Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Traveling on vacation is meant to be some mix of fun and interesting, depending on your personal desires -- and, unfortunately, compromised by hassles. I put together the travel information on this site, and it should prove useful to you if on your holiday travel, you like to...

Visit interesting sites to learn about local culture or about the history of an area.

See things that are different from the normal -- ever get intrigued by a signpost for some landmark and just follow it? Some of these little adventures are busts -- just a pile of rocks where something once stood -- but sometimes the diversion yields wonderful dividends.

Spend little money (or nothing) seeing sites.

Avoid long days of driving from one 5-star site to another.

Learn an area of a country and its culture in depth.

Most importantly, have a chance to contemplate the sites without the intrusion of hordes of tourists. (Ever gone to an art exhibit and tried to enjoy a Matisse or van Gogh while people bump into you as if you were on a subway car at rush hour?) While you might like to have friends or relatives in your photos of a site, do you really want the coach-load of strangers in the shots?

I have put together this web site to help guide people who share this view of a good holiday. Each listing is rated on two criteria:

1. Interest level of the location

2. Prevalence of the dreaded tour coaches

Included with descriptions are my photographs. (I find the camera helps me see things better.)

Contents -- more to be added... this is under construction

Ireland

County Kerry

Dingle Peninsula

Killarney

Bantry

County Clare

The dilemma we can all face who share my interests: Some tour-coach-intensive sites have a high interest level. What to do?

Start the day with these sites -- and be early. Coaches don't start their touring at the break of day. 9 or 10 am is the typical kick off. Add in their travel time and your flexibility gives you a decided advantage.

Choose a B&B located near these coach intensive sites. Ask for an early breakfast. Or rent a house and set an early alarm. If the sites are gated or locked visit them at the end of the day near your chosen B&B.

Don't vacation in peak season. Go before school lets out in May or June when the days are quite long. (That's for the northern hemisphere of course.)

Or just hold your nose.