My husband and I will be going to Ireland for 10 days early in May 2006. Landing in Dublin, leaving from Shannon. Given that we're a little unsure of how we will do with the driving, are there specific roads/routes that are somewhat easier than others? Are there some to be absolutely avoided? We need help mapping out a simple route. We realize that we can't see and do everything. If we get a "taste" of Ireland, we will be happy: green countryside, music, history, ruins...the list is endless so we know we have to set some limits. We live near the coast in Los Angeles and while we will certainly want to spend a few days in Dublin (without a car), the Irish countryside and small towns look especially appealing. Original plan was to rely on bus/train transportation and we may still do that although it looks a bit tricky. Would rather not take an escorted tour because they seem quite rushed, hit only the main tourist sites (although we have no objection to these), and we like the little things that happen when traveling independently.

Lodging would be ensuite hotels/B&B's at around US$150 per night (or less) if possible. Clean and quiet. Don't need castle-stays or anything like that.

Used invaluable advice from Fodorites for recent trip to Italy. This is my first post. So thanks to all you well-traveled folks for sharing your expertise!

Rule number one is rent the smallest car that will hold you and your suitcases and you are right not to have a car in Dublin. When you look at a map you will see N roads and R roads. Usually the N roads are modern roads and you should have no trouble. The rub usually comes when they wind you through a village or town where the road can become very narrow with crazy parking (Bantry and Skibereen come to mind). The R roads are a mixed bag, stretches of a reasonably wide rural lane and then stretches of narrow paths with overgrown stone walls on either side. It is a shame to stay only on the N roads. Alot fun is getting off the beaten path into small villages along the coast. The Dingle Peninsula has very good roads all around. The Mizen, Beara and Sheepshead peninsulas are a mixed bag but the sceneery is not to be missed. Hope this helps, have fun.

Hi Claire:

A few things to know about traveling around Ireland. The driver will probably get pretty used to driving on the left within a day. You can rent an automatic which will cost a fair amount more but may help your peace of mind. I always prefer a small car. Nothing larger than a compact. The roads are narrow.

Picking a route: viamichelin.com and http://www.aaroadwatch.com/ are both good mapping websites for ireland. Don't trust the travel times though. Do your planning based on about a 35MPH average. You'll faster some places, slower in others. Most of the roads take you through the towns so that always slows you up.

Get a good idea of where you want to go. One of the more popular routes is to head to the SW of Ireland. Though more crowded than the NW and north, it's pretty accessible and you'll catch some spectacular scenery and history. It seems pretty obvious that you don't want to spend all your time in the car, which is very good. You can get a pretty good taste of Ireland by focusing on a couple of areas and digging in a bit.

Roads: Anything with an M (M1) in front of it is a motorway. There aren't many of these but they are divided highways and easy to navigate. Anything with an N (N7) is a national road and for the most part, are relatively easy to drive. A note on this: The larger the number (N71), the more likely that the road will have some narrow passages in it. Not sure if that is be design or not. R roads are regional and tend to be smaller. Despite all of that, take the road that will take you to where you want to go and don't be afraid. There are a few well known terrifying roads, Healy Pass on Beara and Connor Pass on Dingle for instance that have some very narrow sections. Sure, you can avoid them but you may miss some spectacular scenery in the process.

Arriving from Dublin and leaving from Shannon, with 10 days and not wanting to do too much driving, I think you have two options. The first is the SW. Here is a quick and dirty list of some things that you can consider(but not all of them!!!) in your trip planning.

Heading south from Dublin: Powerscourt, Glendalough, Wicklow Mtns, Kilkenny, Waterford if you are crazy about the crystal, otherwise perhaps not, Hookhead, Cahir/Cashel, Cobh, Kinsale, driving the southern coast, any of the 5 peninsulas in the SW: Mizen (beautiful and uncrowded - take the walk out to the lighthouse if weather permits) Sheepshead (tiny, very pretty and hard to find a tourist, some tiny roads though - another specatular, though muddy walk to the lighthouse), Beara (another beautiful and uncrowded peninsula, it takes a full day to get a taste and you could spend more time there) Iveragh (otherwise known as the Ring of Kerry - sometimes it gets a bad rap for having to deal with a lot of tour buses, but if you know how, it's nice. Killarney Nat'l Park is spectacular, Kenmare is one of my favorite towns) and Dingle (mile for mile this is jammed packed with scenery and history, tends to get fairly crowded but tour buses are not supposed to go out to the end. They do though). You can finish up in County Clare and see the Cliffs of Moher, Burren and the less visited Loop Head drive. Let me again say, there is enough on this list for three trips so you can't possibly see all of it.

If you were to head north, you could go as far north as Sligo and head south from there. You could also head straight to Westport. In between Dublin and the west is Athlone and Clonmacnoise south of Lough Ree, north of Lough Ree is Strokestown with the famine museum, Boyle. North of Boyle, on the road to Sligo is the almost deserted and very interesting Carrowkeel tombs, out in the middle of nowhere). West of Sligo are the Ceide Fields and Belmullet peninsula. Closer to Westport is Achill Island and the town of Westport is a lot of fun. South of Westport is the hauntingly beautiful Doo Lough Pass which brings you into Connemara. From there you have Kylemore Abbey, the town of Clifden and the Sky Road, Roundstone, Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle and Galway City. You will eventually find your way into Clare and the little towns of Kinvarra (with Dunguaire Castle) and Ballyvaughn. There are lots of interesting towns and places to stay in Clare - Ennis, Corofin, Doolin etc and good music is not hard to find there. Galway also has great music. Again, this is too much for one trip and it's not by any means all inclusive. Please don't try to consider doing all of these things!

Most people spend their last night in the little B&B town of Bunratty when leaving from Shannon. There are more B&Bs than people I think and some interesting, if not touristy things to do in the area.

You should be able to fit you lodging budget pretty easily as most B&Bs outside of Dublin run about E30-40 per person per night. Make your reservations in Dublin right away. Rooms fill up fast there. You can get a hotel room for about E110-150.

Ok, I've written too much. Start by making a list of the things you want to see in an area, then cut it in half and cut it in half again. That should be a good start.

Bill

I would go with a car and I would recommend following Bill's advice, but as an alternative:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34584502

This is a link to a non-driver's trip to Ireland in winter.

Bob

Thanks JOHNOD, Bill and Bob. Your suggestions are most helpful. Will work on itinerary, maybe two: one public transport and one driving. We'll figure out which one seems more comfortable, less stressful for us. Looking forward to this trip....

If I may say so I would not recommend you getting a very small car. Had visitors over the christmas for a few days and they did rent a small car and they found it very uncomfortable.They were travelling on up north and back again to Shannon. One bag in the boot (trunk) and it was full. In the event if a collision there is very little protection. You are on holiday and travel in comfort.
The following may be of help in your plans.
www.ireland.ie/getting_around.asp
www.premierguesthouses.com (I guarantee that any of the guesthouses listed here are above the norm)
www.irishmusicbars.com for a bit of fun and laughter.
Enjoy your trip.

Thanks CU. Am checking out the websites.