Archive for August, 2010
So You Are Planning To Visit Ireland
Short trips can often be rushed and you need a holiday to get over it when you get home! You do not want to waist time travelling to and from towns. I would advise you to pick one location and spend your time travelling to all the tourist spots that surround it.
‘So where would you recommend we visit?!’ There really is so much to see and do, but if you have a limited time to be here, the best places to choose are probably those that are close to airports / ports. There are very cheap airlines in and out of Ireland where you could fly to London, Paris etc for as little as 1cent (not including taxes and airport charges, which they fail to tell you!!) But you have quite alot of choice.
Choosing Accommodation
Save Time Making Travel Plans Using the Internet
Guest post from: Steve Delaney
While I know I don’t look old enough, I can remember making travel plans before the Internet was ubiquitous. My life is much easier now!
Back in the day, I can remember calling the airlines or a travel agent to book an airline ticket, or to make a change in itinerary. I could be on hold for hours, first waiting for an answer, then waiting as the representative searched through available flight options. The same for renting a car or booking a hotel room.
Some companies where I worked even employed full-time, in-house travel agents to book flights and rooms for employees. While I wasn’t the one on ‘hold’ anymore, it was still inefficient.
With my clear tv bundle, I enthusiastically appreciate today’s online travel sites and options.
Nearly every airline around the world today has a website, and through most of them you can buy a ticket with 24 hour advance planning. You can also check on flight schedules and track frequent flyer miles. All ‘self serve’ and all online. The same for hotels and car rentals. There are also websites that consolidate your flight, hotel and car rental reservations all at one location, often with impressive combined cost savings.
Spooky Legends of Ireland
The Banshee
The Banshee, or bean-sidhe (woman of the fairy), is one of the best known horror legends. Poets and storytellers refer to the screaming of the banshee as a portent of doom. The original banshee is an ancestral spirit sentenced to forever warn certain ancient Irish families of a pending death in the family. Families such as the O’Neills, the O’Briens, or the O’Gradys have their very own banshee, who will appear often at night, right before someone is about to die.
The banshee can appear in three forms: a young woman, a mother, or an old crone. She wears a grey cloak with a hood, or a winding sheet. If the family doesn’t see her, they will certainly HEAR her keening cry across their lands. Her keening has been described as “the cross between an owl and the wail of a woman” or “so piercing, it shatters glass.”
Destination Ireland – The Ryder Cup 2006
The actual event will be held at The K Club in County Kildare, located about a 40 minute drive form Dublin. Demand for accommodation is already exceeding supply in many locations within a 50 mile radius of the venue. Prices for accommodation in Dublin and Kildare are at a premium and one wonders could this put people off travelling in the future.
The opening ceremonies will be held on Thursday September 21st and run for the next four days. Ireland already is a mecca for golfers but it is hoped that this event will cement the country as a leading golf destination in the minds of millions. The country boasts almost one third of the links courses worldwide with many courses posing a challenge for beginner and experienced golfer alike.
Dooks Golf Club: One of Irelands Best Kept Secret
Dooks Golf Club: One of Irelands Best Kept Secret
Ranked no 16 in the world as one of the best golf courses, no. 8 in the top 10 courses for welcome, no. 6 in the worlds 10 most difficult courses and no 1 in the world in the 10 best value courses, indeed, the Dooks Golf Club is one of Irelands best attractions and it has continued to draw in tourists to its vast and rolling greens.
Found along the Dingle bay with mountains bordering its three sides, the Dooks Golf Club offers a course that combines flat and wide greens on some holes and highly elevated greens on the others. Its length of 6500 yards is filled with blind shots and trees and contradictory flat and easily visible holes.
Established in 1889, the Dooks Golf Club was promoted by the Royal Horse Artillery to the nearby aristocratic golfers while being stationed and training in the area. It is now one of the oldest golf links in Ireland. Its location itself has provided many of its members and visitors a chance to experience true Irish traditional culture and the famed traditions. For every golfer that has been looking for a golf course that can offer a tranquil environment, the Dooks Golf Club epitomizes this concept.
