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Ireland-- next week! First-timers need advice. :):):)

Ireland-- next week! First-timers need advice. :):):)

Old Feb 20th, 2015, 07:13 PM
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Ireland-- next week! First-timers need advice. :):):)

My adult daughter and I are heading to Ireland next Thursday. The country has long been on our bucket list and because of an unexpected fare sale, we are going! Woohoooooo! (But with no time to actually plan the trip!)

So- we need advice. We want to see artsy towns, amazing scenery, off the beaten path gems, eat good food and listen to great music. She wants to go to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and and least pass through Killarney for personal reasons. I want to see the Burren and the Dingle Peninsula. We're both active and adventurous.

Should we rent a car? Any particular vendor?
B &B's? Air BnB? Hotels?
Any can't miss places? What do you love? What can't you wait to go back to see?

We get there at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, and leave on the following Friday morning, March 6.
Short time to pack it all in.

Ideas? Thank you SO MUCH!!
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Old Feb 20th, 2015, 09:01 PM
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Oh, I'm jealous! You'll love it! When we went, we started in Dublin, one or two nights, drove down to Kilkenny, where we stayed in a neat castle/hostel (Foulksrath). Then we visited Blarney Castle, which was really so beautiful and fun. Then drove through Cork to Killarney, where we stayed in a hotel. We did the Ring of Kerry, which was pretty, but not as pretty as the Gap of Dunlop, which was just absolutely enchanting. We had heard that you couldn't drive your car through, but when we got there fairly close to sundown, we were able to. Awesome! Then on to Dingle, which was very pretty. Inch Beach, I think it's called, has great sand dunes. Be careful, though, when my in-laws went there, they got their car stuck in the sand. Stayed at a hostel at the bottom of Dingle, and then the next day headed for Dooley, another hostel, and the Cliffs of Moher. I think that you could do this (including Burren, which we somehow missed), and get back to Dublin all in a week's time.

We were there longer, and headed up to Donegal, where we stayed for three nights in a cottage, Bluebell, I think it was called, in the middle of nowhere, and it was just awesome! Went through Bundorran--gorgeous coast, and to Slieve League Cliffs. Then on to Malin Head, awesome, and into Northern Ireland for a few days. So we were there two weeks, I think. But for one week, I'd do the first part, which covers what you want to see. You'll be able to hear some good music in Dooley. Rent a car. We went about eight years ago, before Airbnb, but it would be fun to check that out! Have fun!
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Old Feb 20th, 2015, 09:02 PM
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One more thing: you really do need a good map!
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Old Feb 20th, 2015, 10:44 PM
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Cindy-- thank you! Awesome ideas! I really appreciate it.
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Old Feb 21st, 2015, 07:57 AM
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You will have fun but be prepared for things not to be open at this time of year. We hit Dingle in Late October 2011 and things were just shutting down for the season. It shouldn't be a problem in the bigger cities. We enjoyed Dublin, especially the Jail, Guinness Storeroom, and Dublin Castle Tours. Sunday mass at St Patrick's was cool. Friday & Saturday nights are crazy in the pubs. They get packed early, plan accordingly. We thought Killarney and Galway were enjoyable too. Plenty of things to occupy your time. Tony2Phones can give you a better idea of the weather and what things will be closed. I know you will have a great time!!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2015, 10:45 AM
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By the way -- CindyW meant Gap of Dunloe and Doolin.

You need to sort out a car rental -- PRONTO -- Especially if you have any need for an Automatic Transmission. They are scarce -- and Pricey -- in Ireland.
Dan Dooley has a New Jersey Office and they get High Marks for their 'No-Nonsense' Pricing: 1 800 331 9301
Lots of people also rave about: https://www.easytourireland.com/car-rental-dublin
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Old Feb 22nd, 2015, 05:42 PM
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Thank you so much, Itallian_Chauffer. I just checked out Dan Dooley and received a 6 day quote from them that was quite reasonable. Hoping to call them to pay tomorrow.

Bean 11-- I appreciate the suggestions!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2015, 06:31 PM
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They are having some really bad weather right now. High winds, snow, yellow ice and flooding so drive carefully. I know what black ice is but what is yellow ice?
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Old Feb 22nd, 2015, 07:19 PM
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Yellow ice? Ummmm... could make a guess.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2015, 04:54 AM
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ok, went and did my google search. Yellow ice is a warning that there might be frozen roads. I always liked their traffic calming signs and the ones that let you know people have died in that section of road so slow your arse down.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2015, 07:09 AM
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Jamie529- Have a great time. We took a family trip last June and it was fantastic. We had a very short time in Dublin and used it to take a day trip to New Grange , Bective Abbey and Hill of Tara. It was a great day. Our other favorite spots were Glengarra Woods and Rock of Cashel in Tipperary and Kenmare which we used as a base to explore Killarney. Kenmare was great. We stayed at Kenmare Resort (?) in a townhouse. It was an easy walk to breakfast, cute shops, yummy restaurants.
We didn't get to see the Burren ,so I can't comment on that. We did get to Dingle and frankly it wasn't my favorite although we thought Connor's Pass was beautiful. I think I am remembering that correctly. We also absolutely loved Asleigh Falls in the Galway area. We had a little more time though.
Also keep in mind you may have some fairly long days in the car, so you may want to limit the number of places you want to visit. Unless you just want to do a drive by kind of thing. We definitely spent too much time in the car, but it was amazing none the less. I will send good wishes for the weather to clear up a little for you.
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