Travels

Renting a houseboat in Ireland has been on our wish list for a while, and I am so happy that this was the year we finally got to do it! I decided to write a post all about houseboating in Ireland because a lot of followers on Instagram reached out with questions – and honestly, it was one of the best holidays we have done. When most people think of visiting Ireland, they often think of the popular spots along the coast; Wild Atlantic Way, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Dublin – what most people don’t consider is the midlands of Ireland. The midlands is the heart of Ireland, and it has many rivers and mountains, and there are truly magical places to explore within the middle of Ireland.

Firstly, where can you hire the house boat?

There are various marinas along the Shannon river. The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland and runs from from Limerick, all the way up to Northern Ireland. We hired the houseboat from Carrick-on-Shannon in county Leitrim. The company we used was called Shannon River Cruises. Once we had our dates sorted, they came back with various rental options through various companies. The one we chose was called Locaboat. The reason we went with Locaboat was for the type of houseboat they offered us (it was a nice size for two people; with a bathroom and kitchen); plus they offered the best rate to allow us to bring Jack (35 euro, where other places charged 100 euro).

How did we get there? Where did we park?

So most of you know that we don’t own a car, so there were a few options for getting to Carrick-on-Shannon. We looked at taking the train there (which is easy enough), however since we went away for 4 nights, and wanted to bring all our food (and Rob’s beer) plus the rest of our gear – taking the train felt like a bit of a hack to be honest. So we opted for renting a car. A nice tip for renting cars in Ireland is the cheapest rental we have found is to rent a small van, so that is what we did. It meant that we could transport all the things we needed and wanted with us, plus there is free parking at Carrick-on-Shannon which was safe for us to leave the rental while we were on the boat. When we rent cars, we always use Enterprise, they just seem to be the most affordable, plus their deposit is on 250 euro, which is the cheapest we have found. You can read more about renting a car in Ireland here.

How long can you hire the boat for?

You can rent a houseboat for 3 nights, or longer. We chose to rent one for 4 nights and it was perfect, possibly could have stayed longer! Remember that the houseboat doesn’t go very fast, so depending on where you want to travel along the Shannon river you will need a few days to get there and then some time to get back to drop off the boat afterwards. *Just a note that we could only pick up the boat after 2pm; and you need to drop off the boat at 9am the final day.

How much does it cost?

To be honest, it is a bit more than what we would usually budget for a weekend away in an airbnb, but you are paying a bit extra for the unique experience. Remember that it is not only the cost of the rental, and the deposit you will need to account for. You will also need to pay for the fuel you use (we spent 100 euro for 4 nights but this was because we travelled quite far in the end), cost for bring a pet (35 euro), your food and drinks (a lot of the places we stopped along the way were small towns and not a lot of stores or restaurants were open over Easter weekend so it was handy we brought our own food), plus locks and showers etc. Locks cost 1,50 each, and the number of locks you go through will depends on your route. There were shower facilities at some of the stops, and for these you can use a ‘smart card’ which we bought when we got the houseboat, it is loaded with credits and each access to the shower costs 2 credits.

What time of year can you rent a houseboat?

Houseboat renting season is from March to October. We rented over Easter weekend in April, and it was a bit of a gamble in terms of the weather that time of year. The rental company said the weekend before us had ice on the boat in the mornings, however we were blessed with unusually sunny weather. I can imagine that in the middle of Summer it might actually be too hot, because the houseboats don’t have very large windows or aircon.

Do you get training or need a license to drive the houseboat?

This was a hot question most people asked on Instagram – and the answer is, we did a short training on the boat with an instructor where they showed us how to drive the boat, and follow the markings. We had to drive the boat out of the marina, under a bridge and back – and that was it. No license is needed to drive the houseboat! To be honest it was a bit nerve wracking at first, when you are out there on your own, but the houseboat doesn’t move very fast and as long as you follow the guidelines they give you – it is relatively fool-proof.

What about locks?

