Dublin

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Thursday April 12 - I've been checking on airfares to Dublin in May. I found out it would cost me $1337 to fly one way but I can fly Round Trip for $836 ???!! It would be cheaper to buy a round trip ticket and toss the second half.....or keep it as an option for coming back sooner if I wished. Not a bad deal really. I like having options. The main deal breaker in these trips for me at least is lodging. I need to keep my lodging cost down to about $50 a night average over the month, or $1500 a month. I have never stayed in a hostel but am looking at them for this trip. It isn’t just about money of course but also if I were to stay in a hostel I might be able to gather information from other travelers about places to stay, interesting things to see, etc. Renting a room in a hotel or B&B is no doubt more comfortable but it leaves a solo male traveler at least somewhat isolated. But having never stayed in a hostel my information source on them is mainly blogs which are full of stories about noisy and inconsiderate roommates. I can’t honestly say I relish the thought of sharing a room with 4 to 6 other men. I could probably share a room with one other man/woman/ whatever, as long as he/ she/ it doesn’t snore much. But being able to gather information from other travelers in a “common” area might make the inconvenience worthwhile for a bit. And it raises the odds of being able to meet and share some time with other travelers. Perhaps I can stay in a hostel for a few days while I look around Dublin for more suitable lodging at a weekly rate within my budget. Right now I am looking at a couple of weeks in Dublin, a week in Ballinasloe (where I have family) and then a week or so in Galway. By then I should have my feet on the ground and can travel around a loop from Galway South and around East then North again to Dublin. Then I can either fly home for a bit or toss the second half of my ticket and stay another month or so in Ireland or go to England for a bit , then on to the continent. I have about a $2400 a month budget so hopefully that will be sufficient.

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