Feedback on Ireland Itinerary May 2012
Dec 1st, 2011, 08:53 PM
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Feedback on Ireland Itinerary May 2012
Planning a trip to Ireland next May (3 people, my mother and myself, plus a friend, so will need 2 rooms at all lodgings). We will rent a car. Looking to see as much as possible, but also relax and enjoy the countryside, food and people, and not feel rushed. We would like to get out of the car and do some walks, though we aren't serious hikers. This is our preliminary itinerary (nothing booked yet), would love any feedback or suggestions on locations, lodgings, how to streamline itinerary and eliminate unnecessary and non scenic driving, etc!
Arrive Dublin - Stay somewhere central, see the sights (will not have a car here). 2 nights
Pick up car, drive to Glendalough. See Powerscourt on the way. Stay in Glendalough, Riversdale House. See Glendalough, do some walks. 1 night.
Drive to Cashel. See Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. Dualla House or Hill House, Cashel. 1 night.
Drive to Kenmare. Seashore Farm, Sallyport House, Abbey Court, other? Use this as base for Beara Peninsula, Garinish Island, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney National Park. Don't plan to do whole ROK. 3 nights.
Drive to Dingle. Lighthouse B&B, Pax House, other? 3 nights.
Drive to Cliffs of Moher area. Stay in Doolin, Corofin, Ballyvaughan? Fergus View (Corofin), Drumcreehy House (Ballyvaughan), other? Would like to be somewhere close enough to Cliffs of Moher to visit in evening/sunset without a lot of driving to get home after. Use this area as base to see the Burren as well as Cliffs. 2 nights.
Drive to Galway area. May stay one night in Galway for day tour to Aran Islands (weather dependent), then 3 nights Clifden or Roundstone for Connemara area, or 4 nights in one region in Connemara. Not sure how best to plan this since Aran Island trip is weather dependent and we may not want to do it if pouring rain, etc. Would we be able to do a day trip to the Aran Islands from Clifden or Roundstone, without having to leave too early and making the day too tiring, or would that be too much backtracking? Wondering whether we can get by without booking lodging for these 4 nights so we can leave things flexible. 4 nights total
Drive to Cavan to visit a friend. 2 nights.
Drive back to Dublin, overnight here before returning to airport for flight home.
Arrive Dublin - Stay somewhere central, see the sights (will not have a car here). 2 nights
Pick up car, drive to Glendalough. See Powerscourt on the way. Stay in Glendalough, Riversdale House. See Glendalough, do some walks. 1 night.
Drive to Cashel. See Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. Dualla House or Hill House, Cashel. 1 night.
Drive to Kenmare. Seashore Farm, Sallyport House, Abbey Court, other? Use this as base for Beara Peninsula, Garinish Island, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney National Park. Don't plan to do whole ROK. 3 nights.
Drive to Dingle. Lighthouse B&B, Pax House, other? 3 nights.
Drive to Cliffs of Moher area. Stay in Doolin, Corofin, Ballyvaughan? Fergus View (Corofin), Drumcreehy House (Ballyvaughan), other? Would like to be somewhere close enough to Cliffs of Moher to visit in evening/sunset without a lot of driving to get home after. Use this area as base to see the Burren as well as Cliffs. 2 nights.
Drive to Galway area. May stay one night in Galway for day tour to Aran Islands (weather dependent), then 3 nights Clifden or Roundstone for Connemara area, or 4 nights in one region in Connemara. Not sure how best to plan this since Aran Island trip is weather dependent and we may not want to do it if pouring rain, etc. Would we be able to do a day trip to the Aran Islands from Clifden or Roundstone, without having to leave too early and making the day too tiring, or would that be too much backtracking? Wondering whether we can get by without booking lodging for these 4 nights so we can leave things flexible. 4 nights total
Drive to Cavan to visit a friend. 2 nights.
Drive back to Dublin, overnight here before returning to airport for flight home.
Dec 2nd, 2011, 05:36 AM
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Sounds like you'll have a wonderful trip!
My only suggestion would be if you can combine those 2 1-night stops into a 2 night stop? We had 2 1-nighters in our itinerary (not back to back though) and it was kind of exhausting. Much more comfortable to be everywhere at least 2 nights.
I would definitely recommend Pax House. It was a bit longer walk to town than we expected, but it was doable and very worth it. Perfect views and service.
In Doolin we were also wanting to be close to the Cliffs so we could go late evening. Stayed at Daly House and it was perfect all around. We could see the cliffs from our bedroom, drive to them in about 15 minutes, and also walk just a minute or two to the Doolin pubs for food and drinks. Susan the host was one of the best we had in whole trip.
My only suggestion would be if you can combine those 2 1-night stops into a 2 night stop? We had 2 1-nighters in our itinerary (not back to back though) and it was kind of exhausting. Much more comfortable to be everywhere at least 2 nights.
