Heading to Ireland

[Court Jester]

Well I went to Italy last year for a week and had the time of my life so now a friend and I are planning a trip to Ireland to rent bikes and ride for a week there. We plan to hit a ferry for a trip to England or Scotland for at least one day, maybe two.
I got a slew of great info here for the trip to Italy and am looking for the same info for the next trip.
So how close is Ireland, Scotland, and England to the driving in Italy??? I was expecting a little enforcement while in Italy but it's a damn free-for-all over there. Took a day to get use to but it made for some crazy fun riding after that.
So fill me in on the rules of the road over there.

Thanks in advance.    

[R Doug]

I can only speak to the law enforcement in Ireland.  In the bits I was in, the further west your are of Dublin, the less law enforcement you'll see.  Also, no speed cameras in Ireland.  Finally, the more rural and west your travel, the higher the speed limits on smaller roads.  It's crazy to even keep up at a pace equal to the limit at times.



Regarding recommendations, here some of mine.

1st - the Roads!

#1 N71 between Killarney and Kenmare

 

2nd  N70, The Ring of Kerry.  Hint, travel counter clockwise from Kenmare to avoid getting behind tour buses.  Also, unless you’re going to continue north, cut off the top ¼ of the ring and head south past Lough Caragh and Laugh Accouse



 

3rd N59 Around Connemara National Park north of Galway

 

 

[R Doug]

Places to stay.

The most beautiful scenery is on the west coast.  That said, Kilkenny is a great town to visit.









On the west, we really enjoyed Kenmare



And especially LOVED Galway!  You can find great pubs and some of the most traditional music in all of Ireland here.

[R Doug]

Regarding some things to see…

The Rock of Cashle



Cliffs of Moher (that’s a 700 ft drop into the Atlantic you’re seeing below)

[Court Jester]

R Doug.... Wonderful photos and thank you very much.
Makes me hate waiting for the trip to happen that much more.



How are the cops on speeding???

[notarian]

A week isn't very long if you want to ride Scotland too. Forget England its way too crowded unless you know the areas very well = there's 55 million there and they practically blanket the country and the roads. Police presence is moderate but heavy on the speed cameras.

There are 14 ferry crossings/week from Larne to Troon at $125 return (bike and rider) and Troon is the destination to opt for want as it Troon is much further north than the ferry from Belfast to Stranraer.

Dublin to north Wales is another option. Wales is good riding but north Wales has a very heavy police presence against motorcyclists and took a united biker campaign invasion of 10,000 bikers on a weekend protest ride to make the Welsh police back off their discrimination.

Ireland isn't bad on police either.

Just realise that nowhere in Europe is quite like Italy's tolerance for motorcyclists. One thing for sure is never, ever speed in a city or village and best policy is stick to the speed limit about a half mile or mile before and after a town or village because that's where most LEO speed traps will be located.

Do a search on Ireland and Scotland speed cameras and white road lines so you know what they look like. Cameras are not hidden and if you spy one slow to the speed limit and look for the white lines. If the white lines are not present then there is no way to measure speed/distance traveled and the camera box is a fake. On short straights on the more heavily travelled roads learn to look past the car(s) for a camera before overtaking = its usually located about 2/3 the distance of the straight specifically to prevent overtaking before the corner or/and nail the speeding overtaking vehicle.

In saying all this, cameras are not predominate in Ireland or Scotland and one sees them mostly in cities and perhaps the more travelled roads and motorways.

I did 8 days in Ireland a couple years ago beginning in Larne (just north of Belfast) and rode north and across the top to the west and south to Kerry and the south coast then east to Cork and Wexford (forget the latter). Then blasted up the central part of Ireland (1.5 days) for the Larne afternoon ferry.

For the most part it was all very good riding. Especially ALL the roads north of Belfast and around Kerry (opposite ends of the country). Personal opinion is one can easily spend 2 days riding the area within the boundaries of Larne - Ballycastle - Portrush - Maghera. This is Joey Dunlop country and home to the Northwest 200 TT.

Same goes for Killarney and Kerry area - absolutely stunning, but is a bit more touristy.

The ride from Letterkenny north on the N56, west across the top and taking the coastal roads south ending in Donegal is also a very good single route. About 3 hours to do this with a good breakfast stop in Dunfanaghy (look for the cafe up the stairs from the art shop).


View Larger Map

Unlike R Doug, didn't enjoy Galway as its way larger a city than one would think and way to many tourists. However, 20 miles north of Galway is Cong and that is one of the most beautiful and wonderful areas I've ever been to.

The east coast of Ireland (not Northern Ireland) leaves me cold - too populated and most roads are straight south of Dublin.

See the report for a bit more info. Oh, it rains a lot, not always heavy but wet roads smeared with cow shite can be slippery. Dinna fret, you'll find out.

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,28256.0.html

[Orson]

Just my opinion but, if you only have one week, a ferry crossing will eat up a lot of time that could be spent riding.

I would save Wales and Scotland for another time. There is some nice riding in Northern England too. Click on my trip reports below for views of the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors  

Also, while I haven't been to Ireland, I've heard that the crossing can be one of the roughest ferry crossings in the world and, even when bikes are secured with ropes, they have fallen over and been damaged.

Thanks for the pictures R Doug  

[Smurfslayer]

I tend to agree, I've been to Ireland x2 both times for less than one week but I got a bike both times.  Well worth it IMO and more time would have been spectacular.  A ferry ride will suck up about 3 hours just for the ride and about an hour before departure so you can check in.  

Previous poster mentioned that sometimes you cannot practically keep pace with the posted limit - no exaggeration.  You truly never know what's around the corner, sheep, slow plodding caravaner, farm combine or tractor, or regular motorist.  Last time I was there I was headed north from Blarney castle and found myself surrounded by classic bikes which were totally cool.  

Stayed at Blackwater Castle in Castletownroche, very nice & biker friendly.  Next time I go back it will be for a week +.  I went to the 2010 TT, and grabbed a bike from Phil McCallen (yes, that Phil McCallen) who has a dealership not far from Belfast.  Unlike RoI, NI has speed cameras and a lot of them too.  

WRT to the comparison to Italy, well... there is none.  I've been there too for (counting...) 4 or 5 days... anyway, that is a whole 'nother riding universe.  That said, I was able to split in Dublin, as well as (ab)use the bus lanes, - the scooter riders were doing the same.  I've not had any professional encounters with John McLaw over there so I'm not able to comment on the tolerance for... well, spirited riding    but honestly there hasn't been a lot of interference from them either.  So far, my observation is that the European don't practice LE the same way as American police do.  

The Irish of course drive on the wrong side of the road, so keep left.  The roundabouts go the opposite direction, but on a bike it's no problem.  The roundabouts work too, keeping things moving right along.  NOTE:  If you are bringing a GPS (a Garmin specifically) even through last year the map set has a discrepancy between where some of the Motorways are, and where the map thinks they are.  It's enough of an offset to get "offroute! recalculating" repeatedly.  I saw this south of Dublin a lot.  

You'll have a great time.

[ANZAC]

I was over in Ireland for two weeks and drove everywhere.  The most important thing to have is a GPS as the signage sucks.  Also, the roads are very narrow and full of big buses and farming tractors.  You will get run off the road - period.

I wondered why all the cars had tie wraps holding on the hub caps.  Mine came off after a cement mixer ran we off the road.