Help me decide/plan for a trip to Ireland or Iceland on Juneteenth week?
April 20, 2022 8:10 PM Subscribe
American here who, like many, had to put any traveling plans on hold for the past two-and-a-half years. Now this year, I'm taking off from work the weekend of Juneteenth (actually, that's a Sunday this year so I could leave as early as June 18th through the 25th). I've wanted for a while to travel to either Iceland or Ireland and could use some help choosing and planning.
Three main questions, because I am NOT an experienced international traveller:
1) Are any travel restrictions still in effect for either country? I believe the answer is no for Iceland. For Ireland -- I'm talking about the Republic of Ireland here -- I'm not certain how recent Brexit nonsense screws with entries.
2) How important is renting a car vs. using the buses for excursions in each country? I have a driver's license but have rarely operated a manual transmission.
3) I am not what you would call an "outdoorsman". Activities which could honestly be called "hiking" or "camping" are not my specialty. I don't mind a nice leisurely walk, but I have knee problems which will make me regret sustained climbing over rough terrain.
3a) The daylight is going to be super long in both places, am I wrong? Most of Iceland is just a bit shy of the Arctic Circle, if I'm reading the map correctly.
For Iceland I think I'd be staying in Reykjavik and using it as a "homebase" for excursions, both in and out of the city. For Ireland, I'm less sure about where I would stay, whether I would transfer from one town to the next mid-trip, and how far out I would range. Honestly, any planning advice would be greatly appreciated!
Three main questions, because I am NOT an experienced international traveller:
1) Are any travel restrictions still in effect for either country? I believe the answer is no for Iceland. For Ireland -- I'm talking about the Republic of Ireland here -- I'm not certain how recent Brexit nonsense screws with entries.
2) How important is renting a car vs. using the buses for excursions in each country? I have a driver's license but have rarely operated a manual transmission.
3) I am not what you would call an "outdoorsman". Activities which could honestly be called "hiking" or "camping" are not my specialty. I don't mind a nice leisurely walk, but I have knee problems which will make me regret sustained climbing over rough terrain.
3a) The daylight is going to be super long in both places, am I wrong? Most of Iceland is just a bit shy of the Arctic Circle, if I'm reading the map correctly.
For Iceland I think I'd be staying in Reykjavik and using it as a "homebase" for excursions, both in and out of the city. For Ireland, I'm less sure about where I would stay, whether I would transfer from one town to the next mid-trip, and how far out I would range. Honestly, any planning advice would be greatly appreciated!
BobFailte here.
1. As meowzilla sez, all covid controls were dumped on 6th Mar. My reading is that there is no political stomach to bring them back this summer. Masks are optional.
2. "Intercity" bus services are pretty good. Bus Eireann is the semi-state company but there is private competition on the routes between cities; that drives down prices. JJK will cost €10, for example, one way Waterford to Dublin = 100 miles. Rail works also but only on routes radiating from Dublin and significantly more expensive than bus. There are pootley local bus services in surprisingly remote places, esp in Summer, with one or two buses a day between local hubs. Everything is on-line now, so you can plan and cost-estimate from home.
Word on the street is that car rental is now eye-wateringly expensive with a premium on automatics.
3. We took visiting family for a walk along the tow-path of the Barrow River Navigation yesterday. eeee it were lovely: spring flowers, butterflies, in June damselflies will be abundant; a heron, pheasants, little-brown-jobs. Other canal-side journeys possible, see Waterways Ireland. A number of defunct railway lines have been repurposed for flat biking and walking; keyword Greenway.
3a. There is no night in mid-June, Ireland just a couple of hours of astronomical twilight.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:44 AM on April 21, 2022
1. As meowzilla sez, all covid controls were dumped on 6th Mar. My reading is that there is no political stomach to bring them back this summer. Masks are optional.
2. "Intercity" bus services are pretty good. Bus Eireann is the semi-state company but there is private competition on the routes between cities; that drives down prices. JJK will cost €10, for example, one way Waterford to Dublin = 100 miles. Rail works also but only on routes radiating from Dublin and significantly more expensive than bus. There are pootley local bus services in surprisingly remote places, esp in Summer, with one or two buses a day between local hubs. Everything is on-line now, so you can plan and cost-estimate from home.
Word on the street is that car rental is now eye-wateringly expensive with a premium on automatics.
3. We took visiting family for a walk along the tow-path of the Barrow River Navigation yesterday. eeee it were lovely: spring flowers, butterflies, in June damselflies will be abundant; a heron, pheasants, little-brown-jobs. Other canal-side journeys possible, see Waterways Ireland. A number of defunct railway lines have been repurposed for flat biking and walking; keyword Greenway.
3a. There is no night in mid-June, Ireland just a couple of hours of astronomical twilight.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:44 AM on April 21, 2022
I was just in Iceland. I make no claim to expertise beyond being a recent tourist, but:
1. No restrictions (and I was often just about the only one masking.) I think one bus tour requested masks?
2. I did not rent a car. My impression was that the public transit system (particularly beyond Reykjavík) was somewhat weak during off-peak times of year (i.e. during my visit), though I've generally lived in larger cities in the US and Europe with good, multimodal transit, so the comparison may be a little unfair. It's bus-only, and operated by Strætó. Depending on what you are hoping to do, where you are hoping to go, how allergic you are to organized tours, and how much you are willing to plan (and pay) ahead, you may find it easier to pay for tours that include pickup/dropoff from Reykjavík. There are a zillion tour bus options that will take you to see things out of the city, including single- or multi-day trips.
3. You will really want to vet any tours you go on. Make sure you ask explicitly about the level of activity and mobility required. The sites on the so-called Golden Circle are relatively built-up and have smooth-ish trails. On the other hand, some of the sites around Snæfellsnes that I stopped at would have probably been not so great with a bad knee - I was pretty tired afterwards, and this was on a general sight-seeing tour, not a hiking-focused tour. (For context, I am 0% a hiker or an outdoorsy person, but I do walk/bike everywhere in my normal urban life.) In some cases, there might be alternate options like boat tours that are easier on your knee.
3a. Yes, sunset is already after 9pm-ish in mid-April.
posted by ASF Tod und Schwerkraft at 1:55 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
1. No restrictions (and I was often just about the only one masking.) I think one bus tour requested masks?
2. I did not rent a car. My impression was that the public transit system (particularly beyond Reykjavík) was somewhat weak during off-peak times of year (i.e. during my visit), though I've generally lived in larger cities in the US and Europe with good, multimodal transit, so the comparison may be a little unfair. It's bus-only, and operated by Strætó. Depending on what you are hoping to do, where you are hoping to go, how allergic you are to organized tours, and how much you are willing to plan (and pay) ahead, you may find it easier to pay for tours that include pickup/dropoff from Reykjavík. There are a zillion tour bus options that will take you to see things out of the city, including single- or multi-day trips.
3. You will really want to vet any tours you go on. Make sure you ask explicitly about the level of activity and mobility required. The sites on the so-called Golden Circle are relatively built-up and have smooth-ish trails. On the other hand, some of the sites around Snæfellsnes that I stopped at would have probably been not so great with a bad knee - I was pretty tired afterwards, and this was on a general sight-seeing tour, not a hiking-focused tour. (For context, I am 0% a hiker or an outdoorsy person, but I do walk/bike everywhere in my normal urban life.) In some cases, there might be alternate options like boat tours that are easier on your knee.
3a. Yes, sunset is already after 9pm-ish in mid-April.
posted by ASF Tod und Schwerkraft at 1:55 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
What do you want to do in Ireland? Explore cities? See the Atlantic Coast? Neolithic monuments? Rural pubs?
Standard advice for Americans is to not try to do too much. There's a tendency to try and see everywhere in a week and that's not very advisable.
Maybe spend a few days in one of the larger cities and then somewhere with easy access to the west coast? i.e. a few days in Dublin then some in Cork or Galway (or a smaller town like Dingle?) where you can take tours out to the more rugged parts of the country?
Sunrise and sunset in Ireland will be around 5am and 10pm in late June, so circa 17 hours daylight.
posted by knapah at 2:04 AM on April 21, 2022
Standard advice for Americans is to not try to do too much. There's a tendency to try and see everywhere in a week and that's not very advisable.
Maybe spend a few days in one of the larger cities and then somewhere with easy access to the west coast? i.e. a few days in Dublin then some in Cork or Galway (or a smaller town like Dingle?) where you can take tours out to the more rugged parts of the country?
Sunrise and sunset in Ireland will be around 5am and 10pm in late June, so circa 17 hours daylight.
posted by knapah at 2:04 AM on April 21, 2022
Not sure why Brexit would apply - Ireland is not part of the UK (Ireland literally fought a war against them for independence) and remains part of the EU.
There are some issues around the border between RoI and NI post Brexit but, as I understand it, neither RoI or the UK require US citizens to have visas for tourist visits. There are no routine border controls between RoI and NI, though some buses and trains will occasionally be checked by immigration staff.
If you are just planning on visiting the Republic, then you don't need to pay attention to anything about the UK.
posted by knapah at 2:28 AM on April 21, 2022
There are some issues around the border between RoI and NI post Brexit but, as I understand it, neither RoI or the UK require US citizens to have visas for tourist visits. There are no routine border controls between RoI and NI, though some buses and trains will occasionally be checked by immigration staff.
