We are happy to be home. I’m spending as much time as possible outside, soaking up summertime. There’s no place I’d rather be in the evenings than on my deck. But I still wouldn’t trade our journeys in London, Scotland, and Ireland for more time on the deck. It was a dream come true! Being a person who hopes for the best but prepares for the worst, I hardly dared imagine it would turn out so well. As we boarded our flight to come home, I felt so grateful for this gift of a happy vacation. It was a higher power who allowed it to be!
About two months ago, I wrote about what I was doing to prepare for this trip. Now that it’s over, I thought I’d share what worked, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently next time.
Packing light. We each had a backpack and a carry-on (which we checked anyway), and that was just right for all the times we had to pack up and move. Toting luggage on buses and trains is much easier with smaller bags. In several places, we had to walk fifteen minutes or more to our lodging, and the sidewalks were often uneven and bumpy. The tradeoff here is that you can’t make unlimited purchases. I did end up buying a small tote to sit on top of one suitcase, but in my final packing, I managed to get everything back into the two carry-ons! We got a decent amount of treasures, too.
Travel clothesline. This was an absolute winner. There was a dryer at only one of the three places I did laundry. I made sure to do the wash with enough time for the clothes to air-dry for a whole day. I had to pack up damp clothes only once, and that was because they had only a night to dry.
Tip for those planning a trip to Ireland: many gas stations have washers outside. I didn’t see laundromats as such, but quite a few of the gas station variety.
Minimal shoes, but the right ones. Cliff was a champ with his one pair of trainers that worked for everything. In addition to trainers, I brought a dressier pair that worked well for city days. I also had flip flops to wear in the Airbnb, and was glad for them. I’d decided Blundstones would take up too much space, and I wasn’t sure if it would be cool enough to wear them. Turns out they would’ve been perfect for the cool, wet weather we had in Scotland. I sorely wished I’d had them instead of my second pair of shoes. But that wouldn’t have been the case if it were warm, like it is now. Which is exactly why some of you like to have (many) options, right?
Driving a small hybrid car. This is a smart choice for so many reasons – narrow roads, tight parking, and high gas prices chief among them. Gas in Ireland was between $7 and $8 a gallon. We drove 750 miles in our hybrid car and spent approximately $100 in gas. I was shocked it was that affordable!
Tip: Not many gas stations are pay at the pump. You fill your car and go inside to pay, the old-fashioned way!
Planning what we would do each day, and pre-booking travel. My time poring over travel groups and researching what we wanted to do was well spent. I feel like we saw a lot and made good use of our time. I had prebooked train and bus tickets when possible, and that turned out well, too. It was also nice not to have reservations made for every day, so we could do things spontaneously. Airbnb hosts give excellent recommendations.
Waterproofing backpacks, shoes, and hats. We encountered rain quite a bit. Our waterproof jackets worked well, and we were glad we’d used waterproofing spray on other items we used daily.
Packing unnecessary items. I had brought a travel pillow/blanket for on the plane. This was foolish. I knew that blankets and pillows were provided on international flights, but I thought I might still want my own. I hardly used it, and it took up precious luggage space for no reason. I’d also packed a few books and a notebook because I thought I might want to write. Guess what. I didn’t have time to write anything except my daily reports, and that was done on the laptop. In the two weeks we were gone, I did little reading because we were either doing things or I was writing. My Kindle would’ve been enough.
Choose two places to stay and find things to do within the radius of those areas. We stayed at seven different places, and the unpacking and repacking got tiresome. I’m glad we did it this way for our first time, because we got to see a lot. It would be much more relaxing to settle in somewhere for a while, though.
Try to visit in shoulder season (April, May, September, October). Thankfully, most of the places we went weren’t overcrowded, but we did have spots that were. I have no desire to be part of that. However, the long daylight hours were a bonus, and that only lasts in the summer months. I would consider going again in the summer, but seeking out less popular places.
Get cash. There were only two times we needed cash – to tip our driver on the Isle of Skye trip, and to pay the pony cart driver on the Aran Islands. We were able to withdraw some from a bank and ATM both times, but paid stiff fees. If we had cash, we also would’ve left a tip at a few of the places we stayed that were exceptional. Tap to pay works beautifully for everything else.
And now I thought it would be fun to share something with those who’ve been following our journeys! I picked up two items in Ireland that I’ve decided to give away.
With this giveaway in mind, I bought this compilation of poems by various authors at a lovely shop in Dingle. It’s the book I read that evening by the water to try to remedy the day’s disappointments. I liked the first few poems so much that I ended up buying one to keep for myself.
If poetry isn’t your thing, maybe food is. We stopped at a weekend market in Dingle where local craftspeople had their wares. West of Dingle sells deliciously flavored salt harvested from the Atlantic Ocean. The black garlic flavor is one of their top sellers.
To enter the drawing, leave a comment1 telling which day’s travels you most wish to experience yourself. I will choose a first and second place winner by entering the names in a picker wheel. The first place winner gets to choose which item they want, and the second place winner gets the remaining item.
Here are links to each report.
Day 8: Belfast → Dublin → Doolin
The drawing will close on Friday, July 3. If you are a winner, I’ll send you a message. If you’re not a winner, you might want to purchase one of these items for yourself!
Comments need to be on this post to enter the drawing. A private message will not put your name in the drawing.
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