Off-season travel advice

[Big Wheel]

I've got some vacation days that I need to blow and found some good fares. A couple in particular really interested me, but I'm concerned that travel in the off-season could pose some problems (weather-related and otherwise). Has anybody been to the following places between October and January?

Ireland (Dublin area)

Ireland (Limerick area)

Taipei, Taiwan

[BeBop]

Taipei. I've been several times. What interests you about the place? If it's just cheap airfares, I'd spend the extra $ and choose a more interesting destination. Also, some of the airfare savings may well be consumed by higher costs once there. Just my opinion.

[Big Wheel]

For Taipei,

1) Great food, or so I hear

2) Interesting history and culture (mix of recently arrived Mandarin speakers, Taiwanese speakers, Japanese, Hakka, native aboriginal)

3) Good scenery--though I need to learn more about what's there

If I went to Taiwan I would probably spend 3 or 4 days in Taipei and another 10 traveling around the country. Is there anything to see in Tainan or Kaohsiung?

[BeBop]

I really hate to say negative things about anyplace. (I travel 365 days a year, and have been to nearly everyplace on Earth. In their own ways, thay are all good.)

The food in Taiwan is among the worst I've ever had. Bland and uninteresting. I'm a vegetarian, so perhaps my impressions can be discounted. The woman I was traveling with, however, eats anything and really cares about food; she agrees with my assessment. We both eat Chinese/Asian food regularly, being from New York and San Francisco.

There are scenic parts of Taiwan, including a nice "national" park just outside Taipei and accessible by train + bus. Not particularly nicer than any other park, but...

Kaoshiung. Ugh. Dreadful. Industrial. Nice riverfront park, but otherwise...

The train trip from Taipei to Kaoshiung was alright.

[tonym]

You'll find Ireland (all of it really, slight regional variations) has fairly good weather during Autumn and Winter. It can been quite nice in October; sunny intermittent rain jsut as it is in June for that matter. Dublin is one of the dryer parts of the country being on the other side of those Atlantic winds.

As for social/entertainment concerns; nothing gets in the way of social life in any part of Ireland as far as I've witnessed. Providing you have a Rough Guide for example, and a drink in your hand, you can't go wrong.

PS maybe best to avoid Dublin during the shopping frenzy that is November and December

[Big Wheel]

Hm, rather surprised about the food. There is a Taiwanese restaurant up here that ranks as one of the best in Chinatown. Maybe the stuff I ordered there wasn't actually Taiwanese?

Thanks for the tip on Kaohsiung. It sounds like Tainan is the place to go for cultural stuff, at least insofar as cities are concerned. The interior also looks pretty impressive.

[BeBop]

Hm, rather surprised about the food. There is a Taiwanese restaurant up here that ranks as one of the best in Chinatown. Maybe the stuff I ordered there wasn't actually Taiwanese?

Thanks for the tip on Kaohsiung. It sounds like Tainan is the place to go for cultural stuff, at least insofar as cities are concerned. The interior also looks pretty impressive.

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On the topic of food, I just found that it was the same thing everywhere: noodles or rice with overcooked, greasy vegetables (or uninteresting meat, for my companion). Perhaps there were some exotic dishes (dog gall bladder) that I missed out on as a vegetarian.

I haven't been to Tainan.

One other drawback about Taiwan right now is the political situation. Lots of people excited on both sides of the issues with the People's Republic.

[Big Wheel]

You'll find Ireland (all of it really, slight regional variations) has fairly good weather during Autumn and Winter. It can been quite nice in October; sunny intermittent rain jsut as it is in June for that matter. Dublin is one of the dryer parts of the country being on the other side of those Atlantic winds.

As for social/entertainment concerns; nothing gets in the way of social life in any part of Ireland as far as I've witnessed. Providing you have a Rough Guide for example, and a drink in your hand, you can't go wrong.

PS maybe best to avoid Dublin during the shopping frenzy that is November and December

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Thanks Tony! I think that Limerick/Western Ireland may be the front-runner right now...it's supposed to be beautiful.

(Though one thing Taiwan has going for it is that it's a hell of a lot warmer than Boston in November...Ireland, not so much)

[BeBop]

One resource to consider for trip planning and anticipating weather conditions:

http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp