lovexhappiness

Hello.
I am finalizing my Ireland road trip itinerary before I start booking hotels. I wanted feedback before hotels were booked since I wouldn't be able to cancel. I also want to know if anyone has any recommendations as to things I should do at some of my stops, places to eat, hotels, etc.

Day 1 - Land Sat morning in Dublin @ 9:30 AM. Going to spend the day exploring Dublin; Guinness tour. I know we'll be jet lagged so might need an afternoon nap at the hotel or something. Heard good things about Murrays for food.
Hotel I'm looking at booking is clontarf castle hotel.

Day 2 - plan to drive to Cong this morning. Anything we should do? We will be splurging and staying at Ashforf Castle.

Day 3 - plan to drive to Galway today.
Considering stopping at Connemara National park.
Hotel looking at booking is The Twelve Hotel

Day 4 - driving to Ennis. Along the way going to see the Cliffs of Moher. Any other recommendations?
Hotel were looking at is Hotel Woodstock

Day 5 - driving to Killarney. We are going to book a 1 hr horseback riding tour in Killarney national park. Also interested in muckross house and Ross castle.
Hotel were looking at is Dromhall Hotel

Day 6 - driving to Cobh. I know there isn't a whole lot to do here but I like little towns and want to stay the night here instead of Cork.
We do plan to spend a lot of the day exploring Cork, though. Interested in Mizzen head cliffs in Cork. Stop to see Blarney Stone on drive. Debating on driving the ring of Kerry? Will this add a lot of driving time?
Hotel were looking at Midleton park hotel

Day 7 - drive to Kilkenny. Rock of Cashel?
Hotel considering is Pembroke hotel

Day 8 - drive back to Dublin AM. Going to take a long drive from Kilkenny to Glendalough then to Dublin. I have heard amazing things about Glendalough but not for sure as to what there is to do. Recommendations?
Hotel considering is grand Canal hotel Dublin

Day 9 - flight leaves @ 11 AM.

* I know we will be driving (some what) a lot. But I want to be able to experience Ireland (as much as I can) and what it has to offer. I do not want to stay in Dublin the entire time.

Sorry for long post... I appreciate ALL feedback.

Macross

I think by the time you drive, check in and out of hotels you will not have much time for seeing anything. Are you staying so far out of Dublin so that you can get the car easy enough for the next morning?
I would skip Cong altogether and head to Galway stopping at Clonmcnoise along the way. Westport is worth a night though.
Why Ennis? Head to Killarney stopping to see Cliffs and Burren. Spend a couple of nights in Killarney. I like Cobh but give yourself two nights to explore the area. Cork, Midleton, Kinsale or Blarney are all close by. Glendalough is worth the visit. You need to be at airport three hours before your 11 am flight.

Macross

Sorry, meant to say Clifden not Westport. I love Westport though.
I can be a fast traveler and have done one night stops but afraid you will be disappointed if you rush also. Galway at least gives you a bit of night life. Cong was very sleepy.

lovexhappiness

Thanks for the feedback!
The main reason I wanted to stop in Cong was to stay at the Ashforf Castle.
I have heard amazing things about it and it is the one hotel I'm ok splurging on.

I am totally fine skipping over Ennis. I didn't see a whole lot to do there.
Would you recommend going from Galway to Killarney and then to Cork and spending 2 nights in Cork?
Or would you do 2 nights in Galway, then to Killarney to Cork?

Thank you so much!

Padraig

One of the loveliest drives in Ireland is that from Cong through Maam to Leenane, and onwards to Letterfrack and Connemara National Park; thence to Clifden and take the main road (the N59) back to Galway. It's a lot of hours in the car, but probably worth it. If it seems like too much, you can take the road from Kylemore through the Inagh Valley to Recess (also scenic) and cut out the National Park and Clifden.

I don't see where you could fit the Ring of Kerry into your programme. It's a full day for most people.

If you want to include Mizen Head, then Cobh is a bad choice of base. There are good towns in West Cork that might suit you better. Baltimore is one possibility.

Macross

Padraig, One of the loveliest drives in Ireland is that from Cong through Maam to Leenane, and onwards (back to Westport) We did that, there was 60mph winds at the fjord at Killary. We about got blown away when we got out of the van.
It was beautiful so do go if you do Ashford. Ballintubber Abby was interesting and close by.

