yellowrose477

Initially my husband and I were planning a trip to Belgium/Netherlands, but after looking at Ireland again, decided a trip to Ireland was in our summer future. We are both in our late 50's. We enjoy history, sightseeing, meeting the locals and dislike very crowded places. We are planning to leave on June 13 and departing on June 23. These are approximate dates and can be changed. I have poured over the forums and have become more confused than ever! We would fly into Dublin and rent a car. It looks like the south and west and north coast are all beautiful! Would probably drive down toward the Wicklow mountains while near Dublin. I have heard that it gets very crowded to the south, around the ring of Kerry - is that so in mid June? I have seen that the west coast looks interesting around Galway, Sligo area and the Donnegal area to the north looks great. The north coast seems interesting as well. So, how do we choose where to go? This is where I am looking for advice from you all. You have helped me plan my trips to Paris, Germany, San Antonio, etc. I value all of your opinions greatly. Thanks so much.

SeeDee

With ten days at your disposal, seven/eight for travelling around the country if you allow some time for Dublin, then you need to opt for a southern loop or a tour of the northwest and west.
Travelling back from Shannon would give you a better end point to either trip, saving the journey back to Dublin.

Going south, Wicklow would be your first port of call to get in your first instalment of Irish scenery combined with the historical monastic site in Glendalough.
Kilkenny would also appeal to your interest in history with the Butler Castle, St Canice's Cathedral,Rothe House etc.
Onward to Lismore with its castle, the old town of Youghal, Cobh - another cathedral and a Titanic exhibition, and then on to Ireland's second city Cork.
The coastal route from Cork can take in towns and villages such as Kinsale, Clonakilty, Union Hall, Bantry, Baltimore, Glengariff.
Reaching Kenmare gets you on the Ring of Kerry, not likely to be overcrowded in mid June. Doing almost the full circuit will get you to Killarney, a town not always to everybody's taste - especially if you are averse to the company of fellow tourists. Pity to miss out on the lakes though.
If you decide to miss out on Killarney, then you can divert northwards at Glenbeigh and head for Dingle, a town on one of the coast's most scenic peninsulas.
A final instalment of the trip could take in the Tarbert to Killimer ferry to bring you into County Clare - top attractions: Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, the Burren.
Plus Shannon Airport.

The northern loop would have to start with the ancient sites at Knowth and Newgrange, just north of Dublin.
Onward in a northwesterly direction to check out the lakeland beauty of County Fermanagh and moving on to Donegal - Glenveigh, Sliabh League cliffs, Ardara.
Sligo is a relatively small county but you can check out Drumcliffe (Yeats grave - Cast a cold eye....),Ben Bulben, Lissadell House as you transit through to County Mayo.
Achill Island (there is a connecting bridge) and Westport town are two of the most popular spots in Mayo although if time allowed, a day trip out to one of the islands such as Clare Island or Innisbofin would be worth the effort.
Connemara and Galway city lie between you and Shannon airport, although it is now feasible to get from Galway city to Dublin airport in less than 3 hours thanks to a motorway link.
If you choose to use Shannon, you have the added option of seeing the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher on the final day of your tour.

irishface

You've received some great ideas in the above post. Just a note, Lismore Castle is still a home and, unless it has changed recently, does not have visitors, but its gardens are open to the public a few afternoons a week. They are lovely. If you are coming into town from Wicklow area, the castle is a wonderful view from the road for photographs.

aussie_10

Wow SeeDee! what excellent information and itinery.
This is not my post but I too will be visiting Ireland in September, so I am saving your ideas and suggestions.

Sorry yellowrose477 for jumping in on your post.

yellowrose477

See Dee - What great ideas! I am happy to hear that in mid June there won't be as many tourists as a bit later in the summer. I am going to get out the guidebook and print off your ideas and huddle up with with hubby for some Irish time tonight. No problem aussie, I will share! The cost isn't a factor coming back from Shannon, but dual stops in Newark and OHare before arriving in MSP make for a really long flight home, so I'm thinking it will probably be more feasible to fly Dublin both ways. Are the roads on the ring of Kerry scary to drive. I get kind of scared at times thinking I am going to fall off scary mountain roads and not used to driving on the other side of the road has me a little worried. Are there guardrails on the roads? Thanks -

irishface

Just googled Lismore. Gardens open every day from midMarch to Sept 30, 11am-4:45 p.m. Last admission 4 pm. I loved these gardens-just my thoughts.

IMO Ring of Kerry was not scary to drive. Rick Steves says to go clockwise to avoid busses. I have done both directions. I prefer counterclockwise as it puts you on the inside lane as you drive on the left. I have not found busses to be an issue. I either started midday after they had set out or early long before they set out. Most set out between 9 and 10, in my experience.

I loved being able to stop at will for lunch, snacks, photo ops, etc. One place I really enjoy is the Staigue Fort, a prehistoric ring fort with walls 12 feet high and thick enough for rooms. It is located in a farmer's field a few miles off the main road. The road is too narrow for busses so you are apt to be on your own there. There is an honesty box by the parking spot (small) for your admission fee (modest).

One one of my visits a tour bus full of French tourists had parked on the main road and let its passengers out to walk up. None of them were young. As we drove in, they were leaving. On our way out, one of the gentlemen (at least in his eighties)flagged us down and asked if we could possibly take his wife back. We made room for her in the car and could have taken him too, but he stubbornly insisted on walking. I had a bit of a chat in my very rusty French with the lady. We got back to her bus and the driver was sleeping so we had to bang on the door to get him to let her in. I bet he thought he was good for a couple of hours and didn't seem too pleased to see one of his charges back so soon.

ncounty

Great post, seedee!

yellowrose477

I am leaning toward the northern loop of seedee's post. I would love to see some castles, but from looking at the forum it appears like there are castles everywhere! Looking at the northern loop post, how many home bases would you recommend? Would we travel to a new place everyday, or could we be on one place for a couple of nights and do day trips?

SeeDee

Only too happy to put some flesh on the bones of the "Northern Loop".
Leaving Dublin in the morning,you have a conveniently tightly packed number of historical sites to explore in the area around Drogheda and Slane - Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth ancient sites; Slane Castle; site of the famous Battle of the Boyne; Mellifont Abbey, north of Drogheda.
That should satisfy your appetite for ruins/burial mounds for the day so I would make tracks cross country to take care of another appetite. Blacklion is a little out of the way on the map but you will probably enjoy the meal of your trip if you manage to bag a table at McNean Restaurant, where one of Ireland's premier young chefs, Neven Maguire, has his own restaurant. Rooms are available to overnight in (with a suitably historic breakfast to send you on your way) but advance booking is absolutely essential, especially for Friday and Saturday. macneanrestaurant.com

Leaving Blacklion in the morning leaves you with the Fermanagh lakelands to explore - Florence Court house and gardens, Marble Arch caves, the monastic island of Devenish, plus the town of Enniskillen. The Killyhevlin Hotel there is quite popular.
If you did not opt to overnight in Enniskillen, you could press on to Beleek to check out the ceramic factory and shop there and cross into County Donegal. If time permitted, you could drive on past Donegal town to Dunkineely(road to Killybegs) and stay in Castlemurray House.

I would use this as a base to see some of Donegal, so two nights would be advised. In one day touring, you could see as much as the county as stamina permits but at least see the pretty village of Ardara (drop into Nancy's pub) and the cliffs at Sliabh League.

You face southwards the next morning, direction Sligo but unless you have any long stops en route you could make it to Westport for possibly another two night stay. There is a pleasant newly opened cycle way from Westport towards Achill Island if you care to get out from behind the wheel for a day. The full journey would be a shade ambitious but Mulranny is under 20 miles with a nice hotel for lunch - and the bike rental people will ferry you back by minibus.
Alternatives would be the Clare Island ferry from Roonagh for a stroll around the island or a trip to Achill Island by car.

Time to take a breath and count your nights..... 5 down, 3 to go by my calculations.
Perhaps a third night in Westport then, using it as a base to drive to Clifden and explore the Inagh valley on your way back.

Alternatively, base yourselves in Galway city for your last three nights, leaving you within three hours of Dublin Airport for your return.

Galway city is always buzzing over the summer (usually some festival beginning or ending) and is a base for tours to both the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands. You might feel like having a rest day from driving so I would go for the bus option to see the Burren and the cliffs. Aer Arann do an 8 seater plane service from their facility near Rossaveal that gets you over to the Aran Islands in a matter of minutes. Seeing Dun Aonghus fort, on a cliff edge on Inishmore is a sight you are not likely to forget.

frugaltraveler

Since you are going in June - I would suggest doing a Northern Route.. then if you can visit again in the winter months ( which I have done 6 times ) then do the southern route... one thing Ireland will do to you is make you want to come back.... just to warn you Also - I suggest a few days in Northern Ireland - then end up in Donegal and follow the coast down until a day before you need to get back to your airport... we visited Eyna's father's pub in Gweedore ( just north of Donegal )... Ireland is magical

yellowrose477

Would Glendalough Monastery in County Wicklow and Trim Castle be able to be worked in fairly easily with the northern loop we have been discussing?

SeeDee

Glendalough would be best done as a day trip out of Dublin by bus; no need to rent your car until you are ready to go touring. The airport is served by Aircoach which drops off passengers at a number of city centre locations.

You can use the same service to return to the airport to collect your hire car. From the airport, you have a quick run up the M1 motorway to Monasterboice where you visit Mellifont Abbey. From there, you move to Newgrange, then Slane Castle.

Trim Castle is easily incorporated into your tour as you simply drive to Navan and Trim is not far from there. Travelling onward to Blacklion, you simply return to Navan and take the N2, direction Cavan. In terms of driving time, you should do the Trim-Blacklion leg in under two and a half hours.

yellowrose477

I have heard some people mention Dan Dooley as a car rental place. Is he at the airport or in Dublin? I looked and my credit card does not cover cars in Ireland! Anybody know the difference between the super CDW insurance and regular insurance? Thanks. Thanks SeeDee for all your help. I am feeling much more grounded. Do you live in Ireland?

SeeDee

Living in Ireland leaves me poorly equipped to advise on the complications of car rental. Dublin Airport has all the major rental companies, Dan Dooley included, and there is a website dublinairportcarrental.com to help you get a competitive quote online.

yellowrose477

Your are right! Living in Ireland would make you a poor source for car rentals as you don't use them! How far is the airport, driving time, from the main city of Dublin?

SeeDee

Driving time into the city from the airport is about 20 minutes - but not a great idea for the uninitiated. My 2012 Valentine/wife, a driver for 25 years but a native of the west of Ireland, has yet to take on the challenge of driving in our capital city.

Save yourselves two days rental fees and either taxi into town (expect to pay about €25)or use Aircoach (€7 pp).

Driving in the rest of Ireland has its moments but you must understand that Dublin's streets were not designed with motor cars in mind; this is not improved by the planners current enthusiasm to promote the use of public transport. Your steady and sedate progress is liable at any time to be undone by the sudden appearance of the Lana Bus (bus lane, to those unfamiliar with the Irish language), a no-go area for cars other than taxis. These lanes force ordinary motoring mortals to squeeze into a single lane at relatively short notice - no problem to regular road users, familiar with lay out but not much fun trying to change both gear (manually)and lane while coping with a touch of jet lag.

Another factor re taking a rental car into Dublin, you will be very fortunate if you can get city centre accommodation that will not charge you a minimum of €15 for 12 hours overnight parking.

taconictraveler

You all are making me want to go back to Ireland, but we can no longer go, after about a dozen trips, because we've passed the age where we can rent a car. I did hear they raised it from 70 to 75, but that too has passed us by. (yet we can rent almost anywhere else!!)

yellowrose477

I drove on your side of the road when I was in Scotland a few years back. Are your roads outside of the cities similar at times to the highlands? I had a few scary moments, but got the car back with nary a scratch on it. We will certainly take your advice and not rent until we are ready to leave Dublin. I think it's a great idea to use public transport and save some money and nerves.

SeeDee

I would not anticipate you having driving difficulties, if you have managed the roads in the Scottish Highlands. The more remote areas of Donegal and Connemara can have some narrow roads but most road users (local) are courteous and fairly slow moving on minor roads.

ashcanannie

Regarding car rental, I would add that if you are unaccustomed to driving on the left, then cut your challenges drastically by renting an automatic transmission. Also, some advise carefully examining the car before you leave the rental reporting any noticed damage to the company official. I have also read others advise that you remove the hubcaps and place them in the trunk as you are likely to lose one or more along your journey from hitting curbs. This in fact did happen to us! For sure it is worth the extra money to rent an automatic and don't size-up on your needs. The roads can be very narrow and you'll regret having the biggest car available. Opt for smaller rather than larger. Enjoy your trip!