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Authored by Pitor Nowak

I was always under the impression that Irish landscapes were too beautiful to be true. Being an outdoors person with a love of nature, hiking, climbing and mountaineering, I’ve seen my fair share of stunning landscapes. But Ireland seemed to be something ripped from the pages of a fairytale.

My name is Piotr, and I am a junior web-designer from Poland. When I finally started planning my trip to Ireland, I couldn’t justify only spending one week. I understood however that I could not afford to travel for three months in a row, so I made the decision to go to Ireland and keep working from there.

From the very beginning I understood that my trip would be a challenging one; your biggest problem if you are trying to combine work and travel in Ireland is Internet access. And, eager to ditch the conveniences of the city for the cliffs, forests, seascapes and other remote locations, even if you do manage to pick up a signal, it is veeery slow (not surprisingly)!

However when you’re presented with the opportunity to explore the pages of a fairytale land without having to step through a book, perspective kicks in, and forces you to forget about your Internet obsession so you can fully explore the beauty of local nature. Here are four of my brightest impressions.

Lasting Memories From My Trip to Ireland: These Highlights Will Probably Be Yours Too

The Cliffs of Moher

I wouldn’t forgive myself if I missed this wonder of nature on my way from Limerick to Galway. This is definitely the brightest memory of the whole trip, even though I could spend there only two days.

The Cliffs of Moher stretch for eight kilometers along the Atlantic coast and I walked almost the whole length of them. This is Ireland’s most visited natural attraction, and while there were crowds of people, I chose to not talk to anyone – all I wanted was to enjoy the magical power of nature.

The Cliffs of Moher stretch for eight kilometers along the Atlantic coast and I walked almost the whole length of them.

Crazy Irishmen in Local Pubs

A bit of an introvert, sometimes I still need people around. I caught myself thinking about this in Limerick almost a month after beginning my trip. That’s probably exactly why my second greatest memory is about a bunch of crazy Irishmen I met in one of local pubs (Nancy Blake’s, and I strongly recommend it).

What I understood is that travelling indeed connects people. Among the local crowd were a married couple, both from IT sphere, and a web-developer with almost 10-year experience of travels! P.S. All of them agreed that Internet is a trouble in this country.

Rock of Cashel

The third experience I will never forget is the Rock of Cashel where I’ve spent one day on my way from Dublin to Cork.

This is one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland and one of the most visited; a spectacular group of Medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.

It’s huge, it’s complex, it’s iconic, and there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. I joined a guided tour, which was a great way to learn about the history of the site in depth, and in other travelers on the tour I made a long lasting friend. She’s a traveler with sufficient experience and her next destination is Poland – we will keep exploring Medieval architecture together.

Rock of Cashel – the ruins of a tower, chapel, cathedral, castle and hall built on a limestone outcrop during the 12th, 13th & 15th centuries.

Carrauntoohil

My last greatest memory is Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain. Although it is only 1,038 meters, it was still quite difficult to climb, at least at some points throughout the route. Nevertheless, I found the hardest part was walking down from the summit, and was quite shocked to see so many people without any equipment, wearing only jeans!

Overall, the walk took about seven hours, and while quire tiring, the view from the top is a fascinating reward!

Upon my return home, I understood this was my greatest business trip ever. It’s a true saying that jobs fill our pockets, while adventures fill our souls.

OUR FAVORITE IRELAND GUIDES. CLICK BOOK TO LOOK INSIDE ↓

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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; a website dedicated to opening your eyes to the wild & natural world.

Committed to bringing you the best in adventure travel from all around the globe, there is no mountain too high, and no fete too extreme! They haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on their list.

Follow their journey on Facebook, TwitterYouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Photo credits: The Cliffs of Moher by Giuseppe Milo. Rock of Cashel by Pat O’Malley.

    18 Comments

  1. What a great place!! I always love Ireland.. its the most amazing place in Europe! Great highlights :-)

    • Totally agree with you there! I can’t wait to get back :) Happy travels!

  2. The cliffs of Moher had me lingering there for a while. What wonderful view with the waves crashing. I am introvert as well but I think I am pretty much OK if nobody is around. But I do talk to other travelers when on a trip which surprises me sometimes.

    • I think Ireland is a fantastic country for the introvert – it has a really wonderful combination of secluded natural beauty (yes, Cliffs of Moher are absolutely breathtaking!!) while having that really kind and welcoming social scene if you want it :)

      Hope you have the chance to travel to Ireland soon!

  3. I worked in a Bed and Breakfast at Spanish Point in County Clare in the early 90’s twice for 6 months at a time. The Irish people were the highlight of my trip. So genuine and grounded. I was only a few miles from the Cliffs of Moher. Spectacular! Thank you for bringing those memories cascading back.

    • So happy we could provide a moment to relive your time in Ireland Jeff! It sounds like you had an absolutely amazing time!

  4. Sounds like you ticked off all the major sights in Ireland. Indeed working and travelling can be hard to achieve a good balance. It’s even harder when the internet is dodgy. We love meeting locals over a drink or two and have made some great friends worldwide this way

    • I think it’s one of those things we end up having to accept when we get there, to just log off and enjoy the trip! I get more frustrated having slow internet than no internet lol!!

  5. I am always astonished by how beautiful Ireland is and would love to travel there more often (it’s so near us, in the UK). I agree that the The Cliffs of Moher are so gorgeous, despite the hordes of people!

    • It takes your breath away!! And absolutely, we spent a year in London and managed to get 13 pound flights to Ireland – it was absurdly cheap!! Almost couldn’t believe it!

  6. The coastline and castles of Ireland are just magnetic and epic. It would be such a great experience Ireland on a road trip and thanks for reminding me about the beauty of the country! @ knycx.journeying

    • A road trip is a fantastic way to experience the country indeed! And self drive is such an easy way to travel here … can enjoy the flexibility of staying longer at a place which truly captivates you … which, honestly, is the whole of Ireland :D

  7. The views look incredible! Did it rain loads while you were there?

    • Irish weather is indeed unpredictable … we had a couple of days where it was gloomy with rain … though this kind of weather usually makes for more dramatic photos, so I’ll take it as a win either way! :)

  8. I appreciated reading this. Thank you.

    • Thanks Bobby! Happy travels :)

  9. Ireland looks like such a fairytale place. Loved your photos in this post! I’ve met a few crazy Irishmen on my travels…they’re hilarious and definitely bring the party wherever they go!

    • It truly is like living in a fairytale … has to be experienced to be believed! Haha and yes, I’m yet to meet an Irishman who’s not the life of the party!

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