Since you are going to Cong for a night then I would do Galway one night. You will enjoy the night life there.

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Killarney/Bealnablath/Cobh

you can play round with this map, the coastal route is my favorite but as a historian I love https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Killarney/Bealnablath/Cobh.

Tony2phones

Your travel style seems more like one of my clients than my own but I will give some input.

Clontarf you might need a car which is a hindrance for Dublin but if you leave exploring Dublin to the end and just stay north of the city?

Ashford Castle is well marketed and whilst I would never send anyone there it has market share in high end Irish accommodation. There are lots of good drives around Connemara but my guess would be that spending big bucks on Ashford you would be indulging in some of the features they offer.

The Twelve is Barna a good way west of Galway city so if you want a night out in the city? possibly rethink or bus in taxi out.

Ennis always gets my vote as a great touring base for County Clare and a great spot to split the drive from Counties Galway to Kerry.
I would though stay in town at the Old Ground or Temple Gate, The Woodstock is again too far out.

Dromhall Hotel the first that would be on my list, on the Muckross Rd, well placed and a good hotel.

The Ring of Kerry is a full day's drive so the run from Killarney to Middleton would be 7 or 8 hours going by but not stopping at Blarney and Cobh.

Rivercourt Hotel would be my recommendation for Kilkenny but the Pembroke hotel is well placed.

Depend on the Choice of Dublin or Glendalough but you need to return the car so possibly opting for an airport Hotel and bus in taxi back from Dublin your last night?

You have a lot in there as you already know. My best advice? rethink some of the plan cut back where you feel you can. I love the Connemara but taking that day out and heading from Ashford to Ennis via Galway, The Cliffs and Burren would give a day for Dublin should you want a day in the City.

littlejane

Make sure to visit the ruined abbey at cong while you are there.

Padraig

There is a bus stop at the gate of Clontarf Castle, so a car would not be needed if you stayed there. If you are not comfortable using buses in cities with which you are not familiar, it is cheaper and easier to use taxis than to have a hired car and pay for parking.

Cong is quite small, but pleasant. It offers a ruined abbey, pleasant woodland walks, some nice pubs, and (if it's your sort of thing) an amount of stuff to do with the filming of "The Quiet Man".

The Grand Canal Hotel has much to commend it as a good-value accommodation, but I would not like to have to depart from there to make an airport deadline. Dublin traffic can be difficult. Airport hotels tend to be soulless. You might consider the Skylon Hotel (same ownership as the Grand Canal) which is in a suburban area north of the city centre and allows for an easy run to the airport in the morning - you would be heading out from the city when most of the traffic is heading in.

What is there to do in Glendalough? Walk, enjoy the experience of the monastic ruins, marvel at the beauty of the place.

katherinebw

I don't know if County Donegal is on your itinerary, but instead of seeing the Cliffs of Mohr, we opted for Slieve League, the highest cliffs in Ireland. It was beautiful, free, and we could walk as little or as much as we wanted. I've only been to Ireland twice, but if I were going again, I'd go back to County Donegal for sure.

I also wish we had more time to explore the Burren while we were there last time.

We were there in early September and drove the Beara Peninsula rather than Ring of Kerry and enjoyed the beautiful scenery there. The tour buses headed to and from the R of K were a bit much for us to deal with, and we had a very tiny car. There were no busses on Beara, or at least none that we encountered, and we were there for the better part of a day.

lovexhappiness

Ok, it appears I won't have time for the R of K. Is that something I'm ok skipping or is it something I absolutely need to do?

Padriag/Macross - what drive are you guys talking about? I don't think that is one I have heard much about. Which day would I do that? Leaving Cong?

Yes, we plan to use a lot of the stuff Ashford castle offers given the price they charge.
Does anyone know if they charge more for the Falconry? Or is that included in the nightly fee?

I will have to look into the Beara Peninsula. I haven't heard of that! Which day should I do that?

Tony2phones

In the old days before the South African influence and Carnation Hotels took over Ashford Castle the hotel provided a shuttle bus to meet the bus's and did include several options in with the accommodation charge. These days I wouldn't know? I do know that the Hawk walks at the Burren Birds of Prey and Dromoland Castle are historically better priced than Ashford. Check with the Hotel which features are included and which are optional extras.

