BudgetTravel

Toronto, Canada: Hi, Anto. I'm planning my honeymoon for this August. We have between 5-7 days in Ireland and would like to spend the majority of it hiking along the west coast. Could you suggest a few places with beautiful scenery, good hikes and that are reasonably priced? Also, we won't be renting a car, so any tips on how to travel from place to place would be much appreciated.

Anto Howard: First of all, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. If you come to Ireland and only go one place it has to be the West Coast. Firstly I'll list a few must sees: Cliffs of Moher, The Burren (a lunar landscape, stunning area in Co. Clare) and as much of Connemara as you can fit in.

Might be a good idea to start in Co Clare and head north, via Galway City, to Connemara. You could hike pretty much the whole way, varing the level of difficulty by going over the mountains or not.

Cheap places to stay in Ireland are much harder to come by since the Celtic Tiger brought prosperity to the country. But there are still a few good value, beautiful spots out west. Try Aran View House just outside Doolin on the Clare Coast. It has stunning views in every direction, The Aran islands to the west, the Cliffs of Moher to the south, and The Burren to the north. The Merriman Inn in beautiful Kinvara, Co. Galway has great views out over Galway Bay. And the bargain Burren View Farm in Doorus Co. Galway, has stunning views out over the Bay to The Burren beyond.

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Oklahoma City, Okla.: Is the weather good in October and is October a good month to go to Ireland?

Anto Howard: A nice short question, I love it.

October is one of my favourite months in Ireland and I often recommend it to visitors. The weather is usually good (average highs of 55 F and lows of 40 F) and it is also one of the driest months in Ireland (a relative term, of course). But it is also a time when most tourists have gone home (no lines!) and you can see Irish people going about their normal lives. The theatre and art seasons reopen after a summer hiatus, and the students are back in college.

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West Haven, Conn.: Hello. My husband and I are in the talking stages about possibly re-locating to Ireland. We are both American. Are there any companies that handle that sort of thing, i.e. housing, jobs, school for my son, etc... We were thinking of somewhere south, close to Ardmore.

Thanks,
Tina

Anto Howard: Before I try answer your question I wanted to say you couldn't have picked a better place to move to. My girlfriend is from Ardmore (in fact we are going down there this weekend) and it really is one of the underrated gems of Ireland—historically and scenically.