Hands up if you are guilty of doing the same thing every weekend.

Shopping - check. Meeting friends for lunch - check. Going to the pub - Double check. After a long week of work these can be good craic, but let’s face it, it can become quite boring doing the same things all the time. While we like to complain that there’s not much to do in Ireland, that really isn’t the case. There is plenty to do if we just give ourselves a kick up the ass and step out of our usual routines. I recently did this and went to an escape room with some of my cousins. If you’ve never heard of escape rooms, here’s the low down. https://www.instagram.com/p/BlGYc_GnMVz/?hl=en&taken-by=lockedup_escaperooms They are physical adventure game rooms in which you have to solve some puzzles and riddles in order to get out. Sounds good, right? You need to complete it within a certain amount of time as well, usually an hour. There are hints and clues scattered around the room to help you solve the game, so you basically have to work as a team to do so. Most escape rooms cost around twenty euro per person. If you are up for the challenge you will most definitely have a great time trying to breakout. Here are a few of my personal favourites... Incognito Escape Room - Dublin You can either escape from The Cabin in the Woods or Baker Street in Incognito Escape Room. Both rooms really get you thinking. They are very well designed and the closer you get to the time limit, the more intense they get. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXRAEQkjxTb/?hl=en&taken-at=244767962661441 Escape Limerick You’ll have to think outside the box in Escape Limerick and engage with the city’s past. The escape rooms here will take you back to the 1200’s right up to the 1900’s in rooms like McCourt’s Classroom, King John’s Dungeon and Troubled Waters. Expect the unexpected, that’s all I’m saying. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf83M7Ennpy/?taken-by=escapelimerick Great Escape Rooms - Galway Forget about the outside world and just focus on escaping from here. There are a number of rooms to choose from in Great Escape Rooms from a traditional Irish pub to a hospital room. The rooms are very difficult but not impossible to escape, so give it a go. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZW7tKVBqW-/?hl=en&taken-at=1018812878 The Great Escape Waterford There are four rooms to choose from in The Great Escape Waterford - Cluedo, Prison Break, Madness Or A Brilliant Mind?, and Game of Thrones. Yep that's right, they have a Game of Thrones room for all you die-hard fans. Would you dare go into the realm of Westeros? https://www.instagram.com/p/BiCRZtsAS3X/?hl=en&taken-by=greatescapewaterford