Ten Things to Do and See in Ireland
1.) Dublin sightseeing tour
Nothing is better than having a Dublin city tour, and there are many bus tour companies in the city that cater to tourists. The bus tour will give you a wonderful tour in the city’s tourist spots. The bus tour also stops frequently for visitors to explore the place and take pictures.
2.) Ride the Ghostbus of Dublin
This is also very popular among tourists. Here, you will be taken to the haunted sites of Dublin as a storyteller tells the fascinating story of each place. For those who love Goth culture, this ride is very much recommended.
3.) Get the Zozimus Experience
This is a unique on-foot ghost tour that can only be found in Dublin. Here, you will be toured along Medieval Dublin’s streets by Zozimus, a blind old man, who also tells ghost stories about the area as well as the gruesome murders that took place here. The length of the tour is about one and a half hours.
Best Adventure Holidays in Mali
Adventure holidays in Mali range from cultural journeys to desert safaris and offer a fascinating insight to this often overlooked West African country. Some of the best adventure holidays in Mali are those that visit the infamous city of Timbuktu. Timbuktu is steeped in history and offers travellers architectural attractions that include exquisitely beautiful mosques and tombs that date to the medieval era. A visit here is often the highlight of any holiday in Mali.
However, other popular adventure holidays in Mali involve such activities as visiting the Dogon Country; a wilderness of rock, shrub, barren sands and traditional villages, camel riding, desert camping, attending cultural festivals like Essakane Festival, and enjoying a river cruise along the famous Nile from Mopti; an active river port town to Timbuktu; the renowned historic city.
Escape To Thailand This Summer At A Fraction Of The Price!
Everyone needs a break, and when the summer season kicks in holiday prices are increased. Cheap flights become more expensive, and you’ll usually have to save well in advance in order to book your summer get away. Well not anymore, there’s an excellent site that offers people who want to take a break and chill out in Thailand up to 70% off the usual prices.
They have honest opinionated reviews of hotels based in Thailand, a simple search box located in the right corner of the site, and a facility that allows you to pay online and check you’re booking status.
So if you want a standard Hotel Pattaya, or fancy a free upgrade to an extra special hotel room in Thailand, the site will be able to get you in touch with the crème de la crème of hotel accommodation. After all Thailand is such a great place to escape away to, and once you get there you won’t want to go back. There’s no point in wasting your time searching the web looking for accommodation when you can visit the experts the first time around. The site is put together by people that really know their stuff, the savings are amazing.
Galway, Ireland – Ireland’s Most Irish City
Galway is Ireland’s most Irish city, with over half of the population fluent in the Irish language Gaeilge. Galway has seen phenomenal expansion and major redevelopment towards the end of the 20th century. However, a stroll down the main thoroughfare — the cobbled Shop Street will reveal the old-fashioned Ireland. Kirwan’s Lane is another such thoroughfare that has been restored to its medieval charm. The finest example of medieval architecture is a townhouse known as Lynch’s Castle, which is now serving as a branch of the Allied Irish Bank. And the Church of Ireland is well represented here with St. Nicholas’s Collegiate Church. Founded in 1320 and enlarged in the subsequent two centuries, it is the largest medieval church still in everyday use in Ireland.
Never Judge A Vehicle By Its Cover
When it comes to shopping for a vehicle, you’ll find that this task can be extremely daunting. Not only are there a plethora of vehicles on the market, but there are also so many different features that each of these vehicles encompass.
Most people are unaware of the name brand of vehicle that they’re looking for. For example, a lot of individuals could not tell a Mitsubishi Endeavor from a Kia Forte, even though the differences between these two vehicles may be plentiful.
A lot of individuals when it comes to shopping for a vehicle will first look at the way that the vehicle appears externally. A Mercedes Benz G-class is a highly desirable vehicle for both men as well as women. Not only does this vehicle emphasize on class and splendour it also makes the individual that is behind the driver’s seat feel safe and secure.
The Volkswagen EOS is another vehicle that you may come across when shopping for a car. Aside from the appearance of the vehicles, the other main thing that individuals tend to investigate is the price of the vehicles in question as well.
