Mina

OK, I have read postings on here until my eyes have watered in pain. So here, with all the help from the fodorites is what I plan on doing. Please help me decide if I am reasonable (well, not ME, but my itinerary....I already know that I'm not reasonable!)<BR><BR>Just a note...I'm 29, female, and going to Ireland solo the first two weeks in October. I'm staying in London for four nights to detox, THEN...<BR><BR>-Land in Shannon<BR>-Drive to Doolin for one evening (want short drive, as this will be first time behind the wheel on right side of car. Will probably lose hubcap on this leg). Listen to music, drink a vat of guinness.<BR><BR>-Drive to Galway. Three nights.<BR><BR>-Drive to Dingle via ferry that goes from Killimer to Tarbert (read about this on this forum, but still need to figure out how this all works). Stay 3 nights.<BR><BR>-Drive to Killarney, Stay 2 nights<BR><BR>-Drive to somewhere near Shannon airport and stay for the night. (any suggestions on a town?) Weep all night that I'm leaving Ireland. <BR><BR>As you can see, I don't want to drive too much. I am rather sure I will love Ireland, and will go back and do the east, south, etc. I just want to go and "hang out" and drive wherever I decide to get lost. I would love any suggestions on which roads to take from point to point. I do have the Michelin motoring atlas of Ireland, but it's giving me a mild panic attack. I can read maps fine, usually, but I'm a little uncertain exactly which of the little roads would be the best to take. Help me not kill myself, or innocent farm animals, on the roads...thanks!

cd

We loved the Dingle Peninsula but did not care to stay in Kilarney. If it were me, I would drive on the Kinsale. It's a lovely harbor town and you could visit Cobh which is where the Lusitania was sunk and where the Titanic made her last stop. Regarding the Shannon area, there is no place like Dromoland Castle! A real castle converted to a star hotel. You can get pretty good rates during the weekday. USA 1 - 800 - 346 - 7007<BR>Email: [email protected]

cd

PS Put hubcabs in truck! The only sheep we ran into, were in the Connemara which is beautiful!! You might want to drive out of Galway into the Connemara. Also, be sure in Dingle to drive Conor Pass and Slea Head Drive. The best scenery of our trip.

Mina

Hi Cd...<BR><BR>Thanks for your suggestions! Yes, I don't have my heart set on Killarney, but it keeps getting touted as a must do (seems like all of Ireland is, actually). I chose Killarney over Kinsale because it seemed quite a bit closer to Dingle. Kinsale seems at least another 3 hours away from Dingle than Killarney is? I'm sure others will have an opinion on the Killarney vs. Kinsale thing. I hope to hear more votes!<BR><BR>So YOU'RE the one who made the hubcap suggestion (I knew I had read it somewhere on here at fodors). I had already tucked away that tidbit in the back of my head as valuable info! Although knowing me, I'll probably damage the tires trying to take off the hubcaps.<BR><BR>I've heard good things about Dromoland. Might be a nice splurge for my last night in town. I will check it out, thanks for the suggestion.

Heather

The suggestion to put the hubcaps in the trunk is so funny! I was thrilled to see that the previous driver of our car already had taken the side mirror off, as we weren't sure what the deductible was. ;-)<BR><BR>For the night before your flight out of Shannon, you might consider staying in Adare [www.adare.org]. It's a charming village, well preserved with thatched roof cottages, and might make a relaxing final night for you before your [sniff] departure from Ireland. And, it's only 35-45 km or so from Shannon. Not sure of the actual travel time to the airport.<BR><BR>The park and Muckross are well worth visiting near Killarney, but I wouldn't stay in the town. We stayed in the country at a B&B with a lovely family (I'll see if I dig up the name and contact information if you're interested).<BR><BR>You must take the ferry to the Aran Islands when you're in Galway. There were only about 20 people visiting Inishmor when we were there and it was wonderful. We booked the bus/ferry trip at the TI in Galway - though, we could've driven to the ferry stop.<BR><BR>Dingle was beautiful. We followed the notes off of Rick Steves' site [http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/countries/dingpen.htm] for the drive around the peninsula. Though, it might be difficult to keep an eye on the odometer and the sheep.<BR><BR>Don't worry ... the driving is easy. It's only the "vat" of Guinness from the night before that makes it a bit more trying.<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR>

