teedamary

This board has been so helpful in assisting with our itinerary planning. We are leaving Thursday night from JFK and want to run our final itinerary/travel plans by you for any last minute suggestions/comments. This is our first trip to Ireland. I have spent the past month reading this board and consulting maps/travel guides. Thanks to a thread here DH and I have read Angela's Ashes, McCarthy's Bar, and Round Ireland with a Fridge. Right now I'm halfway through Princes of Ireland. Not as enjoyable as the first three, but I'm getting a good fictionalized overview of early Irish history. Anyhow, here's our itinerary:

Day 1 (Friday): Arrive Shannon airport from JFK 8:30. Get car, head to Doolin. Hoping for a boat ride--weather forecast looks promising. Overnight at Ballinalacken Castle Hotel. Will head into Doolin for a pub dinner and hopefully some music if we can stay awake.

Day 2: Drive to Dingle via Tarbert-Killmer ferry. Expecting a 4+ hour trip. Spend late afternoon/evening exploring Dingle town area. Overnight at Greenmount House.

Day 3: Explore Dingle Penninsula. Overnight at Greenmount House.

Day 4: Leave Dingle early, drive to Killarney National Park. (2 hour drive). Spend day exploring area. Drive to Kenmare late afternoon. Explore Kenmare area. Overnight at Virginia's Guest House.

Day 5: Beara Penninsula all day. Return to Virginia's Guest House for another overnight.

Day 6: Leave Kenmare early, drive to Gougane Barra Forest Park (1.75 hours). Explore area then drive to Castlelyons (Fermoy, Cork area) (2 hours). We will be staying at the Ballyvolane House. Have afternoon tea, explore grounds, have reserved for dinner that night at the house.

Day 7: Leave Castlelyons late morning, drive to Cashel (1 hr.) Explore Cashel. Depart Cashel early afternoon, drive to Bunratty (2 hours). We have tickets to the Medieval Dinner at 8:45. Overnight at Bunratty Castle Hotel. We really caved in on the touristy thing here--had considered Ennis (which sounds lovely), but DH gets extremely anxious about getting to the airport and I know that if we're more than 10 minutes from the airport he will not enjoy himself the night before--so this way we can just sit back, watch the show, and hopefully have a stressless last night! (And we may take Pete McCarthy's advice and visit the pub on the grounds of the Folk Park after the park has closed!). I also tend to procrastinate about souvenirs for our kids til the end of a trip, so this may be a good place to do that.

Day 7 8: 9:30 AM flight back to US. YUK.

We're planning most meals in pubs (we want casual). Weather is looking not too bad, but cool. We've got complete raingear in any event. Planning to dress in layers, as suggested. We've rented a car with GPS and I'm printing out all the AA driving directions to take with us. I've estimated driving times by the method suggested (divide miles by 35 mph).

Again, any additional recommendations for great pubs, must sees, etc are welcome. We are both so excited. I plan to take lots of photos, will keep a journal and will post a trip report upon return!

Padraig

It's a good programme provided you can cope with jetlag on day 1. And if you can't, so what? Have fun.

jent103

I can't help with the rest, but days 1-4 look good to me! Personally, I would not be able to stay awake for music in Doolin after flying from the US, but you can also hear some in Dingle and I'm sure other places. We enjoyed Murphy's in Dingle, but there are several pubs with music.

Have a great trip!

Nuttela

Based on your comment it seems we will be leaving for Ireland on the same day. I am not sure if we are on the same flight out of JFK but it sounds like we just might be.

I like your itinerary and it definitly seems like a great trip. Have a great time!

kelliebellie

Good for you getting the GPS! Ireland is confusing. Any chance of squeezing the Cliffs of Moher in there? We loved those.

china_cat

I know the pubs and music in Dingle will be tempting. but do remember how tired you will be. If you are flying AerLingus especially, I found their seats to be the worst and got NO sleep on the flight.

The restauarant at Ballinalacken is excellent, and the food much better than we had at the pubs in Dingle. With only one night, you might consider dining there and getting some sleep. At least consider that as nice alternative should you be too tired for the pubs.

jent103

kelliebellie brings up a good point - I think you could easily see the Cliffs on your first day, if that's not what you meant by "a boat ride." The visitor centre is maybe 15 minutes from Doolin, and the Cliffs boat cruises actually leave from Doolin. You can check mohercruises.com for a daily schedule.

We called the day before and reserved spaces, but in September you may just be able to call once you land at SNN; I'm not sure how crowded they'd be.

teedamary

Thanks for the replies. For some reason I have not been able to find this post under Ireland, so I actually posted the same message twice. Sorry.
Yes, we are planning to see the Cliffs of Mohr--that is really the reason we're going to Doolin. We are hoping to do the boat tour from Doolin. Chinacat, thanks for the tip on perhaps skipping the pub the firt night and eating at the restaurant. They actually emailed us asking if we wanted a reservation-perhaps we should do that instead (there will be plenty of time for pubs later!). Nutella, we are leaving at 9:30 out of JFK (unfortunately we live in MA and will spend about 3 hrs. just driving to the airport!). Can't wait!