Saturday, July 16, 2011

Paddy's Doolin Hostel


Paddy's was absolutely amazing. Upon arrival, one of the hosts, David, was there to greet us at the door with a big smile and hand-drawn map of Doolin. He was without a doubt the friendliest person we met on the entire trip and was so incredibly helpful to us. He really remembered everyone and made us feel welcome at all times. Throughout the trip, he was always the person that stuck out in our minds as the ideal host. When coming back from a ferry trip to the Aran Islands, he spotted us while on a run and came up to congratulate us for making it back from the islands and asked how we enjoyed the trip! An to top it all off, he greeted guests in the morning with freshly-baked scones and a very reasonable price.


But David aside, the hostel itself is great. We lucked out and had the room to ourselves the second night of our stay, but even if the room had been full, we would have enjoyed it. The rooms are very clean and comfortable and the bathrooms are near hotel standards (which is saying a lot for a hostel). It's very cozy and warm with a view of the stunning Irish countryside. The area is breathtaking with ferries to the Aran Islands nearby and the Cliffs of Moher within walking distance. There are cute Irish shops right down the road and Gus O'Connor's Pub (the oldest in the area) filled with the friendliest people and some of the best food around. There are two other pubs a little further down the road, and all three have a band with traditional Irish dancing every night after 9:30. There is also a chocolate shop a few shops down from the pub that has, without a doubt, the best fudge I've had in my entire life. It was sincerely magical. My friend and I stayed in nine hostels throughout Ireland, Scotland and England but Paddy's was without a doubt the best one. Even if I returned to Ireland with money to burn on a fancy hotel, I would go back to Paddy's in a heartbeat!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

A Word on Hostels

So, to start out the various tales from my adventures abroad, I thought I'd start with a word on hostels. Being poor college graduates with thousands of dollars in loans on the way, my friend and I had little money to spend on lodging (let alone food and travel). Probably the most significant way we saved money on the trip was choosing to stay in hostels as opposed to hotels. Throughout the trip, most people asked what we thought of the hostels because they had never stayed in one but had heard horror stories or were simply curious. I was admittedly terrified to stay in hostels in a foreign country. I mean, if they've made a horror movie about them, there has got to be some logical source of fear behind them. But after staying in nine hostels over a two week period, I can safely say that it was a great decision. It definitely isn't for everyone, but if you do your research and know what to expect, it can be a pleasant surprise and a great way to save a lot of money. The first thing I would suggest is that you check the ratings and reviews. As a general rule, if the hostel is rated over 50% positive on tripadvisor.com, it's probably a safe bet. Simply do your research so you'll know what to expect and chances are you will enjoy your stay. Bear in mind that you won't be staying in a hotel so don't expect hotel quality. There will be mostly backpackers there who are just looking for a bed for the night. We didn't stay in any one hostel more than two nights (mostly for travel commitments), and we often stayed longer than other guests in the room. It's much more of a college dorm or camp scenario than a hotel so be prepared for this if you plan on staying in a hostel.
But the most important thing to know when staying in hostels is that the quality of the your stay will will almost always depend on who else is staying in the room with you. If you do your research on the hostel ahead of time you shouldn't worry about anyone too sketchy, but you should take the size of your room into account. When booking the hostels with my friend, I debated with myself whether we should stay in a four-bed room or a ten- or twelve-bed room. I thought to myself that less people might be safer because there would be less of a chance that the fellow travelers were kleptomaniacs or worse. On the other hand, I thought that a larger room would be safer since no one would try anything shady with more people around as witnesses: power in numbers. In retrospect, I was being way more paranoid than necessary, although it's interesting how it turned out. We had absolutely no problems with theft (which has reportedly been an issue in some hostels), we met some really friendly people, and the only problem we had was with noisy roommates in one or two cases. In one of our four-bed rooms, it was literally the size of a closet with only enough room to walk between the two bunkbeds and there was a Chinese couple that would not stop screaming at each other the entire night. This was without a doubt the worst experience we had with the hostels. But the next night, new people were there and it was actually a pretty good experience. If you're traveling and sightseeing, you really won't be spending that much time in the hostel room anyway, so the size of the room usually isn't a problem as long as the people are agreeable (which can be a gamble). One of the nicest rooms we had was the largest with six bunkbeds and all of them filled. Everyone was really friendly and wanted to know where we were from, where we were going and how we were enjoying our trip. But the absolute BEST of the hostels we stayed in was Paddy's Doolin hostel in Doolin, Ireland. I'll go on a further rant about this particular hostel and the amazing host in another post, but it was amazing. The beds were comfortable, the bathrooms were near hotel standards, and there were fresh scones in the morning for a very reasonable price. So to conclude, hostels can be a great experience if you do your research, choose a larger room, and don't let annoying guests get to you. Sharing a room really isn't that bad and more often than not, the only time you'll be around your roommates is when you're all sleeping. If you're traveling on a budget, I would definitely suggest staying in hostels as a way to save for transportation, food and sightseeing.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Unpacking and the Like...

Ahh yes, I'm procrastinating again. Upon arriving back home in Wisconsin I realized that not only did I have to unpack my bag from my Ireland/UK adventures but that I also had to unpack my massive suitcase and innumberable boxes from college (not to mention applying for any and every job that's available). So apologies for the delay, I have many tales to tell and failures to help you prevent :)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

My Hiatus

Sorry about my extended hiatus from blogger- I've been insanely busy with graduation, travel plans and traveling! I spent three weeks traveling in Ireland, Scotland and England and have lots to share. The future few posts will mainly be focused on travel experiences and travel advice throughout Ireland and the UK. I'll discuss the different hostels we stayed in, what to avoid when making reservations and purchases abroad, must-see tourist attractions, etc. I'm sure I'll do some of the more regular things like film reviews and musings (which actually coincide with some of the travel adventures), but prepare for a good deal of travel anecdotes mixed in as well. Sorry again for the long blogger break and I hope you enjoy my future posts! Thanks!