madforireland

Thanks Tony, but 300 yards up the lane from where?!

Doing this bit by bit, does anyone have recommendations in Portrush? Will leave Dublin early on day 2' so we will have that full day and the next - do we stay the second night or move on? Looking at Inn on the Coast...any feedback on that one?

Tony2phones

Avarest Guest house sits above the Harbour on a quiet st with good pubs. food, music within easy walking distance down the hill. points of interest are on the (10 days Northern route) map

Pub location was a bit of craic (banter)(there is a little gold star on all my maps coffee is always in the peculator, but I might have eaten all the scones)

madforireland

Love the craic, been known to engage in it a bit myself from time to time, it comes to me honestly from my Sligo roots! Will look up Avarest guess house. Any feedback on Sligo Beach house?

Tony2phones

sorry its a while since we stayed anywhere in Sligo,, Gramps came from Tubber so spent a good bit of time around there in my very young days.. generally just pass through rather than overnight these days.

madforireland

Two nights Portrush booked!! Could not get the Avarest house, but settled for Inn on the Coast, now moving on to Sligo area.....thinking of two nights in the Templeboy area, is there enough to do around there to spend two night do you think?

jaja

Just out of Sligo Town on the Rosse's Point road we stayed at Iorras B&B and loved it. http://sligoiorrasbandb.com . BTW, it is pronounced air-us.

madforireland

Thank you, now do you think Portrush direct to Sligo , for 2? Are th then what about Clifden, or better to head straight to Galway - any recommendations there would be appreciated as well, if anyone has the time - thank you to all!!

Tony2phones

Clifden gets my vote over Galway.

Dublin 1 night *** Belfast 1 night
Portrush for 2 nights *** Portrush 2 nights
Donegal for 1 night *** Donegal 1 night
Sligo for 1 night or 2 *** Sligo 2 nights
Clifden for 2 nights *** As is
Ennis for 2 nights *** 1 night Ennis
Killarney 2 nights or is 1 enough here? *** 1 or 2 nights
Dublin for 2 nights (a day to visit and tour) *** 2 nights

madforireland

Getting closer and closer and getting very excited too! I have a couple of more questions as I tweak the plan. I thank you for your time and patience, didn't intend to drag this out so long, but it is what it is.

Looking at:

Dublin 2 night
Portrush 2 nights
Sligo 2 nights
Clifden 2 nights
Galway for trad on Prom (need a night ? )
Ennis for 1 night
Killarney 2 nights?
Dublin 1 night only ( near airport.)for catching flight next noon, or is there another place nearby to spend the night

Looking for some advice
- Thinking of Trad on the Prom one night, this is in Galway, should I put a night in between Sligo and Clifden to make this work? Show is at 9:00pm.

- Also, do I stick with two nights in Portrush, or switch one to Donegal.

- also wondering about the two nights in Killarney - am I attempting to do too much and going too far south? Would I be better to increase the nights somewhere else, and have a longer touring base.

- is it a long way to Tipperary? couldn't resist!

- seriously though, is this too much of a windshield tour? Didn't want to drive more that 2-3 hours each move
- Some activities I'm thinking of (to keep the teens happy) are going to a watch horse race - I heard through a friend that Kildare is the place to go! Where would that fit in on the above?
- also maybe also watch some surfers somewhere, maybe even a beginner lesson in some calmer surf, any recommendations?
- also thinking of what we call here pitch and putt, or par 3 - which is a golf course for the non-golfers! Longest hole being a par 3. We all hear about the beautiful golf courses in Ireland, but don't want a full one because my golfing leaves a lot of be desired!!!
- any other teen suggestions welcome, mine are 16 and 14.

All comments welcome and very much appreciated! Thank you.

krejaton

I have never been to Ireland, we depart for there in 4 weeks for a 15 day jaunt,but I do offer a few suggestions:

Everyone is different and what they enjoy of vacation is equally different, but as for me and my two teen daughters, we had zero interest in scurrying from town to town a day or 2 at a time. So for our 15 days, we limited our locations to three--Achill Island, Lahinch and Kenmare--and use those as a base camp to see other sites. So we are giving up seeing every corner of the island at a rushed pace so that we can set down roots and enjoy the local flavor.

