Category: Western Europe

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”– Andre Gide.

Luxembourg also known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a country in the western part of Europe. Its bordered by Belgium, France and Germany. Languages like French and German are spoken in addition to its native language Luxembourgish.

The capital city named as Luxembourg City is one of three official capital cities of the European Union (along with Brussels and Strasbourg).

Some Facts about Luxembourg:

1) Second richest country in the world (After Qatar).

2) One of the safest nations in the world.

3) Many of the restaurants here have the largest variety of wine in their menu.

4) Half of the residents of Luxembourg are foreigners.

5) UNESCO certified the city of Luxembourg, a world heritage site.

6) June 23 is one of the most important days in the Luxembourgish Calendar (Grand Duke of Luxembourg’s birthday).

7) It’s one of the founding members of the European Union.

We visited Luxembourg in August 2019 from Dublin (in Ryanair) and it was a short trip of 2 days.

You can also check some popular websites like ‘TRAINLINE’ for your travel needs. Its one of the top destination for Train and Bus tickets. Check the link here, for more details: https://www.thetrainline.com/en-us/trains/europe

I would certainly recommend you to take a 1 day ‘Luxembourg Card’ (2/3 days card is also available). I had taken a Family card which is valid for around 2-5 Persons and costs around 28 Euros. I managed to buy this card from the Hotel that I stayed. Many of the museums and other places are free with this card. You get access to around 60 places free of cost with this card. You are also entitled to get a free booklet along with this card which provides all the details about the attractions. Another advantage of this card is that you can travel in the public transport (inside city and outskirts).

I would also recommend the hotel ‘Park inn by Radisson’.

It is conveniently located in the city centre (near to Main Bus terminal/Railway station).

The public transportation is excellent. Bus ticket costs around 2euros /Hour.

Bus 16 would take you from Airport (Findel Airport) to the city center (Gare de Luxembourg). You can take the bus directly from the main entrance of the airport. Normally you will have to take the bus ticket from the ticket vending machine which is available in all the main stops. Seems you can’t get the ticket directly from the bus driver.

I would like to provide you a one-day full itinerary that would help you to cover most of the important places here. We covered this place on the second day which was mostly a walking tour and the Starting point was ‘Parkin inn By Radisson’ hotel (around 9:30-9:45 AM).

1) La Passerellee Bridge:

This bridge is a great spot to get your first view of Luxembourg City. The city is really two levels. The upper level is the old town, a maze of pretty streets, restaurants, museums, and great places to go shopping. In the lower part of the city you will find more restaurants and bars, houses, plus gardens and canals that are very picturesque.

2) Luxembourg National Museum of National History: (Free entry with Luxembourg card) (Opens @10AM)

If you are interested in Natural history and so on, this would be a good place for you.

This Museum covers all traditional subjects through its collections from the fields of botany, zoology, Biology and so on.

More details here  → https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/museum/national-museum-of-natural-history-natur-musee-luxembourg

3) Neumünster Abbey:

This is a public meeting place and cultural centre and is very near to the Natural History museum. This wonderful historic Abbey has been beautifully renovated and is now used as a cultural center, hosting musical events, a charming cafe, and a gallery that has excellent art exhibitions of local and international artists.

4) Grund:

This is a must-see place /surrounding in Luxembourg. The Grund is in the valley below the centre of Luxembourg City on the banks of the Alzette River.

This place really is a photographer’s dream as it can be photographed from above as well as from below once you get to explore its beautiful streets.

The Grund is one of the oldest parts of the city, and arguably one of the prettiest.

5) Bock Casemates: (Entry free with Luxembourg Card)

The Bock Casemates is a fortification that protected the city for many centuries. Its rocky cliffs stand on the bank of the river Alzette. There are complex underground tunnels in the Bock called Casemates. With the total length of 23km, they were used for protection and housed military personnel and supplies during the war. It’s a UNESCO’s world heritage site since 1994. The Casemates are open to the public from March to October.

There is also a city Train ride available in this place. Personally, I have not explored this, so not sure about it.

6) Chemin de la Corniche:

Also known as the “most beautiful balcony of Europe”. From here you can see the image found in most postcards of the city. The view is simply spectacular!

7) Musée national d’histoire et d’art Luxembourg: (Free entry for all)

The National Museum of History and Art, abbreviated to MNHA, is a museum located in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is dedicated to displaying artworks and artefacts from all epochs of Luxembourg history.

The museum has a large archaeological collection, particularly of objects discovered during the various excavations.

More details here –> https://www.mnha.lu/

8) Lëtzebuerg City Museum: (Free entry with Luxembourg Card)

This place can be skipped if you are running short of time.

The Luxembourg City History Museum illustrates the thousand-year history of the City of Luxembourg with both permanent and temporary exhibits.

The museum consists of two parts: the floors below the entrance level illustrate the city’s evolution from an economic, social, political, architectural and town planning point of view, whereas the upper levels are reserved for temporary exhibitions.

9) Grand Ducal Palace:

This is the official residence of Grand Duke of Luxembourg and where he performs most of his duties as head of state.

More details here –> https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/castle/palace-of-the-grand-dukes

There is also a Chocolate house just opposite to Grand Ducal Place.

10) Cathédrale Notre-Dame:

The cathedral’s one-of-a-kind ceiling is one of the most characteristic images of the capital. The bells have a special sound that is played as a song. It’s worth being close to the cathedral to listen to the bells/song

11) Place de la Constitution:

This is a memorial to the Luxembourgers who died during world war 1. Now it symbolizes freedom for the Luxembourg people.

More details here –> https://www.luxembourg-city.com/en/place/monuments/place-de-la-constitution

12) Adolphe Bridge:

The Adolphe Bridge is a double-decked arch bridge in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The bridge provides a one-way route for road traffis. Its upper deck carries two lanes of road traffic, and two pedestrian footpaths. Its lower deck, opened in 2018, suspended beneath the upper deck carries a dedicated bidirectional bicycle path, with access provided for pedestrian use.

13) Place d’Armes:

The Place d’Armes is a square in the center of town. The square is lined by restaurants, hotels, and small shops. You will also find common chains like ‘Mc Donald’s’ in this square.

By now you would have covered 5+ Kms by walk. Obviously, you will be tired as well.

From here, you have a couple of options.

1) If you are ready for a shorter walk again, you can proceed to Pfaffenthal Lift

Pfaffenthal Lift:

The new glass elevator connects the “Pescatore” park located in the city centre to the Pfaffenthal area at the bottom of the Alzette valley. The ride in the glass elevator features sweeping views (71m high) for pedestrians and cyclists alike. Using the elevator is free of charge.

The elevator is running every day from 6 in the morning until 1 o’ clock at night.

More details here: https://www.luxembourg-city.com/en/place/monuments/panoramic-elevator-of-the-pfaffenthal

Some nearby places that you can check are:

Villa Vauban – Museum of Art of the City of Luxemburg,

Grand Theatre of the City of Luxembourg

Casino Luxembourg

Or else, you can also explore the other attractions which are slightly away from the city center and can easily be accessed using Public Transport (free of cost with the Luxembourg card)

One suggestion here will be the Luxembourg American Cemetery Memorial:

The cemetery consists of 17 acres of manicured lawn surrounded by 33.5 acres of woods.

