Ireland Named Top Travel Destination for 2011
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, vacationers might want to pay particular attention to the recent Frommer’s Guide poll naming Ireland as readers’ favorite tourist destination for 2011.
“Ireland is one of the most romantic destinations on earth”
“Ireland is one of the most romantic destinations on earth,” says Patricia Tunison Preston, who’s authored 15 travel books on the country and is widely recognized as the go-to person for pretty much all things Irish. “Where else can you find such a stunning array of quiet country roads, glistening rivers and lakes, uncrowded dune-filled beaches, meandering gardens and charming little towns with cozy pubs and manor houses?”
Among the highlights travelers will treasure are these:
- Kissing the Blarney Stone. Actually, this tourist magnet is only one reason to visit what’s arguably the Emerald Isle’s most famous castle (Blarney Castle). Sure, puckering up may—legend has it—leave you with the gift of a silver tongue, but the fortress’ majestic gardens will take your breath away. And the Badger Cave and dungeons are not to be missed.
- The great outdoors. If the cowpokes in “True Grit” had had the kind of backdrop Donegal offers for horseback riding—beaches, countryside and mountains—maybe they would’ve been less quick on the draw. Plus, there’s sailing off of Ireland’s West Coast and sea kayaking in West Cork.
- Pub-crawling. Frommer’s calls pubs “the social heart of every village and town.” But the literary-minded should head to Dublin’s Davy Byrnes Pub for a hot whiskey to see where Leopold Bloom, the main character in James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” lunched. (If you’re meeting someone, remember that its clock is set five minutes ahead in honor of both Joyce and Bloom.)
- Strolling through a bog. The Slieve Bloom Way (no relation to Leopold) is comparatively untouched by man. Behold its waterfalls, its scampering foxes, and contemplate the meaning of life.
Preston recommends CIE Tours International as the best way to enjoy Ireland. The company offers a choice of 25 different escorted tours, along with almost a dozen different types of independent self-drive vacations, with stays at B&Bs, pre-booked hotels and deluxe and castle hotels. Prices for a six-day/four-night/eight-meal Taste of Ireland Tour start at $658.
