yale

How does this look for a "do-able" itinerary? We're going to hit our major interest points in each of these locations.

Mon
? Dublin
Tues
? Dublin to Kilkenny
? Kilkenny to Waterford
? Stay in Tramore
Wed
? Tramore to Blarney/Cork
? Cork to Killarney
? Stay in Killarney
Thurs
? Ring of Kerry ? whole day
? Stay in Kenmare
Fri
? Killarney National Park
? Killarney to Dingle
? Stay in Dingle
Sat
? Dingle to Doolin
? Cliffs of Moher
? Stay in Doolin
Sun
? Ferry to Aran Islands
? Stay again in Doolin
Mon
? Doolin to Bunratty/Adare
? Stay in Adare
Tues
? Depart from Shannon

yale

My bullets appeared as ?s.

abuster

Sounds do-able. I did a very similar trip a few years ago. Ireland is very small but the road signs are ridiculously cryptic and the roads narrow and twisty. Don't cram too much in - taking your time is worth more in the end because being in Ireland is really about the beauty and the feeling of the place less than the individual tourist sites. The Ring of kerry will take pretty much the whole day - but if the weather isn't good - which it probably won't be - don't bother spending too much time on it. You'll get the feel of Ireland wherever you are driving. I reccommend that you spend the night on the Aran Islands - beautiful B&Bs - you can wakre up and rent a bike to tour the island with or just walk around. The Aran Islands are everything you imagine Irelabnd to be - green, rolling land, quaint village life and much hospitality. Dingle is lovely also - there's a good Italian restaurant there - if you get tired of Guiness stew. Stay away from Limerick, as I see you are doing, its nothing special. Don't rush yourselves - take your time - if you see everything great - if you don't you'll enjoy wherever you end up. I'd say Blarney Castle, the Cliffs of Moher and the aran Islands are all musts. Have a great trip. Feel free to email me if you have questions.

amyprib

When are you going? Daylight time will be a factor.

Where are you staying in Tramore? If you haven't booked in Tramore already, I highly suggest SeaView Lodge. Awesome everything.

Seems like you'll be moving pretty fast paced, so for instance if you're gonna just stop in Kilkenny for a visit to the castle and leave right after you should be ok.
If you're just gonna stop at Blarney for a quick visit to the castle, and then leave right after, you should be ok getting to Killarney...You might find yourself in Woollen Mills for hours though! The seemingly short distances on the map will take twice as long for you to get there than you think. Estimate using 40mph everywhere.

Many say the ROK is overrated and that Beara and Dingle Pn are much better. I was on both Beara and DIngle and they were amazing, but haven't seen ROK first hand. But yes, ROK will take the entire day.

Why are you staying in Killarney and then Kenmare consecutive nites? Why not pick one and stay there two nites? (for your plan, Killarney might be better for both nites) Otherwise I might suggest staying in Kenmare on Wednesday nite, and then Killarney on Thurs nite. That way, you'll cut out at least an hour driving time to get to Killarney Park on Fri morning. You can use that time IN the park.

One major problem I see is your Friday in Killarney Natl Park and then driving to Dingle. Killarney Natl Park could easily take a full day. Or it can take a half day or less if you just want to see a tiny bit of it. Then getting to Dingle from Killarney is around a 3hr drive... If you don't want to do anything on the way to Dingle, then it would be alright, but for late arrival just call your BB ahead of time as normal check-in is 4-6pm.

Try to see the Cliffs in the timeframe of sunset. Beautiful.

Are you taking the ferry across to get to Doolin, via Loop Head?

Otherwise looks pretty good. Like I said, if you want to explore any of Dingle Pn at all (Slea Head at least), then with your current plan, don't expect to stay too long in Killarney Park, or else get an early start when leaving Dingle the next day.

Also - any reason you're staying in Adare your last nite? Maybe not the best idea unless you have an evening flight on Tues. Adare doesn't look that far from Shannon, but it would be a 1.5-2 hour drive (going thru Limerick). Bunratty has tons of great BBs to stay in.

edhodge

Would that Italian restaurant in Dingle be Novecento? Great service, big portions and delicious food!

mkdiebold

You have been warned that the Irish roads are very narrow and twisted...they are also lined with terrifying stone fences...no shoulders...poor signage, etc. If you aren't use to driving on the left, I'd rent an automatic transmission. Yes, it will be more expensive, but not having to worry about shifting gears will relieve you of some driving stress.

allisonm

The hedges along the narrow lanes in Ireland are cleverly disguised stone walls, so try to stay away from them.

Add another vote for automatic transmissions.

