Having second thoughts about my itinerary
Oct 12th, 2013, 03:39 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Having second thoughts about my itinerary
We're planning on being in Ireland from the 10th-18th of March because a friend of mine is getting married in London and we decided to extend the vacation after attending the wedding. At the moment, we were planning on flying into Shannon from London on the 10th and picking up our rental car and heading for: 2 nights in Corofin, 2 nights in Galway, 1 night in Kilkenny, and ending 3 nights in Dublin. We've already reserved the 3 night stay in Dublin (BnB is actually in Dundrum) because of the festival and concern that accommodations wouldn't be available because of that. However, we haven't reserved anything else because I'm starting to second guess the areas we chose.
I knew since we had only a short period of time to spend in Ireland that I needed to pick either north or south and make somewhat of an arch instead of a loop with the areas we chose, and stay 2 nights in each area. I only heard about Corofin because of Airbnb and they had a pretty nice looking BnB for a good price and it didn't seem far from Ennis which was the original plan. I figured staying in Corofin to begin with we could visit the Cliffs as well as see some castles near Limerick (King John's Castle looks gorgeous I'd say) and then tour the Burren area as we make our way to Galway. The problem I'm having though is the route from Galway to Dublin because I know that we're wanting to come through Wicklow on our way to Dundrum/Dublin. Because we were wanting to go through this area, we figured it was best to stay in Kilkenny to break up the drive from Galway.
I guess now I'm just second guessing my route because I'm thinking the areas I chose are more mountainside and I was kind of hoping for a variety of areas.When I was looking at my list of places that I'd like to visit in Ireland I see a lot more places in the County Clare/Limerick, Kerry, and Cork area than in the Galway/Kilkenny area. I know from reviews of Galway that it's a gorgeous area, I guess I just worry that in the back of my mind I'll be thinking about the photo ops in the south part that I'm missing out on.
The downside to changing my route though is it's a lot more of a driving distance from what I've seen from Shannon to the south part ending in the Dublin area than it would be to go from Shannon to Galway/Kilkenny. What do you think I should do? Should I just stick with the route that I have already or can I make some minor adjustments. The only dates I cannot change would be the 15-18th because we already have reservations in Dundrum. We haven't purchased our plane tickets from London to Shannon because we were still mulling over the beginning of the trip details and didn't know if we would want to fly in Shannon or if it would be better to fly somewhere else.
Am I making any sense? I think I might just be an overthinker.
Read more: http://www.frommers.com/community/fo...#ixzz2hYPbj9nQ
I knew since we had only a short period of time to spend in Ireland that I needed to pick either north or south and make somewhat of an arch instead of a loop with the areas we chose, and stay 2 nights in each area. I only heard about Corofin because of Airbnb and they had a pretty nice looking BnB for a good price and it didn't seem far from Ennis which was the original plan. I figured staying in Corofin to begin with we could visit the Cliffs as well as see some castles near Limerick (King John's Castle looks gorgeous I'd say) and then tour the Burren area as we make our way to Galway. The problem I'm having though is the route from Galway to Dublin because I know that we're wanting to come through Wicklow on our way to Dundrum/Dublin. Because we were wanting to go through this area, we figured it was best to stay in Kilkenny to break up the drive from Galway.
I guess now I'm just second guessing my route because I'm thinking the areas I chose are more mountainside and I was kind of hoping for a variety of areas.When I was looking at my list of places that I'd like to visit in Ireland I see a lot more places in the County Clare/Limerick, Kerry, and Cork area than in the Galway/Kilkenny area. I know from reviews of Galway that it's a gorgeous area, I guess I just worry that in the back of my mind I'll be thinking about the photo ops in the south part that I'm missing out on.
The downside to changing my route though is it's a lot more of a driving distance from what I've seen from Shannon to the south part ending in the Dublin area than it would be to go from Shannon to Galway/Kilkenny. What do you think I should do? Should I just stick with the route that I have already or can I make some minor adjustments. The only dates I cannot change would be the 15-18th because we already have reservations in Dundrum. We haven't purchased our plane tickets from London to Shannon because we were still mulling over the beginning of the trip details and didn't know if we would want to fly in Shannon or if it would be better to fly somewhere else.
Am I making any sense? I think I might just be an overthinker.
Read more: http://www.frommers.com/community/fo...#ixzz2hYPbj9nQ
Oct 12th, 2013, 05:55 PM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your route sounds doable, the improved divided highways have greatly "shortened" driving times. If your heart is set on the Limerick area, do it right from the airport, as it is close by. Limerick city does have the Castle, but the city itself is grey and depressing, and has a real drug crime problem, so do be careful.
May I suggest Doolin instead of Corofin? It is on the beautiful coast of Clare, about and 1.5 hours from Shannon, has 4 nice trad music pubs in a small area, a hotel and a nice selection of B&B's, and the Cliffs of Moher is just a chip shot, like 15 minutes. Your drive to Galway will take you right thru the Burren. From Galway to Kilkenny is about 2 hours... Kilkenny is a great town nice castle and sightseeing, and the pub life is awesome, like 78 pubs, lots of music, etc.
I don't believe Dundrum is on the DART light rail transit. Is it on the Luas? if it is not on either, you might want to rethink it. Driving and parking in Dublin is an absolute nightmare. I always stay outside the city at a B&B on either the DART of Luas lines, so you can just take public trans in and out.