If you are just planning on visiting the Republic, then you don't need to pay attention to anything about the UK.
posted by knapah at 2:28 AM on April 21, 2022
My husband is planning a trip back to Ireland at the end of the month and normally rents a car and unfortunately car rental prices have skyrocketed, evidently during Covid the car rental companies decided to sell off a huge amount of their fleets… soooooo check car rental prices and factor that in. There are still tour buses and stuff.
posted by pairofshades at 3:33 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by pairofshades at 3:33 AM on April 21, 2022
I've been to Iceland twice for short trips, once as a solo traveller, both times during the off-season (March and December). I stayed in Reykjavik and didn't rent a car either time but did take several guided tours. The tours vary wildly! There are big bus tours (Reykjavik Excursions/Viatour) that take you around the major sites, which are... fine. And there are smaller jeep/minivan/etc. tours, which I suspect are highly variable. I only went on one small tour (to Snaefellesnes, highly recommend), and it was great except for it lasted, no lie, 4+ hours longer than it was supposed to. But I saw things that I would not have known to seek out on my own, so I think it was still better than renting a car? I was about to make a recommendation about Northern Lights tours but obviously that is not a thing in June! Lots of companies do "White Nights" tours, though, where you stay outside all night basically.
Which reminds me: one kind of nice thing about the "all day daylight" thing is that you can basically choose to stay on your own time zone if you want. Like, if you want to wake up at 1PM Icelandic time and go to bed at 4AM, you can do that, who cares, it's light all the time anyway! (Can be inconvenient for some mealtimes, unless you like late-night hotdogs.) But yes, at the solstice in Reykjavik sunrise is around 3AM and sunset is around midnight. I don't think it ever gets fully dark.
posted by mskyle at 5:24 AM on April 21, 2022
Which reminds me: one kind of nice thing about the "all day daylight" thing is that you can basically choose to stay on your own time zone if you want. Like, if you want to wake up at 1PM Icelandic time and go to bed at 4AM, you can do that, who cares, it's light all the time anyway! (Can be inconvenient for some mealtimes, unless you like late-night hotdogs.) But yes, at the solstice in Reykjavik sunrise is around 3AM and sunset is around midnight. I don't think it ever gets fully dark.
posted by mskyle at 5:24 AM on April 21, 2022
For what it's worth, when we went to Iceland in 2016 we had zero trouble renting an automatic. If that's the only thing keeping you from renting a car, it's worth looking into.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 9:25 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 9:25 AM on April 21, 2022
Ireland without a car is a challenge unless you're only interested in the downtowns of the largest cities or taking a guided tour with a bus. I've only spent a few weeks, but have done both with and without a car. With a car, you can cross the entire country in any direction in the morning and be at your destination by early afternoon. Long distance buses do exist, but it'll add hours to any trip and some things are genuinely impossible to get to.
posted by eotvos at 11:03 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by eotvos at 11:03 AM on April 21, 2022
I agree with eotvos, so many of the beautiful places are hard to reach by car and you’re very limited relying on public transport or tour buses in Ireland…
posted by pairofshades at 11:08 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by pairofshades at 11:08 AM on April 21, 2022
You should be able to hire an automatic transmission car in Ireland, although it may cost more money. Driving on the other side of the road is always an experience, roundabouts are the worst bit but otherwise most people find it not quite as difficult as they feared. Major roads in Ireland are generally good, country roads are often narrow with high hedges.
Otherwise, the days are long in June, which is nice. The people are lovely. If you do go to Ireland you should assume that it will rain most days and bring appropriate clothing. Then if it is sunny it will be an excellent bonus. As a general rule, Ireland does not have a hot summer climate.
posted by plonkee at 5:23 PM on April 21, 2022
Otherwise, the days are long in June, which is nice. The people are lovely. If you do go to Ireland you should assume that it will rain most days and bring appropriate clothing. Then if it is sunny it will be an excellent bonus. As a general rule, Ireland does not have a hot summer climate.
posted by plonkee at 5:23 PM on April 21, 2022
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1. According to the Irish government, there are no restrictions for travel and internally, everything seems open.
Not sure why Brexit would apply - Ireland is not part of the UK (Ireland literally fought a war against them for independence) and remains part of the EU.
2. When I was there in 2012, I think I took Citylink, the bus service, across the country. It was fine. I was amazed that they had buses that left every single hour, including in the middle of the night. The cost is absurdly cheap. Searching now, there are multiple bus services crisscrossing the island, so it's a well-used service.
I used the intracity bus service in Dublin and I don't remember anything bad about it.
3a. Yes, there is going to be a lot of sunlight in Ireland in the summer. You may want to consider a sleep mask.
posted by meowzilla at 10:44 PM on April 20, 2022