Fireman

Hi, My son 23 yrs. and myself 53 yrs. have a week in Ireland. Our presnt plans are to dive directly to Crk for a one night stay, the next day driving the Ring of Kerry and staying overnight possibly in Limerick and then on to Dublin to turn in the car and begin to explore the Dublin sites. Please offer your insights as to our itinerary as well as if Limerrick is a good choice and of course your favorite haunts in Dublin. I believe we are staying on the eastside but we are right near the trains. Thank you in advance. Fireman Brian

Iowa_Redhead

To be quite blunt, that plan seems a bit nuts to me. You're going to spend your entire vacation driving, and the roads aren't fantastic in many areas. What airport are you flying into, Shannon/Limerick or Dublin? This plan has you doing a complete loop of the country and never really stopping to see anything.

If I'm reading this correctly, you're planning to drive from Cork, to the RoK, around the RoK, and up to Limerick in a single day. The roads are not as nice as I'm used to in the US, and it seemed to take much longer than we expected to get from A to B. At one point the main highway was closed for work and the detour involved a two land road through a residential area.

I can't offer you a better itinerary, especially not knowing what interests you or your son. What do you want to see in Ireland, what sort of things are you interested in seeing in Dublin? We can't tell you if Limerick is a good choice without knowing what you like to do.

janisj

Drive to Cork from where? If Dublin or Shannon - your plan is not really doable. Borders on impossible.

Give us more info - Where are you flying into? When is your trip? Both questions would influence what you can/can't/should/shouldn't do.

Fireman

I admit that I should have noted that I was flying into Dublin, that being said, Iowa redhead is a little off base saying I am nuts in that i am driving only 3 days of my vacation. I am walking the other five. As far as driving a loop, would you have me drive one direction then backwards in the same? If there are closed roads and hiways how the hell am I to know that and how can I plan a vacation around something I don't know? Thanks for your input Red. janisj, my info. is that Dublin to cork is 3.5 hours, (Mapquest) how hard is that? Mapquest also says that it is 1.5 hrs. from cork to Tralee and 1.45 from Tralee to Limerick. I don't know about you folks, but I'm not going to look at Gardens and castles, I am going to LIVE Ireland. Bring it on.
Fireman

janisj

"<i> . . . how hard is that?</i>"

You cannot (absolutely can't) use those online calculators to figure your actual drive times. You have to add 40% - 50% <u>or more</u> depending on the specific roads. Just count on averaging 35 mph over most country roads. Much less around the RoK.

"<i>I don't know about you folks, but I'm not going to look at Gardens and castles, I am going to LIVE Ireland.</i>"

You won't have time to 'live' Ireland except for through your windscreen those 3 days. The Ring of Kerry alone will most of a day w/o all the other driving that day.

AND - if you are landing in Dublin after an overnight flight (you don't say where you are traveling from) - to pick up a car and drive across the entire country while jet lagged is dangerous in the extreme.

If maybe you are only flying in from the UK/Europe - jetlag won't be an issue. But the rest of the plan would still undoable.

We really aren't trying to rain on your parade. We are trying to help. 3 days is not enough time to cross all of Ireland twice and do the RoK (BTW - many would recommend the Dingle Peninsula over the Ring. I know I would)

HollydaleK

Where's the fire? At the rate you are planning to go, you won't live Ireland, you will see it through a windshield, sliding by. Why would you want to not see the things that make the country special, like castles and gardens?

If I had only one week to spend in Ireland, I would divide the time a bit differently, but then, I love scenery and the Irish countryside. Dublin is interesting, but I would advise shaving a day or two off it and spending it in the country.

I would not hesitate to drive from Dublin to Cork the morning I arrive from an overseas flight. However, do you know how jet lag affects you. Some people are so bushed after the flight that they need a day's rest. It takes considerable concentration at first to drive on the wrong side of the road, and on "highways" that we would consider to be very narrow country roads.

From Cork, it is reasonable to drive the Ring of Kerry, but I would stop for the night at Killarney, one of the prettiest places in all of Ireland. From there I would take probably at least two days to make my way back to Dublin.

If you are at all interested in some of Ireland's ancient past, you might consider one of the day trips from Dublin to New Grange and Tara.

