We are first time travellers to Ireland planning an overall tour time of 7 weeks (5 in Britain, 2 in Ireland) from May 4 to June 21 next year. <BR>My question is for those experienced travellers, is allowing 12 - 14 days enough for Ireland? And also, can anyone suggest say four good places to use as bases for touring Ireland, or are we better to move along say every second night? Appreciate any advice and some good B&B suggestions.

7 weeks, my I envy you! Yes, 12 - 14 days is enough, depending upon what you plan to do and see..It's probably not enough to see the whole country but certainly a good amount. Ireland doesn't offer the extent of fine palaces, buildings, museums as England and does need to be taken at a slower pace so you can experience the people and natural beauty. Also, the roads are very bad. Plan on every destination taking twice as long as you planned to reach. For that reason, I think moving along every few days and avoiding backtracking is a good idea. Just set reasonable goals or you'll spend every other day in your car. <BR> <BR>For example, it took us over 7 hours to get from Dublin to Dingle Town with a stop in Adare for lunch. It took us over 4 hours to get from Dingle to Killarney.

12 days is great - 30 days would be better But if you read many threads on this board you'll know a lot of people try to "do" London, Scotland, Wales and Ireland in 10 days or two week TOTAL.. They are nuts. (venting font off) <BR> <BR>But the distances in Ireland are relatively short so if you have 12 - 14 days you will be able to see an awful lot without rushing. <BR> <BR>With that much time I might you rent a cottage and stay in one place for a week. Say you have a cottage in County Cork or up in Galway - you'd use that as a base for day trips and save the hassle of packing up and moving every couple of days. As an example, places to see in the SW (Cork/Kerry area) could cover everything from Waterford to Limerick to Cashel. This would include all of The ring, Dingle, Sheepshead, etc plus all of the inland beauty spots. <BR> <BR>And you would still have 5 to 7 days to B&B in other areas.

As mentioned, you won't get to see everything, but 14 days will give you a good taste. Personally, I would take about 5 days from your Britain portion and add it to Ireland. <BR> <BR>Definitely go to Northern Ireland. Many people overlook it, or think it's dangerous, which it's not (you won't be subjected to my diatribe on that today). The drive up the Antrim Coast road is not to be missed, and Belfast is a great city to wander around for a day or so. If you're into hiking, the Mountains of Mourne (which do, in fact, sweep down to the see), has some great trails. <BR> <BR>If you prefer cities, do Dublin, Belfast, Galway City and Cork. If you're more into the countryside, try the Malin Head area in Donegal, the Wicklow Mountains, the Mourne Mountains, Galway west coast/Aran Islands area, or down in the far SW corner. <BR> <BR>It's not the road surface that is bad in Ireland (although they are narrow), it's the traffic that slows you down--and I don't necessarily mean car traffic. You'll find yourself behind lots of sheep, sometimes cows, tractors, etc., etc. Just remember that to go 50 miles in Ireland most likely will take about 2 hours (although you can get from Belfast to Dublin in about 2.5 hours--you get the benefit of a motorway part of the way).

Kerryanne, <BR> <BR>Re poster who said distances in ireland are relatively short - yes that is true but allow twice the amount of time you would notmally allow to travel half the distance and instead of staying in one base and doing lots of long day trips move bases and do short trips. As an Irish person living in the Republic I would second the suggestion not to miss Northern Ireland - do it first as the marching season in Northern Ireland can present some problems later in the summer. also check out Ryanair flights to and from the UK into Dublin and other Irish airports - very cheap flights and saves you the hassle of sailing with the car and the hassle of car rental agencies etc, <BR> <BR>Contact the Irish Tourist Board for all their free brochures etc - www.ireland.travel.ie <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, <BR> <BR>Cathy

I think 14 days is plenty. I would recommend travelling every two days. Except in the Cork - Dublin route, I found driving to be rather tedious so I wouldn't like the 'out and back' nature you experience when you stay in one place longer.