Irish Adventure - Travel with Kara Group Trip 2025
Our fun group - minus one who stepped away before the picture could be taken.
Ireland & Northern Ireland - 2025
This year was my first Travel with Kara group trip ever, and it was such a fun time! We traveled through Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a free day in Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day. With 15 travelers plus myself, it was a perfect size to get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company.
We started our trip off in Dublin for a night, with our flight getting in during the morning. Some of us chose to relax in our rooms, while others decided to go out and see what they could see. (Spoiler alert: I am always one who goes out and sees what they can see.) I checked out Trinity College & the Book of Kells, and if I’m honest, it was mostly so I could see the fantastic library. The Book of Kells was cool too, but I really enjoyed seeing the famous library. I also happened across a couple fellow groupies, so we grabbed a drink in a local pub before heading back to the hotel for a panoramic city tour, Teeling Distillery experience, and our welcome meeting.
On Day 2 of our adventure, we left Dublin for Waterford, with a stop at Glendalough first. This was a highlight of the day, as the early monastic site was so well preserved and the history told was fascinating. We explored the site before heading on to a recreation of an Irish famine ship. Here we heard the history of the potato famine and the hows and whys of the many families who left Ireland at that time. It included dramatic interpretation as well, with someone representing the lower class and someone representing a woman from the upper class. We ended in Waterford with a city tour before having dinner and turning in.
Day 3 started with a tour of the Waterford Crystal Factory before heading off to Cobh to hear about the Titanic’s last port before it left on that fateful voyage. From there we stopped at Blarney Castle & Gardens to kiss the stone for the gift of gab, or just explore the lovely landscapes. They had a poison garden which was quite interesting, and some rune stones and places where you’d think the fae played. Then we made it to Killarney for the night.
Day 4 began with the Ring of Kerry. We enjoyed the scenic vistas and unusually clear weather which allowed us to get a glimpse of the Skellig islands (woot woot to Star Wars fans who recognize these). We also got to see dried peat (what I’m holding in one of the pictures below) which was and even still is highly used for fires and heating one’s home. Upon our return to Killarney, we experienced a jaunting cart ride through Killarney National Park before having dinner and turning in for the night. I also met a nice Irish gentleman (yellow lab to be exact) who gave me a peck on the cheek.
Day 5 had us moving on from Killarney to Galway, and we had to take a ferry to cross the river Shannon. From there we made a stop at the Cliffs of Moher and were delighted with another beautiful sunny day. As per usual, I made another animal friend before we left to get to Galway. We took some time to explore some of the historic parts of the city before heading back to our hotel for dinner and sleep.
Going around the home stretch on Day 6, we started by checking out Knock - a Catholic pilgrimage site where an apparition of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph & St. John the Evangelist was seen on the wall by 15 official witnesses in 1879. From there, we watched a sheepdog demonstration on a working farm, where a lamb had been born that very morning (animal friend number 3…). Then we had Irish coffee (this is the only coffee in my life that has tasted good!) and watched a demonstration of making tweed. Continuing on, we ended the day in Derry (or Londonderry - it has multiple names) in Northern Ireland. Here we took a walking tour and heard much more about the history of the Troubles and the progress that’s been made since the late 90’s.
Day 7 began with us heading to Giant’s Causeway and enjoying the area for a bit. We climbed the rocks and learned the story of the two giants: Fionn Mac Cumhail (pronounced Finn Macool) and Benandonner. Fionn was from Ireland, while Benandonner was from Scotland. Benandonner challenged Fionn to a fight, so Fionn started tossing stones into the sea to cross to Scotland. It took him so long to get there that Benandonner had fallen asleep. When Fionn saw Benandonner, he was afraid because of how big Benandonner was. Fionn ran back and told his wife, who made up a genius plan for when Benandonner crossed to Ireland. Fionn would dress up as a baby and she would tell Benandonner that Fionn had left but his baby was here. When Benandonner saw the “baby,” he thought how big the giant Fionn must be, and ran back to Scotland, tearing up the rocks on his way back. Whether the story is true or not, the rocks were very cool to see and climb on.
From there, we went on to Belfast to the Titanic Museum. It was a very immersive experience, with lots of visuals and was very moving to read about the many victims of the fatal crash. From there, we did a quick panoramic bus tour on our way out, and then went to a small inn on the way to Dublin to enjoy an early dinner and some live music - including our own tour guide Brian singing a song! We got back to Dublin to our hotel and turned in for the night.
Our last day - Day 8 - was an independent day in Dublin. That means everyone got to choose what they’d like to do on their own. We had some vouchers from our tour, so some chose to go to Guinness Storehouse for a tour, while others decided to see the Epic Museum of Emigration, and still others chose to just walk around and see what they could find on St. Patrick’s Day. I had paid for grandstand seats for the parade, and they included a meal afterwards. Before all that, I headed out early because I love to get places before the crowds so I can get a great photo (check out my Temple Bar photo!). I walked past a lot of the sites we had driven past the first day, so I could see them better and get some pictures. St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, the Molly Malone statue in front of St. Andrew’s, and the Irish Famine statues. I also got to the Epic Museum at opening so I could tour that before the parade (this was by far my favorite museum I’ve been to in a long while), and then enjoyed the parade and my meal afterwards.
