Please take pity on me! : ( We are honeymooning in Ireland from May 14 - May 23. My husband to be booked the flights and rental car and left me in charge of the hotels/B &amp; B's. I am TOTALLY overwhelmed with trying to plan out itinerary. And obviously, I cannot book our accomodations without knowing where we are going! I know I don't have much time left but I just can't seem to get a grip on it! Here is all I have so far:<BR><BR>5/14 Arriving Shannon, staying at Radisson in Limerick<BR><BR>5/15 Traveling to Castlegregory, trying to book a reservation at The Shores Country House (any opinions on this?)<BR><BR>5/16 Who knows!!!!<BR><BR>As you can see, it's pretty pitiful. We would like to take our time and not cover a vast area but would like to see the standards - Cliffs of Moher, Burren, etc. but we would really like to experience the Irish culture and it's people and take our time exploring this area of the country. I just can't seem to figure out how far we need to travel each day to make a circle around before we get back to Shannon. I am at your mercy - any thoughts or sample itineraries are greatly appreciated! Thank you all!!!!!!!!!! <BR>

where the hell is he...if he isn't in iraq he should plan the honeymoon and you the wedding!!!

Ok, start with the basics, then look for nice accommodations in likely locations.<BR><BR>First, you have 9 nights in which to make a circle. You have to ask yourself what your priorities are. As many sites as possible, or free time to dawdle and relax and .. well .. honeymoon. <BR><BR>- Let's start with how much time you would like to be in a car? This will determine the size of your 'ring'. By extension, it will determine how many sites you visit.<BR><BR>- What are you looking for in your accommodations? Romantic? Private? Somewhere you will meet the locals?<BR><BR>- Decide a budget. You can get everything from wonderful little inexpensive B&amp;B's to a night in a Castle, depending on where you want to splurge.<BR><BR>My own suggestions, colored heavily by my own tastes, would say to forget the brand name hotels you're used to. Look for local establishments that get good recommendations to really get a feel for what Ireland and it's people are about. <BR><BR>Also, I'm thinking that Bunratty, rather than Limerick would be a good 'off the plane' stay on the first night. Limerick is.. a bit industrial. You could even stay at Dromoland Castle the first night, if the budget fit. Pricey but unique. Or just pick a nice B&amp;B and tour Bunratty Castle and have a medieval banquet if you like.<BR><BR>Mostly, decide what are your must sees. Try, if you can, to set roots for a couple of nights in the same place to get some rest and see sights from there. Dingle is a good place for that. So is Connemara. To get a plan together, get a good guide book or two from your book store or Amazon.com<BR><BR>The hardest part here is going to be for anyone to decide what it is that interests you. Once you know where you are going, then people can make specific recommendations on places to stay nearby, or on the way.<BR><BR>Look forward to hearing more about what you learn and decide.

Thank you Clifton! I will most certainly heed your advice and keep you posted on my progress. I appreciate your time in responding to me!

Clifton's advice is very good. Also, I suggest you go to a large bookstore and sit in the travel section and poor over the guide books to see what appeals to you. Or you could look at brochures for organized tours to see what really strikes your fancy.<BR><BR>Then armed with Clifton's advice, get on the internet and start looking for inns, hotels, or B&amp;Bs in those areas. When you pick one or two, post here to see if anyone has been there and get first hand feedback.

Hi kath:<BR><BR>Clifton gave you excellent advice. If I may add, The Shores is excellent. I believe that we will be staying there on the 14th and 15th of May. This is the most comfortable B&amp;B that we have stayed in. It was recommended by another B&amp;B, and they were right. The view is to the ocean and it's very peaceful. We will probably see you there.<BR><BR>Definitely stay in Bunratty instaed of Limerick. There is plenty to do and loads of B&amp;Bs The Bunratty Lodge is a good choice but they may be booked up. In mid May, you could probably wing it for the most part, though you probably wouldn't get your first choice all the time. I whole-heartedly agree with cliton about not staying in brand name, cookie cutter hotels. B&amp;Bs are much preferable IMO, and usually much cheaper.<BR><BR>As far as itinerary is concerned, since you are headed to Dingle, you are probably thinking SW, which shouldn't be too crowded at that time. I would recommend a couple of nights or so in 3 or 4 different areas. Possibilities are Dingle, Kenmare, West Cork (more rural), Kinsale, Cahir/Cashel, Kilkenny, to name a few. I have my favorites, (ok, maybe they are all my favorites), but anything is a possibility as long as you try not to drive too much. Ireland is small, but the roads are smaller and slower.<BR><BR>There are tons of good guide books out there. I suggest some with pictures and some without. Use the ones with pics to get an idea and the ones without pics to take on the road. I just got Michele Erdwigs book from www.irelandyes.com, and it is a good non-picture book. She doesn't list a lot of B&amp;Bs, but she reviews them thoroughly. There are LOTS of other choices too. <BR><BR>I'm rambling. I'll sign off for now. Get some ideas and write back.<BR><BR>Bill

Congratulations on your wedding! I know exactly how excited you are! I don't know how others feel, but I have been using the Frommer's Ireland book as the main resource to plan my own honeymoon (in September), and have found it extremely helpful (and rather humorous, besides). <BR><BR>Also, I obtained some B&amp;B books from a travel agent, but the distributors of the books also have websites. One is Bed &amp; Breakfast Ireland 2003; website www.townandcountry.ie. Another is Be Our Guest Hotels &amp; Guesthouses Guide Ireland 2003; website irelandhotels.com.<BR><BR>Finally, under another posting, I have had recommendations for both Seaview House and Cullinan's in Doolin.<BR><BR>Hope this helps! Have a great time!