One stop I might suggest is Ashford Castle at Cong. They have a school of falconry there where your family can each take out a falcon and experience the joy of it. 213 out of 214 reviewers on Trip Advisor gave it 5 stars (the lone hold out gave it 4 stars) so they must be doing something right (http://goo.gl/T2s0t0). I told my girls about it and they made a high pitched wailing sound that they called a sqwee.

Regardless of what you do, have a wonderful trip.

Tony2phones

Before you start planning around Trad on the Prom check the nights on the web site to see if there is a performance and available seats for that night.

My thoughts on your nights are after the *** in my last comments.

Ashford is a long way from being the only Hawk walk experience on the Island (possibly the most expensive?) Eagles Flying at the Irish Raptor research centre in Sligo might be the best place to experience a wide variety of these birds.. The Birds of Prey section of Ailwee Caves near Ballyvaughan is generally regarded as one of the best Hawk Walk experiences.

Sligo has some of the best surf around the Island maybe check out the surf school at Strandhill.

Lots of Pitch and Put courses about so pick a nice day with some time on hand and ask a local.

I don't think you are in the Ireland through glass category but I would forget going down to Dublin and head straight to Belfast on arrival Day 1.

madforireland

Thanks for the comments, and the suggestions! Question, since we are arriving in Dublin port and considering your advice Tony, what would be the best plan as far as picking up the rental car and heading right to Belfast? Is going to the airport really out of the way?

Tony2phones

Forgot that bit... sorry answer so many questions my brain gets haggled at times..
Belfast might be an option.. Dan Dooley used to have a collection deck at Northwall on the port so you could be in Belfast before 8pm assuming you come in on Stena's afternoon crossing..

Are you having second thoughts on Killarney? those 2 days could be an option and go back to the route I did before http://goo.gl/maps/gl8uv and how you adjusted it..

Portrush to Sligo skipping Donegal is another consideration as would be Killarney?

It all starts to get second guessing, over planning and last night nerves.. You will be fine whatever you decide on,, just give me a shout when you get to Ennis, I'll go down the mountain, buy you an Irish coffee to settle your nerves..

madforireland

This is where I am, I am reconsidering Killarney, would like to get there but not sure it will work. I still have to work on accommodations, but have the nights in Sligo and Portrush tentatively booked, as well as the last night in Dublin ( Premier - airport)



Day 1 - arrive 5:00pm to port, tour around, see some sights, drinks & dinner maybe the Grafton area? Pub food fine, sleep Dublin (need to look on posts for recommendations for central location, with shuttle to airport so we can get the car the next day.

Day 2 - pick up car, head to Belfast! visit around a bit, then on to the coast - sleep Portrush (Inn on the Coast)

Day 3 - Causeway, rope bridge, Bushmills, etc..sleep Portrush same place

Day 4 - leave Portrush, tour some more, head to Sligo, stop in Donegal, visit Beleek, and have a look around - sleep Sligo (Augris house)

Day 5 - visit roots, Gramps' birthplace on Chapel St, sleep Sligo (same place)

Day 6 - 11, is where I still don't have a good idea of how to work it out - we know generally we wanted to see Clifden, Ennis, Connor pass, Killarney, but also want to see Trad on the Prom which plays day 6 ,day 9, or day 11 in Galway, so it's just trying to organize that part.

Day 6 - Galway?
Day 7 -
Day 8 -
Day 9 - Galway?
Day 10
Day 11 - Galway ?

Day 12 - arrive in Dublin early, visit, sleep near airport for last night

Tony, you're on for the Irish Coffee, except we buy !! Anything you want from Canada while we're at it? We might have the 2014 Stanley Cup Champions if all goes well in the next few weeks!!! A bit hockey crazy here at the moment

jaja

For your night in Dublin consider staying at Trinity College. We took a bus from the airport that dropped us off right at the main gate so there are bound to be some going the opposite direction.

madforireland

Thanks jaja but we will have a car to return in the morning, however on the first night, when we arrive from Dublin Port, any idea of where to stay, which will allow for easy pick up of the car the next day?

jaja

Sorry, I meant on your first night, not the last.

Tony2phones

What are your dates?

madforireland

In Dublin starting June 28th, fly home Jul 10

madforireland

Tony, where art thou? Need your thoughts!
Day 6: Clifden
Day 7 Clifden
Day 8 Galway
Day 9 Galway (TRAD)
Day 10 Killarney
Day 11 Killarney
Day 12 Dublin

Hubbie is asking if you actually have 2 phones