Or probably you can try visiting Place de l’Europe /European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL).

Ideally you should plan for a 2-3 days itinerary for Luxembourg (one day can be planned for a trip to Trier, Germany)

Another day, you can plan some trip outside the city like:

Mullerthal:

This is also called as Luxembourg’s ‘Little Switzerland’, which hides some of the best places to visit in Luxembourg. First stop should be charming Echternach, the oldest city in Luxembourg.

Mullerthal is more of a walking trail. Be prepared to walk a lot.

More details here –> https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/what-to-do/nature-tours/hiking-luxembourg/mullerthal-trail

Please note that there is no direct bus from Luxembourg city center to Mullerthal and one side journey will be around 1 hour by bus.

Nature and Castle Line (Hop on Hop off):

During the trip you will discover the beautiful nature of Luxembourg with its impressive rocks and castles.

The ticket price is around 24Euors/Adult

More details –> https://www.viator.com/tours/Luxembourg-City/Sightseeing-Hop-on-Hop-off-Nature-and-Castle-Line/d36689-174227P1

PARC Merveilleux:

This is around 40 Minutes in Bus from the main city centre.

It is an amusement park just east of Bettembourg in the south of Luxembourg. Designed above all for children, the park has a wide range of attractions including exotic birds, animals in their natural habitats, a pony ranch, a miniature railway, children’s self-drive cars, adventure playgrounds, scenes from fairy tales, a restaurant and a cafeteria. The park is open every day from Easter to early October.

Schueberfouer:

We also got a chance to see the Luxembourg Carnival.

The big traditional fair in Luxembourg, called ‘Schueberfouer’ in Luxembourgish, attracts around two million visitors every year, making it one of the largest events in the region and a much-anticipated occasion to meet with friends and family

In 2019, it was the 679^th edition of this event. (23^rd Aug – 11^th Sep)

Details Here –> https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/facts-about-the-schueberfouer

Additional Tips:

1) The souvenir shops are little less in Luxembourg city, so grab the one which you like and don’t wait till the last day expecting that you might find better shops with cheaper rates.

2) Some bus stops won’t show long distance bus details/timings in the display board, but these long-distance bus numbers will be marked clearly somewhere inside the Bus stop itself.

3) People are very friendly, and you can always take their help if you need some directions. Most of the people also speak English.

4) There are some tourist office available near few main attractions, from where you can get all the required information.

5)There are chains like Burger King available in the city centre. There are also some other options like the kebab shops from where you can manage to have your food.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”– Anonymous.

We did a 2 days road trip to Wales (Southern Part of Wales) in August 2019.

Wales is a destination with so much to offer in terms of activities, history, railways and beaches.

Every corner has something interesting to discover. It doesn’t have the fame or glory of England or Scotland, but it’s loaded with just as many treasures. Wales’s destination tend to be lesser-known to the general traveling population.

We started our trip from Nottinghamshire (in Britain) in the morning.

The distance from Nottinghamshire to Wales was around 161 miles (covered in 2.50 Hrs)

Brecon Mountain Railways:

The first destination that was covered on Day 1 was the ‘Brecon Mountain Railways’.

Starting point of the journey was Pant Station (Timings – 10.30Am, 12.15Pm, 2PM, 3.45Pm).

Tickets can be purchased directly from the Pant station and the ticket price was around Adult 15 GBP, Kids (2-15) 6.25 GBP.

You can also book your tickets online here : https://bookings.bmr.wales/(S(0u3i4kf5yskooxfh3krgmnd3))/booking.aspx

All trains travel nonstop from Pant to Torpantau. All returning trains from Torpantau stop at an intermediate station in Pontsticill, where you can visit the Lakeside Cafe, admire the view or go for walks alongside the reservoir, there is also a children’s play area.

Passengers can stay longer at Pontsticill and get a different train back to Pant station. The entire trip was around 2 hours (including the 20 minutes tea break at Pontsticill).

You can also see the Workshops in the Pant station, where these locomotives are repaired.

In this entire trip, you will get a chance to travel behind a vintage Steam Locomotive.

I felt that the tickets are overpriced (15 £/Adult) because you don’t have a lot to see enroute. If you have not travelled in such a steam engine driven train, this trip might be interesting for you.

One thing to admit is that train and compartments are well maintained and is very clean.

Cardiff Bay:

Later we went to Cardiff (capital of Wales)

The distance to Cardiff from Brecon Mountain will be around 37 minutes/27 miles.

Cardiff is beautiful, conveniently connected by transportation, highly walkable, and feels like a small town while having the amenities of a larger city.

Cardiff Bay is often described as one of the most successful redevelopment projects in the United Kingdom.

Cardiff Bay is supplied by two rivers (Taff and Ely) to form a 500-acre freshwater lake around the former dockland area south of the city centre. It’s an excellent place where you will get lot of options to capture some really nice photos.

If you want to explore Cardiff’s coastline, there’s no better way than a boat. Cardiff Bay is where all the boat trips head out from.

Many of the boating here in the Bay close by 5:15 Pm-5:30 Pm. So, it is advisable to reach here no later than 4:30 Pm.

There are many adventure/kids’ activities available near to the main bay area.

Millennium Centre:

The Millennium Centre is possibly one of the newest landmarks in the city to see! Best yet, there’s so much to do inside, especially if you want to explore the creative side of the city.

It’s a 2,500-capacity venue that can host massive bands, comedians and touring theatre shows.

The national assembly of Wales (named Senedd) is also located here and its near to the Millennium Centre.

We had booked our stay in Cardiff (Clive Road Flat 5, Cardiff, Wales CF5 1HG, United Kingdom) and stayed in this place for 2 nights.

Quick review of the accommodation:

We stayed in the ground floor and the room was quite clean.

This house is in a Residential area

You can find a Fish and chips shop near by

There were no much pans/pots for cooking.

Second day was a fully packed trip where we had to cover a lot of places.

Some places that we explored were:

Strumble Head Lighthouse:

This is very nice place, not much explored.

You need to be a good driver, as the roads are quite narrow, and you might encounter one or another vehicle from the opposite direction. You won’t get permission to get inside the light house.

The present lighthouse was erected in 1908.

There is enough parking space available near the lighthouse, but no shops / Toilets available in that region.

The area is known as the Pencaer Peninsula, although it isn’t actually a peninsula. Bordered on two sides by the sea and on the inland side by a line of low hills, it does give the feeling of being cut off.

Porthgain:

Porthgain was once a small commercial harbor used for exporting stone from the nearby quarry but is now a popular spot for tourists and locals. If you don’t have a car, you can reach Porthgain by taking the Strumble Shuttle coastal bus service. Porthgain has a couple of restaurants, art galleries, and it’s a great spot for launching kayaks. There are also public toilets available in this place.

The harbour was used as a location for the filming of the comedy ‘Their Finest’ starring Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy and Sam Claflin.

