A review by juliechristinejohnson
Lonely Planet Ireland's Best Trips by Catherine Le Nevez, Oda O'Carroll, Fionn Davenport, Belinda Dixon

4.0

Thank you GoodReads Angel for correcting the title of this travel guide!!

Hello Goodreads- could someone please correct the title of this book? It is Lonely Planet Ireland, although Lonel Ireland has a certain plaintive ring to it. But this kind of silliness bugs the crap out of me. Just sayin'

ANYWAY. Embarking upon fourth journey to Ireland in September. Buying this travel guide wasn't really necessary- we know where we will be for most our our stay: hiking the Ring of Kerry. Our lodging is already arranged and our route mapped out. But this proved an irresistible addition to the coffee table as we anticipate our adventure.

The problem with buying a travel guide AFTER you've planned (most of) your trip is that you begin to doubt your choices. It's like a menu that's been left on the table after the waiter has turned in your dinner order. Oh, but why didn't we decide on Donegal and Sligo? And we always said our next trip would be to Northern Ireland, to Co. Antrim and Belfast. Perhaps we should have hiked the wilds of Burren... How delicious to have such doubts when we know that Co. Kerry will be magical. And we do have several days at the end of our hike to spend SOMEWHERE. Considering a return to Galway, or perhaps an exploration of Kinsale, or maybe a cruise through C. Clare...

I haven't purchased a Lonely Planet guide in some time- we've been using Rough Guides for recent trips to Europe. But I'm a sucker for pretty pictures and colored fonts. The maps are well-done and in reviewing information given for places I know, the advice seems spot-on.

Doolin, perhaps we'll spend some time in Doolin- we can walk from there to the Cliffs of Moher. Then there are the yurts on Cape Clear Island, ferry ride from Baltimore....Bantry? Brendan's never been to Bantry....