This week I would like to give some advice about planning side trips and the best places to visit in Ireland. I would highly recommend deciding where you want to go the most before you even leave for your semester abroad. Four months may seem like a long time, but the weeks pass by very quickly and if you are not prepared you may run out of time to travel.
Personally, I knew of a few places I wanted to visit in Ireland, but I had not thought about traveling around other European countries at all. The luxury of studying abroad in Europe is that you can book cheap flights from your host country to other European countries (a two to three hour plane ride was usually around 30 to 60 euro). However, planning trips outside your host country requires a lot of thought and these trips need to be planned well in advance. This is where my friends and I ran into problems. At the beginning of the semester everyone needs time to get adjusted to their new surroundings and the new culture/way of life, so no one usually travels during the first few weeks of their study abroad experience. Looking back, I think that students should spend the first few weeks of their semester abroad traveling around their host country while simultaneously planning their trips outside their host country. This is something that I failed to do. I did not spend enough time really thinking about what places I wanted to see outside of Ireland, and by the time my friends and I realized that we needed to start planning those trips, we only had about six weeks left in our semester. Six weeks may sound like a lot of time, but it really is not when you are responsible for planning your own trip and have to coordinate schedules with other people. If I had not left Ireland early due to the Coronavirus then I probably would have only had time for one or two more side trips during my remaining time. If I had started planning earlier in the semester then I could have made it to four or five different places in Europe. So, my recommendation would be to figure out the places you want to visit while abroad before you even leave, and upon arrival start planning your side trips immediately to allow yourself enough time to make the appropriate arrangements, get the best flight prices, and coordinate schedules with friends. I saw some incredible places in Ireland during my semester such as the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, and Dublin. I would recommend that everyone studying abroad in Ireland see the Cliffs of Moher, they are breathtaking. For citygoers and history buffs I would recommend Dublin because it is a much larger city than Galway and contains many more historical sites and museums. For those who prefer the country I would recommend visiting the Connemara region because it has incredible views and spectacular places to hike. Below are a few pictures from the Cliffs of Moher, Dublin and Connemara.
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