SusieCue

We will be in London for 10 days with son and daughter-in-law. They want to see Ireland. I've been there twice, so not particularly interested in Dublin again. Any suggestions for depart London early one day and depart Ireland late on the next or depart Ireland early on day three? Thanks.

janisj

When?

I personally wouldn't bother w/ Dublin. I'd fly into Cork and spend a counple of days in the SW and on the coast.

wojazz3

When certainly makes a difference, but my preference for anytime for a quick 1.5 day intro would be Cork also. You can fly from either Gatwick or Stansted for very little money. The Cork airport is south of the city and getting to the coast from there is pretty easy. What you will get out of this trip is to sya that they've stood on Irish soil, perhaps not much more. I would at least try to spend two nights there instead of just one. It hardly seems worth the hassle to spend just one.

Bill

flanneruk

There are at least a dozen airports in Ireland with good plane connections to one or other of London's 5 airports. But travel in Ireland can be damn slow.

So you need to get them to say what in Ireland they want to see. Personally, if I had to choose one place in Ireland (apart of course from the town the flanners all came from) it'd be the Cliffs of Moher, combined with some serious tiddle-e-dee music in Ennis and a bit of walking over the Burren. So I'd fly to Shannon and hire a car.

Others might have similar interest in the Giant's Causeway and a bit of Troubles tourism in Belfast. For that, fly to Belfast.

If it's just Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, you'll find Kerry airport the handiest.

Or as the previous posters suggest, hte really, really great thing about Cork airport is that you can get straight to the SW coast from it without having to go anywhere near the city. Nothing personal. But Cork's never going to make it to the top 10 of cities people are really delighted they've visited.

All the places I've mentioned offer the indispensables of a trip to Ireland: exposure to stunnning, cliffy, coastal scenery, a modest amount of Ireland's (rarely that impressive) green inland, the opportunity to listen to a great deal of fiddle playing and contribute a lot of loud "fine girl you are"-ing. And fourth? The craic and a good few pints of stout in a few decent boozers.

Incidentally, we Irish do boozers a lot better than we English. So stay two nights, not one.

SusieCue

Two nights makes more sense. I've seen Ring of Kerry, Giant's Causeway, Dublin, Cliffs of Moher, and stayed in Ennis. Have not seen the burren, Galway or anything on the east coast, or Waterford. Have not been to Dingle. Not that all those things aren't worth seeing twice, but I'm always in for something new.

chip

for one night...
fly to shannon...
drive thru the burren with a stop at the poulnabrone dolmen, a quick stop at dunguaire castle and a glimpse of galway bay then drive around black head, with views of the aran islands in the distance, to cliffs of moher, spend the night in doolin at a b&b and enjoy music and pub grub at one of the 3 pubs.

the next day if you have time before your flight you could visit bunratty folk park/castle.

SusieCue

Thanks Chip for the agenda. My mom and I did the Bunratty castle dinner on the night we arrived and had a great time. Do you think we can get through all the stops you suggest in one day?

nessundorma

Is there some reason you all have to go to Ireland together? Since you'll be in English speaking countries and Ireland is the home of cheap air travel, why not let the "kids" pickwhatever itinerary they want while you head off to some new experience and catch up with them later?

NEDSIRELAND

A lot depends on when this trip is going to happen ...

Once, I daytripped London-Dublin and I was disappointed with Dublin ... If I were to visit Ireland again I think I would fly into Shannon or Cork city for a weekend. From Shannon there's Ennis, Limerick City and Galway.

BusEireann http://www.BusEireann.ie has some very nice daytrips from Cork (but maybe not in the wintertime).

I think RyanAir has pretty frequent service between Stanstead and Shannon.

chip

SusieCue
Yes, I think you could do this in a day...

of course the earlier you get into Shannon the better (more you can walk around and take in the beauty)...

we flew into shannon and did the the first part of this route (thru burren, to dunguaire castle) on our way north to westport then did the second section (around black head, to cliffs and then to doolin) on the way back from donegal.

example- if you got into shannon and on your way by 9:30/10ish- you could go thru burren past dolmen (if you get there early enough you will beat the busses like we did and have it all to yourself...except for a few sheep...magnificent. then go on to dunguaire castle for a look around (easy car park across the street and stroll up for a walk around and a few pictures) then turn back towards ballyvaughn and around coastal road to black head...stop for a quick bite/drink at monk's inn...nice views... should take 2-3 hours...around 1ish). around black head there are some pull outs for you to get out and walk around the rocky coast line...more great views)...then on to cliffs of moher...this section about 3 hours...so puts you at about 4ish...then on to doolin...plenty of time to check in and wonder down to one of the pubs around 7ish to get a table close to musicians and enjoy some pub grub and a couple of pints.

SusieCue

Incredible. You must be very organized. Where did you rent your car and what dealer?