Today’s post is really and truly a visual diary in honour of St. Patrick’s Day because as you guys might know, my obsession with Ireland is so real and I’ve already covered so much of Ireland in great detail, from my Galway post to my Dublin guide to my total itinerary to Northern Ireland! So while we’re talking itinerary here, just make sure to check out my Ireland section because it’s truly stacked with tips on where to stay, where to eat, and more!
So as you can see from this supremely dorky watercolour above (which full disclosure, is not obviously done perfectly to scale with an actual map of Ireland & Northern Ireland!), while I’ve covered so much of this country and of Northern Ireland over my many trips, there’s still so much to see!
Why do I keep going back? Honestly, it’s just my favourite place. Irish people often find that statement especially hilarious, but I guess anyone gets so used to where they live and it can sometimes wear on you (I mean, the fact that Vancouver can sometimes feel like a drag is total proof of that, because it’s honestly one of the best places you could ever live). There’s also been famously different hardships and issues over its long history.
But honestly, there’s just a pull for me when it comes to Ireland and something about it got into my system, right away on my first trip there! From the amazing people to its rugged beauty to its incredible centuries-old culture (which has gotten a resuscitation and revival since independence), it’s just somewhere I love so, so much.
I also love that it’s a country that you can get around easily, to really discover. If you either rent a car, take a train or take busses, you can honestly get around just about the whole country and it won’t take 3 months!
But if it’s your first time there, I’d recommend a week and a half at least. Start in Dublin (see guide 1 here, guide 2 here), take a train to Galway and see what is undoubtedly my favourite town in the country (see my guide here), go through the Burren and see the Cliffs of Moher, take a bus or drive down to Cork and then spend a few days there eating some truly incredible food, taking in its stunning churches and make a quick day trip to Blarney Castle to do the requisite stone kiss! You can either do a day trip from there time permitting to do a Ring of Kerry tour and then you can zip back up to Dublin to fly home!
But if you’re there longer, from Northern Ireland to Wicklow to Sligo, there’s so much to see! I’m so lucky one of my best friends Amanda lives there (with her bf Dave who has been forced into our group of best friends too) so on top of it being my fave country, I also always have a reason to go! Seriously though, I have Dublin flight alerts on and I’m always amazed by how decent the prices are, and how frequent the sales are! So if you haven’t been or haven’t considered Ireland yet, please do me a favour and do it! It’s truly a magical place. Last thing: definitely check my Ireland video too to get a quick sense of the country—one of my fave videos I’ve made, it always makes me so happy and brings me back to that amazing trip!
And with that, happy St. Patrick’s Day lovelies! Hope you have a fantastic weekend! As always, you can follow along with my weekend shenanigans (which I think are going to include some festivities tonight!) over on Insta!
Great photos 😉
Thanks so much! xo
Your photos are beautiful! I’m currently living in Dublin and you’ve inspired me to get out and take some photos of the things I take for granted… It does help that the weather looks beautiful when you visited though – you must have visited on the one day the Sun shines over here, haha!