Hello and HELP!

My daughter and I are planning a trip to Ireland July 2008 and need some suggestions from you well-traveled people! We will be flying into Shannon airport the morning of 7/1/08 and plan to stay in a bed/breakfast in the Galway area for 3 nights. We then will drive back to the Shannon airport to meet up with a CIE group for a 6 day tour, ending in Dublin where we plan to stay on our own an additional 2 days.

My reason for wanting to stay in Galway is it seems central to many places we wish to visit. First on our list is to visit the Roscommon area where my mom was born. Then, the Aran islands and Galway itself. We will be driving a rental car these 3 days in these areas. We will be limited by time, but I figured, one day driving through Roscommon, one day on the Aran islands, and one day in Galway. I am hoping the B/B owners might help us get a ride to the ferry that goes to the Aran Island and direct us the best route to take to Roscommon. I am also hoping to stay in a B/B that is within a short walking distance to the center of town, since I read parking in town might be a problem.

We would drive back to Shannon the morning of the 4th day to check in with the CIE tour which will then take us through the south/southeast areas and into Dublin.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

thanks so much, Deirdre and Kelly

daytip to Roscommon might make for a long day, but fortunately, in July, the day (sunlight-wise) IS long -- the sun doesn't set until well after 10 PM.

Since the 'Pick Up' time for the tour probably co-incides with the early morning arrivals, you might want to spend two nights in Galway, then drive back to Shannon, via Roscommon, so you won't have that 1 1/2 hour drive to contend with, just to get back to the airport.

Bob

OOps! My orignial post got "Cut Off", somehow, so I'll repost:

Here's a link to a thread with LOTS of info on the trip to the Arans, including the Shuttle Bus.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34964186

Since the Shuttle departs from Eyrie Square, that would be the most convenient location to pick a B&B. Don't really have any personal recs for B&Bs though, as I usually stay out of town.

A daytip to Roscommon might make for a long day, but fortunately, in July, the day (sunlight-wise) IS long -- the sun doesn't set until well after 10 PM.

Since the 'Pick Up' time for the tour probably co-incides with the early morning arrivals, you might want to spend two nights in Galway, then drive back to Shannon, via Roscommon, so you won't have that 1 1/2 hour drive to contend with, just to get back to the airport.

Bob

Maybe this site might help you find something. We stayed at a lovely B&B along the highway just outside of Galway and loved it but you'd have to drive to town so not what your looking for. Most B&B's are very nice and set up like small hotels with privacy and a washroom in each room. We stayed in B&B's all the time we travelled and really enjoyed them.


http://www.family-homes.ie/view_property.php?id=16

In Galway, try to stay in Salthill (Galway's beach area).

If you're driving to Roscommon you might want to stop at Knock Shrine (on the Mayo-Roscommon border).

For the Aran Islands, drive west from Galway City to Ross A'Veal. You should be able to leave your rental car at the Ferry dock and pick it up when you get back.

BusEireann has pretty good service between Galway and Shannon airport if you would prefer to Bus to Galway on your arrival and pick up your rental when you get there. I am in no condition to drive after an overnight transAtlantic flight.

I usually hit the Shannon Cafeteria for some real food and catch a Bus to Galway around 8:30AM. The Cafeteria opens at 7:00AM

We stayed in a B&B outside of Galway but we wished we would have stayed at the budget Jury's Inn. We walked past while downtown at a pub and it looked really nice. You might be interested: http://galwayhotels.jurysinns.com/jurysinn_galway

Thanks to all for the good info and helpful hints!

Another question: where is the best place to do some family research for locating records of past family members from around 1900? (ie, burial sites, birth places, possibly old home addresses, etc). The public library? A courthouse? Anything over the internet that you know of?

Oh, and what would you all say are the top 3 or 4 things to see or do in Dublin if you had a couple of days to do it? (Besides the Book of Kells which is on our tour). I would love to get away from the tourists and hit the pubs! Any really neat place to visit in town?
Thanks again, I truly appreciate everyone's input.
Deirdre

Just returned from Ireland and spent a night in Galway, at St Jude's B & B. It's a lovely stone house in Lower Salthill. Very nice breakfast, private parking area. Not sure if all rooms are, but ours was en suite and at a reasonable price. Here is a link to their website. http://www.st-judes.com/asp/section.asp?s=1

Shane