nrsmith77

Hello-
My wife, myself, and our 11+month old daughter will be traveling to Ireland in March 2011. I was hoping to get some feedback on our itinerary. We are flying into Shannon and renting a car to drive during our 9 days. My main concern is that we are planning too much traveling given our young daughter as well as to not over-plan and end up missing the relaxation of Ireland. Also we are currently planning many single night stops, with the exception of Dingle. Could always double up in Killarney too I suppose. Here it is....

Day 1 - Fly into Shannon and arrive 6am from US. Rent car and drive to Galway. Stops possibly at Quin Abbey, the Burren. Explore Galway. Maybe stay at Devondell.
(*Alternativel we could instead drive to Doolin day one...explore Burren and be set up to catch Ferry to Aran Islands in the morning of Day 2.)
Day 2 - AM drive to Doolin to catch ferry to Aran Islands. Back in Doolin around 5pm. Dinner/pub in Doolin. Overnight at Daly's House or Nellie Dees.
Day 3 - AM drive to Cliffs of Moher. Drive on to Dingle (take Ferry from Killimer to Tarbert?).
Overnight at either Emlagh Lodge or Pax Guest House.
Day 4 - Dingle continued. Drive some or all of Dingle peninsula. Explore town, Eask Tower, Kilmalkedar Church, etc. Overnight again in Dingle at either Emlagh Lodge or Pax Guest House.
Day 5 - Drive towards Ring of Kerry. Stay in either Killarney or Kenmare. (*leaning towards Killarney...any feedback?) Killarney national park, Gap of Dunloe, Torc, Mukross overnight in Killarney. Good B & B suggestion???
Day 6 - Drive R o K to Kenmare. Overnight in Kenmare at Sea Shore Farm.
Day 7 - Kenmare to Kinsale via Bantry. Explore Kinsale and overnight. B & B suggestions.
Day 8 - Kenmare to Adare (possibly via Blarney Castle.) Stay in Adare for 8:00 am return of car and flight back to US from Shannon.

So...too many 1-night stops? Too much driving for 1 year old? Just about right?

Thanks for any help you can lend.....

allisonm

I haven't traveled with a one year old in many years, and not such a big trip, but I have a couple of suggestions.

Don't go to Galway. You are going to be exhausted the first day, and will be ready for an early bed time. Doolin is a better idea. Save Galway for another trip.

We have never taken the Tarbert ferry but lots of people do. We had planned to do it last year but we had to divert back to Shannon for a car repair, and just went south to Dingle from there.

Killarney is fun but that is a lot to do in one day with a baby. The Gap of Dunloe can take a couple of hours or most of a day. The Park is beautiful but a lot of walking, unless you are inclined to take a jaunting car. Torc waterfall is a real good upward hike, and to me, no point to see it if you don't go up for the view. I would do as much as you could in the day and then travel on to Kenmare and spend two nights there.

You will see part of the ROK in between Kenmare and Killarney, and I think it is the prettiest part. Then skip the rest of the ring and head over to the Beara Penninsula across the Healy Pass. By this time you (and the baby) might be tired of being in the car, so you would be more relaxed at your b&b if you stayed the two nights. Kenmare is a nice little town with some excellent restaurants.

I think on Day 8 you meant drive from Kinsale to Adare. Blarney is on the route. Some people think it's too touristy but we did on our first trip many years ago and enjoyed it.

All IMHO.

Have a great time! We are going in April.

irishface

I would not count on Doolin for a trip to the Aran Islands in March. The ferry from there is weather dependent, and in March might not run.

If you are set on the Aran Islands, push on to Galway and the ferry from Rosseveal is much closer to the Aran Islands and less weather dependent.

However, with your short time, I would either concentrate on the Clare/Galway area or the Killarney/dingle area.

Just my thoughts. Have fun!

egnolive

"So...too many 1-night stops? Too much driving for 1 year old?"

Yes and yes.

As a start, I think you have too much packed into your first day, especially considering jet let and your 11 month old.

Much of your plan is driving, way too much IMHO. You will spend much of your day checking in and checking out of B&Bs. Also remember you cannot always get an early start with breakfast at 9am. And although places look close on the map, it will take longer to get around than it does in the US.

If I were you, I would rethink what are your 'must sees' and cut one or two places out. I might consider staying in a base and taking day trips. I like Irishface's idea of either Clare or Killarney.

You will find lot of people on this forum, myself included, who much prefer a more leisurely trip, especially in Ireland. Rather than rushing from 'sight' to 'sight'to check from a list, relax and enjoy its beauty and its people. Hopefully you will be able to return one day. Its addicting!

Happy planning and traveling!

LindaBrinck

I have taken 3 self-drive trips to Ireland in the last 2 years.

One thing to consider is that you cannot travel very fast on most of the roads. The town roads are narrow, usually not in good condition and there is always rain in Ireland. It would be unusual to do 60 MPH (=100KMH) unless on a major highway.

A good, RECENT road Atlas is also something I recommend. Most of the new "M" highways are not on the maps from the rental car companies or programmed into the GPS's. I consider a GPS to be a MUST driving in Ireland. As you enter the roundabouts it is difficult to read all the signs. Either download the maps into your own GPS or TRY to get one from the car rental. They are frequently not available (even though reserved) at the car rental and we had to leave a big deposit with Dan Dooley for one on the first trip.

Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula are very similiar - you could do one or the other. R o K driving is more dangerous and Dingle is my favorite place so I'd pick Dingle.

With the baby, I recommend a back pack. Strollers don't work well on cobblestone roads.

Your itinerary is ambitious even without an almost toddler strapped into a car seat.

Shorten the itinerary and savor the beauty of Ireland.

Cowboy1968

First day: Ditto on not going to Galway straight after landing in Shannon. Doolin would be a better choice to unwind after a red-eye flight IMO.

Last day: While Adare is indeed very..hum.. quaint, I'd consider to go to Shannon airport after you visited Adare (which does not take THAT long). Right across the terminal building there is the Park Inn hotel. Not a romantic place to spend the last night. But you could drop off the car that night, and walk next morning to check-in in 2 minutes.

odie1

We did a similar trip with our three year old a few years back. Hereisi the Fodor's link if you are interested. There are a few typos in the beginning (something happened when I copied and pasted) but after that it's good to go:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-a-trip-3.cfm

Just a few notes:

-It takes a lot of time to cover a distance that looks short on the map
-We absolutely loved the Dingle Peninsula and would have stayed there more nights if we could have
-We spent two nights in most places, but only one in Kinsale on the first night and even two nights were a bit too short.
-I would definitely knock some of your places to visit off. We hiked Torc waterfall and it is a heck of a climb. I thought the views spectacular, but no more so than what you see coming over the pass. While we didn't stay in Killareny, it seemed very touristy when we drove through. I am glad we stayed in Kenmare. We loved the Beara Peninsula as well. I do not feel like we missed anything by skipping the ROK.