I would definitely recommend Pax House. It was a bit longer walk to town than we expected, but it was doable and very worth it. Perfect views and service.
In Doolin we were also wanting to be close to the Cliffs so we could go late evening. Stayed at Daly House and it was perfect all around. We could see the cliffs from our bedroom, drive to them in about 15 minutes, and also walk just a minute or two to the Doolin pubs for food and drinks. Susan the host was one of the best we had in whole trip.
Dec 2nd, 2011, 07:30 AM
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From Clifden or Roundstone it is probably just over an hour to the Aran ferries from Ros a' Mhíl and would be a better starting point for the big island.
http://www.aranislandferries.com/times_mor.php
If you are feeling energetic the 8k Roundstone run is the 19th May. The John Dárcy Festival is on in Clifden from 25th May to 4th June. Accommodation recommendation for Clifden is the Dun Rí Guesthouse.
http://www.dunri.ie/
http://www.aranislandferries.com/times_mor.php
If you are feeling energetic the 8k Roundstone run is the 19th May. The John Dárcy Festival is on in Clifden from 25th May to 4th June. Accommodation recommendation for Clifden is the Dun Rí Guesthouse.
http://www.dunri.ie/
Dec 2nd, 2011, 07:32 AM
#4
These were our favorite B&B's on our 2 trips to Ireland (May'11 & Sept'10)
Kenmare
http://www.shelburnelodge.com/
Absolutely the best breakfasts out of about 10 B&B's
Great location to walk to dinner, shops, etc.
Gorgeous manor house---old but, oh so charming
Dingle
http://greenmount-house.com/
Gorgeous views from our room's balcony, beautiful updated rooms
Best view from the tables at breakfast---buffet plus hot to order breakfast
Dingle Penninsula was the highlight of 2 trips(for us far better than the ROK)
I did trip reviews, but didn't hit all of the places you are going. Our favorites were the Dingle Peninsula, Kenmare, and Westport(Northwest Ireland) You can click on my name and scroll down to trip reports for tips on those places. If you go to Kenmare, don't miss dinner at Mulcahy's. It was our favorite of 20 or so restaurants in which we had dinner.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...nty_Kerry.html
Kenmare
http://www.shelburnelodge.com/
Absolutely the best breakfasts out of about 10 B&B's
Great location to walk to dinner, shops, etc.
Gorgeous manor house---old but, oh so charming
Dingle
http://greenmount-house.com/
Gorgeous views from our room's balcony, beautiful updated rooms
Best view from the tables at breakfast---buffet plus hot to order breakfast
Dingle Penninsula was the highlight of 2 trips(for us far better than the ROK)
I did trip reviews, but didn't hit all of the places you are going. Our favorites were the Dingle Peninsula, Kenmare, and Westport(Northwest Ireland) You can click on my name and scroll down to trip reports for tips on those places. If you go to Kenmare, don't miss dinner at Mulcahy's. It was our favorite of 20 or so restaurants in which we had dinner.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...nty_Kerry.html
Dec 2nd, 2011, 08:29 AM
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Sailings from Rossaveal to the Aran Islands are not as weather-dependent as are those from Doolin. The real weather issue is more likely to be what the visit to the islands might be like on a very wet day.
It's no great burden to travel from Roundstone or Clifden to Rossaveal, because you would be travelling through lovely country, and you have a choice of routes.
In general you don't need to book ahead in May. I tend to phone on the morning of the day I propose to arrive. With such a strategy, you can keep an eye on local weather forecasts.
It's no great burden to travel from Roundstone or Clifden to Rossaveal, because you would be travelling through lovely country, and you have a choice of routes.
In general you don't need to book ahead in May. I tend to phone on the morning of the day I propose to arrive. With such a strategy, you can keep an eye on local weather forecasts.
Dec 2nd, 2011, 07:08 PM
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Thanks for all the advice above. Glad to know that Clifden to Rossaveal is doable to catch the ferry to the Arans. And Tony2phones, thanks for the tip on the John Darcy festival in Clifen - we may be there for a part of it. TPAYT, I've already read your trip report, which was great and very helpful - I'm sure I've read all the trip reports on Ireland on this site, as I'm a somewhat obsessive travel planner!
It's been hard to narrow down destinations for this trip, even though we have almost 3 weeks. Have we missed anything special we should try to include? I love the sound of Westport - should we base here rather than Clifden or Roundstone? Or 2 night Clifden, 2 in Roundstone? I'd prefer to have 3+ nights in one place, but that sometimes makes for long day trips with lots of driving and backtracking, so breaking it up into shorter stays in 2 places may actually make more sense and be less tiring?
I'd rather not have one nighters like we have in Glendalough and Cashel at the beginning of the trip - but can't think of a better way. We do want to do some walks in Glendalough, and visit the Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. Would it be better to stay somewhere halfway for one night after leaving Dublin and end up in Kenmare the second night? If so, where?