On the left of the harbour the large brick buildings built into the cliff face are the hoppers used to store crushed granite (of different sizes) before shipment. The hoppers are now a scheduled monument, as Porthgain was designated a conservation area in 1987. Their only use now is as store for the local fishermen who still successfully fish for crab & lobster.

Abereiddy:

We did not explore much here, and we didn’t like this beach (Black sand). It was very much crowded.

The car park overlooks the beach and fills up quickly in summer. There is also a parking fee.

We did not visit the Blue Lagoon aswell.

Seems this is a popular spot for coasteering and quite a popular bathing place for families.

Saint Davids / St Justinian’s Lifeboat Station / Haverfordwest / St. Justinians:

You can take a boat trip to Ramsey Island from St Justinian’s Lifeboat Station.

This boat trip would be my first recommendation in case if you have very limited time to spent in Wales.

Situated on the spectacular coastline of south-west Wales and close to Britain’s smallest city, St Davids Lifeboat Station has been launching lifeboats since 1867.

The boat starts from a place which is a 10 minutes’ drive from the main town. You can buy your tickets from the main town and drive down to this place. There is enough parking/ toilet facility available near by the boat station (There is a small parking fees).

You need to climb up/down a lot of steps to reach near the boat.

There are a couple of companies operating boats here. Please check for the ticket price in all the such shops. There is always a scope to bargain (to a small extend)

We took Thousand islands Adventure trip (Jet Boat) which last for around 1 hour. They took us along the bays and caves around Ramsey Island.

More details here –> https://thousandislands.co.uk/thousand-islands-adventure/

If you are lucky enough, you will get chance to see a lot of seals during this trip.

This trip will help you to get some stunning views of the sea / caves/ seals / Sea Birds and so on.

There are many shops in the main town and a couple of paid parking grounds / slots as well.

You will find a lot of snack shops in the main town. We tried Crabs Oggie. It was very costly (4.5£/Piece). We personally did not like the Crab Oggie at all. My suggestion would be to buy 1 piece and taste it before buying in large numbers.

Bombay Brasserie (Indian Restaurant):

As always, we started our search for an Indian restaurant to have our Lunch, Infact it was quite a very late lunch that day.

Our search took us to ‘Bombay Brasserie’.(Vine Rd, Johnston, Haverfordwest SA62 3NZ, United Kingdom).

Eventhough the food delivery took some time, I would certainly admit that the fact that the food here was extremely tasty. Staff was friendly and welcoming.I would certainly recommend this place.

There is also a Fuel station and a Hotel (for accommodation) nearby to this restaurant.

Stackpole Quay (in Pembrokeshire):

Pembrokeshire county is full of gorgeous small towns with rich, unique history. It’s also home to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which is Britain’s only coastal national park.

You can walk from Stackpole Quay to Barafundle bay.

The tiny harbour at Stackpole Quay on Pembrokeshire’s south coast is used by fishing boats and pleasure craft. Just inland from here is a National Trust tearoom and the parking area which is nearest to beautiful Barafundle Bay.

Tenby Beach (in Pembrokeshire):

Tenby is one of the favourite sea-side town in Pembrokeshire. Traditionally a historic fishing town, this colourful coastal town has now become one of the region’s best-loved places. This alone makes it one of the best places to visit on a Welsh road trip.

Tenby overlooks two islands, the closest of which is St. Catherine’s. This island can be reached by foot at low tide. The harbour, North Beach and South Beach are all worth a visit.

Other places that we missed in this Southern wale’s trip are:

Barafundle Bay
Skrinkle Haven
Bronwydd Arms Station (Gwili Railway)
Kidwelly Castle
Gover peninsula
Barry Island
Big Pit Mining Museum
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff National Museum
Castell Coch
St Davids Cathedral
Whitesands Beach
Merchant Seafarers’ Memorial
St. Catherine’s Island in Tenby

NOTES:

1. You can see a lot of sign boards in ‘Welsch’ language, but everyone speaks English. As part of efforts to protect Welsh language and culture, the Welsh language was placed on equal footing with English in 1993. As a result, Welsh is taught in schools and all government signs are in both English and Welsh. Some Welsh are more comfortable speaking Welsh; others are more comfortable speaking English. That said, today everyone speaks English.

2.We did not find much of Souvenir shops from where we could collect some souvenirs/fridge magnets. It’s advisable to buy one, as soon as you find it anywhere on your trip.

3. Please note that in this entire trip, we completely avoided the Northern Wales, due to time limitations. Northern Wales also have many beautiful places like Snowdonia National Park and so on.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

We spent 4 days in Scotland during the month of July in 2019. One day each in Edinburgh (pronounced by most Scottish people as “Edinbra”) and Glasgow and 2 days in Scottish Highlands. It was a complete road trip along with my Brother-in-Law and his family. If you really want to explore the beauty of Scotland, my personal recommendation would be to try a road trip. Renting a car will be the best option.

Scotland might be a small country, but there are tonnes of places here that will astonish you.

There are beautiful landscapes, no matter which part you are in.

Scotland is full of experiences that can make your trip an unforgettable one. If you’ve been dreaming about visiting Scotland for a long time, I’m sure that you will have a long bucket list to see and do.

Scotland is one of the most scenic and beautiful countries in the world. Obviously one of the most beautiful countries that I had visited in my life.

I would like to share my Scotland Experience with you. I believe this would help you to finalise your itinerary. Considering the number of places that we have been to, I believe 4-6 days would be a good option.

Day 1:

Edinburgh Castle / Miles Road:

The city of Edinburgh is one of the top places to visit in Scotland and Edinburgh Castle is a must see.

Perched high on an old volcano overlooking the city of Edinburgh, is Edinburgh Castle. One of Scotland’s most popular tourist attractions, the castle is home to the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny. You can get a pretty great view of the city without paying for entrance. Now it’s the country’s most popular tourist attraction, drawing around 1.5 million people a year.

Encircled by 7 hills, both the city’s old and new towns are UNESCO World Heritage sites, with the famous Royal Mile framed by Edinburgh Castle and the splendid Holyrood Palace. Edinburgh is the birthplace of Harry Potter.

This gorgeous city is built atop not one but two extinct volcanos.

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is the heart of Scotland’s historic capital.

We had explored Edinburgh in Red line of the Hop-on-Hop-off.

Hop On Hop Off has 3 routes in Edinburgh:

Red line (covers the castle, Miles Road, Dynamic Earth and so on)

Green Line

Blue Line

More details here: https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/edinburgh/edinburgh-hop-on-hop-off-tour_5121?

Considering the price and the places that are covered, I believe Bright tours would be a better option compared to Hop on Hop off Red line. (Adult – 10£, Child – 6 £)

More details here: https://www.firstgroup.com/bright-bus-tours

There are so many options for food. We personally had tried ‘Nandos’ and it was quite nice.

In Edinburg, we stayed in Lochend Serviced Apartments.

Day 2:

1) Three Bridges:

From here, you could see the spectacular view of the 3 bridges (distinct types) quite near to each other:

The Forth rail Bridge (1890)

The forth Road Bridge (1964)

Queensferry Crossing (2017)

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles west of Edinburgh City Centre. It is considered as a symbol of Scotland and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by the English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker

Due to its distinctive red colours and huge proportions, it is one of Scotland’s most recognisable landmarks.

