Help required with Ireland Itinerary

Old Sep 21st, 2015, 10:50 AM
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Help required with Ireland Itinerary

We are visiting Ireland in July. Based on preliminary research, a rough itinerary seems to be as below :

1. June 30th 2016- Fly out of JFK
GALWAY CITY – 2 Nights
2. July 1st 2016 – Reach early morning and pick car to drive to Galway city (3 hour drive). On the way visit Trim castle if possible. In the evening visit, Eyre Square, Claddagh district, Lynch's Castle, Galway Cathedral
3. July 2nd 2016 - Full day trip to Connemara (Travel to Clifden before a visit to Kylemore Abbey)
KILARNEY – 3 NIGHTS
4. July 3rd 2016 –Leave in morning via Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and the Folk Park & small town called Adare, Doolin town (O’Brien Boat cruise of the Cliffs) and reach Kilarney by night
5. July 4th 2016 – ½ day trip to Ring of Kerry Tour, (best from Waterville to Caherdaniel) Pass by the remote villages of Cahirciveen and Sneem
6. July 5th 2016 -Dingle Peninsula OR Gap of Dunloe
Kilkenny – 2 NIGHTS
7. July 6th 2016 - Leave early morning and visit Blarney Castle, Blarney Stone enroute, Cork then stop at Waterford crystal factory.
8. July 7th 2016 - visit Kilkenny Castle & Rock of Cashel tour
DUBLIN – 2 NIGHTS (car is not recommended)
9. July 8th 2016 – Early morning to Dublin via Glendalough, County Wicklow & Avoca Village
10. July 9th 2016 - Hop on Hop off bus tour
11. July 10th 2016 –8 AM flight; reach 11:20 AM @ JFK

Does the above look doable? Any changes that you would recommend from a logistics viewpoint? Suggested enroute stops?
Himanshi is offline  
Old Sep 21st, 2015, 12:48 PM
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cork is a fascinating city that I would stay a day and night in - famous for its singing pubs!

everything seems to be a bit too clockwork and something could throw things off - seems way too rushed for many I think.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 05:56 AM
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Sounds like a great coach trip.. 2 professional local drivers wizzing a couple of dozen tourist past the sights, possibly even stopping at a couple.

Self drive you need to reconsider.. You will average 35mph on a good day so throw away the route plan times.

I don't know where you are flying in from but if the US on a redeye forget jollying about before Galway that 3 hour drive direct from the airport is more than enough with jetlag creeping in.

It is after all a vacation, not a UPS v DHL competition.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 07:23 AM
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I also thought that the first day, July 1, was too packed after a long flight from the U.S., and three hour drive to Galway.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 10:10 AM
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OK- got the point about Day 1- we will in that case skip Connemara region. Any other advice?
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 10:23 AM
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I personally think you need to re-think everything. You only have 9 nights and your first day will probably be a jet lagged fog. You want 2 nights in Dublin -- that only leaves you 7 nights/6.5 days for seeing/doing everything else. Either slow down . . . or book a coach tour and forget about driving yourselves (My guess is you copied much of your plan from such a coach tour anyway. An organized tour can do things faster than you can on your own . . . Not 'better', just faster)
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 11:32 AM
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Not sure you are getting the point. Driving from DUB to Galway direct is about the limit my hit the ground running range, its all Motorway, not much to see and no service stops after 30 miles from Dublin. There is a fuel/Deli if you come off at the Coosan turn.

Yes see a bit of Connemara day 2 if your up to it. I always recommend putting an overnight between Galway and Killarney, that way you can see some of west Clare going down to Ennis/Limerick/Adare.. Then fit the Dingle figure of eight as you drop to Killarney. Logistics and getting from A to C with a detour via B is fine, Getting from A to C with a detour via X and backtrack to B via Z uses time most people just don't have.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 12:22 PM
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I'd put the drived around the remote desolate gorgeous Dingle Peninsula at the top of my list and spend a leisurely half day or so doing so - not a thing to be rushed nor can you from the state of the roads.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2015, 01:13 PM
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I like getting off the motorway and having lunch in Athlone. South of there is Clonmcnoise and worth a stop.
Connemara is worth a trip and you can do Galway in a day easy.

Seeing the cliffs from the water is excellent but if the day is crappy you won't want to do it. Rough water in a small boat. But stopping to see the cliffs is an hour stop if you skip the gift shop. You will see beautiful cliffs on your ROK tour.

What are your plans for Cork? Cobh is very interesting imo.
Waterford is not what it use to be. Half the size and they don't make much there anymore. They do trophy's for sporting events and corporations. All the glass is made elsewhere now. Such a shame. I loved going there when all the crystal was made there. Anyhoo, you could skip that and save a bit of time on that Killarney to Kilkenny drive. You just can't see all of Cork city, Blarney Castle and Waterford plus drive four hours in a day.

Your last day to Glendalough and Avoca is nice. They filmed Balleykissangel there and love to have a pint in the pub there.

You might want to return the car and get lodging closer to the Dublin airport. The day tripper pass into Dublin is good for all transportation. You have an 8 am flight and need to be at the airport 2.5 to 3 hours early. You do US customs and immigration in Dublin and takes a bit of time. Great duty free shopping before you go to your gates though.