As I said before, it costs 1.50 to open the lock. Some locks further north of Carrick-on-Shannon are automatic locks where you use your smart card to open them. Others are manned locks, and you have to call the lock keeper in some cases when you arrive at a lock to open up. Once the lock is open and the traffic light is green, you drive the boat through. The lock opens on the one side and is closed on the other side. Once you are in the lock, you hand your ropes to the lock keeper. They have a hook where you give some of the rope to them, whilst you hold the end of the rope – the lock keeper then ties the rope to the side to secure the boat. Once the ropes are secure, they will close the open side so now you are in the middle of the lock – they then raise or lower the water depending on the side you are planning to exit. It is such a cool experience! The first few times there were soggy wet ropes, and awkward clumsy passing to the lock keeper but they were all so helpful and patient with us and by the end of it, we were pros! *Note there maybe bridges you might need to get lifted (at a cost) but that was the other handy thing about our boat, it was small enough to fit under all the bridges we travelled under.

How do you park the boat?

One of the rules about houseboating is that the boat needs to be moored (parked) before sunset. You cannot travel on the rivers after dark. So you will need to plan your route carefully so that you are not stuck between marinas at sunset. Also some stops are small, so they fill up pretty quickly, On our first stop, we arrived just before sunset to find the dock was full. This was when we learnt that you are allowed to tie up to another boat if the dock is full – we met a seasoned couple who let us attach to their boat and that was incredibly helpful for us to know! Most of the mooring stations are parallel making it easy to drive the boat into a spot. Once you find a spot, you will need one person to drive, and one person to handle getting off the boat and securing the ropes to secure the boat to the side – usually a rope at the front and back on the one side. We also learnt to travel during the morning, and park in the afternoon instead of the evening, it meant we got a good spot, and could relax on the boat or explore the town before sunset each evening.

What are the facilities like on the boat and at the marinas?

Think of it like glamping. You have a bathroom on the boat, and a basic kitchen, but for the most part, it is a little like camping, just you get a proper bed to sleep in. The shower facilities on the boat were somewhat lacking, so we used the facilities at the stops – however these were sometimes a bit of a a hit and miss. At some stops the water was cold, or the facilities were out of order. The toilets were public and free, and surprisingly well looked after. If you prefer luxury holidays, this might not be the kind of holiday for you, however if you are a regular camper – this will be like luxury for you!

What should you bring?

Lifejackets, linen and towels are provided, along with basic kitchen equipment (plus oven/stove and fridge). It is a good idea to bring sunglasses and caps for the glare – it might not be super hot but can still be sunny. Try pack all the food, water and drinks you may need as some of the stops don’t have stores along the way. We brought our kindles and books to read plus our bluetooth speaker for music, but we should have also brought a pack of cards or games to play in the evening.

So, what was our route?

We headed south from carrick on shannon for a few days, our furthest stop was just before Athlone, and then we turned back and traveled a bit North on the last day before returning the houseboat. We stopped at Dromod our first night. There is a great pub which we enjoyed a few sunset drinks but the food menu looked good too. Then we stopped at Lecarrow the second night, which I found to be such a beautiful spot. There is a dolmen which you can walk to from the dock, as well as a small grocery store and pub. On day three we started travelling back, but took a detour along the Camlin river and stopped at Richmond which is the start of the Royal Canal. There was a nice pub, which I am told does a great sunday lunch, we unfortunately thought they did dinner too but the kitchen closed at 3pm. On our last day we travelled past Carrick-on-Shannon and headed north on the Boyle river stopping at Cootehall. It was a 45 minute drive back to Carrick-on-Shannon early in the morning to drop the boat off by 9am.

HAVE YOU RENTED A HOUSEBOAT? WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

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Dublin is filled with tons of things to see and do – you could literally stay here for a full year and still not explore everything this city has to offer. I have written a few posts about all the things you should see if you only have a weekend in Dublin, 20 free things to do in Dublin, a handy list of the free museums to explore, as well as the top 5 tourist spots most people go to. Most people when they arrive in Dublin, tick off Temple Bar, possibly Guinness Storehouse or a whiskey tasting, and then head off to explore the rest of Ireland. What people might not realise is that Dublin is a great place to base yourself, and head out on a few day trips around Dublin.