More Details here : https://www.thethreebridges.com/

2) Loch Lomond:

Loch Lomond is Scotland’s largest lake and is surrounded by greenery. If you want to have more fun, then hire a seaplane and cruise over the loch or hire a jet ski and take it to the lake.

There are lot of paid parking and paid toilets available in this place.

During our visit, we felt like the number of visitors were a lot more compared to the boats that were available for service. Due to the same reason, we decided to skip the Loch Lomond boat trip.

If you really want to stay somewhere near Loch Lomond, I would personally suggest Duck Bay Hotel.

We had a short tea break there, the surroundings and environment are simply superb.

More details here: https://duckbay.co.uk/

3) Fort William (Small Town):

Enroute to Ben Nevis range is Fort William.

It is not so much exciting as a town, but rather for its surroundings.

This is where the famous West Highland Way ends and where the highest mountain range of the UK begins: The Ben Nevis Range.

It takes only 15 minutes to drive from Fort William to the car park of the Nevis Range.

4) Ben Nevis Range:

Towering 1,344m over neighbouring Fort William, the soaring peak of Ben Nevis is not only Scotland’s highest point, but the highest mountain in the UK.

There is a cable car (Mountain Gondola) available to reach the Top most point of the Range. However, the last stretch is closed through out the year (except winter time).

The Mountain Gondola has become an amazing visitor attraction, allowing visitors to enjoy the scenic ride and absorb the stunning views and clear mountain air.

More details here: https://www.nevisrange.co.uk/

We stayed in a 2bhk luxury caravan (Caolasnacon Caravan & Camping Park) that night and it was an amazing experience.

Day 3:

1) Commando Memorial:

The Commando Memorial is a monument in Lochaber, Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces (World War II)

2) Bridge of Oich:

The Bridge of Oich is a taper principle suspension bridge, designed by James Dredge, across the River Oich near Aberchalder in Highland, Scotland.

The bridge opened in 1854 and was used to take the main road traffic over the river until 1932.

Aberchalder Swing Bridge is also in the same spot.

3) Fort Augustus:

Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

4) Caledonian Canal:

The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.

Please check with the officials and understand the timings when the Locks will be opened. Before the lock opening, the swing bridges will also be opened. This is indeed an amazing view and should not be missed.

There are lot of parking available near the Canal and lot of restaurants as well.

We found a small ‘fish and chips’ shop (Canalside Take Away) to be the most economical.

5) Loch Ness (Popularly known for Loch Ness Monster):

It is a large deep Fresh water loch in Scottish Highlands.

Scotland’s most well-known lake, or loch, is an impressive 23 miles long. On its shores, you’ll see picturesque villages, mountains and the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Look closely and you could be rewarded with a sight of the Loch Ness Monster!

This is the second largest Loch after Loch Lomond. There is a cruise option in this Loch. If you have missed a boating in Loch Lomond, you can very well try this as an alternative option.

More details here: https://www.jacobite.co.uk/

The depth of this Loch is around 200 plus metre. Loch Ness is known as the home of the Loch Ness Monster (also known as “Nessie”), a cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal.

The existence of such a monster sea animal is still a debatable topic, as of today.

Whatever may be the debates, everything here (from Souvenirs to Cruise trip) is been sold in the name of this Lochness Monster.

6) Isle of Skye:

The Isle of Skye, or the isle of mist, is everything you’ve ever imagined it to be.

It’s rugged scenery and brooding mountain ranges are commonly featured in films and television series.

Despite being popularly famous for its natural beauty, the Isle of Skye would never leave you disappointed. From the scenic mountains to the water that surrounds you, there’s nowhere to look that isn’t gorgeous. Truly awesome place and a must-see place in your Scotland Itinerary.

It may seem like a long drive to get there, but by adding in scenic pitstops along the way, you can turn the journey into a sightseeing adventure.

Skye Bridge is the gateway to the Isle of Skye. Continue A87 through Kyle of Lochalsh and cross the Skye Bridge (there is no toll to cross the bridge).

In case if you would like to have some Indian Cuisine, there is a Restaurant named ‘Taste of India’ after a short distance from the Skye bridge.

We stayed in a 2bhk luxury caravan (Caolasnacon Caravan & Camping Park) that night and it was an amazing experience.

Day 4:

Highland cows:

While these aren’t wild, many visitors to Scotland will want to see a highland cow during their trip. As they are usually kept in fields, they can be spotted most often between April and October.

Falkirk Wheel:

The Falkirk Wheel is well worth a visit.

My personal suggestion will be to just see the Falkirk Wheel in action and avoid the boat trip.

You can take a boat ride which will take you to the Upper Canal using Falkirk Wheel. This includes a ticket. But if you are running short of time, you could easily skip.

There are lot of parking available in this region and there is a parking charge involved.

More details here: https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/falkirk-wheel/

The Kelpies:

The Kelpies tower of the Forth and Clyde canal near Falkirk and are the largest equine sculptures in the world. They stand over 30 meters high and weigh in at over 600 tonnes.

The Kelpies pay tribute to the working horses of Central Scotland who used to pull barges along the canals. They are truly magnificent sculptures.

This is one of Scotland’s most photographed man made attractions. Its worth to spend some time here.

Guided tours are available where you also get the opportunity to experience the statues from the inside. There is a visitor centre (open daily between 10 am and 5 pm) which has a gift shop and a restaurant. Paid parking is also available.

River side museum, Glasgow:

On our way back to Birmingham, we passed through Glasgow. It’s not a clean city compared to its other counterparts in Scotland.

There is a car Museum (River side museum), which is free of cost.

Riverside Museum is Glasgow’s award-winning transport museum. With over 3,000 objects on display there’s everything from skateboards to locomotives, paintings to prams and cars to a Stormtrooper.

Kids would love this place.

More details here: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/riverside-museum

Other Ways to explore Scotland:

Scenic train ride (Jacobite – Hogwarts Express (For Harry Potter Fans))

Scotland is not only beautiful from the roads. Some of the best views can only be seen from aboard a ferry or a train! Iconic train lines, like the West Highland Line which runs through the isolated landscape of Rannoch Moor and crosses the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct between Fort William and Mallaig.

You can book your tickets here: https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/jacobite-steam-train-details.cfm

Tour Operators:

In case if you don’t want to drive, you can try public transport or tour operators like Rabbies.

More details about Rabbies tours : https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-inverness

When to visit Scotland:

Scotland is a destination that is worth visiting all year long, but the summer months, from June until August, attract the most visitors, marking peak season. July and August are on average the warmest months of the year, which coincides with the peak season for tourism and summer holidays.

Scotland is renowned for being a wet country and the rains can sometimes spoil your trip especially when you are exploring the Highlands of Scotland.

As the weather is changeable, you could encounter all four seasons in one day, regardless of which month you come to Scotland. Therefore, while considering what to wear, we recommend always having a few layers with you, especially wind and rain proof layers!