Mavis

You don't say Mina whether you're a town/city girl or an outdoors/nature type. Kinsale is a great place to park the car and enjoy interesting pubs, great restaurants, some lovely walks, shopping, etc. And there are lots of day trips to take fr. there. Killarney, on the other hand, is convenient to visit the Dingle Peninsula/Ring of Kerry (although I, personally, can't imagine spending 3 nights there unless you love just walking, cycling, the wind in your face, sheep, lazy days etc.) To be quite honest the most harrowing time spent driving in any of our visits to Ireland was getting to the south side of Dublin from the airport and driving the Ring of Kerry, and the road to Slea. What do you plan to do in Galway, visit the city or day trips also? Have never taken the ferry fr. Killimer to Tarbert so may be quite easy/not busy but took a vehicle ferry in England once when I was new to driving on the other side and it still remains one of my more amusing stories (although it was fairly hair-raising at the time. I don't know who was more frightened, me or the fellow waving me in). Am amused to read posts re: hubcaps, we are going to Ireland again this fall and I am going to look to see how many people drive w/o them/how many dented caps are laying on the side of the road. In many years of driving in Ireland we've never lost a hub cap (touch wood) nor had to pay for a damaged one. Will be interested in how you find everything when you return so make sure to post your trip diary.

cd

Mina<BR>Oh, how I wish I were going with you! We had such a good time! Actually, I am not the one who orginally suggested the hug caps in the trunk. I read that AFTER we came back with dented hubcaps! We had to change tires because the hubcap was so dented we were afraid it would blow!! And about the side view mirrows???? we smashed ours into anothers side view mirrow. As I'm sure you know, the roads are very narrow...LOL And you are very correct, Kinsale is about 3 hrs from the Dingle Peninsula, however, you do go thru Blarney and can go up into the castle and kiss the Blarney stone....which I had to do. Have a great time, I am so jealous!

Mina

Wow, more groovy suggestions...I should have posted earlier, but I was afraid I get yelled at from 50 different directions "DO A SEARCH ON IT, YOU LAZY BUM!!"<BR><BR>I had not even heard of Adare, (even after reading some 4 billion+ posts). Will look into it and let you know what I decide...<BR><BR>Hmm...Heather, based on your suggestions, I'm thinking of extending the stay in Galway one extra night so I can do some day trips. I've heard Connemara and the Burren are good to drive through as well. I had bypassed the idea of the Aran Islands, because I wasn't sure it was worth the day trip. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in Galway...I haven't researched that far. I hear it's a "young" town, and I figured it would be fun to walk around, shop, and have a few pints. I hadn't intended to take day trips, but I certainly am open to ideas.<BR><BR>So to clarify, and to answer Mavis' question, I should tell you all what I'm looking for...<BR><BR>I am a City girl...I live in Los Angeles (all right, no heckling people!). So I appreciate a good city (which I why I chose Galway, from various reviews). But I also chose Ireland over Italy because there'd be less sightseeing I'd "have" to do. (I felt Italy would be an endless parade of museums, statues, buildings that would be must sees...plus I wanted to go to Italy with someone so I could order double the food. )<BR><BR>So I'm looking for a quieter place that I can sit at a pub, and maybe if I'm lucky, chat with the locals. I am 29, so I'd like a place with some degree of liveliness, but a throbbing pulsating club in town is not required (I can get that in London). Some nice local shopping would be a plus. Let's see...what else...some outdoorsy activities would be nice, but being alone, I don't think I'll go hiking around the hills by myself. Horseback riding would be interesting though, if available.<BR><BR>Mavis, I'd be interested in hearing your ferry story. I don't plan on doing the ring of Kerry, so Killarney isn't required for me as a jumping off point. From your description, perhaps Kinsale would be the place. I will look into it and report back. Also, I write travel stories while I'm actually on my trip (did a series while I was in Australia alone for 3 weeks this past Nov...I actually bring a tiny laptop to write.) They usually are amusing because the absurd has a way of happening to me. I will be happy to post the necessities (like "Hubcaps? On or off?") on fodor's when I return, and send out the full mis-adventure to those who request). <BR><BR>Thanks everyone...any more suggestions are welcome...I appreciate it because it know it takes some time to post them. This trip is to kick off the big 3-0!!!<BR><BR>

