We'll be arriving in Dublin on the 16th of March and renting a car to head south that afternoon. Where would be a good destination for two jet-lagged "boomers" to head for...hopefully far enough away that won't be difficult to find a room due to the overflow from the Dublin festivities yet not so far as to be exhausting after the all night flight?

Can you stay in Dublin another day? Besides helping your jetlag, it would be grand to be in the capital on St Paddy's Day.

If the idea of all those happy people are more than you want to bear, we went to Laragh/Glendalough our first night after flying. Small rural location with some great round towers to check out.

Thanks so much; we'll check out the area...anyone else have suggestions? We would like to stay in Dublin but all the hotels are either booked or exorbitant. We figure we'll tour Dublin on our way back after seeing the rest of the country. S

Kilkenny is a little over a 2 hour drive from Dublin. Just long enough to become used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road, but no so long as to tire you out. Not too bad and a great base if you want to see it as well as Cashel and Cahir. Then it is a quick jump to either Waterford, Cobh, Blarney or Kinsale depending upon your places of interest. (Quick jump meaning your next place to stay.) Good luck!

Sharon:

Kilkenny has one of the few round towers in Ireland that you can actually climb. It would be about two hours. Your 1st bit of driving would be on the M50 which isn't to terrible unless the traffic is outlandish. If it's not rush hour, you should be fine. You would get off at the N7 which will present you with a huge roundabout right away and after a short bit of city like traffic, clears up and becomes pretty easy to negotiate. You will eventually catch the N9 south to Kilkenny and that becomes a bit more rural and thus, easier to get lost.

Laragh/Glendalough isn't a bad choice at all but doesn't have the number of B&Bs that Kilkenny has. You certainly can't climb the round towers there. It's a beautiful area though.

Bill

We drove down to Wexford last time, and it's not a bad drive. It gets you down to the sea, and is a very quaint and comfortable little town, easy to walk, and with many small places to stay. We had dinner at the Sky and the Ground, a restaurant upstairs, with a pub below. There was a very nice session going in the pub when we were there.

Check Jury's website to see what they have available.