). 

For accommodation, check out Accessible Ireland, or contact the individual accommodation providers. Also, look out for the ABLE Q Mark for Accessibility and see www.AbleIreland.ie.

Within this website, www.TopAttractionsIreland.com, the accessibility of each visitor attraction is listed on its profile page.
 

Visit Ireland's Top Attractions

 

Ireland has so many fantastic attractions - with something for everyone, from cultural and history buffs to nature lovers, shopaholics and fun-seeking families. You can buy tickets to Ireland’s best attractions right here on this site (www.TopAttractionsIreland.com). Tickets are delivered instantly by email, are guaranteed best value and are usually valid for 365 days from purchase. Our sister site - Heritage Island features Ireland's Premier Attractions and Heritage Towns: See www.HeritageIsland.com.
 

Some Great Activities

 

You won’t be stuck for things to do in Ireland! Tour the Wild Atlantic Way, the world-famous driving route that covers seven of Ireland's counties and takes in breath-taking coastal scenery (www.WildAtlanticWay.com); or visit one of our 80+ Blue Flag Beaches www.BlueFlag.org. Try Horse Riding at an approved riding centre (www.aire.ie); or for activities from surfing to golf, check out www.DiscoverIreland.ie.

For events and cinema listings see www.Entertainment.ie and for concerts check out www.Ticketmaster.ie.
 

Television, Radio & News

 

Our television channels are listed below, and of course you can get plenty of international channels through satellite TV providers!

  • RTE One & RTE Two:      www.rte.ie/tv/
  • TV3:                                  www.tv3.ie
  • TG4 (Irish language):        www.tg4.ie
  • UTV Ireland:                      www.utv.ie


Ireland has lots of local and national radio stations covering everything from classical music to news to Irish language stations. Here are just a few of the larger national stations, and you can often listen live on their websites at: 

  • RTE Radio (several stations):         www.rte.ie/radio/
  • Today FM:                                       www.TodayFM.com
  • News Talk:                                       www.NewsTalk.com


A mix of our main broadsheet and tabloid papers are listed below, so you can stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings!  

For more useful links check out:   www.topattractionsireland.com/useful-links/


Any more Links we should add?  tell us!


If there are any important links you think we should include in this list, let us know! Email Jayne.Leonard@TopAttractionsIreland.com

 

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