The Wicklow Mountains are a stunning expanse of nature. Everything is so green and due to the low…read moretemperature, it stays all green. There are so many outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, birdwatching, and scenic driving. A hike or walk here will ensure you some nature backed peace and calmness. the park is close to Dublin making for an easy 1/2 day or day trip. In my brain, mountains are supposed to be rock with no greenery: The Wicklow Mountains, however, are unlike many traditional mountain ranges and have lush greenery all over them. We did the Glendalough Lake upper and lower lakes hike.

If you have a few days to spend in Dublin, don't skip out on a visit to Wicklow…read more You'll need to rent a car or book a tour to get up here (about 40min from Dublin City Centre) but it was worth the trek. I had a friend drive me here and it was such an incredible experience. If you're visiting during the winter months, layer up. It gets cold and windy up there, but it's 100% worth it.

Superb country estate and gardens within a thirty minute driving distance from our B&B in Dun…read moreLaoghaire. Arriving on a bright sunny morning, we were enjoying a tour of the manor, but then realized the real treasure lay outdoors - in the gardens. These are breathtaking and words don't do them justice, so I'm posting a few pictures. In addition to the ornate English and Italian gardens which are near the manor, we also visited the extensive (and hilly) Japanese gardens which are much further away, and made sure we stopped by the quaint pet cemetery. Truth be told, we could easily have spent 2-3 more hours at Powerscourt, because there was so much more to see. But it started raining (not unusual in Ireland!), so we reluctantly tore ourselves away and made our way to Enniskerry (with the famous scene from the movie Leap Year) and then to Glendalough via the Wicklow Mountains. Parking was easy, and there is an excellent (but expensive) restaurant and cafe on the premises, so we could renew ourselves with coffee and sugary snacks. Will be back for sure!

Powerscourt Estate and Gardens in Ireland is a stunning destination, often ranked among the top…read morethree gardens in the world. This garden is meticulously designed, has amazing views, and has many types of vibrant flora. Unique features like the charming pet cemetery add to its appeal. I loved my visit here especially the Japanese Garden.

The best 5 days we have had in a long time. So worth every penny…read more The boat was spacious, warm and comfortable. We really enjoyed driving it, given it was was our first time on a boat we were suprised at how well it went. We learnt to open the locks ourselves quite quickly and the lock keepers were fantastic too if you don't want to open them yourselves. Highly recommended

During the slump of 2020 I decided to reach out to Paul at Jennifer's Travels to rent a barge three…read moreyears out, something to keep our spirits high. We just came back from our AppleJack adventure and we loved every minute of it, it is adventure travel, and Paul taught us what we needed to know and we had a blast. We only saw two other boats in the canals moving along and the rest was just the 4 of us, birds, flowers, canal fish, and lovely peaceful times. In the evenings we hung out at the Fisherman's Thatched Inn and between time on the boat and time in the pub, we were very happy and felt included in a real Irish experience. We took the train from Dublin to the Monasterevin and you can easily walk to the boat from the train platform. We walked to the grocery store which is very good and brought groceries onto the boat. The kitchen is very well supplied and cooking for ourselves onboard was a fun experience. Take out can even be brought to the Fisherman's Inn address for meal drop off - we did this twice with ease. Trust this company, trust yourself to Captain the boat and work the Irish canal locks (with the lockmaster's and Paul's tutorial). Give your family an amazing and unique memory - Paul Wallace and AppleJack are stars!