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underage at the vape shop posted:Yah increase in supply without an increase in demand makes prices bottom out No poo poo? I was talking specifically about people saying AirBnB increases the numbers of tourists coming to Amsterdam, as if they would suddenly not come or have never come in the first place if AirBnB didn't exist. Yeah it definitely contributes to increasing rental (and ownership) costs. Apparently 31,000 hotel rooms in the Amsterdam city area itself have been added in the past 10 years, not counting metro area, who hosted 7 million guests in 2016. I'm going to guess AirBnB hosts in Amsterdam in 2016 are a lot less than 7 million, and for whatever number they are, that most of those people would have come anyway and would just instead have gone to a hotel or whatever. http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/amsterdam-hotels-guide I'm still not talking about rental prices, but "traffic congestion" which is what the other posts were all about. Saladman fucked around with this message at 11:51 on Mar 20, 2019 |
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Mar 20, 2019 11:45
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Waci posted:Please note that this would mean more-open-than-current border controls, which will almost certainly not be the case regardless of whether anything actually changes. How do you mean? Currently UK citizens can remain indefinitely on the continent and are allowed to work or study. After Brexit they’ll be subject to the same 90/180 day limit like Americans or Australians currently have. And work/study visas will be required for those purposes.
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Mar 20, 2019 13:28
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webmeister posted:How do you mean? Currently UK citizens can remain indefinitely on the continent and are allowed to work or study. After Brexit they’ll be subject to the same 90/180 day limit like Americans or Australians currently have. And work/study visas will be required for those purposes. You know there are already, and have always been , border controls between the UK and the Schengen area, right? The EU freedom of movement rules don't change that. Or do you think that when visas for long term stays become necessary they'll also get rid of border controls at the same time? Waci fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Mar 20, 2019 |
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Mar 20, 2019 14:04
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I can imagine airbnb-related traffic problems in Amsterdam - many tourists come by car from Germany etc. to stay in a random house in the center, and try to park there, although there is very little space for this. This should be controlled by the very high price of parking, but they often take the risk of a fine, and they will probably never pay it unless they're from one of the few countries that we send fines to.
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Mar 20, 2019 14:12
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How much easier does it make things to just stay in Utrecht and then commute into Amsterdam/the Hague/Rotterdam, if one wants to spend a few days in the Netherlands? Looks like trains to those cities from Utrecht are only about 40 minutes max and quite cheap. Last time I stayed in Amsterdam it was in a very centrally-located, very tiny, pretty expensive little boutique hotel and the bed was utter trash.
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Mar 20, 2019 14:17
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Saladman posted:I'm still not talking about rental prices, but "traffic congestion" which is what the other posts were all about. That might include pedestrian and bicycle traffic too.
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Mar 20, 2019 15:49
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Drone posted:How much easier does it make things to just stay in Utrecht and then commute into Amsterdam/the Hague/Rotterdam, if one wants to spend a few days in the Netherlands? Looks like trains to those cities from Utrecht are only about 40 minutes max and quite cheap. It should be no problem at all. There's direct train connections between all of those and they take you right into the city centers. If you want to explore other parts of the cities, each of them has good local public transport (bus, tram, metro).
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Mar 20, 2019 18:28
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Waci posted:You know there are already, and have always been , border controls between the UK and the Schengen area, right? The EU freedom of movement rules don't change that. Or do you think that when visas for long term stays become necessary they'll also get rid of border controls at the same time? Yeah I know, I have a UK passport and I’ve crossed the border many times. Crossing the border itself won’t be any different, but UK citizens will lose the right to work/study or stay >90 days in Schengen without a visa (as opposed to now). I’ve never said anything about getting rid of border controls at all, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to?
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Mar 20, 2019 23:32
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Drone posted:Last time I stayed in Amsterdam it was in a very centrally-located, very tiny, pretty expensive little boutique hotel and the bed was utter trash. This was my experience in Amsterdam as well and I have to say: not a fan. I can't speak as to the feasibility of "commuting" into Amsterdam for tourism but I have to imagine it would be a superior experience, given the alternative.