There are several scenic drives through Connemara, the one given from Cong is the R345 through Joyce Country along the north bank of lough Corrib to Maam where it T junctions with the 336 right turn to join the N59 at Lenanne, right turn to join the N59 at Maam Cross.

If you are keeping Galway and dropping Dublin then you can take in the Connemara, trying to fit the Connemara and dropping by the Cliffs and Burren to Ennis in one day is possible but to my mind far too much although folk have asked me to do that for them.

Beara is the bottom of the 3 big peninsulas in the south West. Queen Victoria never toured there so it didn't get the Killarney and Ring of Kerry tourism clout in the 1880's. Rick Steves and Fungi never visited so it missed the tourist push of the 1980's Despite being the same area as the imfamous Dingle Peninsula the roads are too narrow and steep for 50 seat coaches hence it has escaped mass tourism and is Ireland as it was 30 years ago. The best of the main peninsulas in my book (which will never get written).

Time is your biggest constraint You can't fit everything into the time you have available.

Tony2phones

edit, left turn to the N59 @ Maam Cross on the 336

lovexhappiness

Thanks for the feedback!
It helps a lot as this is my first European destination.
I know I am trying to see a lot but I want to be able to say I actually saw a lot of what Ireland had to offer rather than staying in one or two cities the whole time.
I have a long list of other European destinations I'd like to visit so I do think I'll be back to Ireland but it wouldn't be for many many years, so I don't want to miss any major Ireland cities!

Is there a city I can leave out that wouldn't cause me to miss much? Kilkenny? Skip the first day in Dublin and go straight to Cong via bus or something when we land? Should I flip the trip and start at the end of my itentiary?

Padraig

My comments are predicated on the outline itinerary that you suggested.

I'm taking it that you are staying one night in Cong, and the next night in Galway. So my recommended drive was to use the day that you have available between the two points. Because of the time of year, you might not have enough daylight to make the full circuit to Letterfrack and Clifden, which is why I mentioned the Inagh Valley route as a way of shortening the circuit.

There is a real possibility of wind and rain in Connemara in March. Personally, I'm okay with that, but I know Connemara well and I'm comfortable there in all weather conditions. If it's closed in by low cloud, then it might be a wasted effort.

I think your itinerary is doable, albeit involving a lot of driving. I suggest that you take an easy day in Killarney and concentrate of local tourism.

I assume that St. Patrick's Day (March 17) is outside your time frame, or you would have mentioned it. If you are here on that day, some further discussion might be merited.

Tony2phones

You could get the bus direct to Galway have Galway night 1, Cong night 2 after you rent a car.. Cong has 2 bus's a day you more than likely need a taxi to Ashford and back from Galway.

lovexhappiness

Padraig - we are not there for st. Patrick's day. We leave a couple days before that. It would definitely have been cool to experience Ireland then but it didn't work for our timeline.
We do have a couple things we'd like to do in Killarney. (1 hour horseback riding tour in Killarney national park, muckross house, Ross Castle, gap of dunloe, etc.)

If it were you, would you spend two nights in Killarney or two nights in Cork? I feel like we have so much we want to do in both those cities but only have the option to spend two nights in one of the cities and one night in the others.

lovexhappiness

Has any one here been to Connemara national park? Is it worth it?

It adds about an hour and a half drive time to day 3 on our trip and I'm not sure if it's worth it...

Padraig

Yes, I have been to the National Park several times - so you can infer that I think it worth experiencing. The road from Leenane to Clifden is also very scenic. But it would probably add more than 1.5 hours to your driving time unless all you did at the National Park was pop in to the coffee shop for refreshments.

The Inagh Valley alternative route is not a mere shortcut: it's also well worth seeing, and you can take your coffee break in the Inagh Lodge Hotel.

Herself and I frequently are faced with the choice between the two routes, and we split our decisions about equally, even when time management is not a factor.

Tony2phones

If you are talking about popping into the Visitors Centre. looking at rather than walking Diamond Hill then no its probably not worth an hour and a half, probably wouldn't take an hour and a half anyway. I take visitors in there 3 or 4 times a year and it takes about an hour if they call into the cafe and or do a little stroll by the waterfall on the woodland walk.

You can ride in the National park given time and arrangement If you wanted to do a Beach ride you could go down to Cleggan and ride Omey strand.

There are a whole lot of options in and around the Connemara depending on what your interests are.