mykidsmom99

We are planning to take my 70 year old mom on a once in a lifetime trip to Southern Ireland. Her father and her maternal grandmother were born there, thus a place she has always wanted to visit. We will be traveling sometime between late April to mid May. There will be 4-5 travels. We plan to rent a car & my husband will be our designated driver. We have done tons of research & have a general idea of where we want to go but I would appreciate your feedback and comments. We are thinking it best to fly in/out of Dublin but are flexible if there is a better option. Here is what I have thus far:

Day 1: Arrive Dublin early morning; pick up car & drive to Kilkenny via Wicklow mountains and Glendalough (overnight Kilkenny 2 nights)
Day 3: Drive to Kinsale via Cork/Cobh (overnight Kinsale 2 nights)
Day 5: Drive to Kensale via Bantry (overnight Kensale 3 nights)
Day 8: Drive to Dingle via ROK (overnight Dingle 3 nights)
Day 11: Drive to Galway via cliffs & burren (overnight Galway 2 nights)
Day 13: Drive to Dublin (overnight 2 nights)

I don't find it ideal to drive to Kilkenny the day of arrival, but doing otherwise would cost us a night, best I can figure. I guess one option would be to see as much as we can in Dublin the day of arrival & head to Kilkenny the following day.

We would prefer Westport to Galway but I don't think this is feasible.

Any benefit to reversing the itinerary or using different airports?

I really appreciate your feedback and expertise!

mykidsmom99

I know there are so many itineray questions on these forums and folks tire of responding. I wonder if flying in and out of Shannon would be better and maybe skipping Dublin & the Wicklow area? This would possibly open up some time for us to visit the Aran Islands.

Any thoughts on whether skipping Wicklow/Dublin in exchange for the Aran Islands would be a good idea? Thanks.

knwolf

I haven't been to Ireland yet, however we have a trip planned for late May. I have done a bit of research already and will offer what little advice I can...though it may not be worth much.

I think your itinerary sounds reasonably paced. I agree that driving to Kilkenny on the day of arrival may be a bit much...especially with your Mom.

Also, a lot of people on Fodor's praise the open-jaw ticket. I would probably spend your 2 nights in Dublin upon arrival. This will give you time to get over any jet lag and appreciate Southern Ireland more.

A recent trip report posted on Fodor's talks about Galway being crazy with college students...and something about urinating in the streets! Yuck. While it was likely because of St Patty's Day Parties, it still dampened my desire to spend too much time in Galway. Since you had 2 days planned for Galway, maybe one of them could be used to do the Aran Islands. Most people on this site recommend visiting the Aran Islands from Galway rather than from Doolin since the boats from Doolin can be delayed due to weather.

So in summary, I would see Dublin at the beginning of your trip and fly out of Shannon. I would also consider seeing the Aran Islands on one of your days planned to sightsee in Galway. I am definitely not an Ireland expert, but I hope this maybe helped. Have a blast!

mykidsmom99

Thank you for the feedback! My 2 nights in Galway really weren't to see Galway. We are driving from Dingle with plans to side trip to the Cliffs. The following day we wanted to go to Connemara. Galway seemed to be a happy medium between the 2 locations.

I would love to work in the Aran Islands but something else would have to go. Like I said, maybe skip Dublin & Wicklow altogether in exchange for Aran Islands. Would that be a good trade?

Also deciding if we should visit Cobh enroute from Kilkenny or go to Cashel/Cahir instead?? So many decisions.

I know we can't do it all so I am just trying to make the most of our time. I appreciate your feedback!

jaja

You needn't actually stay in Galway if you want to overnight in the area. You might check out Caladhgearr Thatch Cottage in Spiddal. Maura has only 3 rooms so if available you would have the place to yourselves. Charming, clean little place, rooms on ground floor (nice for us oldies). The five of us sat in our jammies around a turf fire and drank Bailey's.

allisonm

I think you have a fairly relaxed plan. On our first trip 15 year ago we followed a similar route but we had fewer days. We have learned to spend more time in each place but we still don't have enough time.

If you skip Dublin/Wicklow and fly into Shannon, you could head right down to Kinsale, which would give you two extra days.

Or you if you want to keep your plans for the Wicklow area, you could perhaps take a day from Dingle and add it to Galway to get to the Aran Islands, as two overnights in Dingle might work. The Slea Head drive and Blasket Island visitors center can take most of a day, then have a nice dinner in town, and head north the next morning.

mykidsmom99

Thanks for all your responses! Another thing I am thinking, maybe we should do Rock of Cashel & Cahir enroute from Kilkenny to Kinsale instead of going through Cobh. Thoughts?

I want to do it all but know we can't!

freetoroam

Why not fly into Dublin and out of Shannon. Spend the first 2 nights in Dublin to get over jet lag before proceeding to Kilkenny. And I would recommend stopping in Rock of Cashel, Cahir and/or Blarney on the way to Kinsale.

The only part of your itinerary that looks a little ambitious to me is the drive from Dingle to Galway via Cliffs of Moher. You might want to consider allocating a night to the Cliffs area [e.g. Doolin].

Enjoy your trip.

suspire

I loved the Rock of Cashel and Cahir, and the Aran Islands were a highlight of my trip! I would pick the Aran Islands over Dublin ... Wicklow, hmm, that was gorgeous, hard to give up that one. You may just have to plan to return!