On a gloomy Saturday in Limerick City..kiiid, I was sitting down wondering what I can do. I didn’t want to spend a whole pile of money because of Charity week in my University looming, so I went for a budget friendly historical day out.
I know, you’re probably wondering, a historical day out in Limerick?. Well let me tell you that there is a lot more about historical Limerick than meets the eye. Firstly, the Hunt Museum, King Johns Castle, Lough Gur, People’s Park and it doesn’t stop there. I decided to test these places out as I thought, what else am I doing with my Saturday BUT ALSO, to help others like me sitting down on their couch, avoiding work. (after all it is the weekend).
So here it goes, a budget friendly day for (hopefully) under €20. How bad.
So first things first, I had a driver (one of my friends has a car, I don’t have an ACTUAL driver, I’m not that rich… I mean if I was, I probably wouldn’t be looking for things to do for under €20) for this particular day, which means… no bus fare! Already saving €€€!!! So, our first route was to the Hunt Museum. I mean, it was raining so we had to compromise. As we arrived, we parked in the outdoor car park, which is €2 for two hours, so I paid for this as she was driving. Only fair hey!
When we arrived in, we were stunned to see how beautiful it was inside. We went in to buy our ticket. €5.50 for a student ticket. BINGO. And you know what’s great? You can spend as much time as you want to in there. So technically you can have a full day out for just €7.50 including parking, or similarly the parking is the same price as a bus ticket from the University of Limerick to get to the Hunt Museum. We briefly went around the museum for an hour because we wanted to spend some more time there, going to the gift shop and visiting the café. I won’t get too much into the museum itself, but being close by Limerick, as well as my friend being far away from Limerick, it was of interest to us both. Even if we aren’t the biggest fan of history.
The gift shop and café proved to be the best for me. Seeing what the have to offer there, from posters to jewellery, I just found it so fascinating what you can buy there, and what you can learn about Limerick in just a couple of hours. I didn’t buy anything that particular day, however I did ask to snap some shots and they were totally ok with it.
So enjoy these lovely pics of cups, and also some of their gorgeous jewellery.
Just bear in mind, you can always budget to spend less by pre making food before you go and eating it later. Which is exactly what we did for lunch. We knew we were going to visit King Johns Castle, as well as Lough Gur so we decided before we left, we would have a picnic later in the day. We got to King Johns Castle and it was still slightly raining so we didn’t head in. The weather forecast was due to change later in the day so we decided we would venture on to Lough Gur where the weather was clear.
Although we didn’t get to head into King Johns Castle, the scenery itself was gorgeous, and we were just looking in from the car!
Lough Gur is a tiny bit outside Limerick City, but my gosh, its worth the drive. We arrived to a lovely summer’s day… you know Ireland, four seasons, one day. But we couldn’t have been happier. We got out of the car, ate our pre-made lunch (Money saving!!) on one of the benches looking out on the view.
Lough Gur has been a place I’ve wanted to bring my friends for a long time, so I’m delighted the weather cleared up for us. The fairy trail is a popular tourist attraction in Lough Gur and is fun for all ages.
Most importantly – It’s free.
I don’t want to give too much away but I’m sure this picture from the top of the trail will give you an easy reason to go and see this beautiful landmark !!!
By the time we arrived home it was 6pm. With almost €10 left of our budget for the day, what other way to spend it than sipping away on a lovely pint from the Hurlers pub. (Just walking distance from the University)
I hope you enjoyed the read on our lovely day out.
Maybe next time you can join us.
Over N Out
Sharlene and Adeline x
Things To Do For Under €20 