Milt Brocksieck

I posted a message but think it might have gotten lost in the site refresh that was active today. Please excuse my duplicate effort if you have already responded. <BR> <BR>We are planning our first trip to Ireland in September and are undecided if we should go the first week in September (actually arrive August 31) or wait a couple of weeks arriving around September 12 or 13. Our current plan is to fly into Dublin, check into our guest house to get a couple hours of rest, and then take a guided tour of Dublin and do some general sight seeing. <BR> <BR>We plan on leaving the next morning to drive to Waterford to tour the Glass factory and then drive on to the Cork area to spend the night. The next day we'll drive to Killarney where we will spend two nights which will hopefully give us time to drive the Dingle Peninsula dn the Ring of Kerry. <BR> <BR>We then plan on leaving early in the morning and driving to the Cliffs of Moher, spending the night in that area, and then heading for Dublin where we will spend the night before catching a flight to London. <BR> <BR>Is this a realistic schedule or are we trying to do to much?

michael

Author: Cathy ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/18/2000, 4:01 am ET <BR> <BR>Message: Milt, <BR> <BR>First things first to answer your questions - tourist volume in Sept is lower than in July and August but there will still be visitors in most of the popular spots but it shon't be too busy, mid to late Sept will see a reduction in numbers. <BR> <BR>School resumes at the begininng of Sept with universities and other third level institutions starting late Sept and early Oct. The only noticeable effect this had on life in Ireland is a reduction in the numbers of young school going kids working in shops and restaurants during the day time and an increase in traffic at peak times. <BR> <BR>If you are planning on taking a walking tour of Ireland may I recommend the Trinity College students walking tours of the city - they are excellent or the Dublin Bus Hop On Hop Off tours of the main sites. Apart form that your plan sound doable however avoid travelling into and out of Dublin at peak rush hour times ie 7.00am-10.00am or 4.00pm-7.00 and especially on Mondays and Fridays, getting out on a Monday morning is ok but not on a Friday evening <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, <BR>post if you have any more questions <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR> <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR> <BR>Author: steve ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/18/2000, 10:23 am ET <BR> <BR>Message: did a similar route in March. It's a little rushed, but do-able <BR> <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR> <BR>Author: Michael ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/18/2000, 11:40 am ET <BR> <BR>Message: I don't recommend driving all the way back from Cliffs of Moher to Dublin as your last day in Ireland. You will find that the visit to the Cliffs - in Septemeber - may take less time than you think. I visited the CLIFFS as part of a tour. We spent an hour and half at the Cliffs and it was plenty. In September you run a strong possibility of rain. You can see the Cliffs in the morning then spend some of the day seeing something else, and getting closer to Dublin. Seems like it would be easier to leave Ireland for London from Sahnnon. Why give up your last day to a long drive... <BR> <BR>I also visited the Waterford Crystal facilty. The guided tour and shopping in the wonderful show room and a snack at Waterford's nice cafeteria style snack bar...the whole deal is less than two hours. In fact the tour itself is less than hour. <BR> <BR>In Killarney, be sure to visit the Muckross House. And I would suggest you select just ONE of the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. The ring of Kerry is 120 miles around...and with stopping for photos, lunch, and then stopping for more photos...it is a long day. And in some places the drive is difficult, just a two lane road along some narrow coastlines, as well as being elevated in some mountaineous areas. It is fun and worth seeing...but if you hit rain...the driving will be slow and the road slick as well as visibilty being low. Dingle and Kerry are different yet very similiar. So doing both back to back will seem repetitive. <BR> <BR>Michael <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR> <BR>Author: Cathy ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/18/2000, 1:18 pm ET <BR> <BR>Message: Mil, <BR>Forgot to add - check out these web sites for further help - www.ireland.travel.ie, www.ireland.com (for up dated weather forecasts etc) and www.heritageireland.ie for details on the heritage card which should save you some money on site seeing. Good idea on spending the night in Dublin prior to flight <BR> <BR>Have a good trip, post if you have any more questions - I will be able to answer until 18.00 ET on 18th June after that on my travels through eastern Europe for 10 days, <BR> <BR>Regards <BR> <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR> <BR> <BR>

Terri

We spent two weeks in Ireland and only covered Dingle, Limerick and county Clare!! Are you doing too much? Probably- It depends on your willingness to be spontaneous. We often took "detours" to see marvelous little sites and listen to great music. Not feeling like we needed to get to the next stop helped for a relaxing vacation. Definitely stay at B&B's - there are hundreds and they are so friendly and helpful at telling you about hidden finds.

Dara

Dont feel tied to your schedule, Ireland has so much to offer. Much of what we found wonderful about it was not in the familiar tourist spots, but the characters and places we encountered when going off the beaten track. Do your own thing and take your time. There is a travel site that i found helpful goireland.com <BR>Its a wonderful country, enjoy it

Beth Anderson

Hi, <BR> <BR>I just got back from 9 days in Ireland and had a lovely time. I went on a bike trip of the Connemara/Galway region. My pictures are LOVELY. Really stunning natural beauty... <BR> <BR>It sounds like you are only going for a week. I would be prepared to scale back your plans a little - you don't want to spend too much time just driving from place to place. In Dublin alone you could spend several days (or more) and I would not shortchange yourself that. <BR> <BR>I heartily second the college student guided tours - FASCINATING. You meet at the main gates of Trinity College at 3 PM (there are other times too) and it is about 2 hours long. I came away from that knowing an awful lot more about the Irish struggle for independence and was utterly fascinated by the whole tour. The guide, Johnny, was very eloquent and funny too. <BR> <BR>I would also recommend a "literary pub crawl". This is kind of a continuation of the history walk - but you go from famous pub to pub - where the writers hung out. The guides are actors, they act out little skits from some plays/stories, and also fill you in on the history of some of Ireland's most famous authors. It was hilarious and also fascinating. <BR> <BR>They makes you want to go out and snap up all the books you can find on Ireland (both tours - literary and the history one) <BR> <BR>Take at least a roll of film for each day on your trip, per person. And the exchange rate is excellent right now so no worries there. Have a great time! <BR> <BR>Beth

Kathleen

With only six days, consider staying on the east coast. Counties Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford are lovely. And Newgrange is close to Dublin. There's plenty to keep you occupied there, and you won't spend all day in the car driving! Save the southwest for a trip into Shannon when you have more time.