Galway

[888sally888]

Going to stay at the G Hotel in Galway, W Ireland next April.

Anyone any tips on where to visit (we will have a car), what to do and where to eat. We havent got to think about the kids as they're staying at home!!

Many thanks.

[delboy3]

I think a drive round Connemara is worthwhile - a beautiful desolation of lakes & hills. If you're lucky you might see dolphins & seals offshore. Also, I hear Clifden is worth a visit especially for afternoon tea.

The Galway pubs are well worth popping into for Guinness & oysters (assuming they're in season) and there may well be a ceili going on in one or two of 'em.

Now I'm making myself jealous!

[888sally888]

Thank you for that - not sure we should have too many oysters though!!

[Wrangler]

Galway is just marvellous - the restaurants and bars exquisite. Just pootle off in your car during the day and enjoy the craic in the evenings. If you can't find things to enjoy in Galway, you are lost causes! You will LOVE it!

[sixty]

You must take a trip to the Dingle peninsula. Dingle town is a delightful place, you can take a boat trip out to see (and swim) with Fungi the dolphin who lives in the bay! (money back if you don't see him) Also the Beara peninsula is beautiful but wilder, and of course don't miss the Ring of Kerry. A tip here, go the opposite way to the coach trips. Stop off at Sneem a small village for a pint of Guinness,Have a look at Killarney but beware its very commercialised.Muckross House is well worth a visit too. Oooh I wish I was coming with you! All pubs are great for food, and the evenings everywhere are fantastic, the musicians move from pub to pub. in general the Irish are very good cooks wherever you go and couldn't be more friendly. For Irish music Galway's good, so is Dingle but the mecca is Doolin in Co Clare near the Cliffs of Moher if you get that far. And as Delboy said Connemara is the most beautiful country, we have stayed in Clifden too and can recommend it. Also Joyce counntry is worth a visit very grand and wild. Have a wonderful time

[SRH]

Cong is a gorgeous town just about an hour's drive away north. It's where they filmed the Quiet Man and you can have a stroll around the old abbey and walk up to Ashford Castle (which is where Pierce Brosnan got married - v posh!). You can then head back via Maam Cross - which is just about as pretty an Irish village as you can get.

If you are into literature, a visit to Thor Ballylee, where WB Yeats lived, is also a nice jaunt out. Coole Park and Gardens is also nice on a good day. And, as said before a trip out meandering through connemara or south to the Burren (a truly lunar landscape quite unlike anything else in Europe - more like the Azores) is good.

As for food - McSwiggans in the city centre (http://www.mcswiggans.com/) is well worth a look for inexpensive lunches, good beer and great evening meals. It's a bit busy and 'pub' like inside but very traditional - and the food is amazing - especially the garlicky ribs! For a pint of Guinness and a dozen oysters, the Quay Bar in Quay Street is lively and welcoming, especially if the hurling or Gaelic football is on on the big screens (Quay Street is good in general for a light bite to eat and a pint - pedestrianised with pavement tables and chairs etc). Out of town, the restaurant at the Twelve hotel in Barna (further up the coast) is absolutely amazing. Not cheap, but a real treat (it's owned by one of the world's top sommeliers so the wines are fantastic too). Their website is http://www.thetwelvehotel.ie/west-restaurant.

Hope you have a great time - my family live in Loughrea, Galway, but this Valentine's me and my boyfriend have decided to stay in a hotel in the city centre instead (Park House) rather than have a romantic night spent on a relative's floor! If we spot any other places to eat etc I'll add th