mc

Mina, Instead of Killarney stay in Kenmare. It is the cutest little village and not touristy. They have wonderful pubs and resturants there. It is very scenic and the B&B we stayed at was just five minutes walk to town. I just wished we could have spent more time there.You can do Kilarney from there. <BR><BR>Dingle is wonderful to hang out in. I agree with the others about Slea Head. It was one of the best views in Ireland. I could have spent all day there. (Oh, for more time!)<BR><BR>We took the ferry and it was sooooo easy. You just wait in the car line till the ferry pulls in and then drive right on. You can get out of the car and walk around on the ferry during the breif trip. Then just drive off on the other side of the Shannon.<BR><BR>We stayed in Bunratty the night before our flight back home. It only took us about ten minutes to drive to the airport from there. Adare was cute too and we stopped for a walk about but we didn't want to fight the traffic to the airport in the morning. We stayed at a beautiful B&B that I would like to stay at again if only we can go back!<BR><BR>I found these websites to be very helpful www.ireland.travel.ie, www.irelanexpert.com, www.irelandyes.com. The last 2 also have forums.<BR><BR>Call the tourist board and they will send you lots of free stuff and a map.<BR><BR>Please take me with you!!

Heather

Mina, if you're really flexible with your itinerary, I also liked Kinsale. Great food!<BR><BR>Happy early birthday! I turned 30 driving over Connor's Pass and celebrated in Dingle with a terrific dinner and a beer or two at one of the pubs that had live music. Very memorable.<BR><BR>Please keep posting as your plans unfold, and definitely makes notes for a trip report ... I would love to read your stories.

Ann

In my mind, Killarney is a definite must NOT do. Staying in Killarney is like staying at South of the Border or Gatlinburg, Tenn. or Branson, Mo. (in case you haven't been to these places, they are the world's biggest tourist traps). I'd check out one of the other suggestions here, like Kinsale or adding additional nights to your other stops.<BR><BR>And don't worry about getting lost. Since you're by yourself, there's no one to fight with, and it doesn't sound like you're in any particular hurry. I love wandering around aimlessly in Ireland, and stopping for the night in some random village. The best thing about being in Ireland is that you are FORCED to relax. Things don't move particularly quickly, and you'll soon discover that there's nothing you can do to make things move any faster, so you might as well sit back and enjoy it.<BR><BR>From what you've said, you'll probably love Galway city. There are clubs in addition to bountiful pubs, good shopping, and a definite "buzz" to the city. It's a very young city, with a lot of students roaming about. And if you want a hit of nature, you can easily drive out into the countryside, or hope on a ferry to the Aran Islands.<BR><BR>Have a great time, and watch out for those young Irishmen. I ended up marrying one myself. Oh, and if any of them try to use the following line on you, run far, far away: "Got any Irish in you?". I won't provide the punchline as the Moral Majority on this board will get upset, and you can no doubt figure it out for yourself.

xxx

There is a very helpful route planner at www.aaireland.ie. Also, I found it easier to drive from town to town rather than road to road. The car ferry is easy-it's about a 20 minute ride.

Kathy

One suggestion... it's hard to tell by the maps if a road is a "main" thoroughfare or just a 10 foot wide drive. Ask a local! We saved ourselves quite a bit time by having the locals give us their opinion on which road to take. Sometimes we wanted the scenic route, others the speediest way. You'll have a great time. And don't worry about hitting a sheep... when you're around them, you'll most likely be going all of 35 miles an hour due to the nature of the roads.