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Mar 21, 2019 04:37
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Anyone have advice/recommendations for visiting vineyards/chateaus in Bordeaux (June)? If you’re not doing a pre-packaged tour, how much do you need to plan/book places ahead of time?
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Mar 24, 2019 03:20
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I stayed in Conscious Hotel Vondelpark, and while it was good they were really conscious and we're not. When we took the elevator instead of the stairs you should have seen the looks we got. We had bags ffs! E: also the most chill coffeeshop (Vondel coffeeshop) was really close, that's the one we visited every night to chill and watch a movie orange sky fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 07:39
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Apologies if this isn't the correct thread for this. I'm unfamiliar with the specifics of how different Euro Vizas interact with each other and had little luck in cursory research. My friend, an American, is starting University in Italy in late August and will be getting a student visa for that. However, she wants to visit Portugal in July as a tourist. Will the fact that she's returning long-term in August screw with the 90 days/6 month limit of visiting the EU as a tourist?
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Mar 25, 2019 10:54
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God Hole posted:Apologies if this isn't the correct thread for this. Those are different Visas, as far as I'm aware, and they shouldn't interfere with each other. Also, a visa to Italy is a Schengen visa, so if she has the student visa by July she can use it already. She should talk to the school and see if they allow her to get the student visa earlier.
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Mar 25, 2019 11:05
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Generally if you are from a Schengen visa waiver country (like the US) and you get a long-term permission of some sort (work, study, etc.) in a particular Schengen country, your time spent in that country under that permission doesn't count against your 90-days-in-180 limit for the rest of Schengen, so there likely wouldn't be any issues with her visiting another Schengen country in that respect. Of course, for time spent in other Schengen countries after you've taken up residence in a Schengen country, it's more or less an honour system since there are no internal border controls; it'd be a good idea to retain evidence of your intra-Schengen travels and returns (tickets, receipts, etc.) should anything ever come up... That said, your friend should check with the Italian immigration services to make sure that entering the Schengen zone on a visa waiver before her study visa has been approved won't have any impact on her visa approval, as that can sometimes be a concern. For example, when I was applying for my Irish work permit, I was not allowed to enter Ireland as a tourist while my application was being processed, or it would have been rejected. It may not be as much of an issue with a study visa, since the main concern would be that applicants may try to enter under a visitor permission to start working at their new job illegally before they have their permit approved, and there isn't usually any specific restriction against attending a course of study while under a visitor permission, but it would be best to make certain that it wouldn't cause any problems.
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Mar 25, 2019 11:57
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dennyk posted:Generally if you are from a Schengen visa waiver country (like the US) and you get a long-term permission of some sort (work, study, etc.) in a particular Schengen country, your time spent in that country under that permission doesn't count against your 90-days-in-180 limit for the rest of Schengen, so there likely wouldn't be any issues with her visiting another Schengen country in that respect. Of course, for time spent in other Schengen countries after you've taken up residence in a Schengen country, it's more or less an honour system since there are no internal border controls; it'd be a good idea to retain evidence of your intra-Schengen travels and returns (tickets, receipts, etc.) should anything ever come up... This is what I needed thanks! Yeah the issue is the school is being pretty ambiguous about this, so at this point she has no idea when she could expect that student visa process to start. Appreciate the feedback
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Mar 25, 2019 16:45
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Looking for Amsterdam recommendations. Me and my friend will be there Nov 15 and leaving the morning of the 23. We both would be down for a club/disco, art (Picasso museum) and design, great coffee, food and wine/beer. We both actually really love good cheese. Maybe day trips to other towns around we don't know about? We've also talked about a day or two in Paris (or I might have to fly to London for grad school open evenings but c'est la vie). Should we just stick around Amsterdam or popping into another country be worth it? What are some must sees? She'll want to smoke a bit too. We are two women in late-20s and early 30s. This is her first international trip and I'm a veteran by now.