Hope this helps, if you need recommendations for a B&B in either Kilkenny or Galway, I can help. Hope you have a great trip!
May I suggest Doolin instead of Corofin? It is on the beautiful coast of Clare, about and 1.5 hours from Shannon, has 4 nice trad music pubs in a small area, a hotel and a nice selection of B&B's, and the Cliffs of Moher is just a chip shot, like 15 minutes. Your drive to Galway will take you right thru the Burren. From Galway to Kilkenny is about 2 hours... Kilkenny is a great town nice castle and sightseeing, and the pub life is awesome, like 78 pubs, lots of music, etc.
I don't believe Dundrum is on the DART light rail transit. Is it on the Luas? if it is not on either, you might want to rethink it. Driving and parking in Dublin is an absolute nightmare. I always stay outside the city at a B&B on either the DART of Luas lines, so you can just take public trans in and out.
Hope this helps, if you need recommendations for a B&B in either Kilkenny or Galway, I can help. Hope you have a great trip!
Oct 12th, 2013, 10:06 PM
#3
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,407
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
we are also going to ireland for a similar time...five whole days and two half days...( we are going north)
apart from seeking advice from fodorites..i spoke to someone from the irish tourism board who outlined a more doable/sensible itinerary than i had at first planned
so...if we can go all around the top bit from dublin and head back to dublin from galway in that time, then your itinerary sounds fine...we were torn between the north and south but now that i have been categorically told by many not to try to do both in that short time then i am at peace LOL and can concentrate on researching the areas on our route and not trying to bite off more than we can chew
we have booked a night outside of dublin in malahide at the castlelodge b and b (102 euros...could be a winter rate) and our last night will be in dublin near st stephens green at the staunton on the green ..( we will return the car to the airport and spend the last night and half day in dublin before flying out to paris in the early evening)
the reason we chose malahide for our first night was its proximity to the DART which will take us into the city for our first taste of dublin in the late afternoon/ evening and then in the morning we can be on our way heading to newcastle
without having to negotiate dublin city traffic
in feb when we will be going, many tourist offices will be closed so we may not be able to get expert local advice..check what will be open when youre travelling so that youre prepared and armed with knowledge of what little treasures could be hiding on some little off-the beaten-track road
enjoy your trip..safe travels!
apart from seeking advice from fodorites..i spoke to someone from the irish tourism board who outlined a more doable/sensible itinerary than i had at first planned
so...if we can go all around the top bit from dublin and head back to dublin from galway in that time, then your itinerary sounds fine...we were torn between the north and south but now that i have been categorically told by many not to try to do both in that short time then i am at peace LOL and can concentrate on researching the areas on our route and not trying to bite off more than we can chew
we have booked a night outside of dublin in malahide at the castlelodge b and b (102 euros...could be a winter rate) and our last night will be in dublin near st stephens green at the staunton on the green ..( we will return the car to the airport and spend the last night and half day in dublin before flying out to paris in the early evening)
the reason we chose malahide for our first night was its proximity to the DART which will take us into the city for our first taste of dublin in the late afternoon/ evening and then in the morning we can be on our way heading to newcastle
without having to negotiate dublin city traffic
in feb when we will be going, many tourist offices will be closed so we may not be able to get expert local advice..check what will be open when youre travelling so that youre prepared and armed with knowledge of what little treasures could be hiding on some little off-the beaten-track road
enjoy your trip..safe travels!
Oct 13th, 2013, 04:29 AM
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One detail: it's about a mile from Beaumont Drive to Dundrum Luas stop. It's a comfortable and reliable service. If you don't fancy the walk, there are bus connections that are closer to your accommodation.
You don't really need to break a journey from Galway to Dublin: it's motorway nearly all the way and I'd allow about 3 hours for door-to-door. But I would recommend that you add a couple of hours and divert to visit Clonmacnoise.
It's very easy to get into the Wicklow mountains from Churchtown (which is the correct address for Beaumont Drive). Fifteen minutes drive and you are climbing.
You can't do everything during such a short visit. I'd consider Clare, Galway (especially Connemara) and Dublin (with an excursion into Wicklow) to be a reasonable sample.
You don't really need to break a journey from Galway to Dublin: it's motorway nearly all the way and I'd allow about 3 hours for door-to-door. But I would recommend that you add a couple of hours and divert to visit Clonmacnoise.
It's very easy to get into the Wicklow mountains from Churchtown (which is the correct address for Beaumont Drive). Fifteen minutes drive and you are climbing.
You can't do everything during such a short visit. I'd consider Clare, Galway (especially Connemara) and Dublin (with an excursion into Wicklow) to be a reasonable sample.
Oct 14th, 2013, 01:08 AM
#8
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
awilliams... I highly recommend Dunromin B&B in Kilkenny city... It is right on the Dublin road, a short walk to town, and the hosts, Val & Tom, are simply the best! www.dunrominkilkenny.com.
We recently stayed at Rock Lodge on Whitestrand in the Salt Hill section of Galway... very simple, very nice, gracious little lady runs the place. It is a short walk to Salt Hill center, the beach & promenade, and Galway town center.
www.rocklodgegalway.com
We recently stayed at Rock Lodge on Whitestrand in the Salt Hill section of Galway... very simple, very nice, gracious little lady runs the place. It is a short walk to Salt Hill center, the beach & promenade, and Galway town center.
www.rocklodgegalway.com
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
peggionthego
Europe
6
Oct 26th, 2011 05:49 PM
