DJlanda

I'm planning a pretty aggressive tour of Southern Ireland at the end of the September (in two weeks!). And I need a little help trying to plan out one leg of the tour -- our two-night stay in Kenmare. Here's what the trip looks like so far:

THURS: Arrive in Dublin in the evening (night in Dublin)
FRI: Tour Dublin (night in Dublin)
SAT: Tour Dublin (night in Dublin)
SUN: Drive to Cork, stopping at Powerscourt and Cashel along the way (night in Cork)
MON: Drive to Blarney Castle first thing in the morning and then drive to Killarney to hike the Gap of Dunloe (night in Kenmare)
TUES: Bike ride the Ring of Kerry or Beara Peninsula (night in Kenmare)
WED: Drive to Galway, stopping at Adare and Cliffs of Moher along the way (night in Galway)
THURS: Tour Galway/Clare (night in Galway)
FRI: Drive to back to Dublin (night in Dublin)
SAT: Fly home early

As you can see, we're trying to do a lot in 9 days. The trickiest parts are SUNDAY, MONDAY and TUESDAY.

We're using Cork as a stop-over on our way to County Kerry so that we can easily kiss the Blarney Stone MONDAY morning (I know-I know) and then drive to Killarney in time for a quick lunch and a hike through the Gap of Dunloe. Of course, that doesn't give us time to do the full proper hike to Lord Brandon's Cottage and boat ride to Ross Castle (I think the last boat leaves Brandon's at 2PM). Our plan is to get to Kate's at 1PM from Blarney Castle, hike to Lord Brandon's, walk back down and drive to our hotel in Kenmare, arriving a little after dark.

On TUESDAY, we'd have a leisurely day biking around either the Ring of Kerry or Beara from our hotel in Kenmare.

But I'm wondering if it's best to stay in Killarney, instead of Kenmare. Maybe on MONDAY, we'll simply drive through Beara on the way to Killarney and then have a proper tour of the Gap of Dunloe on TUESDAY from Killarney.

Any advice? Is 1 or 2PM too late to start a hike of the Gap of Dunloe? Is the drive from Kate's Cottage to Kenmare dangerous in the dark? Would you recommend staying in Killarney for this sort of thing?

Thanks in advance!

Snowflake25

We recently returned from a 9 day trip to Ireland, very similar to your itinerary except that we reversed the order. You can read my trip report (Pizza and Potatoes: a trip to Italy and Ireland) for more details.
Just to add a few things: We decided after our stay in Cork that we would have preferred staying in Cashel or even a B&B near Blarney Castle rather than in the city center in Cork. Both Cashel and Blarney Castle are easily 2 hour stops (and that is being very quick in your tour of the areas). We really enjoyed Killarney, lots of great pubs and good music in the city centre.

DJlanda

Hi, Snowflake25. Thanks for the advice. I read through your trip report, and it's amazing how similar our trips are (although in reverse). Your report actually introduced me to Kylemore Abbey, which looks beautiful. I think I'll drive through Connemara instead of Clare while we're staying in Galway.

But I'm still uncertain on whether to stay in Kenmare or Killarney. Everything hinges around having enough time to do the Dunloe Gap hike and boat ride. It'll be a little more difficult to bike the Ring if I'm in Killarney, I think. The reason I'm staying in Cork, as opposed to Cashel or Blarney, is that I'm using Radisson hotel points, and Cork has a Radisson. I don't necessarily need to see that city, and does take me a half hour or so out of my way. But I'm saving $200 or so.

Maybe I should skip Powerscourt and try to do both the Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle before reaching Cork. That way, I could drive straight to Killarney in the morning.

Ah, choices, choices.

Snowflake25

I think you could visit Rock of Cashel in the morning, drive to Cork and check in to your hotel and then go to Blarney Castle in the afternoon. We arrived at Blarney Castle later in the day on a Saturday and it wasn't too busy, perfect for the climb to the Blarney stone and then enjoy the stroll around the garden.
I have posted pictures along with a journal account of our trip on my blog: http://rv-having-fun.blogspot.ca if you are interested.

DJlanda

Thanks. Right now, we have a side-trip to Powerscourt planned for the morning. I may just drop that all together just in case the road trip is slower than expected.

DJlanda

Well, I must say our trip to Ireland was fantastic! We deviated only slightly from our original plans (as you should with any good trip) and learned a few lessons for the next time, if we're ever lucky enough to make it back. We ended up staying in the same towns I outlined above (Dublin for three nights, Cork for one night, Kenmare for two nights, Galway for two nights and then Dublin for one more night before we flew out).

While I enjoyed all of our stops, I would DEFINITELY have spent more time in County Kerry -- maybe an extra night in Kenmare to explore the region or in Dingle Town to explore that peninsula. Kerry is truly the jewel of Ireland.

Leaving Dublin, we decided to drive slowly through the Wicklow Mountains on our way to Cork, eventually stopping at Glendalough, Cashel and Cahir, which took a full day before arriving in Cork. We didn't get time to explore Cork, but it didn't seem especially interesting. The parts we saw were very new, commercial and architecturally bland -- although clean and friendly.

When we got to the Kenmare/Killarney region, we decided to stay in Kenmare, and I'm glad that we did. It's smaller, quainter and feels more authentic (sorry, I hate using that word) than the larger Killarney. We hiked the Gap of Dunloe and drove around the Ring of Beara, which was thankfully tourist-free and gorgeous.

After hearing so many people sing the praises of Dingle, we decided to make a long detour to Dingle Town on our way to Galway (and it is certainly NOT on the way) instead of stopping off in Adare. I'm glad that we did, but it made us wish we could stay for at least one night to enjoy the town and take a spin around the peninsula. After a lunch and brief shopping spree in Dingle Town, we started our long journey to Galway via the Cliffs of Moher (gorgeous at sunset!).

There's so much to tell about this trip. I highly recommend visiting Ireland if you're planning a vacation.

Tony2phones

I might suggest looking above the Shannon Dublin line if you come back again. If you think Kerry is the Jewel in the crown you have missed the Orb and Sceptre. The crown is for show the latter hold the power,the truth and the people.

Glad you had a great time and appreciated Beara which is on my personal favourites list for the south west corner.

DJlanda

I'd love to see more of the north. Donegal and Sligo look amazing. There's always next time!