junkgalore

Hello!
Thanks to those who have offered some helpful info. My husband & I have sketched out a rough itinerary for our 7 night trip.

Day 1: arrive Shannon.
see Cliffs if weather/jet lag permits.

Night 1: Clare Inn (part of pkg)

Day 2: see Bunratty
see Limerick (Angela's ashes tour?)

Night 2: The Shores B&B in Castlegregory

Day 3: Dingle Peninsula

Night 3:Ardree B&B in Killarney

Day 4: Partial Ring Of Kerry drive: Killarney to Kenmare
see Blarney castle

Night 4: Westwood B&B near Blarney

Day 5: Long drive day to Rock of Cashel.

Night 5: Kilkenny (B&B TBD, any suggestions?)

Day 6: another long day of driving to Powerscourt Gardens

Night 6: Ritz Powerscourt

Day 7: Dublin, drop off car
Sights TBD...(any suggestions?)

Night 7: TBD (we're thinking near Temple Bar area, any suggestions?)

The reason we're moving night to night:
*we only have 7 nights and we'd like to see as much as we can.
*we'll be traveling lightly, so we'll essentially be living out of our suitcase.
*we plan to have breakfast and then pretty much get going. Very little down time-- except evening dinners/pub times.

Since traveling, like life, is about tradeoffs... we've decided that this trip will be more about seeing things we've heard of... the touristed highlights of Ireland. Neither of us has history here but we've just heard/seen pics of Ireland's beauty and want to experience a bit of it for ourselves. Also, we don't mind coming home exhausted from this trip... as we have a Hawaii beach vacation lined up just a few weeks afterwards.

Sorry for the long post... but if you're still here with me, I would love to have some inputs. Any highlights not to be missed or anything on my list that's way overrated?

travelbunny

Given that you have such limited time, I would skip Limerick.

JOHNOD

I second Travel Bunny "skip Limerick" and I would skip Bunratty which would be nice if you have more time. I would also skip Blarney Castle and maybe do the Ring of Beara or spend some time in the National Forrest between Killarney and Kenmare. Day one, if your not too tired go north through Ennis to Ballyvaughn then south along the coast to the Cliffs. That will take you through the Burren and the coastal ride from Blackhead to the Cliffs is very nice and not too crowded. Have fun

kelliebellie

I enjoyed both Bunratty and Blarney. But I've been castle-deprived my whole life so I enjoyed those. I'm not really into "this is where the castle used to be" sort of places. I even thought the Bunratty dinner was fun and not too cheesy. It was a fun way to start the trip.

You might want to detour through Adare and the Adare Manor. You don't have to stay there. Everyone is welcome to drop in for a beer or tea and then you can poke around on your own. We thought it was amazing:

http://www.adaremanor.com/


It seems like with Ireland you need to at least once do the drive all day to a new place all night tour. As long as you understand it won't be relaxing.

And another huge tip that helps tons with planning: use an average speed of 35 miles an hour while planning your driving each day. Things on the map would look close together, but the roads are narrow and you just have to go slower.

I enjoyed Dublin a lot. It is a good sized city. Not too big and not too small. And much prettier than I thought it would be. We stayed here and found it to be a good location:

http://www.cassidyshotel.com/

At first I thought your post was talking about a taste of Ireland, as in food in Ireland. I was hoping you liked potatoes. I once had a meal with three different types of potatoes in it. A potato stew over mashed potatoes with french fries on the side.

NEDSIRELAND

kelliebellie writes: "... I was hoping you liked potatoes. I once had a meal with three different types of potatoes in it. A potato stew over mashed potatoes with french fries on the side."
The latter are 'chips.' It's not unusual at all to have 3-types of Potatos served with a midday meal: a boiled potato, creamed potatoes and chips (on the side). They look askance at me if I say ;hold the chips' or 'no creamed potatoes,' but that's what I usually do. They actually count the three types of potatoes as 3-different vegetables.
Fortunately, the meal usually also includes another root-type vegetable such as Rutabagas (which they call Turnips).

You don't have to take the Angela's Ashes tour: you can do it on your own from the ITB Office adjacent to Arthur's Quay.

jefe

Agreed on skipping Limerick. Cliffs of Moher are spectacular, and I'd reserve day 2 as a backup for the Cliffs if day 1 doesn't work out. You can explore Bunratty Castle on a wet day - even the Folk Park is semi-doable if the rain is just misting.

I'm not crazy about Dingle, though the Slea Head drive is nice. If memory serves, it's about 2.5 - 3 hours from Shannon to Dingle (We did the Conor Pass route, so it took a bit longer) . Castlegregory is almost all the way there, so I'd consider just staying there if you are interested in the area. (Assuming you don't have a reason to stay in Castlegregory, that is).

