My Ireland Trip 2025

I had always dreamed of visiting Ireland, but I didn’t know when it would actually happen. After returning from my U.S. trip, I wanted to settle down and stay home for a while without traveling anywhere new. Around May, I thought going to Ireland in the upcoming months might be a good idea. The timing was perfect because I needed to apply for a visa, which meant I wouldn’t have to go immediately. All I had to do was plan the trip early and apply for the visa.

So, I applied for an Ireland Tourist Visa in June. That started the visa processing period. I expected to hear back quickly from the embassy since people living in the Netherlands generally don’t need a visa to visit Ireland. Nevertheless, it took almost two months to get my passport back — just one week before our trip. Thankfully, I received it in time, complete with the tourist visa.

The flight from Amsterdam was really short — only about an hour. The first thing we noticed was that Ireland is an English-speaking country. Even though people in the Netherlands speak English fluently, it’s still nice to be in a place where English is the primary language. It makes simple things easier, like reading product labels in a supermarket or ordering food at a restaurant. That was quite convenient for us.

It was also fascinating to see that Ireland shares many similarities with the UK, while still having a strong European influence. For example, cars drive on the left side, yet the road signs use kilometers. The architecture felt more similar to the UK than to the Netherlands or most of the EU.

Dublin, the capital of Ireland, had a great vibe in the city center. It’s one of the most walkable cities I’ve ever visited. We stayed at a hotel about a 30-minute walk from the center, but it never felt like we were far from the action. The city was colorful, with lots of green spaces, parks, and small canals. As a software engineer, I immediately noticed the presence of many tech companies like Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Workday, and Pinterest. The last time I felt a similar tech vibe was in San Francisco. Strangely enough, we also saw many homeless people in the city center — again, similar to SF. While visiting Dublin, we were lucky not to get caught in the rain, even though Dublin statistically has more rainy days than Amsterdam.

On the third day of our trip, we visited the famous Cliffs of Moher. We took a bus tour to get there, which wasn’t a short journey since the cliffs are located on the other side of Ireland. It took about 3.5 hours to reach them, but the view was absolutely incredible. There was a hiking trail along the cliffs where everyone was walking to get closer views. It was pretty crowded, but the scenery was definitely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Ireland.

Overall, we really enjoyed the trip. It was a different experience compared to most of the EU. Ireland — and Dublin in particular — is quite small, so even a short visit is enough to see most of it.

City Center, Dublin

A double-decker Bus, Dublin City Center

Amazon Office, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare