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Packing advice request!
We are taking The Best of Ireland Small Group tour in late September/early October and would appreciate any advice from travelers who have done this trip on what to pack. Thanks in advance!
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We are taking The Best of Ireland Small Group tour in late September/early October and would appreciate any advice from travelers who have done this trip on what to pack. Thanks in advance!
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We did the tour in June 2017 which according to weatherspark.com is fairly similar weather to what you may see though slightly less rain. It was cool, overcast and sometimes rainy north of Dublin but by the time we got to Galway it was clear and a heat wave hit. Short version - be prepared for all weather. Dining is mostly in the hotels so nice but not super dressy. A pair of dress slacks, a few nice tops and shoes should do it for dinner. Wonderful tour. Great people and excellent food.
Plan for rain and hope for the best. If you want to eat in the main dining room at Ashford Castle, men will need a jacket.
Well you are in for a fantastic time, one of our all time favorite trips, we took it the same time as you are going last year. Tell Mary hello for us if she is your guide. She is a gem. We really were amazed at the mild and lovely weather while we were there, hardly any rain, but you will have some. We dressed up a bit for some of the dinners just because we like to, loved having some good boots to wear about, took some light sweaters and jeans for the days, brought a good hat or two, you will need warm ones and a good jacket and scarves for the days by the sea. If you go a day early go out to Howth and takes some walks there by the sea cliffs, if you need a great guide, take John the Man’s tour, great way to start out in Ireland! So excited for you, will be happy to help with any other info.
Definitely dress for the Ashford Castle. We also dressed nicely for the manor house we stayed at. I mainly took a couple of nice tops and wore the same black slacks. Husband had a jacket and nice khaki slacks. We like to dress up a bit and it was definitely worth doing for the dinners at the Ashford Castle.
Layer and be prepared for any type of weather. As the saying goes in Ireland, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 min."
Good thing some mentioned the jacket for Ashford. Our tour didn't stay there so it wasn't needed. Only the small group Best of Ireland stays there now. We were at Glenlo Abbey and jackets for men weren't required.
The George V dining room at Ashford, the only one that requires jackets, has loaner jackets.
AMACK127,
Great comments, especially your gracious sentiment for SueB_23.
Did this a couple of months ago. The afternoon of our farewell dinner at the Lyrath Estate, we were given a choice of either (group) falconry or a 30 minute spa experience (massage, etc). This very welcome ‘bonus’ was not mentioned in either the online or the printed itinerary.
As I have previously mentioned, you do NOT have to bring a dinner jacket just so you can dine at the George V since the facility can lend you one onsite.
Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions and lovely comments. We are very excited for this trip - our first Tauck tour. We appreciate your help!
SueB_23, you picked a great one for your first. We highly recommend doing the Walk with Falcons (not sure that is the actual name) at Ashford Castle. It was the most amazing experience. Well worth the money. We also dined both nights in the dining room as the food and service were beyond fantastic.
We paid for a private falconry experience at Ashford Castle and had to skip going into town in the morning because of it. Ended up having a really great time. At the end of the trip, when Tauck offered the group experience at Lyrath Estates, we did it again. Tho it was a group, it was even better than the Ashford Castle experience because of our guide, John. He and his wife Caroline own the Falconry School at Lyrath and have their act together. We learned so much from him and she took our phones and got great pics of each of us as we took our turns with the hawks. Together the two sessions made a well-rounded experience with these magnificent creatures.
On the subject of borrowing a jacket at Ashford Castle to dine at the formal dining room…My husband who is allergic to wearing jackets did not pack one. When I forced the issue of fine dining on him he was reluctant to wear a jacket that someone else might have had on. But the guy working the desk at Ashford sized him up, pulled out a jacket that looked brand new and fit him like a bespoke piece. He actually looked quite dapper!!! As soon as you are seated you are allowed to remove the jacket, basically you need it on for all of 3 minutes, so there should be no worries there.
Want a farce the jacket situation is!
I forget, do they specify pants? Can you wear shorts and flip flops under your jacket? 😱
Only if you're from Bermuda, Alan.
When we travelled with Silversea on the Inside Passage of Alaska the very same thing happened to my husband. At the restaurant he was given a jacket and then not even three minutes later he took it off and put it behind his chair. We just laughed and it was so ridculous.