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Two years ago, we packed the family up for a trip to the Gaeltacht.  It was both exciting and intimidating due to the age and inexperience of our children.  Two years later, the kids are good little flyers and no one is in diapers!  So in the centenary year of Irish independence off we went.

I had originally thought it would be nice to rotate through the major Gaelachtaí each trip.  Since last time we were in Donegal, I thought we would go to Kerry this time.  However, as happens to everyone who visits Southwest Donegal, my wife cannot bear to go anywhere but Donegal.

So, here we are on our way back to Irish-speaking Donegal.  We learned so much on our last trip that it is too much to include in one post, but you can should read about it here.  Last time we packed too much, because we had to and because we didn’t know what to expect.  This time we have trimmed it down considerably.  We were able to reserve the same car, a Nissan Qashqai, so we know exactly how much room we will have.  I have used Avis on all of my trips to Ireland and have been satisfied, so we booked through Avis again.  One nice thing that they do (as do other companies) is have a couple of cars that you can book and guarantee the model that you will receive.

Ebags

The goal we have set for ourselves is each person gets one carry-on bag and one suitcase for the family.  In anticipation of our trip, Sarah purchased these eBags for the suitcase.

I could not believe how much faster and easier it was to pack the suitcase with these bags!  We know that our bags will fit easily in the trunk (boot) of the car which was important to me as we will have a couple of days when all of our luggage will be in the car.

All of our clothes packed in eBags

Our suitcase beneath the eBags

All of our luggage

This trip we were able to pay for most of the big items in advance, which I found a nice perk.  Last time, we had to pay for our house in cash.  This time we were able to book both of our houses as well as our car in advance.  So upon departure our airfare, accommodation (except for the last night) and car (except for Super CDW) have already been paid.  It also was nice to be able to spread out the payments instead of having a really large amount of money due at the end of the trip.

I know that you are thinking, “C’mon Kevin, tell us where you are staying?”  Our first week we will be near Doirí Beaga, our second week will be in Gleann Cholm Cille, and our last night will be in Trim, Co. Meath.

One big thing that we did learn last time impacted our choice of flights.  The most difficult part of our last trip was navigating Logan Airport in Boston to connect for our transatlantic flights. We decided this time that it was worth the extra money to fly nonstop.   Originally, I was hoping to fly in and out of Shannon Airport.  As I have said many times, it is a much easier and smaller airport to deal with when compared to Dublin Airport.   Unfortunately it was also more expensive and since we already were paying more for nonstop flights, we didn’t think it made sense.  In addition to the nonstop flight, we also decided to splurge on Economy Plus seats (and the extra five or six inches) for the flight.

Everyone is excited and we can’t wait to see what Ireland has in store for us!

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