cheese eats mouse fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Mar 25, 2019 |
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Mar 25, 2019 22:16
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cheese eats mouse posted:Looking for Amsterdam recommendations. Me and my friend will be there Nov 15 and leaving the morning of the 23. We both would be down for a club/disco, art (Picasso museum) and design, great coffee, food and wine/beer. We both actually really love good cheese. Maybe day trips to other towns around we don't know about? We've also talked about a day or two in Paris (or I might have to fly to London for grad school open evenings but c'est la vie). Should we just stick around Amsterdam or popping into another country be worth it? What are some must sees? She'll want to smoke a bit too. We are two women in late-20s and early 30s. This is her first international trip and I'm a veteran by now. I'm by no means a Amsterdam expert, but I really enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. I did both in a day but you could spend your whole trip at the Rijks and maybe not see everything. My wife and daughter will be doing Amsterdam and then on to Antwerpt and Brugge for a couple of days, but a day or two in Paris isn't really time to see much of anything. I'd save it for another trip.
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Mar 26, 2019 19:59
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Have a skim through the last few pages, as I think Amsterdam food/drink recommendations come up pretty frequently. As mentioned the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum are both great, but book your tickets in advance and arrive early, else you'll be waiting in line for hours (depending on the time of year of course). If you're really into cheese, the towns of Edam and Gouda are both within easy day trip range of Amsterdam. Edam in particular is really cute and has a big cheese market most days. To be honest eight days in Amsterdam seems like a fair bit unless you're planning on spending four of those in a coffeehouse. You could check out elsewhere in the Netherlands (eg Rotterdam, Utrecht), or head into Belgium. Bruges gets all the tourists there, but Leuwen, Ghent, Antwerp and others are all worth a look too.
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Mar 26, 2019 23:39
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I live in Amsterdam so I'm sure I posted about it before, but: Trips to smaller places in the vicinity of Amsterdam: - Visit Edam, along with Volendam and/or Monnekendam, with Edam being the smallest of these old towns. And they have a thing with cheese I guess but it's nice even if you don't care about that. - The island of Marken. A classic tourist destination for Dutch people, but it still works. Combines well with a ferry ride across the lake to Volendam or Monnickendam, which are also nice. Volendam is famous for its fish (though apparently better fish can be found more to the north up the coast). Can also be done by bike from Amsterdam. Yes I see it'll be November but that doesn't stop the locals. - Rent a bike and visit the small and cute villages of Waterland just outside the North part of the city (it's also worth biking over the Nieuwendammerdijk / through Schellingwoude when doing this). Possible destinations: the lakeside / former seaside restaurant/hotel in Durgerdam (there is only one), the big tower of the tiny village of Ransdorp and the typical local cafe in that village, the isolated village of Holysloot in a dead end, or the unexpected random wine collector's place in Zuiderwoude and the tea garden by the canal that is on the same street. Broek in Waterland is a bit bigger but it is also nice, has a lakeside center, and actually has a restaurant or two. I guess all of this is not great for November though and some places might be closed. - Muiden and its fortress, or Naarden and its massive earthen fortifications - One of the seaside towns, the easiest to reach (but also the biggest) being Zandvoort. More fun when there's a november storm. - One of the most touristic possible things of course is the visit the Zaanse Schans, an old village full of tourists with wooden houses and windmills nearby. From the beer thread: Entropist posted:De Bierkoning is the bottle shop where I go, I don't think there's any other with such a large selection. There's also a thing now where you get a free t-shirt for hitting up Arendsnest, Biertempel, 'cause Beer loves Food and Craft & Draft in an evening, which is a nice craft pub tour so I recommend it (you can eat at the 3rd place).
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Mar 27, 2019 01:22
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Not sure if this is the thread for this but while we’re on the topic of Amsterdam/Utrecht/Netherlands: Does anyone have any experience or tips for moving to the Netherlands as an American? My girlfriend travels there every 4-6 weeks for work and it looks like her company may give her the opportunity to relocate there soon. We’ve both spent time in the Netherlands and really enjoy it (we’re about to go over again for one of her work trips and stay a few weeks in Utrecht) and think we’d really enjoy living there for an extended period. I’m wondering how difficult it would be for me to get a job and a visa if she does get relocated there. I work in IT (have done both software development and system administration) but know nothing about getting hired in another country and what that involves. Would not speaking Dutch make this difficult? If anyone has any experience with this or could point me towards some resources I’d appreciate it.
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Mar 28, 2019 15:03
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I don't have experience but there seem to be many non-Dutch-speaking expats working in software companies, around Amsterdam at least. It limits your options but I'm sure there are still options, especially if you have some familiarity with hip things like data science. Generally there are a lot of jobs right now, especially in IT. Bigger companies sometimes even include an apartment with the deal if you do something they want. Not sure how this interacts with getting a visa - it'd probably be harder if the company has to arrange a visa also but who knows. I guess many of those expats I see were already here for studies or something, and got a visa while already being here to continue to work here. Next time you're here, go to some sort of expat meetup / hangout (there are many of those) and ask people things! You could also ask in the Dutch thread in SAL, I think there's at least one American there who's moved, though he's learned Dutch also.
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Mar 28, 2019 15:25
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Just came back from a week driving through one lane backcountry roads in Ireland and now the American freeway system seems like that one episode of Seinfeld where Kramer removes the lane markers from the highway to make the road wider and more luxurious
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Mar 28, 2019 15:36
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Entropist posted:Next time you're here, go to some sort of expat meetup / hangout (there are many of those) and ask people things! Thanks, good info! Will look into both of these. If this happens I’d definitely like to learn Dutch (I’ve spent some time on it already and am currently studying a little daily) but I definitely wouldn’t be a competent speaker by the time we moved.
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Mar 28, 2019 15:47
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It will only be partially applicable to you but my wife and I are one month into our relocation to Barcelona. I don't speak Spanish but it was my job that brought us here. Luckily my wife does speak Spanish. I came on a "highly-skilled worker" visa which enables her to work (if she can find a job...), otherwise she wouldn't be able to. Since you're not married I believe you'll need a job offer in hand to get a visa regardless. Lucky for you, IT is probably your best bet, start looking for listings and applying and you'll find out pretty quickly if companies are open to sponsoring you through the visa process. Which you should keep in mind can take some time. For me, it took about 8 months from starting the process to landing here. I don't know how Dutch bureaucracy compares to Spanish though.
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Mar 28, 2019 16:06
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FCKGW posted:Just came back from a week driving through one lane backcountry roads in Ireland and now the American freeway system seems like that one episode of Seinfeld where Kramer removes the lane markers from the highway to make the road wider and more luxurious Did you go anywhere you thought was particularly awesome that's not in like Top 10 Rick Steves Ireland lists (i.e. Dingle, Moher, ...)? I'm headed there for 12 days in May and doing a loop from Cork to Dublin and I very much like driving. We got the car and flights booked but haven't done anything else yet as it's a bit hard to pick specific countryside areas in advance without knowing the weather.
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Mar 28, 2019 16:31
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Jato posted:Not sure if this is the thread for this but while we’re on the topic of Amsterdam/Utrecht/Netherlands: A friend of mine moved to the Netherlands for work. His method was to get invited by a company. In that case, it works like this: A company first needs to register itself with the Netherlands immigration service. There's a bunch of bureaucracy involved and this costs some money for the company. After that is done, the company is allowed to hire foreigners as long as they have specific knowledge-based skills that are needed in the Netherlands. Software development counts. This gets you a worker visa. While you're on a worker visa you *have* to be hired by a Dutch company that is registered with the immigration service. It doesn't have to be the same company all the time but you're not allowed to be without a job at any point. Of course you do get holidays like anyone else. The worker visa period lasts 5 years, and you may be asked to learn Dutch and take a course on Netherlands culture during this time. After these 5 years, you are able to request Dutch citizenship. In my friend's case, he got in by first applying for a job in his home country, at a company that had offices both there and in the Netherlands, and then to get himself transferred to the NL office. Getting hired by a Dutch-only company while you're not in the country yet is probably a bit trickier. Note that if your girlfriend gets Dutch citizenship, you can easily get Dutch citizenship through her, especially if you marry first.
