Any info appreciated....Ireland Family Vacation!

[Wonders10]

Hey everyone,

I have no idea why it took me so long to look into Adventures by Disney, but I happened to go to their site tonight and was so excited to see that they have an Ireland trip! My mom and I have been wanting to go there for a very long time and are hoping to get there next summer.

I don't really have any specific questions as of yet since I just stumbled across it this evening, but any information you can offer me - like do you feel it is worth it? What are the plusses/minuses of taking a trip like this with Disney as opposed to on your own/another tour group? Do many go without kids (I don't mind hanging out with kids at all, but on this trip it will be just my mom and I - will we feel left out being childless?) Any other information you feel like sharing with a newbie is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[awatt]

We did Emerald Isle in June and loved it. I did a trip report and I just bumped it to the top of the page for you.

 

[Poppins2000]

My DH and I went on the trip in May and had an awesome time. There were 40 people in our group, six were kids from around the ages of 8-15. There were a lot of couples, a mother and son and a couple mom and daughter/s teams on the trip - a really good mix.

Going on a tour group is great if you have never been to a specific country before. We chose Disney because of the group size (40 is their max!) and their top-notch customer service. We were NOT disappointed!

Disney took care of everything; they pick you up from the airport, they handle your luggage for the entire trip, provide snacks on the bus trips and provide you with infomation on others palces to visit or dine during your free time.

 

[TewEpcot]

Hi Poppins,

My DM and I are going to Ireland in May 2009. How did you pack for the trip? Does ABD provide you with a pretty good idea of what sort of attire you'll need for the different restaurants, stops, etc? We are going on an adult-only week, but I don't think the itinerary changes much.

Thanks for the help!

 

[redzinner]

awatt bumped her trip report and great photos up for you to peruse and here are Poppins2000 reports. Both reports are very helpful.

Part 1 of Trip Report to Emerald Isle

Part 2 of Trip Report to Emerald Isle

Part 3 of Trip Report to Emerald Isle

Part 4 of 5 on our Trip Report to Emerald Isle

Part Five Final Chapter of Our Trip to the Emerald Isle

 

[Poppins2000]

We pretty much lived in jeans and t-shirts and so does most of Ireland! It 's very casual. The temps during the day were in the mid 60's,(one day in Dublin it got close to 70), the nights in the mid 50's. I pretty much wore long sleeve t's and if I wore a s/s tee, I'd wear a light sweater or fleece over it. The only time we "dressed up" (and by that I wore khakis, my Clark clogs and a nice sweater, DH wore khakis and a golf shirt ) was for dinner at Mentons in Killarney and for dinner the last night in the castle. We packed travel umbrellas (used them once the whole 10 days we were there), a lined raincoat (that I could use in clilly or rainy weather - very handy) and a fleece pullover. Did not pack a blowdryer for every hotel had one.
Hope that helps!

 

[redzinner]

Poppins2000,

By your signature I see you are in South FL. I've been looking at flights from Shannon to Southwest FL and there doesn't appear to be a huge selection. May I ask what airlines and stateside airports you chose? Right now it looks like everything from Shannon goes through NY JFK or NJ Newark.

Thanks!

 

[TewEpcot]

We pretty much lived in jeans and t-shirts and so does most of Ireland! It 's very casual. The temps during the day were in the mid 60's,(one day in Dublin it got close to 70), the nights in the mid 50's. I pretty much wore long sleeve t's and if I wore a s/s tee, I'd wear a light sweater or fleece over it. The only time we "dressed up" (and by that I wore khakis, my Clark clogs and a nice sweater, DH wore khakis and a golf shirt ) was for dinner at Mentons in Killarney and for dinner the last night in the castle. We packed travel umbrellas (used them once the whole 10 days we were there), a lined raincoat (that I could use in clilly or rainy weather - very handy) and a fleece pullover. Did not pack a blowdryer for every hotel had one.
Hope that helps!

Thank you, Poppins! I did read your report, as well (after I had posted my question, of course). I'll probably end up bringing at least one dress, just because I like to dress up sometimes... but I appreciate knowing that the days are all about comfy! I'll definitely be taking an umbrella.

Thanks again!

 

[Poppins2000]

We flew on Delta; Miami (left 12:05pm) to JFK(arrive 3:05pm; left to Dublin 7:30pm and arrived at 7:45am) and back Shannon(11:30am) to JFK (arrive 1:45pm; left for MIA 7Pm; arrived 10PM). We had 5 hour lay overs in JFK which wasn't bad on the way over, mainly because we met my BFF and her family who flew in from CO (and I hadn't seen them in a year!) and we all flew over to Dublin together. Coming back was harder because of the time change change and reliving the day over again. Our tickets were $750 each and flying through JFK versus Atlanta was cheaper and I couldn't get anything out of Miami for less than $1200 each at the time...

 

[redzinner]

Thanks for the info Poppins! It's appreciated.

 

[awatt]

Hi Poppins,

My DM and I are going to Ireland in May 2009. How did you pack for the trip? Does ABD provide you with a pretty good idea of what sort of attire you'll need for the different restaurants, stops, etc? We are going on an adult-only week, but I don't think the itinerary changes much.

Thanks for the help!

Dress in layers. MOst days (it was end of June), we wore jeans and t-shirts with a sweatshirt or jacket over that. In May it is probably cooler so I would bring a few sweatshirts. Some days it warmed up enough to lose the sweatshirt. Also bring a jacket with a hood as it rains part of the day a fair number of days. Fleece would be helpful for sites where it was windy like teh cliffs of Mohr and the Kenmare cruise.