Laretha Randolph

I have the biggest grin on my face from reading these posts! Ireland is a great place, and you'll have a wonderful time.<BR>You are definitely going to Ireland after the tourists-which has pros and cons. The pros are very few people, the cons are that many things are closing up! And who knows about the weather?<BR>Killarney is definitely touristy, I'd still go. (Now having said that, I've been to Ireland 5 times, and only went to Killarney the first one!) What I really liked about Killarney was a great pub with traditional Irish music-to this day I've never seen it again, despite lots of looking! The bar maid sang behind the bar, the crowd answered her with the chorus, and everybody went around the room with a song, a story, a poem, it was fabulous. They loved my Southern accent, and thank heavens I can sing, so I dutifully took my turn! I have discovered if you want this type of real Ireland flavor, the locals don't start coming in until 10 PM! That night, the doors were locked, and we stayed in the pub until 2 AM at least. This is an honest true story, a fellow was introduced who just got out of prison from the IRA, and the hat was passed. I will never ever forget this night, it was out of a movie.<BR>Dingle has a lot of music, too, it may be only on weekends by the first of October. Be sure to visit the museum of the Great Blasket (spelling????) islands on the peninsula. It is a little jewel of a museum, and a monument to the literary tradition of these Islands, which spawned some of Ireland's greatest writers. Try eating at Doyle's Seafood restaurant. In fact, you can rent a B&B from them, very nice. (Or at least you could 4 years ago, I hear it is not owned by the Doyle family anymore.)<BR>You'll be fine driving, you do have to use a lot of intuition when it comes to directions-follow the signs to towns along the way, the road numbers you see on the maps don't appear much, if at all, outside the main highways!<BR>If you love good food and wine, a must stay place is Balleymaloe House in Shanagerry, Co. Cork. This family (Myrtle Allen, really, and her daughter in law Darina Allen) is credited with bringing back the tradition of Irish farmhouse food, with local cheeses, all local meats, farm fresh vegetables, etc-the Irish Alice Waters if you will. And the food is truly magnificent.<BR>Have a great trip!

Mina

These suggestions get better and better, and now I'm rethinking so much. Damn you all! <BR><BR>But the best part of my trip is that I'm alone, so as some of you mentioned, I can be open about my itinerary.<BR><BR>I think Killarney is on its way out. I still am researching, but the fact that Ann says it's like Branson is enough to make my blood run cold! I think tourist places are touristy for a reason...they have something to offer. But Branson!! &lt;=O<BR><BR>And Ann, if someone asks me if I have any Irish in me, I'd have to arch an eyebrow at him. I'm full-blown Korean. (Which would probably make the pick up line funnier, actually). Besides, if he's cute enough, I might take him up in his punchline!<BR><BR>mc, I will definitely look into Kenmare. I've heard positive things about that town as well. Based on an earlier suggestion from Heather, I am considering seriously staying in Adare (depending on flight time the next day) so I really value these suggestions.<BR><BR>Heather, that sounds like an amazing birthday. My birthday is actually a few weeks later than my trip, but I thought I'd get a jumpstart on turning 30, because I hear 30's are better than 20's, and my 20's were a heck of a lot of fun.<BR><BR>Well, since you all are so nice (in fact, I'm waiting for the mandatory derrogatory flame on this thread), here's a link to the first part of my Australia story, if you'd like to see how I write. http://www.eugene.com/travel/oz1.shtml<BR><BR>They'll probably unpost it today, so it may not be there. I asked them to unpost because I'm in the process of re-editing some stuff. They posted my story totally unedited...typos and all. =/<BR><BR>I know Ireland will bring some amazing story material! Thanks again everyone, for some useful ideas!<BR><BR>

Mina

Laretha, that sounds like the experience that every tourist dreams of when they imagine Ireland. Quite an adventure! <BR><BR>Music is what I'm really wanting to hear in Ireland. I know October is the beginning of the off season, and a lot of pubs only have music on weekends. Does anyone know if the pubs in Doolin play music every day through Oct? I've read that it ends up being weekends there as well, which would be disappointing, since I'm stopping by for one night on a weekday. When I email to make my res, I was going to ask them, but if anyone on this board already knows....<BR><BR>Yes, of course I love good food and wine! And my ass hates me for it!

