Guidebook Updates for Ireland

• If your passport is due to expire within six months of your ticketed date of return from Europe, you need to renew it. Allow plenty of time to renew or get a passport, especially while a backlog of applications is causing significant slowdowns — see the US Department of State's travel site for current estimated processing times.

• Visitors to the UK are no longer able to get a VAT (value-added tax) refund on purchases made in UK shops, and tax-free sales at airports, Eurostar train stations, and in ports have been discontinued. In Northern Ireland, overseas visitors can still buy items tax-free at stores that offer this service, provided that the items are sent directly to an overseas address outside the UK and the EU. The UK's rules around tax-free shopping may evolve further as the UK continues to adjust to the fallout from Brexit.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• Aran Walking Tours is no longer in business.
• Bia Restaurant on Inishmore has closed.
• South Aran Restaurant on Inisheer has closed.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• The Ulster Folk Park is now the Ulster Folk Museum, which is now a separate entitiy from the Ulster Transport Museum.
• Walking tours of Belfast now leave from in front of City Hall (rather than from the tourist information office).
• The City Tours sightseeing bus now starts on Donegall Square West.
• McComb's Coach Tours are best booked online (and can no longer be booked through the Belfast International City Hostel) and their countryside tours now depart from in front of the Europa Hotel, not the hostel. They no longer operate a service between Belfast and the Gobbins Cliff Path.
• Lagan Boat Tours has closed.
• Sandy Row Walking Tours has closed.
• The Belfast Traditional Music Trail (formerly Belfast Trad Trail Tours) now meets at the Second Fiddle pub (42 Waring Street).
• Café Parisien and the Made in Belfast pub have closed.
• The Bangor tourist information office is now closed Sundays year-round.
• Grey Point Fort in Bangor is temporarily closed for maintenance.
• Bramble Lodge and Café Brazilia in Bangor have closed.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• The cost of reaching Brú na Bóinne from Dublin without a car has jumped significantly: It now costs about €20 for a round-trip train ticket between Dublin and Drogheda, and about €15 each way for a taxi from Drogheda.
• The Hill of Tara no longer charges for admission.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• The bus between Ennis and Shannon Airport is now bus #343 (not #51).
• The hop-on / hop-off Coastal Shuttle Bus to/from the Cliffs of Moher is no longer in service.
• Ennis' Grey Gables B&B and Rowan Tree Hostel have both closed.
• The Cloisters restaurant in Ennis has closed.
• Half Door Cottage in Doolin has a new email address: [email protected].
• The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis has a new email address: [email protected].

• Entrada restaurant has closed.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may also apply:

• The tourist information office has moved to 1 Waterloo Place, and no longer rents bikes.
• The Bogside Inn has been demolished.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• The Historical Town Walk is no longer running.
• Dingle Dolphin Boat Tours has new tour options (and no longer guarantee to see Fungie the dolphin, who likely died in 2020). Current tours are a three-hour Eco Tour to the Blasket Islands (€55), a Mini Eco Tour of Dingle Bay (€25, 1.5-2 hours), and a guided Harbor Cruise (€15, 1 hour).
• Neligan's now now offers its traditional music session with beginner dance lessons on summer Monday nights (not Thursdays).
• Galvin's Travel Agency has closed.
• Mountain Man hiking shop has closed.
• Siopa Ceoil music shop has closed.
• The owner of the Celtic and Prehistoric Museum (on Slea Head Drive) has died, and the museum is unlikely to reopen.
• Dingle Cinema has closed.
• The Hideout Hostel is closed for refurbishment; when it reopens it may no longer be a hostel.
• Eileen Collins Kirrary B&B has a new email address: [email protected].

