Ireland Travel Forum

Hey!^_^

Any tips,stories or advices from travellers who toured around Ireland alone would be very welcome?Is it easy?Is it enjoyful?Being a young woman might i have more trouble than usual?

To be honest,i feel a little insecure.It will be first journey on my own but i think it is a wonderful opportunity!

Thanks!

i admit to not being a woman, but i can say hand-on-heart that Ireland is one of the safest places for women in the world. Yep, they might get chatted up occasionaly, but that's all part of the 'craic'.

Yes, Ireland is perfectly safe for a young woman on her own Anna. The people are amongst the friendliest on earth & the country is very beautiful . You will be fine, Darren.

I have only been to Ireland once so this is only an opinion based on visiting a small part of the country for a short period. I can understand your concerns being a single female. My view, and I hope others confirm this view, is that Ireland is one of the friendliest and most hospitable places I have ever visited. Remember I only spend a few days around Cork but I found people to be very friendly and welcoming with a curiosity about strangers which I have never experienced anywhere else. In any pub strangers will start talking to you and you feel it is because they are really ineterested. I thought the bit I saw was really safe and I never saw any incident which would cause me to advise against a single female to travel there. Hope I am right!
My only concern would be about driving myself giving some of the road signs etc are not as accurate as they could be and downright imposible to understand sometimes but if you stick to public transport I think one will be fine.

We travelled with our daughter to Ireland last year. She was then 21 yrs old. Since my husband and I can't keep up with younger people when it comes to nightlife, she wasn't going to waste the night away in the hotel. She went out to the clubs/pubs at night by herself, twice in Dublin and twice in Cork. She claimed she had a great time hanging out with the locals; her actual words were, "partying with the locals". I had my reservations the first night that she went out on her own (I couldn't sleep until she came back at 4:00 a.m.) I did relent after that. I was also assured by the hotel receptionist that she'd be fine. And she was.

Great story that last one & no surprise either.

Ireland is safe and friendly country. :)

You can use sites like hospitalityclub.org or couchsurfing.com to meet locals and get info.

Being Irish myself I can state fairly catagorically that you will have no problems touring Ireland alone. The Irish are very welcoming to visitors and tourists as long as their up for the 'craic'. Don't think it strange when a complete stranger comes up and starts up a conversation with you. this is normal. Irish people love to chat and meet new people. Take advantage of travelling alone and go out and meet people. I love travelling alone. You meet more people and see more of the country.
Enjoy Ireland.
Brian

You'll be absolutely fine. Just use your common sense about drinking.

Thank you everyone for the heart warming replies!It's great to know the inside truth from fellow travellers and Irish people.

formica: I am already a member of Couchsurfing.^_^ Through couchsearch i saw that there are people in Cork,Kilkenny,Galway and Sligo.So i will request to stay with any of them which will be great help because as you probably already know CS really helps you to become one with the indigenous people,to experience in depths the culture.

pure1942: I'm sure then that i will love the Irish more than i already do.:D Greeks are a lot like that.So being Greek also makes me open and warm which means that i will definately enjoy talking to people in the streets and pubs and hearing their stories.

leics: hehe I don't really drink.I mean i do have the occasional couple of drinks when i got out partying but in general i keep myself in control.I will definately have a pint of Guiness!!But that's about it.

lifeisatrip: Thank you for sharing a personal story!Helps a lot!

Like everyone said common sense is the best guide in any country.:) Thanks again everyone!

I can't think of a better place as a woman to tour on your own. The locals are VERY friendly and will talk forever if you let them. They always seem to be up for a good time. Just be careful if you go drinking and clubbing that you look after your own drinks to make sure no one is putting any drugs in there.

hehe that reminds me of my mom,she always advised me to look after my drink in case someone puts drugs on it. I never had such problem in my hometown but in general i agree that we should all be cautious.

That sounds great about the locals!Everybody keeps saying that they are joyfully friendly and helpful!It seems that i will make lots of friends if i end up going to Ireland. (i am about to have the talk with the parents lol)

i can recommend Jim Beam in Cork.. :))

Thanks,thanks i found his profile in CS.I'll keep it in mind.Are you member as well?Where do you live?

My page is http://www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html. If you ever come to Greece send me a message.^_^

Anna, as everybody has already pointed out,Ireland is a friendly place
but I think some of them, as visitors, have views that are a little bit naive. A young woman travelling on her own anywhere needs to be vigilant and Ireland is no exception. Be very careful where you go after dark and don't walk on your own in secluded places. Even in towns and cities, where there are lots of people around you should be careful, especially around the time that the pubs close.

I don't want to be a killjoy but I don't want you to have the impression that everybody in Ireland is safe because they are friendly. Believe me, we have our quota of weirdos just like every other country and attacks on women of all ages do happen.

Thank you for your honest answer!It is the same in Greece i guess and every other european country.As friendly as the people are there will always be a number of criminals and weirdos. What time do the pubs close?I don't think i will go out on my own especially at that time.I will enjoy pubs and bars when i will stay with friends or couchsurfers and in cities i will be on my own i can either go out early or not at all.Safety comes first.

Hey ya,
Pubs close at different times during the week. Monday - Thursday they last orders are at 23.30, Friday and Saturday 00.30 and Sunday 23.00. Clubs generally stop serving a 02.00 - 02.30. There are bars with late licences with the same cosing serving hours as clubs.
The most disturbance and anti-social behaviour is usually outside town and city nightclubs and the bigger late night bars. Stay clear of these if your on your own but with friends they're fine. In Ireland if you mind your own business and don't get involved in arguments you will be absolutely fine. Needless to mention,like any other country walking alone in isolated, dark places is not recommended but the main well lit streets in towns and cities are generally quiet safe in Ireland even at night.
All the best - Brian