A question on accomodations in the Dingle area. I think we'll probably stay in Dingle town, and it seems like there are a lot of good options there. The Slea Head views look so gorgeous though - are there any bed and breakfasts right on the Slea Head drive, where you can wake up to those views in the morning?
It's been hard to narrow down destinations for this trip, even though we have almost 3 weeks. Have we missed anything special we should try to include? I love the sound of Westport - should we base here rather than Clifden or Roundstone? Or 2 night Clifden, 2 in Roundstone? I'd prefer to have 3+ nights in one place, but that sometimes makes for long day trips with lots of driving and backtracking, so breaking it up into shorter stays in 2 places may actually make more sense and be less tiring?
I'd rather not have one nighters like we have in Glendalough and Cashel at the beginning of the trip - but can't think of a better way. We do want to do some walks in Glendalough, and visit the Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. Would it be better to stay somewhere halfway for one night after leaving Dublin and end up in Kenmare the second night? If so, where?
A question on accomodations in the Dingle area. I think we'll probably stay in Dingle town, and it seems like there are a lot of good options there. The Slea Head views look so gorgeous though - are there any bed and breakfasts right on the Slea Head drive, where you can wake up to those views in the morning?
Dec 2nd, 2011, 08:09 PM
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I think your itinerary looks pretty good. We visited Ireland this past May (2011) and did several one-night stays and didn't find it at all difficult to do.
Here are just a few comments based on our experience:
1. We stayed at Abbey Court in Kenmare. Absolutely loved it! Good location (quiet), yet within walking distance of Main Street. The best breakfasts we had in Ireland were there and the hosts were so helpful. (If you want to walk the Gap of Dunloe, ask Brendan for directions on the most direct way there and where to park.)
2. We stayed one night each in both Doolin and Corofin (at Fergus View). Of the two places, I would choose Fergus View in Corofin hands down. We did not particularly care for Doolin--not much to see and do there and the town was full of tourists bused in for the evening to go to the pubs.
3. Have you considered spending the night on Inishmore? We drove from Doolin to Rossaveel making several sightseeing stops along the way and got there in time for the 6:30 pm ferry. We stayed the night in a B&B and then were up and sightseeing (by bicycle) before any of the ferries from the mainland had arrived. It was lovely to be on the island in the evening because it was so quiet (and we had a great pub meal at Ti Joe Watty's). We spent the day biking and sightseeing (and generally well ahead of the crowds) and then took the 5pm ferry back to mainland.
Here are just a few comments based on our experience:
1. We stayed at Abbey Court in Kenmare. Absolutely loved it! Good location (quiet), yet within walking distance of Main Street. The best breakfasts we had in Ireland were there and the hosts were so helpful. (If you want to walk the Gap of Dunloe, ask Brendan for directions on the most direct way there and where to park.)
2. We stayed one night each in both Doolin and Corofin (at Fergus View). Of the two places, I would choose Fergus View in Corofin hands down. We did not particularly care for Doolin--not much to see and do there and the town was full of tourists bused in for the evening to go to the pubs.
3. Have you considered spending the night on Inishmore? We drove from Doolin to Rossaveel making several sightseeing stops along the way and got there in time for the 6:30 pm ferry. We stayed the night in a B&B and then were up and sightseeing (by bicycle) before any of the ferries from the mainland had arrived. It was lovely to be on the island in the evening because it was so quiet (and we had a great pub meal at Ti Joe Watty's). We spent the day biking and sightseeing (and generally well ahead of the crowds) and then took the 5pm ferry back to mainland.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 01:04 AM
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Westport is generally a day trip for us from Clifden, Roundstone is 30 minutes away or 20 minutes if you cut over the old bog road so I would base in Clifden especially if you are there during the festival week. The local Trad music society have a session on the last friday of every month in one of the towns pubs so maybe see you there.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 02:41 AM
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Hi Lily
If you've read "all" the trip reports, then you've probably seen mine but just in case:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ids-photos.cfm
which in this case was mainly a link to my blog:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.com/2011/08/ireland.html
We enjoyed staying in Dingle at the Coastline Guesthouse. The Slea Head drive was fantastic (having a nice weather day certainly helped). It is quite remote so I wouldn't want to stay out there. If you want the views I'm sure there are some options though. Slea Head Farm House (http://www.sleaheadfarm.com/) is one option from a quick search.
Good luck and have fun.
If you've read "all" the trip reports, then you've probably seen mine but just in case:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ids-photos.cfm
which in this case was mainly a link to my blog:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.com/2011/08/ireland.html
We enjoyed staying in Dingle at the Coastline Guesthouse. The Slea Head drive was fantastic (having a nice weather day certainly helped). It is quite remote so I wouldn't want to stay out there. If you want the views I'm sure there are some options though. Slea Head Farm House (http://www.sleaheadfarm.com/) is one option from a quick search.
Good luck and have fun.