Some other Tips:

1) No drinks while driving:

There are strict alcohol limits for drivers, but it’s impossible to say exactly how many drinks this equals – it’s different for each person. Any alcohol in your body can adversely affect how you drive.

The current limits are:

22 mcg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath (the ‘breath limit’)

50 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood (the ‘blood limit’)

67 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of urine (the ‘urine limit’)

2) Across Scotland, there are challenges with the network connectivity.
So, it will be a good option to keep a map handy with you and don’t completely depend on google maps in your phone.

3) Careful with Midges:

To some people, midges can be a night mare or a serious nuisance.Midges didn’t leave us either..

Mosquito/Midges Head net can save you here. Some options below: https://outdooradventurestore.ie/product/midge-mosquito-head-net?gclid=CjwKCAjwwvfrBRBIEiwA2nFiPTEUL_MtR1Sqtd4XGcFSgnrKhcN5TR9Qio1KmzBL6uAz2yhxbztU5BoC2p0QAvD_BwE

There might be many other names still missing from the above list.

If you really have more time, I would suggest you explore further places.

I have mentioned some places below:
Edinburg Zoo
Edinburg Ghost tours
Mull of Galloway
Fairy pools, Skye
Corryvreckan whirlpool
Cairngorms National Park
Rosslyn chapel
Finnich Glen
Holy Isle
The Ring of Brodgar
Staffa
St Kilda
Luskentyre beach
Distillery (like The Edradour – Kids below 12 are not permitted)
Smoo Cave of Scotland
Inverness
Isle of Lochalsh

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

Typically, we see animals in zoo and many of us don’t feel comfortable with the way animals are kept inside the cages. But here in WMSP, the animals (like camels, zebras, antelope, rhinos and many others) are given freedom to roam around and they indeed have plenty of free space to move.

Ticket Cost:

It will be good to visit the park website to know the Park opening days.

You can buy the tickets on line as well (which gives you some discount) : https://web.wmsp.co.uk/tickets/index.php

Adults (16-64) : 24 £
Children (3-15) : 19 £
Concessions (Senior 65+ and Students) : 22 £
Under 3’s : Free
Animal Food : 3.50 £
Guide Book : 5 £
You can buy tickets in the park itself and all major card types are accepted here.

Seems the ticket price includes a free return trip, which is a great option. Please see more details here : https://www.wmsp.co.uk/free-return-ticket/

However, once you’ve got into the safari park, there are a lot of hidden costs, in case if you want to do everything the park has to offer.

We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us – Anonymous

Bath is the largest city in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987. This is one of the most visited place in England.

If you’re looking to see more of England outside of the capital, then I would highly recommend Bath which combines all the necessary factors of history, heritage and countryside charm.

We got a chance to visit this place in December (Winter) 2019. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day with slight showers. I believe this place will be excellent during the Summer.

Bath can be a good day trip from London (may be around 1.5 hours in train from Paddington station or may be around 3+ hours in Bus from Victoria Coach station).

Ubers are easily available in Bath. They tend to be cheaper than normal taxis and are a convenient option.

If you are coming to Bath in car, I would strongly recommend to include ‘Stonehenge’ to your itinerary.

There was also a museum inside the complex which had models of Baths in Roman times, remains of sculptures , Bath areas etc. Try to reach the Roman Bath in the morning before the tourists Crowds start flowing in..

Other interesting places worth visiting:

Royal Crescent:

The Royal Crescent is Bath’s single most impressive piece of architecture, a set of 30 crescent-shaped Georgian houses designed by architect John Wood.

Thermae Bath Spa:

This 21st century rooftop pool cum spa screams luxury along with splendid views of Bath. There’s a small fee to be paid for entry, but it is well worth the experience.

Summary: Bath is city worth one-time visit. 2 days itinerary should cover all the major attractions of this ancient city.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide.

We did the Portsmouth and IOW trip in Dec 2019. There is no bridge from England’s mainland to IOW. The only way to get to the island is to take a ferry or a hovercraft or any other kind of boats.

NOTE: There is also a ferry from Southampton to East Cowes operated by Redfunnel. This journey takes around 1 hour (https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/en/book/ferry-booking/)

If you are planning your trip from Portsmouth (island city/seacoast), I would strongly recommend to spend 1 full day(minimum) in Portsmouth aswell as there are some cool places/attractions in this city. This is a vibrant waterfront city and it’s the 3rd oldest City of the nation.

Some places worth visiting in Portsmouth are:

a) Emirates Spinnaker tower: (https://www.spinnakertower.co.uk/)

I would request to include Spinnaker tower in your itinerary. We got some great discounts from Groupon. So before booking, see if you can find some Groupon discount Coupons. The observatory in the top is worth visiting. You will get an excellent view of the entire place from the observatory. You can also step into the glass floor (sky walk) for a unique experience. Don’t forget to take your camera with you, as you can capture some stunning images from the top deck.

Other places worth visiting:

• Portsmouth Beach
• Historic Dockyard
• Ports down Hill
• Fort Nelson
• Pierce Island (20+ acres of island are around 5 minutes from downtown)
• Jennes Beach
• Boat tours
• Porstmouth Cathedral
• Portsmouth city Council Building

We Stayed in an Airbnb Apartment in Portsmouth. The stay was very nice and close to city centre.

Address: Rosemary Lane, Portsmouth, England PO1 3DR, United Kingdom.

We reached IOW by around 10.45 AM.

The IOW is measured around 24 Miles from East to West and 12 miles from North to South.

The recommendation will be to do a road trip to cover all the places. However, there are also public transport (bus) available to the main attractions. In winter, the frequency of Bus will be very less. The website https://www.islandbuses.info/services will be helpful to explore the bus routes. Hop on Hop off buses are available only in Summer, I guess.

Also please note that there are many speed cameras in IOW. So, it will be good to control your speed while driving.

We covered the following places in our IOW trip.

Below are some of the Other places worth visiting. So plan your itinerary according to your interest:

Tapnell farm Aqua park

Yarmouth

Backgang Chine Theme park

Robin hill adventure park

Whitecliff Bay

Osborne (Palace/House)  (https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/osborne/)

Yarmouth Castle

Garlic Farm  (https://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/)

Newport

Island Line Railway (Ryde-Shanklin) (https://www.southwesternrailway.com/destinations-and-offers/island-line)

IOW Steam railway (located in Haven street) (https://iwsteamrailway.co.uk/)

Shanklin Chine

Carisbrooke castle (http://carisbrookecastlemuseum.org.uk/)

Water Fall @ Shanklin Chine

Yaverland Beach

IOW Zoo & Tiger Sanctuary  (http://www.isleofwightzoo.com/)

Amazon World zoo (http://www.amazonworld.co.uk/)

Donkey Sanctuary  (https://www.iowdonkeysanctuary.org/)

Sandham Gardens

Ryde Beach

SpringVale Beach

Brading Roman Villa (https://bradingromanvilla.org.uk/)

Cowes town

Cycling in IOW (there are around 200 miles of safe cycle routes in IOW)

Fossil Hunting Tour

Quarr Abbey

St.Catherine’s Down

Visit Wine yards (Ex: Rosemary Wineyard)

Brighstone Village Museum 

Godshill Model Village

Dimbola Museum

Butterfly & Fountain World

Westwight Aplacas  (http://www.westwightalpacas.co.uk/)

Summary: IOW is a very good weekend option for people from UK. It is truly a hidden gem for anyone who wishes to get away from London to relax near the seaside. Many visits here to have some fun with their family on the beach, to go surfing or to bike along the island’s nature trails

“The Journey not the Arrival matters.” – T.S Eliot

We visited Dalkey and Killiney in Oct 2021. It was a great sunny day In Ireland (perfect for a day trip).