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Mar 28, 2019 20:01
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Saladman posted:Did you go anywhere you thought was particularly awesome that's not in like Top 10 Rick Steves Ireland lists (i.e. Dingle, Moher, ...)? I'm headed there for 12 days in May and doing a loop from Cork to Dublin and I very much like driving. We got the car and flights booked but haven't done anything else yet as it's a bit hard to pick specific countryside areas in advance without knowing the weather. Probably nothing too off the beaten path since the trip was booked through Costco and was mainly in main cities. We went from Dublin > Cork > Killarney > Limerick > Dublin. We drove through Killarney National Park and also around Dingle and went over Connor Pass. Apple Maps suggested some back roads though the country as a means from getting from the hotel to the main highways. Large parts of Slea Head Drive around Dingle are single lane roads too. Wanted to go further north but wasn't in the cards this trip. Something for next time! As a tip, we bought our sim cards from Amazon and they came with 15gb in Ireland good for 30 days for like $23. We were able to test them in the US before we left and used Google Voice when abroad. Worked out great. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Mar 28, 2019 |
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Mar 28, 2019 20:17
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FCKGW posted:Just came back from a week driving through one lane backcountry roads in Ireland and now the American freeway system seems like that one episode of Seinfeld where Kramer removes the lane markers from the highway to make the road wider and more luxurious Heh, the Irish roads were a bit terrifying the first time I drove 'em on a visit many years ago, and they still took some adjusting to when I moved here a few years later after having grown up in Orlando and then living in Atlanta for over a decade. Now I'm used to 'em, though, and just riding in a taxi up the Connector from the airport when I go visit family back in ATL is a bit overwhelming. Hell, even the M50 in Dublin seems busy to me now; luckily I'm only out that way when I'm heading for the airport a few times a year. Saladman posted:Did you go anywhere you thought was particularly awesome that's not in like Top 10 Rick Steves Ireland lists (i.e. Dingle, Moher, ...)? I'm headed there for 12 days in May and doing a loop from Cork to Dublin and I very much like driving. We got the car and flights booked but haven't done anything else yet as it's a bit hard to pick specific countryside areas in advance without knowing the weather. Ah, weather's easy; this handy tool tells you exactly what the weather will be like at any time on any day anywhere in Ireland:  Seriously though, don't bother trying to plan around the weather; it literally changes from hour to hour on most days (hell, from minute to minute when you get near the west coast...). Might get lucky and get a really clear and dry day, or unlucky and get a storm blowing in off the sea so it rains all day (not as likely in May, though), but many days will just be a mix; sunny, then cloudy, then raining, then sunny, then rainy, then sunny and rainy, then cloudy and dry, etc.. "Don't like the weather, just wait five minutes..." is often the literal truth around here. Just plan your sightseeing as suits your schedule and come prepared to deal with any weather from kinda hot and dry to cold and wet. Ireland's beautiful in any weather, anyhow, so don't let a little cloud or rain put you off. If you want to visit some interesting and less well know sights, check out this site: http://www.megalithicireland.com/ Dude's cataloged hundreds of historic sites all over the country; a few of the more famous ones are on there, but also tons that you won't find in any guidebook. It's a resource I use whenever I'm planning a road trip. As for where to go, the Southwest is famous for a reason, but there are plenty of other beautiful areas. I really love the area around Galway and the Connemara region and County Mayo myself. Beautiful rugged countryside up there, with some really lovely views, and fewer tourists than you'll find around Kerry and whatnot. Northern Mayo (not pictured there) has some lovely spots as well; Achill Island is beautiful, and Downpatrick Head is a must see. If you figure out your general itinerary, maybe I can make some more specific suggestions for stuff to see.
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Mar 28, 2019 21:58
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FCKGW posted:Probably nothing too off the beaten path since the trip was booked through Costco and was mainly in main cities. We went from Dublin > Cork > Killarney > Limerick > Dublin. What'd you think of Limerick? I had that crossed off my list mainly because DK's guidebook refers to it as quite run-down, but if the weather is terrible when we visit I was thinking maybe it'd be worth spending a day there? Like I imagine the Burren wouldn't be very appealing if the weather's drizzling and grey. I'm coming from Europe, but it's amazing how cheap data is everywhere except the USA. Like my roaming plan from Europe while in the US is cheaper than actually having a US plan while in the United States.
