6 day Ireland trip
 

We're planning our first trip to Ireland in September and are undecided if we should go the first week in September or the middle of the month. Our current plan is to fly into Dublin, get a couple of hours rest, take a guided tour of Dublin, spend the night, and the next day drive to Waterford in the morning for a tour of the Waterford Crystal facility. <BR> <BR>We then plan on driving to Cork that afternoon and spending the night there. The next day we plan on driving to Killarney where we will spend two nights which will hopefully give us time to drive the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. <BR> <BR>We then plan on leaving early in the morning for the Cliffs of Moher, spending the night in that area, and then head for Dublin where we will spend the night before catching a flight to London. <BR> <BR>Questions: <BR> <BR>1. Is this realistic? <BR>2. When do the children go back in school after their summer holiday? <BR>3. What is the tourist volume like in September? <BR>

Milt, <BR> <BR>First things first to answer your questions - tourist volume in Sept is lower than in July and August but there will still be visitors in most of the popular spots but it shon't be too busy, mid to late Sept will see a reduction in numbers. <BR> <BR>School resumes at the begininng of Sept with universities and other third level institutions starting late Sept and early Oct. The only noticeable effect this had on life in Ireland is a reduction in the numbers of young school going kids working in shops and restaurants during the day time and an increase in traffic at peak times. <BR> <BR>If you are planning on taking a walking tour of Ireland may I recommend the Trinity College students walking tours of the city - they are excellent or the Dublin Bus Hop On Hop Off tours of the main sites. Apart form that your plan sound doable however avoid travelling into and out of Dublin at peak rush hour times ie 7.00am-10.00am or 4.00pm-7.00 and especially on Mondays and Fridays, getting out on a Monday morning is ok but not on a Friday evening <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, <BR>post if you have any more questions <BR> <BR>Cathy

did a similar route in March. It's a little rushed, but do-able

I don't recommend driving all the way back from Cliffs of Moher to Dublin as your last day in Ireland. You will find that the visit to the Cliffs - in Septemeber - may take less time than you think. I visited the CLIFFS as part of a tour. We spent an hour and half at the Cliffs and it was plenty. In September you run a strong possibility of rain. You can see the Cliffs in the morning then spend some of the day seeing something else, and getting closer to Dublin. Seems like it would be easier to leave Ireland for London from Sahnnon. Why give up your last day to a long drive... <BR> <BR>I also visited the Waterford Crystal facilty. The guided tour and shopping in the wonderful show room and a snack at Waterford's nice cafeteria style snack bar...the whole deal is less than two hours. In fact the tour itself is less than hour. <BR> <BR>In Killarney, be sure to visit the Muckross House. And I would suggest you select just ONE of the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. The ring of Kerry is 120 miles around...and with stopping for photos, lunch, and then stopping for more photos...it is a long day. And in some places the drive is difficult, just a two lane road along some narrow coastlines, as well as being elevated in some mountaineous areas. It is fun and worth seeing...but if you hit rain...the driving will be slow and the road slick as well as visibilty being low. Dingle and Kerry are different yet very similiar. So doing both back to back will seem repetitive. <BR> <BR>Michael <BR> <BR>

Mil, <BR>Forgot to add - check out these web sites for further help - www.ireland.travel.ie, www.ireland.com (for up dated weather forecasts etc) and www.heritageireland.ie for details on the heritage card which should save you some money on site seeing. Good idea on spending the night in Dublin prior to flight <BR> <BR>Have a good trip, post if you have any more questions - I will be able to answer until 18.00 ET on 18th June after that on my travels through eastern Europe for 10 days, <BR> <BR>Regards <BR> <BR> <BR>Cathy