Fireman

Thank you for your input it really is appreciated. I am a rookie when it comes to int. travel but believe me, I can handle a 3.5 hour drive after anything. I have spent 25 yrs. doing all manner of things on no sleep for 24 hrs. that being said I'll somehow make it to Cork and get some insider knowledge there. Thanks again.

stranded_aoife

hi Fireman Brian

I'm Irish so wanted to give you some local tips. You haven't mentioned when you are travelling but just a heads up- right now we are in the grips of a big freeze and all roads are very dicy so I wouldn't recommend any driving!

I'd imagine you're going to come in the spring or summer though. Some of the comments above are right- the drive times in Ireland are longer than mapquest or google maps would have you believe, but the road to Cork from Dublin is a major motorway ( a new part has just opened) so you will comfortably do that in 3.5hours and it's a pretty easy drive- I did it myself last month. That's to the City though- so if you plan to go to Cork county (which is really beautiful) like Clonakilty or further along the coast) you need to add an hour or two on tricky roads. Kinsale for example is a beautiful village with wonderful scenery and restaurants. A bit touristy but lovely.

A local irish route planner with more accurate drive times can be found at http://www.theaa.ie and it posts up to date travel alerts.

I think Holly is right- I would allow at least a day to do the Ring of Kerry- the road is tiny and slow going and stay somewhere en route. I disagree about Killarney though I'm afraid, most irish people consider it a very touristy place and not part of the "real" ireland of today. Dingle is wonderful though, so that might make a good stop off place as suggested above. It's a cool surf spot too so your son might like it and has a great social scene- proper old school pubs and a nice mix of tourists, locals and irish tourists.

to be honest Limerick is not that great, and if you are not into castles and churches I wouldn't bother. Instead I'd allow 2 days to explore a bit more of Cork and Kerry- maybe getting to Kinsale, Kenmare, the Ring, and Dingle and then drive back to Dublin.

In Dublin it's hard to reccomend as I'm not sure what you are in to (shopping/walking/theatre/culture/galleries/countryside?) but a must see is the Guinness Storehouse in the Guiness Factory in Dublin. There is a hop-on-hop-off bus tour that takes in the city and drops there, and the view from the bar at the top of the storehouse is spectacular- you can see the whole city.

If you want to give me more info on what days of the week you'll be in Dublin and what sort of things you're into I'd be happy to makes suggestions!

I live in Sligo these days and I'd be a huge recommender of this part of Ireland- Sligo and Donegal are spectacular, but I won't take you off your original itinerary that much!
a

Cowboy1968

If the three nights are set in stone, I'd skip Limerick and go
day 1: Dublin Airport - Cork
As Aoife said, this is (almost all) motorway, except for appr 30km between Portlaoise and North of Thurles where the new M8 will start.
If you feel like it, you can see the Rock of Cashel or Cahir Castle, both of them easily accesible from M8.

day 2: Cork to somewhere more or less halfway on the Ring of Kerry

day 3: From there back to Dublin
In 2010, more legs of old N7 linking Limerick and Dublin will be upgraded to 4-lane motorway M7, but until you get near Limerick, driving will be kinda slow. Coming from the SW, you should use the M7 by-pass around Limerick since going "downtown" and out again can cost you lots of time.
If time permits and you feel like it, a scenic byway could be R494 from Birdhill (few km North of Limerick on N7) via Ballina, Portroe, to Nenagh, along the shores of Lough Derg. In Nenagh, you will hit N7/M7 to Dublin again.

Nevertheless, adding one more day for the Ring of Kerry (or any of the other peninsulas) would be the best option, if possible.

Fireman

Strande and Cowboy,
thanks a million for the input. I apologize for my initial response, I guess I got my Irish up a little bit. I will be arrive in dublin 1/11 (brrrrrr). I leave 1/17 and my itinerary is not set in stone, although I would have to change all my hotel reservations. We would probably like to see the country around cork and maybe on to Dingle instead of Ring of Kerry. Which do you folks like between the two? In Dublin we would see the museums and churches by day and pubs and Irish dancing at night. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Fireman

lrock

Fireman,
Please do see Dingle it really is lovely. I went to Ireland with my 15 year old daughter in 2003. Hope to go back soon so my husband can play golf. We really loved Dingle. It was our favorite place. In Dublin we did see the Book of Kellsa t Trinity University and do a walking tour with them also. We really loved Kilmainham Jail. If you are going to go to Temple Bar and do the pub scene there think about one of the Pub Crawls. I took my daughter on the musical Pub Crawl and we had the time of our lives. It was a lot of fun. We ahd two weeks so we were able to see alot but we took the bus. I have to say it did take quite a while to get from one city to another. A few times on the west coast there were cows in the road. Very entertaining to see the bus driver fussing at the cows to move.

