kireland

Okay...I have been doing lots of reading, received lots of good advice here and now have a draft itinerary that I would appreciate your feedback on...

Day One - Tues, Nov 13th:
Arrive at Dublin 7:15 a.m. Hop-on/off city tour with visit to Kilmainham Gaol and Guinness Storehouse. Stay at Paramount Hotel in Temple Bar.

Day Two - Wed, Nov 14th:
Visit Jameson Corner and other Dublin city sights. Stay at Paramount Hotel, Temple Bar.

Days Three and Four - Thurs, Nov 15th and Fri, Nov 16th:
Option 1: Take DART to Greystones. Rent car and drive to Glendalough, picnic in Wicklow Mountains OR lunch at Roundwood Inn (depending on weather). Return to Greystones, return car and stay in town (Where??? Would love a suggestion that is walking distance to dinner!) and dinner at The Hungry Monk. Next morning explore Greystones/Bray before taking DART to Howth, explore town and have dinner/stay night at King Sitric.
OR
Option 2: Rent Car in Dublin and drive to Glendalough, visiting Powerscourt on the way. Picnic in Wicklow Mountains OR lunch at Roundwood Inn (depending on weather). Dinner and stay at Tinnakilly House OR Hunters Hotel (both in Rathnew). Next morning drive to Greystones, explore town, lunch at The Hungry Monk, drive up coast (visiting Dalkey and/or Killiney?) to Howth. Return car, explore Howth and have dinner/stay at King Sitric. (By keeping the car we can explore more than if we take DART and we would have the option of visiting Newgrange before heading to Howth).

Day Five - Saturday, Nov 17th
Take DART back to Dublin for last day, visit Temple Bar food market (I love food markets, is this worth a visit?), explore city, do Musical Pub Crawl. Stay at Paramount Hotel, Temple Bar.

Day Six - Sun, Nov 18th
Depart Dublin - 2:00 p.m. flight to DC

How does this sound? Is it too ambitious? Should we keep Powerscourt and Newgrange as back pocket options vs. must-dos? We're not really worried about driving, but would consider the DART heavier options if it makes more sense.

I have us returning to Dublin on our last night so that we can A. have a weekend night in the city (more fun!) and B. take a taxi to airport for departure and not have to worry about city driving/returning car at airport. Thank you in advance!!

K

kireland

Still looking for feedback on our itinerary - but wanted to ask this...what about two nights at the King Sitric in Howth and making a day trip to Glendalough one of the days instead of staying in Wicklow County one night? Does this sound reasonable or would we be missing out by not staying at a Country House in Wicklow? My BF loves the look/location of the King Sitric so I started thinking maybe we would make that our base outside of Dublin. We could take the DART to Greystones and hire a car there for a drive to Glendalough and then take the DART back to Howth for the evening. Your thougts on this and/or the original itinerary are much appreciated.

Thanks very much!

Padraig

I'm not sure if you will be able to hire a car in Greystones. Would you feel okay about hiring in the city centre and returning a car there? [The alternative is to hire and return at the airport -- a longer journey but easier driving if you don't like navigating in cities with which you are not familiar.]

amyb

I'd just double-check how you respond to jetlag. I am better if I keep moving all day. My best friend fell asleep on the on/off city tour because of her jetlag.

The Kilmainham Gaol tour is a do not miss in my book, it is fabulous, but I'd hate to do it on a day when I wasn't clear-headed due to jetlag!

teacher33

If you decide to stay in Greystones and do the Glendalough, Powerscourt, etc. driving, there is a car hire office in Bray. You could take the DART as far as Bray, pick up the car, drive around and return it the next day and take the DART back to Dublin.

It is enterprise.com/car-rental Click on Ireland and in the pick up box, write in Bray.

DDublin Road, C/O
Fitzpatrick's
Bray

tel. 01 286 6909

the website mentions, "we'll pck you up." So I would assume they might meat your train in Bray.

On one of your many posts I replied last night with suggestions for your stay in Greystones.

La Touche Hotel and Glandore see last night about 10:50) Also recollect Slievemore B&B down by the harbor.

teacher33

Sorry about the typos on previous post.

All three mentioned places to stay overnight are within an easy walk of the Hungry Monk.

teacher33

I just googled slievemore (www.slievemore.com) and they have a good website. Pictures of the B&B and outlines for driving itineraries in the area with pictures.

teacher33

OOps! www.slievemorehouse.com

kireland

Thank you all for your replies! I think the idea of taking the DART to Bray and renting a car for touring the Wicklow Mountains/Glendalough is a good idea. I think we will stick with our original plan of spending a night in Wicklow County too as making a day trip there from Howth would be pretty rushed given thehshort daylight hours in November.

Thanks for all of the Greystones accommodation tips teacher33! I am checking them out now!

kireland

amyb - we won't just ride the tour bus, we will get on ond off to walk the sights, grab a meal, grab a pint etc. So hopefully we won't be found sound asleep at the end of the driver's day!

SiobhanP

Howth is very small and two night is too much with all to see. Glendolough is beautiful and howth would be nice for lunch or dinner as well or visit the food market here on a Sunday if the weather is nice.

kireland

We had been thinking to stay in Dublin the first two nights, then in Wicklow County the third night, Howth the fourth and spend our last night in Dublin. Primarily we wanted to spend a weekend night in Dublin (our last night is a Saturday), but now I am thinking the first three nights in Dublin, Friday in Wicklow County and Saturday in Howth might be best. I am interested in the food market in Howth so that would make a visit possible. Our flight out ot Dublin airport is at 2:00 pm. (on a Sunday) does a cab from Howth make sense or should we keep our rental car and return it at the airport? Thanks!

teacher33

Glad things are starting to shape up for your stay. If it were I, I would probably keep the car rather than going out to the airport and back to Howth. Unless of course, you are renting in Bray and returning the car to Bray and then taking the DART to Howth.

Let us know how things finalize and then a trip report afterwards.

Thanks.