lyban

When I leave Westport, going towards Cliffs of Mohar, should I take highway for part of the way or stick to the coast roads. Can anyone help me who might have done that as far as timing. and then where to spend that night in a B & B. I am open to all ideas

chip

I use aaroadwatch.ie and add a little time to theirs

should be a bit over 3 hours plus stops

could take main road past galway to ballyvaughn and continue on the scenic black head coastal route to the cliffs

could stop in Cong on the way for a quick stroll around the abbey and path behind it, nice coffe shop

also nice pub stop at Monk's or a quick stop at Dunguaire Castle

I have enjoyed staying in Doolin...in June we stayed at Cullinans...pleasant views to the side and back ...new contruction in front, sadly...great breakfasts (try the honey lemon pancakes) and easy stroll to the pubs for music. enjoyed our dinner at mcgann's...last trip enjoyed dinner at gus o'connor's...had better music (probably just depends on the night)

Keenan

I will preface my remarks by stating that it depends on your time constraints. There are two very nice valley drives from Westport that shouldn't be missed given your direction of travel, but... I can not remember the names of the valleys but the first would be reached by traveling west from Westport, than south(Doolough, I think). This trip almost drops you right into the second valley that bisects Connemara, on the north side of the peninsula. When you complete this valley, you will be deposited on the main road to Galway, which isn't that far away. From there you can circle Galway and head west on the coast road into Clare. A couple options at this point, but again, it depends on your time constraints. Doolin is a very nice spot to hole up. Have lots of fun, K

wojazz3

There really aren't any "highways" as we in the States know them. The best way to figure time is to get the mileage and divide by 35 MPH. That will be about your average.

I think a nice drive to or from Westport is through Louisburgh which has great veiws of Croagh Patrick, then down over Doo Lough Pass and through Oughterard to Galway. Getting around Galway isn't terribly difficult. On my 1st attempts I was sure I was going to get lost but there is a bit of a "ring" road or the north side that is pretty easy to follow.

I too like staying in Doolin though I might not like it in high season. It gets very crowded and has limited infrastructure to support it. The Cliffs of Moher area is undergoing a huge amount of construction and as to whether this is progress is still to be determined. I didn't go by this year and my understanding is that it is a bit of a mess. Last I heard, the walk to O'Briens tower was closed.

Bill

lyban

Chip:Thanks for the recomendations on restaurants. I have printed this and will have it with me.
Keenan and Wojazz3: I have been going to ViaMichlin for routing as I find it easier to work with and can put in more stops. Thanks you both for steering me in the right direction. I now have Westport to Louisburgh then to Clifden then to Ballyvaughan and ending in Doolin. This seems alot more scenic but might be too much driving for one day if we want to see anything. The time will be first week of October. Do you think this is OK for one day or should we sleep somewhere between. Thanks

Melissa5

lyban, we found the aaroachwatch.ie directions to be okay, but the driving times to be completely inaccurate FOR US. We pretty much doubled all of their driving times! Why did this happen? It was a combination of stopping for site-seeing, stopping for photos, lunch being a sloooow experience in Ireland; getting a bit lost and having to get back on track; and things like cows or sheep in the roads causing interesting delays; getting stuck behind a slow truck...etc. etc. Driving through the Galway area there was a huge traffic jam on a Saturday.

So don't plan on getting anywhere fast! Then you won't be disappointed.

Also, we found that if there is a coastal route, where you can see the ocean, at least you will know where you are! But if you take an inland route, it is easy to get lost, there isn't any way to get your bearings, sometimes road signs are confusing, hidden, or missing...sometimes they are pointing the wrong way (local kids having fun!)

There are a lot of scenic spots you could potentially stop at between Westport and Cliffs of Moher! When driving from Ballyvaughan (which is a little north of the Cliffs of Moher) to Westport, we drove right through Connemara, which fascinated us, but we didn't have time to stop and see it! Wahhhh! (Next time.)

pontoon

After you Leave Leenane and are heading for Clifden, take the Inagh Valley towards Roundstone. (this imho is the second best part of Connemara. It will leave you in a good position to either a. carry on then to Clifden, Stay in Roundstone or head to Galway. I would alos take tow days for this trip if time allows. Driving Westport to COM in October does not leave much time for sight seeing.

wojazz3

You could certainly do the entire Connemara tour including Clifden and Roundstone but I think it would make for a very long day. Do-able though. It just deopends on how much youlike to stop. I like to stop a lot.

Bill

Keenan

Thanks Pontoon for the valley name. I really enjoyed this drive and would choose it over circling through Clifden, although the Sky Road is quite nice. Still so much to see, though. Enjoy all!

lyban

Thank you all for good replies. You have all helped me decide that I will now leave Westport, drive thru Louisburgh, thru Delphi, thru Letterfrack to Clifden to Roundstone and then depending on time sleep there or continue. Any ideas on amount of time this would take. I have driven on left side before.

Melissa5

lyban, I think you will be very glad if you drive from Westport, on your scenic route, and sleep anyplace NORTH of Galway! There is so much to see between WEstport and Galway. ALSO Galway is bursting at the seams with traffic and it's a really bustling city now. Galway eats up a lot of time. therefore I think you should stay north of Galway.

If you want to make a lot of leisurely stops, and really enjoy your journey, I would plan on the scenic tour from Westport to Roundstone taking all day! You can check www.aaroadwatch.ie but for us, we had to DOUBLE their driving times (due to stopping for scenic views, photo stops, taking walks, long slow lunches, toilet stops, getting slightly lost, any shopping, etc.) Enjoy!

We regretted whizzing through this beautiful area, on our drive between Ballyvaughan (south of Galway) through Galway and up to Westport...we did Ballyvaughan to Westport in one day and that means missing some beautiful places. We saw Killary Harbor, but didn't even have time to drive to the part that is closest to the sea, we had to leave too soon!

Hubby really wanted to stop in Connemara but no time, so sad.

lyban

Thanks to all. You have all given me some ideas to try and change my itinery so I have time to see more and to use coast roads sometimes. I think I have day One and Two done. What do you guys think of this.

Day 1: Arrive Knock airport, rent car,drive to Achill Islands visit and have lunch then drive back to Wesport and find B & B, check in, visit town and find a pub for evening meal and a beer or two.

Day 2: Leave Westport or visit some more, drive thru Louisburgh,then Clifden then to Roundstone for B & B. Any place recommended for lunch during day or dinner in Roundstone.

What do you think?

Melissa5

lyban, sounds like you are making good progress on your plans. Since you are just flying into Knock, you will have some jetlag maybe. Why not spend 2 nights in Westport? You won't regret it! We visited Matt Malloys Pub all 3 nights in Westport and each night the music was a bit different and just as exciting. We also wandered into some other pubs but liked Matt's the best.

I don't know where you are flying in from, but we flew from LAX in California to Dublin, changed planes, then flew on to Shannon. We had 2 whole days of jet lag! We were really glad we had a night in Bunratty near the airport. We were also glad we had 3 nights at our next destination, which was dingle, because we still felt tired and jetlagged (although it was still fun!)

lyban

Melisa,
I will be flying from UK. I actually leave Canada, fly to Amsterdam for 1 week business trip then fly to London meet up with my BF there. Spend weekend in UK and then fly from Birmingham to Knock. So I think I should be ok as far as jet lag is concerned but I agree that I would like to spend more time in Westport but also I want to see so much else. I am going to post my next 6 days and then you can tell me what you think I should cut to make room for extra time or what you think.
I will get my itinery and post in a few minuits.

lyban

Rest of itinery:

Day 3: Depart Roundstone, thru Oughterard,thru Lisdoonvarna, end day in Doolin.

Day 4: Depart Doolin, end Dingle

Day 5 Depart Dingle end Kenmare

Day 6 Depart Kenmare end Kinsale

Day 7 Depart Kinsale end Cashel

Day 8 Depart Cashel end Dublin

Day 9 Dublin
Day 10 Dublin
Day 11 Leave for UK

I can't change Dublin because my BF and myself really want 3 nights in Dublin. The rest is open to changes, but I think I would like to see the Cliffs of Moher and Croagh Patrick & pubs in the evenings and maybe a bit of shopping.

rosetravels

Hi Lyban,
I know it's so hard to leave anything out but you may want to consider slowing down, choosing a few places and spending two or more nights there. For instance, I'd stay in Kenmare or Kinsale but not both (and Kenmare would be my choice!)

Good luck with your planning!

Melissa5

lyban, Ireland is beautiful in so many places. If you do your research (which you are), once you get there, you will want more time everywhere you land!

When you are home, you keep thinking you just HAVE to fit in more places. You feel like you can't leave anything out. I know that's how I felt.

But once we arrived, we wanted more time on the Dingle Peninsula (and we had 3 nights there.) We wanted more time in County clare (and again we had 3 nights there.) For County Mayo, 3 nights in Westport was just right. In Ireland, we ended up wishing we had left out MORE places, in order to slow down even more and really see each area thoroughly!

I think rosetravels advice is good, choose either Kenmare or Kinsale, for example. (For us, I wanted to see the Ring of Dingle, the Ring of Beara, and the Ring of Kerry. However I recognized since they are all basically in the same part of the country I would choose just one of the three to represent that part of Ireland. WE were really glad we did it that way. I chose Ring of Dingle (Dingle Peninsula.)

We saw County Kerry, County Clare, County Mayo, County Antrim, and County Down. Out of all of those I would say the family favorite vote goes to County Clare (with the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, etc.)

Our 2 favorite towns were Dingle and Westport.

We are taking 2 trips a year now, one for the family and one just for hubby and I around our anniversary. I have never come home from any trip and thought, oh darn, I should have fit in more places!

wojazz3

I agree with rose. Kenmare or Kinsale, and make it Kenmare.

Bill

lyban

I have been looking for a B&B in Kenmare, right in town so we can go out in evening. Any suggestions, I can only find Hallissey's B&B and O'Donnabhain.
I cannot find any reviews on these here. Anyone stayed at either.

IrishEyes

Just around the corner from the main part of Kenmare town is The Lodge. Maybe a 5 minute walk. It is an excellent place to stay.