One travel secret told to me several years ago by a seasoned traveller which I have found to be useful is to take a look at the travel itineraries of the escorted tours like trafalgar or cosmos, see where they go and then do your own bookings for local hotels. These escorted companies usually hit all the &quot;tourist&quot; areas and can give you an idea of how far it is between sites. Good luck and congratulations.

Click on &quot;Destinations&quot; and &quot;hotels&quot; above, and scroll down to Ireland. See all the itinerary suggestions and hotel suggestions.<BR><BR>Click on &quot;Products&quot; above, then &quot;Books&quot; and see the 3 Fodor's books on Ireland.<BR><BR>karenbrown.com/Ireland � she writes guidebooks on B&amp;Bs including recommend itineraries. She is very popular on this site<BR>

Have just returned from touring Ireland again. Definiatly head for Dingle - very impressive, I know everyone loves The Ring of Kerry but Dingle really does have something going for it! Stay at Greenmount House - excellent B&amp;B you will find them at:<BR>www.greenmounthouse.com<BR>you can walk down into the town from greenmount if you wished to - probably take you 10mins. <BR>Have a wonderful honeymoon &amp; congratulations on your wedding.

I only know one &quot;kathflan&quot; and she's a fine lady from a Philadelphia suburb. If this Irish traveler is who I think, congratulations on your wedding and I hope your true self is taken care of with this guy. I am also heading for County Kerry and Dublin at the end of April, which is why I saw your posting. If I've guessed wrong as to your identity, have a great honeymoon anyway... even if this dude did stick you with all the planning. Make sure you stick him with expensive crystal and linen purchases, too. Regards, Keith

Congrats on the wedding. <BR>Here are some ideas. <BR>First off- it takes longer to get around in Ireland, so try to limit yourself to about 100 miles any day. Also, after planning a wedding, you are not going to want to jump from place to place every night. Here is what I would do with 9 nights. <BR><BR>May 14 - Fly into Shannon - drive to Cliffs - stay in Doolin ( Cullinans is nice) head to Gus O'conners for music. <BR>May 15 - Drive down to Dingle ( use Tarbert /Killimer ferry) <BR>May 16 - Dingle <BR>May 17 - Killarney or Kenmare ( I love Killarney - Crystal Springs , but others like Kenmare more) <BR>May 18 - Killarney / Kenmare<BR>May 19 - Cashel - I LOVED Dualla House. It is just 8 miles out of town, a lovely sheep farm. HUGE rooms<BR>May 20 - Cashel - drive to Cahir/ Waterford<BR>May 21 - Cashel - drive to Kilkenny/area for the day<BR>May 22 - Bunratty - do the Medieval banquet your last night. <BR>May 23 - Fly out of Shannon. <BR><BR>Debbie

Debbie:<BR>Sorry to be the bearer of sad news but Gus O'Connor of O'Connor's (Doolin) passed away early this month. I'm sure they gave him a great sendoff (Wake and Funeral). I don't know how this will affect O'Connor's Pub &amp; Restaurant or what it will do to your plans for May 14th.<BR><BR>If you decide on Ennis rather than Doolin that first night, John Madden's Temple Gate is nice, as is the Old Ground. The Temple Gate has a bigger car park. And you can enjoy 'Trad' Irish music at Cruise's Restaurant &amp; Pub on Abbey Street any night.

Wow - We were there on the night of April 1st. Must have been shortly after that.

That's probably one of the biggest questions I get asked -- itineraries!<BR><BR>I just posted a program to help people narrow down their itineraries -- http://www.enchantingireland.com/FlyDrive/ItineraryGenerator.asp<BR><BR>You can select the sites you'd like to visit and the program will try (keyword: TRY) to recommend a convenient place close to as many sites as possible.<BR><BR>Taking it one step further you can take those recommended towns/cities and generate and itinerary whereby the program will spit a list of all sites along your route. Print and take with...<BR><BR>There is NO CHARGE for this and I'm looking for serious testing for it... the reason it came about was people expecting me to create their itineraries and B&amp;B reservations, many times without knowing what they even wanted to see.<BR><BR>Best wishes!<BR>Chris

to Chris from Enchanting Ireland - I just did a run through your website - it has some real potential! Fun to play with! <BR>Constructive advice - your itinerary planner doesn't prioritize route - I entered destinations alphabetically and it had me zigzagging back and forth all over the country - no reality check on do-able driving distances or avoiding backtracking. I'm sure that would be advice given to your customers but it isn't helpful to the self-planner!

Debbie:<BR>I got the news on the 13th of April that Gus O'Connor had passed away 'last week;' so that would make it sometime the week if April 6th. To quote a line from 'An Irish Blessing:' And may you be in Heaven a half hour before the Devil knows you're dead. Slainte, Gus!

(disclaimer) I have no experience with Ireland, but a couple general ideas that may be useful to you.<BR><BR>Public libraries often have very good selections of travel guides, without having to purchase a pile of them at the bookstore.<BR><BR>My best advise is, don't be overly ambitious in your intinerary. Personally I *hate* to pack up &amp; move every single day. So would try to get 2 nights in 4 places to fill in the rest of your itinerary (after the 1st night).<BR><BR>I'm not sure if you'd be comfortable with this, but, you might leave a few nights without reservations... as long as you have the rental car &amp; have researched so you have a good number of hotel/B&amp;B possibilities to pursue when you arrive a new town/area. This could build in some flexibility mid-trip.<BR><BR>I don't know where you are flying from, but if it's transatlantic, remember to allow for possible jetlag (desire to relax and take it easy) for the first couple days.