around cork for 2 days

Hi all,

I will be in Dublin on the night of 4th September and take an early morning flight to Cork for the weekend.

Am supposed to be back in Dublin by noon Monday. But in between, I would like some advice on what to do/see.

This is my first time in Ireland, and help would be much appreciated.

Specific questions -

1. Would it be advisable to stay the night at the Dublin airport - my flight arrives at 11 15 pm and the connecting flight is at 9 am the next morning? I am on a budget, but would have also just done 10 hours of flying time by the time I get into Dublin..

2. I've chosen Cork for the weekend stay because I was hoping to visit Galway as well...but from a touristy erspective...what are the things i must see/do? I definitely want to experience a castle

3. Whats the best way to get from Cork to Dublin?

thank you for your help

You're not really going to have very long in Cork...because it's going to be around 11 by the time you get into the city on the Saturday, extremely tired after 24 hours of pretty much solid travelling...and then you're going to need to leave pretty much first thing Monday morning.

So, I would suggest that you just use the time to relax and wander around Cork...it's a very wanderable city centre and being much smaller than Dublin it's easy to quickly get a feel for it. There aren't a lot of "must-see" tourist sights but there are plenty of interesting shops, bars, little things to see.

Cork to Dublin is about three hours by train, it will work out roughly the same by air once you've factored in getting to/from airports, checking in etc. Not sure about bus but I'm sure it would be longer - if cheaper.

"I've chosen Cork for the weekend stay because I was hoping to visit Galway as well..." - you what? on another trip or on this one? Galway is easier to get to from Dublin than from Cork, so I'm a bit confused by this.

Cork-Dublin train leaves every hour on the half hour, see www.irishrail.ie,and is definitely the easiest way although not the cheapest. The return ticket is almost the same price as one way so you might be better off giving up on the idea of a Cork-Dublin flight, spend the Friday evening in the city centre and get a 7.00am train to Cork... (Dublin-Cork train is every hour on the hour).

In Cork - as Barney said, not much to see as such, but lots of nice pubs around McCurtain Street (Sin E etc) as well as on the south side of the river - if you want to spend the weekend on a pub crawl in Ireland Cork is almost certainly the best place to do it!

Thanks guys...ur advice has helped in firming up my plans...will tell u how it went after.
cheers, k

Just to say as well - the train trip to Cork is really nice
Just saw your bit about the different flights - if you've already booked your flight to Cork anyway then I would stay somewhere near-ish to the airport.
Otherwise you'll practically be arriving in your place and having to turn around again to go back to the airport, I would have thought you'll need as much rest as possible.
I live in Dublin but somewhere I've always wanted to eat in Cork is Cafe Paradiso - it's meant to be brilliant (even if it is vegetarian - I'm a dedicated carnivore and I'm going there next time I'm going to Cork)
Enjoy the People's Republic!

Quick follow-up to Kate (#4) -

Yes, Cafe Paradiso is definitely THE place to eat in Cork - vegetarian but so good that even carnivores don't miss meat. Assuming you don't want to book a table for one, arrive either rather early or rather late for lunch, wear a nice smile, and they'll very likely cram you in somewhere.

Also very good for food (and easier to get into) are the cafe upstairs at the English Market, and the cafe at the Crawford art gallery.

But...I wouldn't stay near the airport - you might as well get right into the city and get it over with - it's not a great distance and it means you can walk for the rest of your brief weekend, rather than worrying about (and paying for) getting to/from an airport hotel.

Hey barney_uk2 thanks for the advice! I'm definitely going to call into CP next time I'm going through Cork.
Dennis Cotter did a 1 day cooking course up here in Dublin but I missed it :-(
Will just have to go and eat there instead!
Have you ever got to Hagal Farm - just outside Bantry? (Coomleigh I think) - really really nice vegetarian food and you're not looking for the meat either or feeling hard done by. Relaxing place too

Doesn't ring a bell, Kate, but I've had a lot of good food around there over the years so I might have visited HAgal.

Another great place, one of my favourites (though not veggie), is Ballymaloe - not far from Cork city.