If you can find time, Killarney National Park has some nice sights. I don't really have an opinion on Blarney, as I've not stopped there.

B&B suggestion in Kilkenny: Avila B&B
http://homepage.eircom.net/~avilakilkenny/
Breda is a great hostess, and the breakfasts were great. She turned us on to The Marble City Bar in town which had some really good food. The site is about right stating that it's a 15 minute walk to town center, but it's a nice walk. Oh, and the rooms all appeared to be fairly good sized, the one we were in (front, far right, when facing the front of the house) having a big bathroom compared to most B&Bs.

While at the Rock, if time permits, wander down to see the ruins of Hore Abbey at the bottom of the hill.

A few favorite Dublin sights:
Kilmainham Gaol
Dublin Castle
Chester Beatty Library

I know you are trying to do as much as you can in a short amount of time, but I'd consider slowing down at least a little bit in the number of stops. I spent 2 days in Kilkenny and am sure I could manage to do at least another week. And Wicklow, where Powerscourt is, could fill a few more days. Not trying to talk you out of anything, just hoping you enjoy your vacation and get a bit of relaxing in.

One last word - if you don't have to, don't prebook everything - that will let you adjust your schedule should you decide you need to.

junkgalore

I see that Limerick is overwhelmingly being voted down. So would most agree that a better way to spend that time is to simply drive through Limerick and stop perhpas at Adare as Kelliebellie suggests? Also, out of curiosity, why the thumbs down on Limerick?

Obviously, if the Cliffs don't work out the first day... we can do that. But if the drive from Shannon to Castlegregory is less than 3 hours... how should we spend the day? (We'll be devoting the next day to Dingle, so prefer not to do 2 days of it).

Ned, what is the "ITB Office adjacent to Arthur's Quay" ?

Thanks for the bb suggestion and Dublin sights.

Padraig

junkgalore wrote: "Also, out of curiosity, why the thumbs down on Limerick?"

It's always raining there, but even that fails to wash away the greyness.

ITB is Irish Tourist Board; Arthur's Quay is a quay on the Shannon that has been forced to share its name with a shopping centre.

Adare is pretty, and a curiosity, but authentically Irish it ain't, particularly in its thatched cottages. Think recreated Cotswold village -- kinda proto-Disney. I often stop there for a coffee-break.

kelliebellie

I've never heard anyone recommend Limerick and lots of people say to avoid it. I guess it just isn't anything special bordering on a bad area.

Adare is definitely tourisy, but it is cute. The little town is authentic I felt. The thatched cottages are neat for someone who has never seen that sort of thing. They have a castle that the EU has been working on for years and the Manor House is truly remarkable. They didn't care at all if we wandered around the hotel or grounds. We already have plans for my nephew's wedding there. He is only 5, so we have awhile.

Apparently the Earl a few years ago only had a daughter and apparently the end of the male lineage, meaning the Earl was allowed to sell the place. I'm assuming at this stage, inherited manors are more of a pain in the butt than anything and he was glad to unload it. A couple from New Jersey bought it and turned it into the amazing hotel that it is. The Adare bus tour guide kept telling everyone how expensive it was to go there for anything, but we really wanted to see it. So we went and had a drink and it was regular price and we did a little self wandering. Very cool.

I don't really go for the cheesy tourist stuff here in American, but when you've grown up in a 200 year old country, thatched cottages and kissing stone castles are cute gosh darn it!

GreenDragon

While you are near Killarney, see if you can check out Strawberry Fields - it's in Killarney National Park (on the southern end of the Ring of Kerry). It's a crepe restaurant and tea house that's very yummy!

junkgalore

Adare sounds cute. It looks like stopping by for afternoon tea will be a bit pricey (26euro pp)... but I guess I should just expect that for the entire trip.

I think we may stop at Bunratty because my husband thinks it will be cool (plus, it's on the way).

Kelliebellie, thanks for the advice about planning. I've been referring to Google Earth (what did we do before it?) and AAroadwatch. Our primary source of info has been Rick Steve's Ireland 2008. But the guide book map with driving times seem to be less than AA. But either way, we're conservatively estimating driving times.

onetwo

High tea at Adare Manor is pricey. You are paying for the snooty atmosphere. I recommend the restaurant at Adare Manor golf club. Excellent soups, sandwiches, salads, and more. Very good service.

Padraig

I'm more partial to the Dunraven Arms, just across the road. Lovely old-fashioned coaching hotel.

Gumper2007

I agree with Padraig, but Adare Manor is a nice walk. Nice gardens and grounds. We loved the stables, but I believe they are no longer operating the stables there. We enjoyed the pub in the basement of Adare and the golf club dining room. Dunraven is a neat place and a bit more affordable. You also are right on the main road through town. Enjoy.