GreenDragon

Any chance of flying into Dublin and out of Shannon? It would cut down about a half-day of driving at least out of your schedule. Another option is to take a train to Cork when you arrive, and then get the car once in Cork.

Yes, it is a very fast paced and ambitious itinerary. Much of the charm of the 'real Ireland' is the slow pace, the relaxed views, and the beautiful countryside. In January, you will be having short days and long nights, without much time to sightsee.

I like Dingle better, and it is also a shorter route. I think you will run out of daylight on the ROK in January, quite honestly.

tenaya

I am American. I live in West Cork.
First you must google up Irish Newspapers and RTE Radio 1. (and your airline).

If you manage to get into Dublin -- and get out again - my advice is to fly Ryanair to Kerry Airport (Farranfore); rent a car; drive to Dingle: base yourself in Dingle town and -- if driving is possible - do day trips.

Children here haven't returned to school yet because of ice.
Schools remain closed until 18th EARLIEST.

The worst freeze in Irish history is forecast to last until end of January.

Good luck. (If you get to the Dingle you'll be VERY popular!! )

Fireman

Hey Cowboy,
Thanks, it sounds like sound advice and not discounting tenaya's warning, I will "test the waters" when I get there.
Thanks erverybdy, keep sending ideas if you have time.
Fireman

Cowboy1968

Fireman,

You want to leave for Dublin on 1/11/2010? Next Monday??

If so: Forget all I said and light a candle. A BIG one.

I spent the Wed-Fri as 2 extra nights in Dublin just to get out of there by plane (airport closed down for the day at 3pm on Wed due to half an inch of fresh snow, and left several thousands of people stranded).

On Thursday, Gov officials said on TV that they may be running out of salt/grit next week, and "alternative solutions" need to be considered (like digging sand from the beaches, which does not much for gritting anyway).

Roads: Motorways still okay, major national roads (N roads) also. But: Cars are not equipped with winter tyres, and gritting/salting is hit or miss on other than the very major arteries (mostly miss).

Walking: Sidewalks are hardly ever treated with grit or salt, so do bring some boots with decent grip. Walking in downtown Dublin was a true nightmare (except in the pedestrial zone of Grafton St, which is just a mere 300 meters of hassle-free walking). Apart from that, the sidewalks were mostly glazed with sheer ice where the sun melted the snow during the day a bit and it turned into ice. And people were using the fences to hold on to.

Check websites like irishtimes.com and met.ie for a glipse on the current weather scheme, which is THE worst in 30 years.

Currently, Leinster/ Dublin seems to be worst hit of all the areas you plan to visit, so it could be an option worth considering to go by bus or train from DUB to Cork and pick up the car there (and drop in Killarney). Or do as tenaya said and fly to Kerry from DUB for a loop trip. Nevertheless, the weather can change and bring more snow and ice also to the South or SW.

If you can't rearrange your car rental, go straight from the airport to the motorway, use M50 to go around Dublin, until you hit N7 (junction #9) and take N7/M7/N8/M8 to Cork.
Do NOT go on any other route that is more "coastal" like N11. And check upon arrival how the rental car company handles the M50 toll issue (they will know what you mean when you ask this).

And keep checking the weather updates daily.

Good luck (and I do mean that)!

mariposa85

Indeed, the entire country is at a standstill because of the weather, so I wouldn't count on being able to drive anywhere.

janisj

Besides all the other problems Cowboy and the others mention - you have another big problem. You only have about 8 hours of daylight (sunrise around 8:30 and sunset around 4:30)

You don't easily get out of any B&B until 9AM or usually later. Even IF the weather cooperates, which is unlikely, w/ an hour lunch/stretch break and the really <u>REALLY</u> slow driving, I stick w/ my original statement. >>your plan is not really doable. Borders on impossible.<<

Fireman

Thanks again to all, how about the good things to see and do in Dublin. We both have never met a beer we didn't like.
Fireman

lrock

Then do a pub crawl if it's not too cold and you can get around

Fireman

Brilliant! After I do a pub crawl, I may not be able to get around.