• Pat Liddy's Highlights and Hidden Corners tour is now €25, and the discount for Rick Steves readers is 20 percent off with the code "RSTEVES23"; tours should be booked ahead online. In the main season the tour runs daily at 10:15 (instead of 11:00), and in summer they run a second tour Mon–Sat at 14:15. The meeting point is now the "Tree of Gold" sculpture in Central Plaza on Dame Street. Private tours now start at €245 for a half day.
• The Musical Pub Crawl now departs from the Ha'penny Bridge Inn (at 42 Wellington Quay in Temple Bar), not Gogarty's Pub.
• The Evening of Irish Folklore and Fairies has moved from the Brazen Head pub to the Stag's Head pub (at 1 Dame Court) and become a pre-dinner show that now runs from 17:00 to 18:30 (after which guests may enjoy dinner at the Stag's Head or at one of the many restaurants nearby).
• The Dublin Pass has been rebranded as the Go City All-Inclusive Pass, with the same offerings and prices.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may also apply:

• The Dublin Writers Museum has permanently closed. Fortunately, those interested in Dublin's literary culture and history can still visit the Museum of Literature Ireland.
• Tickets for Trinity College guided tours and for the Book of Kells in the Trinity Old Library must now be booked ahead online, and are no longer available on campus.
• The City of a Thousand Welcomes program has been discontinued for the indefinite future.
• City Hall's "Story of the Capital" exhibit is no more.
• The former Irish House of Lords is closed for the indefinite future.
• The former North Star Hotel on Amiens Street is now The Address Connolly ([email protected]).
• Lisa Tully no longer gives guided tours of the Wicklow area.
• Charles Stewart Guesthouse has closed.
• Ely Bar & Grill has closed.
• The Ferry House B&B in Dun Laoghaire has closed.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• Fiona Brennen no longer leads walking tours in Galway.
• Galway's train station no longer offers baggage storage.
• The tourist information office has moved to the City Museum (next to the Spanish Arch).
• Marless House B&B in Salthill has closed.
• Hotel Meyrick is now The Hardiman ([email protected]).
• Forster Court Hotel has reopened as the Hyde Hotel (+353 91 564 111, [email protected]).

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• Kenmare's Murnane Cabs are gone, and Experience Tours no longer offers taxi service. We recommend instead Kenmare Tours & Travel (+353 087 243 8588).
• Star Sailing is now called Star Outdoors and rents kayaks, not sailboats. They no longer organize hill walks.
• Several recommended eateries have closed: Bookshop Vegetarian Café, Jam, and Packies.
• Several recommended accommodations have closed: Sallyport House, Virginia's Guesthouse, and Whispering Pines B&B — and in Portmagee, Beach Cove Lodge and Portmagee Heights B&B.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• At the Rock of Cashel, the interior of Cormac's Chapel can only be visited by booking a guided tour, which must be done on-site.
• The Kilkenny tourist information office has moved to 79 High Street Gardens.
• Café Hans has closed.
• Zuni Townhouse is now the Zuni Boutique Hotel.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• Kinsale's bus stop has moved to a spot just behind the tourist information office, across from the waterfront parking lot.
• Tom Canty is no longer running taxis; instead, contact Flash Cabs at +353 86 826 1296.
• The Kinsale Mead Company now offers tours Nov-March by appointment only, and April-Oct tours are at 12:00, 14:00, and 16:00.
• Jo's Rooms hotel has closed.
• Mother Hubbard's restaurant has closed.
• Finn's Table is now Finn's Farmcut.
• Duncrone B&B in Ardmore has closed, as has the Cliffhouse Hotel restaurant (the hotel is still open).

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• Admission to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is now possible only with a timed-entry ticket, which must be booked online in advance.
• You can now book in advance for tours of the Old Bushmills Distillery — and you should, as tours often sell out.
• Ocho tapas bar in Portrush has closed.
• Harbour Bistro in Portrush is now closed on Mondays.
• Tourist restaurant in Portrush is now Coast.
• Waterworld (in Portrush) has closed.
• Shola Coach House has permanently closed.

For books printed before January 2023, the following may apply:

• The Ros Tapestry is currently (at least as late as spring 2023) not in New Ross but on loan to Kilkenny Castle until sometime later in 2023.

• Cian's restaurant on Bridge Street in Westport has closed.