We took the Public transport (Luas) from Saggart to Connolly (Last stop of the red line).

Connolly Luas (Tram) and the Dart (Train) stations are quite near to each other.

Connolly station:

It is the biggest train station in Ireland. There are around 7 platforms in Connolly (+ 2 Platform for Luas).

The train timings and Platforms are clearly marked on the boards. So you don’t have to panic and there are even sign boards clearly indicating the platform numbers.

We took the train to Bray from Connolly. Dalkey is the 14th stop from Connolly. Dalkey is a very small station. This is a very scenic train route.

We had covered the following places in our trip:

1. Dalkey Town:

Just outside the train station, you will see clear road markings indicating the different place names.

Dalkey town is a small and beautiful town with lots of shops including multi cuisine restaurants.

It’s also an interesting fact that many rich and famous people stay in and around Dalkey. 

If you are reaching here during lunch time, make sure to have the lunch from the Dalkey town itself. You wouldn’t find more options in the other destinations during this journey.

If you are planning to have a walking tour, it will be good to  get some bottles and snacks from Dalkey. There is a SuperValu available here.

2. Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre:

Dalkey Castle is one of the seven fortified town houses/castles of Dalkey. The castles were built to store the goods which were off-loaded in Dalkey during the Middle Ages, when Dalkey acted as the port for Dublin. The castles all had defensive features to protect the goods from being plundered. These are still available on the site. For more details: https://www.dalkeycastle.com/ Note: Please note that there is an entry fee of 13.95 Euros.

3. Colliemore Harbour & Dalkey island:

This was more of a walking tour.

The next destination after the castle was the Colliemore Harbour.

Please note that there are small boats available to visit the Dalkey island (Its an uninhibited island) .

This island is an ideal spot for fishing.

But these boat services are seasonal.

You can check the website to see some boat timings : http://kentheferryman.com/

4. Dillion’s Park:

It’s a great place for a small picnic, to go fishing or simply to enjoy the views of Dalkey Island and the lighthouse.

5. Vico Road to Vico Bath:

We took the Vico Road (Scenic route along the coast) to reach the Vico Bath.

You will see a lot of nice houses with great views, enroute.

Vico Bathing place is a must see in this route. Unfortunately, there are no great markings to Vico Bath. So please be a little careful else you might miss the entrance (it’s a small path going down with a bridge over the dart line) to the Bath area.

Maps Indication (Courtesy: Google Maps): https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2703705,-6.0973575,3a,75y,176.69h,75.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEiB1toGZ6ntZtLD18S-cpw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The historic Vico Baths in Dalkey is one of the most popular places to go swimming in Dublin. This historic bathing place has been delighting locals and tourists alike for many years.

Here, we are covering these places as a part of the walking tour. If you plan to visit this place directly in a car, please remember that there is no much parking available near to the bath, as the Vico road is very narrow. The best option will be to park your car somewhere near the Dalkey Town.

There is no life guard available here. So it is good to be careful while swimming. There is a small changing room but no bathrooms.

Historically, it was a gentlemen only bathing place. There were penalties for women who break the rule and try to swim there. But such things have changed now and no such rule persists today.

You would also see  a Big ‘EIRE’ Sign on your walk down to the Vico Baths.

6. Killiney Hills

This park was dedicated to public use in 1887. Killiney Hill is a popular destination for walkers and hikers availing spectacular views, over the surrounding areas.

You can follow the Vico Road further to reach the entry to the Killiney Hill. Clear indication boards are available.  Please remember that if you are planning to take this route, you will have to climb a large number of steps (don’t recollect the number of steps) to reach the top of the Killiney Hill. If you have small kids / or people with walking difficulties in your group, this wouldn’t be an ideal route for you. Instead you can reach the top of Killiney hill through the other side in your car. There is also a big car park available at the top.

The views from the Killiney hill top is marvellous. As soon as you reach Killiney hill top, please refer to one of the maps/boards which are erected in different places. That places will give you a fairly good idea about the various points of interest within the Killiney Hill.

From one side of the Killiney hill, you can see the Vico Road, DART Train line and the Dalkey Island.

From another side, you will see the Killiney Beach.

From another side, you will see a lot of residential areas, Motor way and industrial estates.

7) The Obelisk (within the Killiney Hills):

Don’t miss the Obelisk while you are in Killiney Hill.

Killiney Obelisk has been the subject of much attention since it was built in the 1740s. It was intended as the centerpiece of a great undertaking to plant and landscape the hill, which at first was called Obelisk Hill, and more recently has become known as Killiney Hill.

You can also visit the Pyramid, when you are in Killiney Hill.

NOTES:

1. There are couple of options to reach the Killiney Hill, if you are coming in car. (One route has a height restriction in place)
2. There are no much shops available in the  Killiney hill. Either you have to get something from a coffee shop near to one of the car parks. Normal people try to come up to the Killiney hill with some small snacks, Pizzas, Burgers and so on.
3. There is also a rest room available outside the coffee shop.

8. Killiney Beach:

You can Climb down the Killiney hill to reach the Killiney beach.

Personally, We did not like the beach.

There is enough parking space available near the Killiney Beach. There is also public toilet available (near the Killiney beach parking). The toilet is not maintained properly.

Food options:

As mentioned earlier, there are lots of restaurants in Dalkey.

Personally we had tried food from Kathmandu Restaurant and Wood Burn Pizza. The food was tasty.

There were also 3-4 Indian cuisine restaurants available in Dalkey.

Some restaurants would need prior booking.

Parking Options:

By chance if you want to visit in car, there are parking spaces available near Collimeore harbour, Castle, Killiney hill and Killiney beach.

Killiney Beach was our last destination in our journey. The Killiney DART (Train) station is just near to the Killiney Beach.

For those who wants to return back to the Dublin City Center, you can take direct train to Connolly from Killiney station.

For those who wants to explore beyond Killiney, please check out the rail network. There’s a great rail network coverage and you could pick some nice destinations.

Dalkey and Killiney Hill  is infact a great one day trip from Dublin. Infact this can be covered in a half day trip aswell.

NOTE: We have covered only a few places here in this blog. Our idea was to give you a high level overview of this place. Certainly do a homework and make a proper plan. You can really craft a beautiful one day itinerary for this destination.

Happy Journey!!

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide.

We visited Bray and Greystones in July 2021.

Thanks to the Sunny Weather (believe me, it didn’t rain that day in Ireland), it was really a wonderful trip.

We took the Public transport (Luas) from Saggart to Connolly (Last stop of the red line)

Connolly Luas (Tram) and the Dart (Train) stations are quite near to each other.

Bray is relatively a small station.

You can also go to Bray in bus and there is a bus depot aswell, in Bray.

Main Attractions in Bray:

1. Sea Life Aquarium:

We couldn’t visit the aquarium as the entries were restricted with prior booking (due to covid restrictions).

2. Bray Beach:

Bray beach is not a pure white sand beach.

You will see a lot of pebbles here.

There are lots of snack shops (ice creams shops and restaurants) near the beach area.

Few points to note:

a) There are clear indications through out the walking trail.

b) Remember the Wicklow Litter Code: You wouldn’t see any bins through out the walking trail. You will have to keep the rubbish with you and throw it in the bins at the start or the end point.

c) Some of the paths in the walking trail is very narrow.  A one way traffic might have to be followed there.

4. Greystones Beach:

The final destination of this cliff walk is the Greystones Beach.

Compared to the Bray beach, the Greystones beach is less crowded. (You can play/swim here).

The bay area here is really nice.

The Greystones town is small and there are lot of shops in both sides of the road (for light refreshments and so on).

The Greystones dart station is around 1 km / 10-15 min (walking distance) from the beach.

There is a small and nice beach near to the station.

You can take the train from Greystones to Bray (if you have parked your cars in the Bray Parking area).

For those who wants to return back to the Dublin City Center, you can take direct train to Connolly from Greystones station.

For those who wants to explore beyound Greystones, please check out the rail network. There’s a great rail network coverage and you could pick some nice destinations.

There are lot of restaurants and small coffee shops available in both Bray and Greystones.

Some among them are:

PLATFORM Pizza Bar and BOX BURGER (in Bray)

We had tried some of the Indian restaurants (lots of options available) in Greystones and really liked ‘Chakra By Jaipur’ the most.

If you are looking for ice-creams, our personal recommendation would be ‘Gino’s’

Another cool hangout place for Vegetarians in Greystones is ‘The Happy Pear’.

Bray and Greystones is infact a great one day trip from Dublin.

NOTE: We have covered only a few places here in this blog. Our idea was to give you a high level overview of this place. Certainly do a homework and make a proper plan. You can really craft a beautiful one day itinerary for this destination.

Happy Journey!!

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru

We visited Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough and Kilkenny In Ireland in December 2018. We booked this trip through ‘Wild Rover Tours’. The details of the tour can be seen in the link below:

https://wildrovertours.com/activity/kilkenny-wicklow-mountains-glendalough/

This is a full day trip from Dublin, Ireland and the booking can be done online.

Route Map:

During online booking, they give you some discounts (10-15%) on other similar tour packages operated by the same company.

They have 3 Pickup points in Dublin and the trip starts at 8:10 AM

8:10am at Gresham Hotel, O’Connell St Dublin 1
8:20am at Ulster Bank Bus Stop, Dame Street / College Green Dublin 2
8:30am at Jurys Inn, Christ Church Dublin 8

Note: They have only 1 Drop point near O’Connell street (will be back by 6PM)

Charges: Adult: €33.00
Child (under 12): €25.00 (they don’t accept reservations for babies under 2)
Student: €28.00

Place 1: As a part of this trip, we first visited ‘Richard Collen’s Working Sheep Farm.

Mr Richard and his wife explains how they run the farm.

Also a very interesting ‘Sheep Herding Demonstration Using Border Collies’. It’s an interesting one, for people like me who have not seen this before. This is a wonderful experience not to be missed!

After demonstration, they hand us the baby lambs for hugs and cuddles and you can take pictures with the baby lamps.

Place 2: The next place is the famous heritage site of Glendalough; a glacial valley and medieval monastic settlement. Its just a 5 minutes drive from the sheep farm.

The Bus will be parked there for 2 hours (expected to be back in bus by around 12PM)and we can visit the Glendalough Monastic Site. Nick (our guide) from the Tour operator side will explain about the place and once the walking tour is over, we can walk till the Glendalough Upper and Lower Lake. Please note that the walking distance is around 1.6 Kms+ (one side) from the parking area. The views are stunning and I would personally recommend this.

There are restaurant and bathroom facilities available in the ‘Glendalough Hotel’.

I would personally suggest you to take some light food from here as the bus would stop only at the next attraction at around 1:45 PM.

Enroute to the place 3, we will pass through the beautiful scenic mountains (Wicklow Gap) lying both sides of the Braveheart Drive road. You will also pass through very small town like ‘Holly Wood’. The bus will also stop for 10 minutes, for you to take some beautiful snaps of the mountains. You will also get a chance to see a lot of ‘Fairy trees’ enroute.

Place 3: The last and final place of visit is ‘Kilkenny’ Medieval City. We might reach here around 1:45 PM and bus will be parked near the Kilkenny Castle till 4PM. Before reaching Kilkenny, the guide will provide all the information related to the various attractions in that area.

If you are a person who is not fond of History, this is not a location that you might enjoy.

My decision was to visit the St. Canice’s Medieval Cathedral and Round Tower. You need to pay a small fees for getting onto the top of the Round Tower from where you can get a 360 view of the town. Beware that there are around 100 steps and it’s a risky one for the elders and young kids.

There is also a small ticket for seeing the inside of the Cathedral.

Based on individual preference, you can also decide between:

Kilkenny Castle

Ballykeefe Distillery

Rothe House & Garden

Saint Francis’s Abbey Brewery

National Craft Gallery

You will be back in the City Center by 6PM, if the bus starts around 4.15 PM from Kikenny.

Overall, I feel that the trip is very economical. The Travel Guide ‘Nick’ and the pilot ‘Paddy’ were very supportive and caring. Nick has spend more than 30 years in Ireland and he gives a lot of information (using Mic and speaker) about the History of Ireland, Dublin and the attractions that we visit. He was amazing – not only was he informative but hosted walking tours along the way which was interesting. He also brought along some instruments and entertained us with his music along the way.

The only thing what you have to keep in mind is that the operator doesn’t spend/waste time by stopping the bus in front of the restaurants. Anyway food is not included in this package. So be prepared to grab a short menu like Burgers or sandwich wherever the bus parks. This is quite a busy journey throughout the complete day. In case, if you want to save some money, you can also pack food from your home/hotel. The tour operator don’t block you from having outside food inside the coaches.

Overall, I would recommend this one-day package to my fellow travellers.

As for the tour itself, everything was great except time. But I guess that’s the same thing for all day tours; there’s little time for so many things to see and do. All in all, it was a great tour, and we were lucky to have a beautiful weather to make it more enjoyable.

Anyway, there are some other tour operators like ‘Paddywagon’ who are also operating in the same route.

https://www.paddywagontours.com/KILKENNY-and-WICKLOW-Day-Tour-From-DUBLIN?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-vuPrYK23wIVBbTtCh39wg6JEAAYASACEgL_5vD_BwE

But they don’t take you to the sheep farm, I guess.

In Winter time, we might not see the real beauty of this place. But in Summer, these are must see destinations.

We visited county Galway from Dublin, in February 2019.

This was a part of the 5-day road trip from Dublin covering mainly Mayo, Galway and Clare counties.

