5 days in Ireland, what can I fit in?!

Old May 19th, 2013, 08:11 PM
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5 days in Ireland, what can I fit in?!

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I are going to Ireland for the first time, and we only have 5 days. I have researched and it's overwhelming how much there is to see. However, since Ireland is vast and spread out, I'm not sure which area we should focus on. We arrive into Dublin (July) and thinking of spending that first day hanging around the town, mabye visit Temple Bar, Trinity College...etc. The next day, we're thinking Cork, see attractions there. (Would love to see the Dingle Penninsula but I think it's too far?). Than drive back to Dublin over the next 2 days, stopping at Cahir, Cashel, Kilkenny, and we don't think there's time for much else. Is this a good itinerary? We're mostly interested in history, landscapes...the tourist usual

Thanks,

Elina
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Old May 26th, 2013, 02:33 PM
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I don't have much to add really except we just came back from spending 5 days in Dublin. Had 3 full days and 2 half days. Dublin is very walkable and doable in two days if you are pressed for time. I do think though that if you are driving to probably should pick Dublin and either one distant spot you can get to in 1/2 day and really really want to see or pick one or two other spots closer to Dublin.

Your desire to see everything will have you driving and not seeing or visitng but almost ticking the box that says you've been there.

I'm very anal so I would find a description of each city you want to visit, cut it out and put it on a map of Ireland, plot how long it would take to get there and determine then where you really want to go. You might find that if it is of not of much interest to you and your husband, it gets eliminated and makes it easier to determine where to go. It find it becomes really clear if I put it on paper but then I'm of the paper and pen generation.
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Old May 26th, 2013, 05:03 PM
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We just returned from Ireland on Thursday night. We visited for a week starting in Shannon and ending up in dublin. We drove from Shannon to Clifden on day one stopping in Galway for a few hours. We went to Cliffs of Moher and on to Adare on day two. Adare was one of my favorite places. We then went to Killarney for two nights, loved it. We did the bus tour of Ring of Kerry and enjoyed every minute. We were lucky as we only had around 2 hours of rain the entire week and my son wore shorts most of the trip. Day 4 we spent in Waterford, it was sort of weird as the town shut down around 6 pm, not sure why, we stayed at Faithlegg and enjoyed the area. We dropped off our car as soon as we reached Dublin, it was wild. Two days in dublin and really enjoyed the atmosphere and history. Overall, I would have skipped going to Clifden and stayed in Limerick after landing in Shannon, too much for the first day. We had a fabulous trip and met many wonderful people. Although the roads near Galway were certainly narrow many of the roads were easy to drive especially after Killarney to Waterford to Dublin.
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Old May 27th, 2013, 07:28 AM
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Thanks so much! @rosebuds my question to you is how long would it take to drive from Dublin to Killarney? Even though the distances are pretty short, i hear the driving takes a really long time!

@Jan47, I think we might just stay around and not go all the way west! I do want to see more than drive
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Old May 27th, 2013, 08:41 AM
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With only 5 days in Ireland, I would spend 1 or 2 of those days seeing Dublin itself then take day trips by car if you're an experienced left-side driver or take day tours with any of the tour companies operating out of Dublin. For ideas, check out www.daytours.ie and viator.com -- there are many more. DH and I usually travel independently by car but we normally have 2 weeks to tour. With only 5 days, I think you could see more by basing in Dublin and taking day trips. However, if you want to see Killarney by car, know that the drive is about 4 hours non-stop so you would probably want to divide your time between Dublin and Killarney. From Killarney it is possible to do a day trip to the Ring of Kerry or Dingle.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 12:18 PM
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Elly,

I would guess it would take you around 4 to 4.5 hours to go from Dublin to Killarney. We went via Waterford. The roads from Dublin to Killarney were nice, we moved pretty quickly. Killarney is a charming city. Let me know how it goes. Mary
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 12:22 PM
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Crckwc.

Our Ring of Kerry Tour started in Killarney, very convenient. The tour picked us up at the bed and breakfast and returned us also. We booked with O'Connors. Our guide was wonderful, his name was John O'neal. I would not attempt to drive the ring. The shepherd on the tour was great, I hope it's part of your tour.

Mary
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 04:17 PM
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I am an Okie living in exile in Texas, so I had to smile at the idea that Ireland is vast and spread out. All perception, I guess.
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Old Jun 4th, 2013, 04:16 PM
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Thank you all for the advice! Well, obviously compare to Texas, vast is definitely the wrong word lol!
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Old Jun 4th, 2013, 04:23 PM
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Elly, I really have to concentrate when looking at a map of Ireland for distances because my brain wants to use Texas as a comparison. Of course, we don't average 35 miles per hour either so it all works out.
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