Every part of Ireland I’ve seen is romantic. You can’t spit without hitting something romantic.

For my part I do not like to be considered a “tourist” – I like to go out among the regular folk and get an authentic experience.

Your mileage may vary, but please don’t even think for a moment that Ireland isn’t a lush, lovely romantic place. It is.

my wife and I went to Ireland for our Honeymoon and it was fantastic.

We did a self-drive experience with a small rental car (ford focus) starting in Shannon and traveling clockwise around southern Ireland from there.

Our first night out of Shannon we stayed in Doolin near the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin was really a neat little village that had a great pub with live Celtic music. It was fantastic.

We worked our way north stopping at the Kylemore Abbey in Connemara – it’s a beautiful building and well worth a trip. The reflection of the Abbey on the pond in front is unforgettable.

We then went to Galway. Its a neat old European town – but very busy with tons of people coming and going. A nice walk along the Promenade (aka the Prom – in the Salthill section) along the harbor is a great way to start a romantic evening there.

We then cut across the country to Dublin. It wasn’t much as far as romance goes but the shopping there was top notch and the opportunites to see shows was unmatched elsewhere in Ireland. We only spent a day there as we prefered the smaller villages and countryside.

We then went south and stopped at the Powerscourt – which is a magnificent estate with unbelievable gardens. The grounds are extensive and walking it all took a long time but some of the flowers there were amazing.

we continued south and stopped in Waterford (home of the crystal), Kilkenny, Kinsale (Ireland’s Culinary capital) where we had a nice formal dinner, Blarney (don’t kiss the stone, but enjoy walking up the castle stairs and meeting people), we drove around the ring of kerry (beautiful scenery including a waterfall but beware tour buses), and many other small towns and villages all over the place (too many to remember)

My wife and I both fully enjoyed our trip and are eager to return. We stayed at Bed-and-Breakfasts and the various people we met at the inns were all very kind and shared alot of the opinions and experience in their towns with us.

Whatever you do – I hope you have a great trip. I should get my wife to answer this question for you – she probably has a better memory of all the details than I do.

I can’t tell you much about the romantic areas of Ireland because I was 12 when I went, so I remember things like the castles much better, but I do remember a beautiful botanical garden in Dublin, and a really nice beach walk in Galway.

Well, if you’re used to riding horses, I’d definitely do the Conemarra Coast tour.. It’s super-romantic, but you’d be roughing it more.

The castle is more luxurious for sure, if you’d like to be “pampered”. It has a spa, I think…! :)

Thanks everyone for the good advice! I think we have decided on the Kinnitty castle trip because we would be spending about 60% of the money and would still be able to ride quite a bit. I am sorrowful to miss out on the trail ride, though. My husband and I both like “roughing it” and are avid campers, would like to back-pack Europe, etc. I think the Conemarra trip would suit us well, but the price really is inflated. I had this dream of seeing Ireland by horseback and stopping each evening at a quaint Inn’s on the countryside. That sounds so romantic to me. Maybe next time – or hey, maybe one day we can live in Ireland, have our own horses and ride the coast ourselves. ;) There is a less expensive trip that is unguided, but since we have never been to Ireland, we are afraid to miss out on some great things without a guide. The castle is nice, though. They do have a spa, beautiful, lux rooms, great looking food, archery and lots of other fun activities. I’m sure it will be a good trip either way.

Consider looking into the Wicklow Mountains — especially Glendalough — if you like outdoors and super-romantic surroundings

You must go see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. You’ll get the gift of Gab and then everyone will just love ya! Well, you might get something else like an cold cause everyone else kisses it, but that’s a chance you gotta take =p

Kinnitty. Or the Cliffs of Moore, if you can. It’s all breath-taking.