We have done a few day trips that have involved heading to Cliffs of Moher or heading up to Northern Ireland, but this is a list of our fave day trips around the Dublin area that would take under an hour to get to:

Heading North of Dublin:

• Malahide: a 30 minute train ride on the DART heading north of Dublin. A visit to Malahide Castle and Gardens, most people choose to grab a lunch at Avoca which is at Malahide Castle however there are some great food spots in the town of Malahide. Malahide is a quaint town, and it is quick to walk through to explore it from the train station (you do not need to pay for the mini train tour – its a bit of rip off, but the tourists love it. Another great walk is from Malahide harbour towards Portmarnock beach. Portmarnock beach is really beautiful, and it was the first beach that kind of reminded me of home with the sand dunes. It is a rated as a blue flag beach, so the water quality is good for swimming, if you are feeling brave!
• Howth: a 30 minute train ride on the DART heading north of Dublin. Howth is technically east of Dublin, as it is a peninsula that juts out. It is a lovely seaside irish village, and one of the most recommended spots to grab some fish and chips and eat it along the harbour front, or on the pier – just be careful of the seagulls. My mother in law last a huge chunk of her fish to an attacking seagull! After lunch, you can walk through town, and along the cliffs. There is a great path that takes you around Howth Head, and up to a parking lot at the top. You have to have a pint at the Summit Inn (well earned after the walk!) and then it is a downhill walk back to the train station, or you can catch a bus that starts its route right outside the Summit Inn.
• Skerries: Slightly further North from Dublin is Skerries, about a 40 minute train ride from Connolly Station (note: this is not on the DART line, you would need to take the train going to Drogheda/Dundalk). Skerries has a great sea front, which you will often find people going for a summer or picnic in Summer. You can also grab a bite to eat at some of the little restaurants. Another popular thing to do is to visit the Skerries windmills. We didn’t pay to go in, since we took Jack along with us, but the walk around the windmills is easily accessible and free to do.

Heading West of Dublin:

• Powerscourt Estate: The simplest way to get there if you are relying on public transport is taking the 44 bus to Enniskerry village, and then it is 25 minute walk to Powerscourt Estate. If you are driving, then it is about a 50 minute drive from the city center. The estate and gardens are simply beautiful to explore. The garden foliage changes with the seasons, and a highlight is to visit in spring to see the flowers in bloom. You honestly could spend a full day walking around the gardens, stopping for lunch at the estate or walking back to Enniskerry village. There is a hike to the waterfalls which we are yet to explore, I think this is probably a bit too much if you are walking/bussing. We plan to go back and hike to the Powerscourt waterfalls when we have a car as the waterfall is 6km walk from the main estate. 
• Glendalough: Glendalough is in part of the Wicklow way, so technically you are travelling to another county, it is still just an hour drive from Dublin. You can take a bus tour there if you don’t have a car (which is what we did) or drive there yourself. There is a great walk you can do around the loughs, bring a picnic lunch or stop at the restaurant for lunch while you are there.
• Dublin Mountains: less than a 30 minute drive from Dublin, or you can take a bus out to various spots along the Dublin Mountains. We took the bus but in hindsight, I wouldn’t recommend it. It is about a 3-4 km walk from where the bus drops you off, along narrow country roads which is often quite busy with cars travelling up and down – several times whilst we were walking we had to jump out the way of passing traffic. It is a bit high risk, plus if you drive up you can save your energy for doing a longer walk in the Mountains! There are several walks you can do. This is a great website which has several walks and maps you can download and use. Some of the ones we have done are:
  • Hellfire Club
  • Kilmashogue (which leads through to Fairy Castle past Three Rock and then through Ticknock forest)
  • Ticknock Forest
  • Massy’s Estate

Heading South of Dublin:

