August trip to Ireland with my two college aged daughters....help please
 

A gracious good morning to all. I am planning a trip to Ireland with my two daughters. I have never been and it has been a dream for all three of us. I don't even know where to start. Should we book an escorted vacation even though a little more expensive, or is it easy to navigate and just do an independent vacation? We are planning to go for 8 days, so your suggestions are very welcomed.

Thanks.

Soliza, I think you will find almost everyone here on Fodor's will agree that an independent vacation is best. That said, you know what you like!

Worrying about the driving is much more stressful than the actual driving. I have been the driver on 6 trips; so far, so good!

You are welcome to visit Travelpod ( http://travelpod.com/members/jjarnold )to read about my 7-day and 8-day trips with teens. Slightly younger than your girls but you will get an idea of what you can do in 8 days.

A guidebook will be a good starting point. I like Michelin Green Guide, DK Eyewitness, and, of course, Fodor's. Get a paper map and start pinning the places you want to see and then decide what you logically can and cannot do in your time frame. Or after studying the guidebook you can each make a list: If I could only see one thing in Ireland, what would it be? Okay, if I could see two things, what would I add? etc. and hope that you have some sites in common!

Once you get a tentative itinerary, run it by us here on Fodor's and we will let you know what we think! And ask away in the meantime, too.

Do you know where you are flying in and out of? If you havent planned that I would recommend flying into Dublin and out of Shannon or the other way around but if you fly in and out of the same coast you will waist a day getting back at the end of your trip.

I lived in Ireland for a semester in 2010 and all of 2012 as well so I would recommend this:

Dublin for about 2 nights. Down to Glendalough. Kenmare and Kinsale are nice for a stop over on your way to the west coast. Dingle, at least 2 nights. Up to Galway. Cliffs of Moher and Doolin. Connemara: Letterfrack or Westport would be good places to stay in this area. That would quickly fill your 8 days!!

Good luck!

Are you going to hire a tinker's wagon, a canal boat or bicycles or will this be more of a shopping, museum, pub sort of trip.

If the former you need to book it now, if the latter you need to start looking at the irish tourist boards to see where all the festivals are this year. As part of the "let tourists pay for the financial crisis" of the last few years there are ,said to be, over 1000 festivals taking place in Ireland and you need to get bookings in place and hotels held.

August is of course high season. You need to set aside a couple of days for Dublin (but avoid the weekend as the Hen parties and Stag parties descend from UK)

http://www.discoverireland.ie/
http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/destina...FUbMtAodb2MAdg

I like the fly into Shannon or Dublin and flying out of the other.

Ennis is a nice base for Shannon end of the trip IMO.

I'd recommend considering Galway as a base in the west; it's a youngish town with a walkable main area, great music, pubs and "craic" (pronounced crack) or good times. You can also take a day trip to the Aran Islands and of course other day trips.

The train between Dublin and Galway (across the country) is 3 hours, but it sounds like you are going to be driving?

Thank you all so very much!!! I really appreciate your feedback. About the hotels, how far in advance should I try to book them?
Again, thank you so much.

In August, for Dublin and the larger towns (Galway, Killarney) the sooner the better, as far as booking rooms. It looks to be a busy year.
While there will likely be places available, even on the day, the best places (location/quality/price - wise)will fill up, FAST.
Your girls will doubtless enjoy the youthful 'Vibe' in Galway, Dublin and Killarney. You will want to be 'Close In' and THOSE accommodations will fill up first.

Bob

Endorsing the early booking as jaja and I found earlier this year here in Kerry ..

The greatest decision is between quantity and quality. Seeing fewer things more slowly. There is so much to see and do in Ireland.
And whether to stay on the set tourist trails or brasnch out.

Of course Kerry is BEST! Killarney is set among such beauty on all sides

In 8 days the possibilities are infinite, it depends on what your interests are and on what you would like to see in Ireland. I would spend a few days in the capital, plenty of things to see and do. Maybe do a day tour to Wicklow and check out the National Park and Glendalough, this county is known as “the garden of Ireland” and the scenery is breathtaking. Then you could hire a car and head to Galway. Stay there for 2 nights, explore the city and surrounding areas such as the Connemara region and the Burren. Galway is full of students and there is a buzzing atmosphere.
2 days in Killarney, from there you can easily get to the Ring of Kerry, considered one the most beautiful scenic drives in Ireland, and the Dingle Peninsula.
From Killarney you can head to Kilkenny, a lovely medieval town characterised by narrow colorful alleys.
Kilenny for a night and back to Dublin.

Thank you all so very much. Your feedback is very helpful and appreciated.

August is a very busy time in Ireland, especially this year so instead of staying in Hotels, you might want to consider staying in guest houses/ Bed & Breakfast in private homes. They are very modern, with private bathrooms and are generally much cheaper than hotels.

B and B are excellent but variable. I always check them out here before advising booking so personal recommendation works well

My husband and I are also traveling to Ireland with our two college children. We are going in mid May and can't wait. We are flying from Boston to Shannon and ending up in dublin. Our trip is 8 days also. We have our rooms booked, bed and breakfast, hotels and a castle. The only two tours we have booked are The Ring of Kerry and the Guiness tour. I'll keep reading for ideas. I figure if we handled Iceland, we'll love Ireland.

Just remember that while the distance on a map may look short, driving in Ireland can be slow and definitely isn't for the faint of heart. I would suggest reserving an automatic and putting at least 2 names as drivers. That way if one of you finds it too challenging, perhaps the other won't. And, reserve the smallest care available that will suit your luggage. The smaller the better!

Definitly an automatic..nothing bigger than a Focus or equilv. You might check out the possibility of a drive/stay package. worked for us..car and accom..But don't wait to long as autom. are not that readily available. Lots of web sites for Ireland and you tube videos..check them out.. 96 shades of green will hold you forever. You'll not be able to escape.

Do NOT even consider accommodation Vouchers which give access to a couple of hundred of the 1000's of places available to stay.