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Mar 30, 2019 16:42
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Saladman posted:What'd you think of Limerick? I had that crossed off my list mainly because DK's guidebook refers to it as quite run-down, but if the weather is terrible when we visit I was thinking maybe it'd be worth spending a day there? Limerick is a little dreary all right, but there's a few sights in town worth seeing if you have the time. King John's Castle has some nice modern exhibits on the history of the castle and the city, and St. Mary's is a lovely cathedral. The Hunt Museum is also worth a look; fascinating collection of antiquities there collected by John Hunt (who also restored the tower house at Craggaunowen and founded the open-air museum there). Plenty of restaurants and pubs in town to choose from, as well. Like I said, though, I wouldn't skip out on anything just because of the weather, unless you've looked at the day's forecast and radar and it's certain to be nonstop rain. The weather often blows through here quite fast and it can go from clear to lashing to clear again in a matter of minutes on many days, so just because it's drizzling when you wake up doesn't mean the whole day is a write-off.
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Mar 30, 2019 23:41
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Assuming the country doesn’t descend into riots in the next month, does anyone have favorite restaurants/pubs/bars/etc. in Edinburgh or London? The wife and I will be doing the customary tourist attractions in both cities, but I’d love to have some semi-local spots to hit up for dinner or evening entertainment. We’re in the thick of tourist country in Old Town Edinburgh, and are around Kensington in London.
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Mar 31, 2019 00:51
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Democratic Pirate posted:Assuming the country doesn’t descend into riots in the next month, does anyone have favorite restaurants/pubs/bars/etc. in Edinburgh or London? The wife and I will be doing the customary tourist attractions in both cities, but I’d love to have some semi-local spots to hit up for dinner or evening entertainment. We’re in the thick of tourist country in Old Town Edinburgh, and are around Kensington in London. For Edinburgh: Thailander (Thai), River Life (French Caribbean), Fazenda (Brazilian BBQ), Korean BBQ (this is the name of the restaurant, guess what they serve?)
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Mar 31, 2019 16:21
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I just moved home from Singapore to Edinburgh (after 7 years) and have heard of literally none of those places. Need to get back into the food scene!
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Mar 31, 2019 16:33
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cheese eats mouse posted:Looking for Amsterdam recommendations. Me and my friend will be there Nov 15 and leaving the morning of the 23. We both would be down for a club/disco, art (Picasso museum) and design, great coffee, food and wine/beer. We both actually really love good cheese. Maybe day trips to other towns around we don't know about? We've also talked about a day or two in Paris (or I might have to fly to London for grad school open evenings but c'est la vie). Should we just stick around Amsterdam or popping into another country be worth it? What are some must sees? She'll want to smoke a bit too. We are two women in late-20s and early 30s. This is her first international trip and I'm a veteran by now. I've posted a few times about Amsterdam, it was a yearly trip for a while for me and my partner - click the ? under my username. The 'cheese museum' outside the Anne Frank Huis is great for free samples and some delicious cheese, with a silly little bit downstairs where you can dress up as a milkmaid. Mainly it's all about the free samples though. The Tropenmuseum is my favourite museum in Europe so far. Daytrips - Den Haag is nice and the Escher Museum is in a palace, which is a nice combination. Haarlem is pretty but quiet. For smoking, Abraxas on Jonge Roelensteeg does banging hot chocolate and is not intimidating. Touristy but comfortable with lots of space. I've also enjoyed Dampkring. I can't remember if Blues Brothers is still around but that was always nice and chill too. Go to Lost in Amsterdam during the day or early evening and have an alcoholic milkshake and a hookah - you need to keep your baccy under the table but for something like €10 they'll sort you out a hookah in a nice environment. It just gets a bit rowdy when the weekend crowd get there.
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Mar 31, 2019 18:35
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kru posted:I just moved home from Singapore to Edinburgh (after 7 years) and have heard of literally none of those places. Need to get back into the food scene! Fazenda's pretty cool, the setup and decor are really "grand" and restaurantlike, which I actually tend to dislike since i feel like I'm paying for non-food, but it's actually not that badly priced especially if you go for lunch. You can take from a big buffet of appetizers with pretty great stuff on it, and then flip a card to indicate that you'd like to recieve meat. The meat is decent, I liked the chicken hearts and sirloin, and you can eat all you want. Thailander tastes pretty authentically Thai. They recently downsized their menu to have mostly generic stuff like Pad Thai but you can order off-menu and they make great Larb Mu if you request it.