• Dun Laoghaire: a 30 minute train ride from city center. Dun Laoghaire is a great seaside town, I wrote a blog post about all the things you can do in Dun Laoghaire. We love to grab an ice cream and scroll along the promenade – we do this all year round, in fact, our favourite time to eat ice cream is in the middle of winter.
• Bray/Greystones: an hour train ride from city center. Bray is a little further south from Dun Laoghaire, and another great seaside town. There is loads to do here, but probably the most popular thing to do is to do the walk from Bray to Greystones. I think the prettiest view is taking the train to Greystones and walking towards Bray. That way when you arrive in Bray you can stay for a pint at the Harbour bar, and grab a pizza at Pizza ‘n Cream (which does great pizza and pretty good ice cream too!). If you are feeling super athletic and fit, after walking the Greystones to Bray cliff walk, you could walk up Bray’s Head. The walk up Bray’s Head is steep but it is totally doable if you take it slow, plus the views of Bray and Dublin in the distance makes it really worth it. You can read more about Bray in this blog post.

GOT ANY OTHER GREAT DAY TRIPS AROUND DUBLIN? SHARE IN THE COMMENTS!

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

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Looking for some free things to do in Dublin this weekend that won’t cost you a million Euro? On a tight budget but still want to explore as much of Dublin as you can, without breaking the bank? Here are 20 ideas on things you can do for free in Dublin:

1. Visit the national botanic gardens. Right next to Glasnevin Cemetery (which, in my opinion, is well worth paying to do the tour) is the national botanic gardens in Dublin – and it is completely free to enter the gardens! The gardens are well looked after, there is often art and sculptures around the grounds, as well as a few hothouses where they keep the tropical climate plants. I would suggest bringing a packed lunch, as the restaurant is limited and with such beautiful gardens, you would be missing out if you ate in the restaurant instead of taking in the beautiful views.
2. Walk along the Liffey River, You don’t need to do a walking tour, just grab a map and walk Dublin streets for free at your own pace, stop when you see something interesting or keep walking, you decide. I wrote a post about 7 walks you can do in Dublin.
3. Explore one of the many parks around Dublin City – St Stephens, Phoenix, Merrion Square, there are loads of parks scattered all around the city, look on google maps and find them! St Stephens has beautiful flowers in the spring and summer, it is also big enough to walk around it in a nice loop. If you go there when the weather is warm, you will find loads of people soaking up the sun (this is true for most parks and when the weather is good – everyone comes out!). Phoenix Park is the largest walled park in Europe. So you would battle to walk the entire park in one day but there are some great spots to view deer and wildlife, as well as cycle paths to ride around the park. Merrion Square is where the statue of Oscar Wilde is, which worth a quick walk by. Not to mention that last year, they held open-air cinema in the summer at this park – for EUR5 which is almost free! Another fave park of ours is the Sean Moore Park, in Irishtown. It is next door to a nature walk, so you can walk through the park, along the beach and into the nature reserve. It is a great loop to do, and we enjoy walking it with Jack most weekends.
4. Hit the beach – there are several blue flag beaches in Ireland, one of them is Dollymount. You can grab a coffee or a toasted sandwich at Happy Out and walk along the beach on Bull Island . We also have Sandymount Strand right on our doorstep, there is a great promenade which you can walk along, but when the tide is out, the beach is dead flat and stretches out for miles, so you can really walk quite easily without really being on top of people. Jack turns into a beach pug when he hits this beach – which honestly makes my heart so happy seeing him run along the beach.
5. Bike or walk along the canal – The canal runs quite a distance through Dublin, and has walking paths along both sides. We love walking along the Dodder river with the view of the Aviva Stadium near Lansdowne DART station. It is in-between Ballsbridge and Ringsend. Another good section of the canal to walk is the path that leads to Bushy Park. These walks are good all year round, as they are quite nicely protected from the wind, and you can really see the changing of the seasons along the canal and river – which is different all year round.
6. Cliff walks (Our two faves – Howth and Bray-Greystones) – If you have visited Ireland without doing a cliff walk – can you even say you have been? Jokes aside, cliff walks are one of my fave things to do on the weekend – because the view is magical, and it doesn’t cost a cent to do! You can catch the DART out to Howth or Bray and walk along the cliffs, both have different views and angles of Dublin so if you are visiting for a while, try do both then let me know which one is your fave – because I am still undecided, I love them both equally.
7. Walk along the harbour pier – Dublin has a few harbour towns along the coast, so you can walk along the harbour piers in Howth or Dun Laoghaire. You can also do a walk out to Poolbeg Lighthouse, which has a 2km pier out to sea.
8. Go searching for statues – molly malone statue; oscar wilde, even a statue for Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy are all dotted around the city, I find this handy list of statues and their stories you can read it here.
9. Go hiking in the Dublin Mountains. There are several routes you can do, so it means that you can keep coming back to the Dublin Mountains and going along different paths. Hellfire Club has some ruins on top of the hill, and has a great view of Dublin City. Faerie Castle and Three Rock have great views of Wicklow. And Ticknock Hill is great for mountain biking, but also, the moss and fern life in Ticknock forest is something out of a fairy story tale – there is magic in that forest.
10. Georgian door hunting – I love searching for new, brightly coloured, ornate georgian doors on our walks through the city. They make for great back-drops for instagrammable photos too!
11. Check out one of the free museums – interested in learning more about the History of Ireland? There are NINE  free museums to see in Dublin, I loved visiting all of these museums, I wrote a whole post explaining all of them right here.
12. Listen to Grafton Street buskers – Grafton Street is a bustling high-end shopping street in Dublin, but it also has a some great buskers and musicians who play daily. It is such a vibe walking down the street, listening to songs being sung and people passing by.
13. Spire on O’Connell Street – Known by the locals as the Stiffy by the Liffey, it is a 120m in height pin-like monument that was created as a replacement for Nelson’s Pillar which was blown up 1966. There isn’t too much to do at the Spire, except shopping, but it still is pretty cool to see.
14. Pick a favourite Dublin bridge – it is a common debate between me and Rob on which is the best bridge in Dublin between the Ha’penny Bridge (my fave) and Samuel Beckitt Bridge (his fave). Which one is your fave?
15. Dance to trad music in an Irish bar – a good place to find trad music is Temple Bar, if you are not for the tourist crowds, Brazen Head is big enough that you can find a seat and still hear the trad music.
16. Trinity College – This is a university in the middle of town, you can walk around campus and enjoy the varsity vibes, there is also an art gallery on campus that is free to visit.
17. Street art hunting – This is a favourite thing for me and Rob to do, because street art can be found in the most unusual places. If you are looking for some good pieces, then I recommend following Subset on Instagram, they are currently running a project called grey area project which is a great initiative treating street art like an open-air art gallery.
    