Road map- Day 2:

Places covered on Day 2 (In County Galway)

1) Connemara National Park:

The park covers nearly 3000 hectares of land and includes mountains, bog, heath and woodland. Entrance to the park is free. Pets are allowed.

There are four trails in the park. The Woodland Trail, Scruffaunboy Walk, Lower Diamond Hill Walk and Upper Diamond Hill Walk, however the real reason for coming here is to do one thing only, and that is to climb Diamond Hill, the 445m mountain that stands majestically in the centre of the landscape. The full hill walk is combination of 3 of the walks, 7.5km and takes 2-3 hours. You will find the visitor centre in the entrance of the trail.

We did not proceed for the Trails, as we were running short of time.

Note: Connemara is also known for Connemara Pony Breed.

2) Kylemore Abbey:

This is one of the most visited tourist attractions in this part of the County Galway. Seems like this Abbey was a former castle.

You can visit some rooms in the abbey, many of them were redesigned with the original furniture and provide a lot of information about the history of Kylemore Abbey.

There is a entry fee into the Abbey.

Another attraction that we skipped in this region was ‘LetterFrack Village’. The village has some traditional music bars, restaurants and so on.

3) Aasleagh Falls:

Aasleagh Falls, sometimes spelled Ashleigh Falls, is a small but picturesque waterfall on the River Erriff near Killary Harbour. There is a parking area, a short walk from the falls. Salmon fishing is popular in this region.

We also saw the Killary Fjord Boat tours office on the way. The service was not operational because of Winter.

• You can find more details in the below link:
• https://killaryfjord.com/

4) Sionnanach:

There is a nice parking space here. There are seats wooden seats arranged in this place. You can park your vehicle and relax for some time.

5) Clifden:

We had gone upto Clifden that day but it was already late evening and we had to leave back to county Mayo where we had booked for that night stay.

Clifden is around 15 minutes from Letterfrack and is one of the largest towns in this region.

The main attractions in Clifden are:

1) Sky road: The Sky Road drive in Clifden is a popular route in the Connemara region and has been described as the most impressive coastal drive in the country.

2) Clifden castle / Dunguaire Castle

Road Map – Day 3

Places that we covered/planned to cover on Day 3 (In County Galway)

Glengowla Mines

Rossaveal Ferry (To Aran Islands)) (we did not go for boating here)

Salthill Promenade

National Aquarium

Claddagh (Corrib Princess Boat) (we did not visit here)

Spanish Arch (we did not visit here)

Galway Bay

Kinvarra Fishing Port (we did not visit here)

1) Glengowla Mines

We really wanted to go inside this mines but at the entrance gate, we realised that it is normally closed to Visitors during winter.

It’s an old lead mine that was only in operation for fifteen years or so in the 1800’s(1851-1865) but now it’s open for tours down into the mine. Its an interesting place to learn about the miners work and about Irish history. Mainly Silver and lead was mined from here.

Am little confused if we should call it as a Historic place or a Tourist attraction.

Please note that the mine is open for the season from March 18^th and close by the end of October. They are open from 10 AM till 6PM, with the last guided tour at 5 PM.

They have various options like Guided Tours, Sheep herding, Farm walks, Museums, gift shops and so on.

Fares:

Adult : 11 Euros

Children : 4.5 Euros

Students : 10.5 Euros

Family : 27 Euros

2) Rossaveal Ferry ( To Aran Islands):

Ferry services are available to Aran islands from Rossaveal.

This ferry port is around one hour drive from the Galway city centre.

They also suggest booking the tickets well in advance, to avoid any disappointments at the last moment.

Notes:

You have to park your vehicles (Parking charges apply) in the designated parking space.

They also arrange a shuttle bus which leaves Galway city on time to get you to the ferry.

They allow pets inside the ferry.

Bicycles are allowed (but with some restrictions on the total numbers)

Travel times to the Aran Islands from Rossaveal.

Rossaveal to Inis Mór (Inishmore): 40 Minutes.

Rossaveal to Inis Meáin(Inishmaan): 50 Minutes.

Rossaveal to Inis Oírr(Inisheer): 55 Minutes.

3) Salthill Promenade:

The Irish for Salthill is ‘Bóthar na Trá’, which literally means ‘the road by the sea’.

Salthill’s main attraction every year has been its promenade and numerous sandy beaches. The promenade covers approximately 3kms of coastline, overlooking Galway Bay.

This is an ideal area for jogging, rollerblading or strolling.

There are lots of bars, restaurants, and hotels. There are many designated parking space aswell.

4) National Aquarium:

You can see a wide and diverse collection of Ireland’s native marine and freshwater animals here.

Galway Aquarium is designed over two floors, where visitors follow a vivid interpretation of the Irish aquatic landscape, from the glacial mountain streams of Connemara, down through the famous River Corrib and out into Galway Bay.

Galway Atlantaquaria typically opens for every holiday and Bank holiday weekend (St Patrick’s Day, Good Friday etc).

Opening Times:

Open Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm

Open Saturday, Sunday 10am – 6pm

Last admission 45 mins before closing time every day.

Admission Fee:

The admission fee includes entry for the day, so visitors are allowed to come and go any time but need to hold the receipt for re-Admission

General:

Adult €13.00

Child €8.50

Senior €9.50

Student €10.00

Children ages 2 and under are free.

Family Tickets:

2 Adults and 1 Child € 31.00

2 Adults and 2 Children € 35.00

1 Adult and 2 Children € 24.00

Each Additional child € 4.50

Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult at all times!

There is also a fish feeding demonstration happening at different timings like 3Pm for big fish feeding.

As Ireland’s largest aquarium, they strive to ensure that a visit to the Galway Aquarium provides a real wonder for visitors of all ages.

Website: www.nationalaquarium.ie

5) Claddagh and the Corrib Princess Boat:

Claddagh (Irish: an Cladach, meaning “the shore”) is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century.

The boat was not operational in winter and hence had to skip this in our tour.

They do some sailings in April and in the month of October.(Private group hire of 20+ passengers)

Public daily sailing happens between May and September.

Corrib Princess Boat is a luxury 157 seat passenger boat. They sails from Woodquay in the heart of Galway city. The journey takes passengers along the majestic River Corrib and onto Lough Corrib, the Republic of Ireland’s largest lake, providing visitors with unsurpassed views and natural amenities that make this the most spectacular waterway in Ireland.

The sailing duration is around 90 Min.

6) Spanish Arch:

The Spanish Arch built in 1584, stands on the left bank of the River Corrib, where Galway’s river meets the sea.

7) Galway Bay:

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway and the Burren in County Clare.

Galway Bay is famous for its unique traditional sailing craft, the Galway Hooker.

You can get in touch with Galway Bay sailing club for sailing related details.

8) Kinvarra fishing port/ Kinvara Harbour

Due to the limited time, we did not visit the Fishing port.

Kinvara is a picturesque fishing village, located on the South Shores of the famous “Galway Bay”.

By late evening, we managed to reach the Home stay which we had booked through Airbnb. We had stayed in Pake’s Cottage (Near Cliffs of Moher, County Clare).