Have a great trip, rome2rio is a good site on figuring routes.
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Old Feb 10th, 2016, 05:32 PM
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Hi,

After more reasearch, i have drafted the following itineary. I still have one day left and want to add Cork without adding another base(if feasible). Any suggestions?

1. June 30th 2016- Fly out of JFK
KILKENNY – 2 Nights
2. July 1st 2016 – Reach early morning and pick car to drive to KILKENNY (1.5 hour drive).
a. Stop in Glendalough, Avoca Village
b. Check in and in the afternoon visit Kilkenny Castle (open from 9-5:30 PM)
KILARNEY – 3 NIGHTS
3. July 2nd 2016 –Leave in morning and head to Rock of Cashel; (50 min drive from Kilkenny)
a. In the afternoon head to “Dingle Peninsula” (drive over the Connors Pass)
b. visit the town in the evening
4. July 3rd 2016 – ½ day trip to Ring of Kerry Tour (do it counter-clockwise as recommended - (best drive from Waterville to Caherdaniel);
a. Start driving toward Kenmare (Torc’s waterfall, Ladies View and at Molls Gap)
b. Pass by the remote villages of Cahirciveen and Sneem;
5. July 4th 2016 - Gap of Dunloe tour (book Dero’s Tours – 6 hour tour). In the evening visit “Muckross House” ( last tour is at 4:40 PM)
GALWAY – 2 NIGHTS
6. July 5th 2016 - Leave early morning and stop at Adare for 30 minutes( I.5 hour drive)
a. Bunratty Castle is between Limerick and Galway
b. Next stop is “Cliffs of Moher” ; drive to Doolin town, and buy tickets for the O’Brien Boat 1 hour cruise of the Cliffs (12, 3 & 5 PM)
c. Start driving and stop at Burren (30 mins drive)
d. Reach Galway and sleep
7. July 6th 2016 - Connemara region (1.5 hr drive to National park)
a. Celtic Crystals & Brigit’s Garden near Moycullen; Clifden & then drive to Connemara National Park Visitor’s – hike if you prefer (Clifden before a visit to Kylemore Abbey); Drive further to Leenane and then head back to Galway
b. Visit Galway town - Quay Street and High Street; Asian Tea House on Mary Street; Taaffe’s Pub) - Eyre Square, Claddagh district, Lynch's Castle, Galway Cathedral
DUBLIN – 2 NIGHTS (car is not recommended)
8. July 7th 2016 – Early morning to Dublin
a. Stop at Athenry Castle , Trim, Martello Tower
9. July 8th 2016 - Hop on Hop off bus tour or local sightseeing
10. July 10th 2016 –8 AM flight; reach 11:20 AM @ JFK
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 02:47 AM
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Far too much for the average visitor, but your travel style might be different.
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 03:12 AM
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You still have no concept of driving times in Ireland hence what is achievable.

I don't know where you are getting your information from? Yes you can dash through much of what is written but its painful to read and will have you back home with a better understanding of the Hire car than Ireland.

Throw away the coach tour pamphlets the Rick Steves guides and read a few itineraries written by people who have actually driven themselves on that basic off the peg route.
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 07:39 AM
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When I saw your post last night I was going to respond -- figured it might seem like piling on to say 'no, too much, too, far, too little time" again -- but Padraig and Tony are totally right.

I don't think you absorbed what was suggested earlier -- your drive times are seriously/very/overly optimistic. I'll just leave it at that.
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 09:19 AM
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Ok! Let me revise again! Though i ready couple of trip reports "Indian Couple" for instance and followed their insights.

But, I will do more research and respond.
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 02:08 PM
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I will just add that your drive to Clifden through Connemara is going to take most of your day and I seriously doubt you will have time to see all those things in Galway the same day.

Our visits to Celtic Crystal take about 45 minutes in the shop. If you see a demonstration it will take longer. If you miss the demo, Mary loves to tell you the history of the shop and designs. (They have a nice bathroom, so use it. You never know where the next one will be.)

If you look at a map of Connemara, you will see little loops at the bottom. You want to take those little roads, get off the main roads. Go to Roundstone and have lunch and a stroll. Visit Malachy's bodhran shop and the little pottery shop just beyond.

Try to relax a little bit and understand that you probably aren't going to hit everything on your wish list. We are going back in a few weeks for our 11th trip to catch some of the things we have missed.
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Old Feb 14th, 2016, 01:24 PM
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What does everyone think of the night allotment the OP has come up with and the towns chosen for overnights. I think this is flying into and out of Dublin.
Looks like
Kilkenny- 2 nights
Killarney- 3 nights
Galway- 2 nights
Dublin- 2 nights

I am just in the beginning stages of planning a trip for Spring 2017. We hope to have 10-12 nights so are looking at mainly 3 night stays and possibly flying into Dublin and out of Shannon. We are hoping for a bit more slower pace and not seeing everything listed above in OP itinerary.
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Old Feb 15th, 2016, 01:01 AM
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Linda. Point to point this is a standard Ireland itinerary, Dublin to Dublin over 10 to 14 days. Personally I always break the Kerry~Galway section with an overnight between by the Shannon Crossing. That gives a full day for the Shannon to Galway section. https://goo.gl/UtW24m (some of the many points in West Clare)2 nights with Ennis as a touring base also allows for a day exploring here in east Clare/Galway and the Lough Derg / Shannon region.

Probably though best to ask a new question of your own rather than get lost in, or confuse the replies to this one.
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