    Found this great piece of street art down a side alley near Bachelor’s Walk. Even at night, this wall still lights up with colour! #exploredublin #exploreyourcity

    A post shared by Meg | Minimalism & Slow Travel (@thisisus_living) on Jan 18, 2018 at 9:12am PST

18. Window shop at George Street Arcade – Ireland’s first purpose built shopping center, filled with all sorts of knick knacks – from artwork, to vintage clothing, to music. It is an interesting spot to wander through.
19. Dublin Castle Gardens – One day we went to George Street Arcade, grabbed a coffee and a cupcake and walked over to Dublin Castle Gardens, which is also free to visit. You have to pay to do a tour of Dublin Castle, but I would suggest rather walking around the grounds yourself, without paying the entrance.
20. Brave a swim at forty foot or sea point – Last summer, Rob and I braved the Irish sea and went for a swim at seapoint. It was the hottest day in Summer and still, the water was freezing! Having said that, plenty of people take a dip in the sea all year round, and it is completely free to do.

BONUS TIP: Did you know you can take a tour of the president’s house for free? Tours are available most Saturdays, all year round. You can get a ticket on a first-come-first serve basis from the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. We have not yet done the tour, so I am not sure if it is worthwhile, but the fact that you can visit the President’s House and for free, does intrigue me. I think it might be good to get there early, and then perhaps take a walk around Phoenix Park while you are there.

BEEN TO DUBLIN? WHAT DID YOU LOVE TO SEE OR DO IN DUBLIN THAT DIDN’T COST ANYTHING?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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