ndaly610

Hello,

In early July I will be traveling to Ireland for the first time with a friend. I am just looking for some tips as to what to see during this short time. We're also interested in taking a bicycle tour at some point during the trip. Here is the schedule (all hotels and flights are booked):
Dublin July 6-8.
Cork July 8-9
Killarney July 9-10
Limerick July 10-13, flying out of Shannon on he the 13th at noon.
We will be taking trains and public transportation throughout the trip.

So, any advice for a bike tour, must-see things, and what to pack (we are thinking travel backpacks instead of a suitcase because of our movement) would be wonderful. Thank you !

janisj

You really don't have
>>Dublin July 6-8.
Cork July 8-9
Killarney July 9-10
Limerick July 10-13<<

you are counting the same day in two different places and it really doesn't work that way.

Your plan is actually:
Jul 6-7 in Dublin - which is really 1.5 days since you arrive on the 6th
Jul 8 in Cork (what do you hope to see/do IN Cork? - or do you mean County Cork in general?)
Jul 9 in Kilarney
Jul 10-12 in Limerick

You are leaving yourself very little time in the SW/along the coast.

Tony2phones

I love the way people book hotels before asking for information.. Key restriction here is you are on a bus

Cahir and Cashel are between Dublin and Cork as are other options. Blarney/Cobh/Fota from the city ??

Between Cork and Killarney few options on public transport but depends what you want from the few hours you have in Killarney..

Killarney to Limerick by bus wont allows the compulsory visit to Dingle, maybe a tour from Killarney then late bus to Limerick?

2 days in Limerick gives options but again depends on interests and juggling transport. Possible to do a tour of Moher and the Burren? bus to Bunratty and back? King Johns Castle and the Hunt Museum in the city?

Limerick to Shannon. Getting to Shannon is less of a problem as the Cork-Galway bus serves Limerick and the Airport plus a local commuter service between the city and airport.

flpab

http://www.dublincitybiketours.com/links.php
You might want to do a hop on hop on bus tour or get yourself a day tripper pass at the airport. You both can use it and is very cheap. You can use the bus or luas.
www.luas.ie/bus-and-coach-services.html

I would see St Patrick's, Christ Church, Grafton St, Trinity College. If you are interested in Irish history Glasnevin cemetery should be on your list.
Cork City is a walkable place. Visit the English market. You can get the bus to Kinsale for the day or visit Cobh. Many places have half day or full day tours. Just check out the viwww.paddywagontours.com/tours/Day-Tours-from-LIMERICKsitor/tourist office. Same for Limerick.

flpab

Bad link
http://www.paddywagontours.com/ they do tours from every place you are staying. Save you evenings for pub crawling. Have fun and hope you get to go back for a longer visit.

ndaly610

Thanks for all the replies.
Janisj and Tony2phones, I know that we are rushing it but my friend and I are both teachers and don't have much time between school letting out and summer jobs/grad school classes beginning. Our flight lands at 5:00am on the 6th and the train to Cork we're looking at leaves around 11A on the 8th, so we'll have about 48hrs in Dublin and 24 in Cork. Cork is where my friend's family is from, a few generations ago, so that is our reasoning. The hotel we have booked in Killarney can be cancelled up until July 6th- would you both suggest that we cancel the Killarney hotel in leu of a longer stay? Killarney was simply a choice to stop in order to be a little closer to Dingle for a day trip there. In Cork we'd like to see the county in general, in the short time there places like Fitzgerald Park, the English Market, and St. Fin Barre's Cathedral interested us. We will be staying at Kent House B&B. In Limerick, Tony2phones you read my mind, we'd love to see the cliffs and Bunratty but are still looking into more for that area. Using public transport is a bummer, but as we are under the age of 25 it seems most rental places will hit us with a $30/day extra fee so for the whole trip that would be pricey. We aren't against a single day or 2-day rental, though. If we did that, where would be the ideal place for it?
Flpab, thank you for the site!! Checking it out as I type. Thanks again to all for responding

janisj

just time for one quick comment: >>I know that we are rushing it but my friend and I are both teachers and don't have much time between school letting out and summer jobs/grad school classes beginning. <<

Then instead of trying to squeeze in half of the country and not having enough time to see/do much anywhere . . . Use the short time you DO have more effectively. It sounds like the Cork Area/Dingle/the west coast are what you want to see. So use ALL your time there. I wouldn't spend any time in Dublin at all. Get to Cork on your arrival day and spend a couple of days there. Then stop over in Kilarney for a coupe of days to allow a day trip to Dingle and explore the National Park. Then Limerick. Then Shannon.

Nothing says one <i>must</i> visit Dublin.

ndaly610

Janisj you're right, thank you for reminding me that Dublin isn't a must. Definitely will take the advice into consideration

flpab

You will see beautiful cliffs in Ireland without the cliffs of Moher. They sort of lost their luster to me after seeing the ones from the Aran Islands. I would not give up Dublin. Spend at least one night there. I love Dublin, can you tell?