1 Month Ireland Backpack Trip...help?

[kmacadventure]

Allrighty-I am going to need some help, info...whatever can be given to me...to plan for my adventure to Ireland! Ideally I would LOVE to backpack through the country-shooting as MANY pictures-and going to as MANY places as I can get to within a 1 month's time...April 2012-May 2012....I have always wanted to travel to Ireland...so I REALLY would like to get the MOST out of my trip!
I'm 21, will be 22 by the time I make this journey...and me thinks it would be best if the trip was safe...so bearing that in mind...and knowing that I have some time to get everything in order...I just need someplace to take off- I do NOT know where to start! I saw there were hostels that I could stay in...how do those work? I would like to backpack around Ireland...but I also saw that I could rent a bike? Catch a ferry someplace? Are those good ideas? Or can that be sketchy? As far as MONEY goes...what should I plan to save up? I'm not sure I fully understand the money exchange-and really how much day to day living costs...so if clarification could be given, I would appreciate it greatly!
Does anyone know of, or have any heard of good backpacking routes to follow? Or know of any books or websites I could check out?
I literally have NO clue as to where to start with this adventure...so ANYTHING thrown my way would be FANTASTIC!!! ;D
Thanks so much!!!

[madamtrashheap]

kmacadventure, welcome to GFE.

Good that you're planning your trip now as before you know it you'll be on your way. To get you started, first look at a map of Ireland to get an idea of the majore centres, distances and where other places are in relation to each other. Then, start listing the places you'd like to visit. From there, a route will start to form and you can list your first go at an itinerary back here for us to look at and fill in the blanks.

Ireland isn't that big, so one month of travelling around will give you lots of time to explore. Are you planning on visiting anywhere else other than Ireland?

As for transport, if you are backpacking and on a budget, you'll be looking at a combination of trains and busses around Ireland. Once you've worked out an itinerary, what style of transport to take on which route will be able to be answered.

Budget is always a hard one - the short answer is to save up as much money as you can. If you are staying in Hostels and B&Bs, you'll be looking at around Euro70/US$100, which is the average amount for travellers per day. Euro is the currency of Ireland (the Republic of). Of course some days you may spend more, some days less, but use that as an average for your budget aim.

If you know the exact dates of your trip, you can start to look (and book) at flights from wherever you are to Dublin. In fact in this case, I would recommend flying in and out of Dublin rather than in to Dublin and out of Shannon. Unless the answer to the above question is that you are travelling somewhere else other than Ireland. At any rate, start to look at flight costs to get an idea of dates and rates for your flight.

Have a look through the Posts on these Boards as there are many referencing Ireland. That will give you an idea of what others have done, but you don't have to base your trip soley on that - remember, it has to be your trip and to see/do things that interest you. For additional research, look up websites like the Irish Tourism Board, TimeOut Dublin, Lonely Planet and even Rick Steve's for some ideas on places to visit.

Once you've had a look through that information, start to plot a route and re-post here for additional suggestions. Happy planning.

[carox]

Things to do in Ireland:
1. Go to Dublin
2. Buy some Waterford Crystal
3. Play golf
4. Go to the beach.

[jellybelly]

if you are going to Ireland then don't forget to visit Dublin which is the capital of Ireland and an amazing city, and there you can find many rental traveling medium offering agencies.

[tigerlilly]

Good luck with your planning! I might lurk on your board to get some info as well as my husband and I are planning on going to Ireland and Scotland next year