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Mar 31, 2019 19:21
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dennyk posted:Limerick is a little dreary all right, but there's a few sights in town worth seeing if you have the time. King John's Castle has some nice modern exhibits on the history of the castle and the city, and St. Mary's is a lovely cathedral. The Hunt Museum is also worth a look; fascinating collection of antiquities there collected by John Hunt (who also restored the tower house at Craggaunowen and founded the open-air museum there). Plenty of restaurants and pubs in town to choose from, as well. Thanks! Somehow I’d not read your post that was right above mine. Would love to get your ideas since it sounds like you know the area really well — I’m trying to draft it all up now for our general itinerary but probably arrive Cork & spend night in Kinsale then - 3 days Killarney - 3 days Galway - 2 days Kilkenny - 2 days Dublin. Trying to mix it up between Neolithic ruins (everyone but me loves them — though the burial mounds north of Dublin look super cool), 1600s-ish ruins, maybe a couple non-ruined manors and castles, and landscapes. The rest of my family is definitely huge into Neolithic stuff so we’ll have to take a look at that site you linked, thanks.
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Apr 1, 2019 01:04
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Is Salzburg worth 2-3 days or is that too much?
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Apr 1, 2019 03:39
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Saladman posted:Thanks! Somehow I’d not read your post that was right above mine. Would love to get your ideas since it sounds like you know the area really well — I’m trying to draft it all up now for our general itinerary but probably arrive Cork & spend night in Kinsale then - 3 days Killarney - 3 days Galway - 2 days Kilkenny - 2 days Dublin. Trying to mix it up between Neolithic ruins (everyone but me loves them — though the burial mounds north of Dublin look super cool), 1600s-ish ruins, maybe a couple non-ruined manors and castles, and landscapes. The rest of my Seems like a good itinerary there, I'd say; plenty of time in each area to explore. Kinsale's a beautiful town, you'll enjoy your stay there. Definitely check out Charles Fort, and maybe James Fort if you have time (smaller and far more ruined, but also free, and has some great views of the town as well). From Kinsale, ignore your satnav and take the R600 to Cloakilty and pick up the N71 there, then take that all the way to Killarney. It's a lovely drive with some nice scenery, especially when you get past Bantry. Probably 3-4 hours of driving all told, so you'd have some time for some stops along the way. Don't miss the Drombeg stone circle, for sure. Closer to Killarney, you could stop at Muckross House and Ross Castle (or do those another day if you run out of time). From Killarney, you can drive the Ring of Kerry, of course. Definitely spend a day out on the Dingle Peninsula as well. If you'd want something a little less overflowing with tour buses, there's always the Beara Peninsula. From Killarney to Galway (a few hours of driving), there's a lot of options along the way. There's Limerick City, of course. Adare is a little village that's a popular stop as well (and you will stop there whether you like it or not if you're going that way, as there's no bypass and it's an eternal traffic jam on the N21...  ). It has some pretty little thatched cottages, a few nice churches, and a castle you can see on a guided tour. There's also Adare Manor, but the grounds are for customers only, so you'd have to book lunch or tea or something there to get inside (and it ain't cheap). Bunratty is expensive and pretty touristy, but well worth a visit; the keep is beautifully restored and the folk park has some nice examples of mid-19th century domestic architecture. The whole place is very well kept, and by May there should be some costumed reenactors around the park again for the summer season. If you want something a bit more off the beaten path, I'd suggest a quick detour to Kilmallock; it's a little village in County Limerick with a bunch of cool historic buildings and ruins. There's a fellow there who runs a walking tour on the weekends, but if you ring him, it's possible he might be able to arrange something on another day. Even if you can't get a tour, the town is worth a visit, and it certainly won't be crowded with tourists. For your Neolithic-loving family members, you also must stop by Lough Gur, just a bit north of Kilmallock. The area around the lake is full of Neolithic ruins, including the remains of a homestead, a beautiful wedge tomb, and an enormous stone circle (the largest in Ireland). The visitor's centre has some interesting artifacts and exhibits, and you can get an audio tour of the nearby ruins. There's also a couple ruined castles and an old ruined church situated around the lake. North of Limerick, you could go check out Craggaunowen; it's a restored tower house and an open-air museum with reconstructions of ancient Irish dwellings like a crannog and a ring fort, all in a lovely bit of woodland. Like Bunratty, they also have a few volunteer costumed reenactors to tell you about everything. Also, stop by the village of Quin on your way out to see the beautiful Quin Abbey, built on the ruins of a Norman castle. Closer to Galway, make a quick detour to Kinvarra to see Dunguaire Castle, another restored tower house situated on the bay (just as pretty as Eilean Donan, in my opinion). You can take a quick tour if you're there early enough, or even attend the nightly banquet (probably more than a little cheesy and twee, but it could be fun). Staying in Galway, you can explore Connemara, southern Mayo, and west Clare easily enough. Visit the Cliffs of Moher, of course, and the Burren. Stop by Aughnanure Castle, a restored O'Flaherty tower house with a banqueting hall and a double bawn. Head out to Clifden and drive the Sky Road for some lovely views of the Atlantic. Drive the R344 around Lough Inagh for some amazing views of the Twelve Bens, and then stop by Kylemore Abbey. Head up to Killary Fjord and do a boat tour, check out the falls and the azaleas at Aasleagh, then take the R335 past Delphi and along Doo Lough (one of the most beautiful drives in Ireland, in my opinion). Or head over to Cong to see the abbey and Ashford Castle and walk in the lovely woods there, then head back through Headford and visit Ross Errilly Friary, an absolutely enormous ruined friary on the Black River. (As a bonus, you can drive the N84 back to Galway and experience one of the longest stretches of straight road in Ireland... ). Galway to Kilkenny, again you have some good options. You could stop by the monastic site at Clonmacnoise just south of Athlone, if you head that way. Athlone itself could be a nice stop for a bit of lunch and to check out the old fortress. Stop by Birr and visit the castle gardens and the enormous telescope (it was built by the Third Earl of Rosse in the mid-19th century, and was the largest telescope in the world at the time). Roscrea has a few interesting ruins, including a castle and a lovely round tower. You could also make a quick detour down to Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel (a must-visit) and Cahir to visit the castle there. Kilkenny itself has plenty to do for a day; do a walking tour around the town, visit the beautiful castle, walk along the river, check out the old town gates and all of the beautiful old churches in town (definitely do not miss St. Canice's cathedral). Walk along the Medieval Mile, and be sure to stop at Kyteler's, a genuine medieval inn with a fascinating history. From Kilkenny to Dublin, head over into the Wicklow Mountains for some more lovely scenery, and definitely visit Glendalough. You could also head up to Newgrange if you want (be sure you've made a booking for a tour in advance, though), and maybe visit Trim to see the castle, or stop by the Hill of Tara. If you've little ones, Tayto Park is also up that way. Can't offer much advice on Dublin itself as I actually haven't been inside the M50 myself. Guess you can check out all the usual tourist attractions, though.
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Apr 1, 2019 13:06
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Is Salzburg worth 2-3 days or is that too much? I spent a few nights there and found it to be a decent amount of time; I was certainly never bored, and there were still some things I didn't have a chance to see. I prefer to take it slow when traveling, though; if you're a leave-at-dawn-and-race-through-the-highlights sort of traveler, you might well be done with it in a day. If you take your time and enjoy strolling through town and visiting all the beautiful baroque churches and walking up the hills to soak in the views, though, that definitely wouldn't be too much time.
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Apr 1, 2019 13:12
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3 days in Salzburg sounds about right - Hellbrunn is worth a day to itself and between the cathedral, castle and monastery there's at least a day worth of things to see in the town. Also go on a brewery tour if you can - I went to the Stiegel brewery and got agreeably drunk on all their free samples.
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Apr 1, 2019 13:49
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