sandra

Mina - How I wish I was going with you - we went to Doolin for our first 2 nights when we visited Ireland in Sept. for the music. But it was a Friday and Sat and all the pubs had music. The best night was Sat. night at McCann's - nice trad music - lots of friendly people. We ordered an extra Guinness by mistake and I actually had trouble giving it away - I guess they couldn't figure out those crazy American's. The best of the evening was the young German fellow there who either knew someone in the band or wanted to. They asked him to come on up and sing a song and the look on his face was unforgetable- he was obviously in seventh heaven to be singing with a "real" irish band. Music starts late -and of course there's lots of smoke. When we left we noticed people outside sitting at picnic tables right under the window that the muscians were in front of inside. They had the perfect seats - fresh Irish air and wonderful music....<BR>We went to the Aran Island from Doolin - you can get a ferry (no cars) there at 10:00 a.m that returns around 4:00 - makes a nice day trip. Rode bikes around to the ruined fort. <BR><BR>As for Slea Head on Dingle Penninsular - that's the Irish speaking area. Another nice memory for me is the children of our B&B owners practicing their Irish at the dining room table in the evening. And while biking around Slea Head we stopped for a drink at a pub advertised as the pub closest to USA - in there were two old gents - typical Irish wool jackets and caps - wellies on their feet conversing in Irish in the corner. <BR>Ireland is a wonderful place to visit - we were intrigued with all the ruins - everywhere we visited was a castle wall, church or chapel ruin, or an ancient fort. Loved the stone beehive houses on the Dingle Penn. <BR><BR>The Tarbert ferry is easy - just wait in line and get on. It's not very big so it's really quite easy. <BR><BR>Near Doolin is Lisdoonvarner - which has a matchmaking festival in Sept. We were there close enough to the festival to still have quite a few bachelors still in town looking. We were to meet our husbands in the pub and each one of the females in our group were approached to dance or to have a drink purchased as soon as we arrived at the pub. It reminded me of my single days.... <BR><BR>In Galway - there's a pub maybe called the Quay. Visit the ladies room upstairs- it's a confessional from a Catholic Church -It was really quite funny. The pub was decorated with lots of old church pews etc. Quite a theme...<BR><BR>Enjoy yourself - you have the perfect outlook - just go and enjoy the people and have a wonderful adventure.<BR> <BR><BR>

xxx

This isn't entirely on the subject, but it's amusing (I think) and actually happened to me. In the Gaeltacht (sp?) areas they will sometimes paint over the English on road signs, leaving only the Gaelic. They do a good job of it, so it isn't obvious that the sign has been altered. Got lost twice because of this!

Ann

The next line is "Want some?".<BR><BR>Mina, just ask people where to find some music. At the pubs in the village where I normally go, there are often impromptu sessions. One memorable night, one woman ran home to get her string bass. So much of it depends on luck. But ask your hosts at your B&B about where to find some music.

Mina

Sandra, it's too bad I wasn't there. I would have had no problem accepting a Guinness. <BR><BR>Ann, I think I solved the problem on Doolin and worrying about whether I would hear music on a weekday. I'm going on a Friday to Saturday stay (problem solved).<BR><BR>Here is how the itinerary is shaping up, thanks to everyone on this board...<BR><BR>Sept 28-October 1: London. Goal for stay: learn to look left, right, left.<BR><BR>October 1-4: Galway. Decided to brave the roads/car and go to Galway first because I was only staying in Doolin one night in my previous itinerary (God forbid anything happen to my flight, and I get there late then just have to leave the next day). Goal for stay: only minor damage to car.<BR><BR>October 4-5: Doolin. Goal for stay: Drinking vat of Guinness plan still intact.<BR><BR>October 5-8: Dingle. Goal for stay: the 485 things that people on this board have suggested to do in this area, plus more Guinness.<BR><BR>October 8-10: Kinsale. Goal for stay: walk on the wild side: try a different beer.<BR><BR>October 10-11: Dromoland castle (or Adare, if D.C is too pricey. Goal for stay: impress fancy rich people by drinking wine, chased down by beer.<BR><BR>October 11-13: London. Goal for stay: minimal crying.<BR><BR>October 13: Home. Goal for stay: Drink Guinness. Complain to anyone who'll listen that the stuff tastes like caca compared to Guinness in Ireland.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help all. The tip on the route planning website was great, by the way. I'll keep posting as things progress. Now I have to look for B&Bs and a flight from London to Shannon...argh......