MaryZ

Your Wed/Thurs seems backwards to me. If you're in Killarney on Wed. night, you'll be backtracking if you stay in Kenmare on Thurs. night before heading for Dingle for Fri. night. You might consider switching your Killarney/Kenmare nights.

Personally, I'd skip the Ring of Kerry and give yourself more time in Dingle. I'd also drop the Blarney/Cork stop. There's nothing wrong with any of these places, but your time is limited and you're filling it with a lot.

jheim

Hello Yale,

Good advice offered.

I would second the thought that there are better alternatives than staying in Adare the last night. Adare is a good spot for lunch and spending an hour to see, but it is really much ado-about-not-much.

The Bunratty area is more appropriate for a getaway evening.

Would also consider not doing the entire ROK. The area nearest Killarny is the highlight.

Have a great trip.

yale

Thanks for all the advice. Anymore you may have is appreciated. Yes, we are getting an automatic. And yes, we are basically just stopping to see the castles in Kilkenny and Blarney. I had mapped out drive times on this itinerary at http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/routes/ and everything looked like it was mapping at 40 mph on average. Nothing seemed too outrageous.

amyprib - you mentioned that Killarney to Dingle is around 3hrs - this site mapped it at 1.5 hours. Also, you mentioned Adare is 1 - 2 hrs from Shannon, but this site mapped it at 40 minutes. I think we'll take the advice to stay in Bunratty that last night, but is there another drive time site that is more trustworthy?

amyprib

Yale - I was just going on memory of how long it took us to get to these places.

Maybe 3hrs is too long between Dingle and Killarney, but it's about 40mi from Dingle to the beginning of the Peninsula (the length of), and then another 30-40mi (?) from there down to Killarney. So averaging it may be more like 2hrs, and maybe quicker if you're lucky with traffic and all.

Also, Adare really is like an hour from Shannon, and CAN be more if going thru Limerick and getting stuck in their traffic. We left Shannon at 930am and made it to Adare about and hour or so later, and we had NO traffic thru Limerick.

The drive times really can vary an awful lot, so we try not to make it too optimistic.. Also, many people here say to add some time onto whatever the mapping sites give you...

Either way, I think it would be a good choice for you to stay in Bunratty your last nite. Don't know what time your flight out is, but if it's anytime before 1pm, you dont' want to be driving too far from anywhere. Bunratty is a nice little "village", some last minute shopping, the castle, maybe you can get in on a medieval banquet or such, some good pubs.

There are other drive-time sites, I forget what they all are as I don't have my list of websites with me. But others know, and I know it's been posted before. It's not that it's not trustworthy, it's just that you should typically add a little bit of time onto whatever it spits out.

Let us know if you rework your itinerary some. The thought of skipping the ROK and spending more time on Dingle is a good suggestion. Otherwise it seems like you're driving out to Dingle with no time to see anything. And unless you have the burning desire to stay in Kenmare, which is usually suggested over Killarney, Killarney seems like it would be the better 2nite base for your plans.

Are you going to Waterford solely for the Crystal Factory tour? If so, make sure you get the tour times so you don't miss it.

You could miss Cork.. But Blarney is worth a stop just for the grounds. We went to Blarney, but not to kiss the stone, just to go there... and the castle grounds are really nice and worth a stop if you're passing thru.
There's also the Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle and some lovely drives just a bit northwest of Waterford, but you'd have to skip something else to do any of that.

I think your plan will be fine with a few tweaks.

edhodge

You might try viamichelin.com. It was pretty accurate for us last year.

gopack

Yale,

We were in Ireland 3 years ago so my memory of details is not great but I agree with all the posters that it takes twice as long to get somewhere than you think it will.

My nugget of advice would be to skip the kissing part of the Blarney stone if there is a line. But go to the castle and run around it - it is really fun to go in and out of the rooms etc. and walk around the grounds and take pictures. It is very picturesque. The kissing thing is kind of stupid, difficult to do and not very hygienic. Just my opinion...

Also, I agree to skip of the Ring of Kerry and spend more time in Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula. it is so peaceful and pretty!!

Have a wonderful trip of a lifetime!!

ginny

PS someone mentioned the Rock of Cashel. That was super interesting I thought - one of the hightlights if you have extra time.

wojazz3

If you are looking to see an interesting castle, I would go to Cahir instead of Blarney. The Rock of Cashel is just up the road from there.

The itinerary is a little rushed because EVERY night is at a new place. That wouldn't be my choice. As someone else posted, I would pick either Kenmare or Killarney. Personally, I like Kenmare.

The drive through Limerick from Adare to Shanon is not too bad. You bypass the bulk of the city and only see the outskirts. Driving times on most of the mapping websites tend to be a bit conservative. If you add 20-25%, you'll probably be pretty safe.

Bill