dancinggal

Hello Everyone,
I am looking for you experienced travelers to tell me what you think of this itinerary. My husband and I will be taking our first trip to Ireland Oct23- Nov9th.

The only thing set in stone is the cottage rental in Doolin for Oct 30-Nov6th.
here goes;
Oct22 fly to Shannon.
Oct 23 arrive, take train to Limerick to pick up Enterprise (DH works for them, otherwise would have grabbed one at airport) rental car and then off to see Cork. Stay in Kinsale
Oct 24 Explore Kinsale and the Fort sleep:kinsale
Oct 25th Go to Waterford and then Cashel, sleep in Kilkenny
Oct 26 Explore Kilkenny, see Glendalough and sleep in Dublin
Oct27 Explore Dublin, stay in Dublin
Oct 28 Dublin, stay in Dublin
Oct 29 Newgrange, hill of Tara, Trim, drive to Galway to sleep
Oct 30th Explore Galway and go to meet cousin and check into cottage(in Doolin)
Oct 31st Cliffs, Burren(doolin cottage)
Nov 1st Galway and then drive to Clifden (stay overnight in clifden)
Nov 2nd Clifden, Quiet Man Cottage and back to Doolin
Nov 3rd Aran Islands (Doolin Cottage)
Nov 4th Spend day with cousins, explore Doolin, possibly Aillwee Cave (doolin Cottage)
Nov 5th Knappoque Castle and Bunnratty with Banquet (doolin Cottage)
Nov 6th Leave for Dingle via ferry Sleep in Dingle
Nov 7th Ring of Kerry sleep in Dingle
Nov 8th Explore Dingle and then drive to Limerick for the night
Nov 9th Fly home

Is this too much, not enough? Any good B&B's you recommend? I am open to all suggestions as reading these boards you all seem to know so much!Thank you in advance for your help. I am so excited and just want to make sure we have fun.
Would it be better to see Cashel from Doolin the day we see the cave and then spend more time in Waterford and Kilkenny? Is the Waterford tour that good? From reading your advice we have decided to skip the Blarney Stone.
Kerri

Ann41

Unless you're a big crystal fan, then no, I wouldn't add any time to Waterford. I'd use any extra time in Glendalough and/or Kilkenny.

Looks like a good trip, with a nice mix of city and country.

MaryZ

Cashel and Doolin are about 90 miles apart, so I don't think you'd want to plan on seeing Cashel from your base in Doolin.

wojazz3

Along with Ann, unless you are a Waterford fan, the tour is just OK and there is no other great reason to see Waterford. I know some people love it, but there is so much to see in Ireland, the Waterford tour would not make it in my top 10, or even 20 list.

Knappogue Castle is closed in November. If you must go there, you need to make it by the end of October. The drive to Kinsale from Limerick will probably be about 2.5 hours. Make sure you take time to stop and get out of the car. The tendency is to get a bit tired. The last part of the ride is on much smaller roads.

It looks like a nice plan overall and you can certainly do almost everything you want. I especially like that you are staying in Clifden for a day.

Have a fantastic time!!

Bill

margo_oz

I can't imagine skipping the Blarney Stone!

But then, I went and I didn't get the gift of the gab at all

Clifton

Sounds like a fun trip. I'd probably not go back and ever do the factory tour again. It's ok. The work they do there is impressive, really. But it doesn't hold a candle to what else there is to do. Don't short Cashel or Kilkenny for a trip to Waterford. I'd head Kinsale towards Cashel, stopping in Cahir on the way to see the castle and then go on to Kilkenny. If you find yourself with extra time (unlikely), then Waterford is a very quick drive straight down the motorway from Kilkenny.

When in the Burren area near Doolin, and near Ailwee Cave, I can highly recommend the Poulnabrone Dolmen if you're interesting in pre-historic sites. Read up on it a bit and it will have more significance, I think. Sort of in a Stonehenge sort of way (to my way of thinking).

Finally, I'm not sure if Dingle works as a base for the Ring of Kerry. Still pondering that drive back after a long drive around the ring. Maybe someone else would weigh in on that idea.

I've yet to make it the the Aran Islands. Looking forward to hearing how you enjoy them.

wojazz3

I agree with Clifton that it will be a long day with a limited amount of daylight. The roads back to Dingle are not major ones so are pretty slow. It will probably be dark.

Also, keep in mind, especially in the off season, B&B's don't tend to serve breakfast real early so count on your day starting generally around 9:00 AM from a B&B.

Bill

dancinggal

Thank you all so much for your advice. I think we will pick another town to stay over in after our trip around the Ring of Kerry. I am going to talk to Kevin and see if we can skip Waterford. I like crystal but not enough to warrant a special trip when there are so many other things to see!
We are going to try and research the other historic site mentioned and do that the day we see the caves.
I will be sure to do a big trip report when we get back (you'll have to wait 6mth till we go)...such a newbie I am all excited and still have to wait till October to go.
Bill on another thread we saw the link for your trip report and it was truly amazing! Kevin and I decided to do mostly the south this trip and next time we will focus on the north your descriptions of Antrim mad us realize it wasn't something we wanted to try to squeeze in in one day!
And we will do Cashel on the first leg rather than the later!
Just an FYI...we got lucky this past weekend with our airfare...$382 per person roundtrip from Philly with a 2 hour layover each way (Boston on the way there and Chicago on the way home) But because we both love to read we decided this was a great savings so we jumped on it. It was on Travelocity in case anyone was looking to book a flight.
Thanks again for your help. As I research more I am sure to be back with more questions, and in return I promis a full report of our trip!
Have a great day Kerri

NEDSIRELAND

There's no train from Shannon airport to Limerick City. Take BusEireann. For the return trip to the airport: The earliest bus I can recall leaves Limerick bus/rail station around 7:45 AM. If you come from Ennis, there is one at 8:35 AM. Depending on whether I am coming from Limerick City or Ennis, I catch the earliest bus possible for a Continental Airlines 11:00 AM flight to Newark. In Limerick, you can board it on the corner of the street behind the (Royal) George Hotel: the street that parallels O'Connell St. - there's a bus stop sign. Most of the people who ride it that early are people going to work in the Corporate Parks around Shannon airport.

When in Ennis last month I was told about a fall Traditional Irish music (4-day) festival in Ennis in November. Sorry, I don't know the dates but Ennis is less than an hour from Doolin. It might be worth looking into.

Your Oct. 29th schedule might be a bit ambitious given that the hours of daylight will be becoming shorter. On the best of days, Dubin-Galway will take about 4-hours. You may find yourself finishing the last half of that trip in the dark.

rj007

This has been mentioned on other posts about Ireland - the roads in Ireland are not the same as in the States. Driving time for the same distance will vary. That said, you will have a great time. The beauty of Ireland and the friendliness of the people will remain with you long after you return home.