Irish57

My Husband, parents and myself will be going to Ireland at the end of July. We will be landing in Dublin and flying out of Shannon. I have an intinerary planned out and was wondering if it was doable. Suggestions welcome.

Day 1: arrive in Dublin, rent car, drive to Kilkenny. Spend the night in Kilkenny.
Day 2: Leave Kilkenny by mid morning and head to Rock of Cashel. Continue driving to Kinsale. Night in Kinsale.
Day 3: See Charles Fort before leaving Kinsale and head out to Dingle.
Day 4: Dingle
Day 5: Dingle
Day 6: Leave in morning. Head for Salthill via Talbert Ferry, taking in Cliffs of Moher.Night in Salthill.
Day 7: Drive to Cliften, up to Westport, down to Cong before returning for the night at Salthill.
Day 8: Drive to Bunratty. Maybe do the medieval banquet, overnight in Bunratty.
Day 9: Home via Shannon airport.

Any suggestions will be helpful.

JOHNOD

My first thought is that the drive from Kinsale to Dingle is going to be longer than you think. You might think about a night in Kenmare or Killarney to break it up. You can have a pleasent night in either, good Pubs and there will be music in some. In Kinsale skip Charles fort and take the walking tour out of the tourist office for a good bit of local history then have great fish & Chips at the Blue Haven and a pint at the Kinsale Brewery. Have fun

Irish57

Thanks for the info. I really didn't want to do too many "one nighters" as I've travelling with my parents and they are in their late 60's. So, perhaps on after a night in Kilkenny, and after a stop at the Rock of Cashel, perhaps we should just head for Kenmare. Do you think that trip will be any shorter?

JOHNOD

I agree with you on the one nighters but your trying to cover alot of ground in 8 days. The drive from Cashel to Kenmare is also going to be longer than you think and a bit tricky as you will probably have to get off the N routes. Cashel to Kinsale is easier and shorter and when you leave Kinsale the drive up to Kenamre on the N-71 is easy with some nice sea views. Stop for lunch in Glengarriff. and then you have a nice ride throught the Mts. to Kenmare.

I think you plan to hit Clifden, Westport and Cong in one day is a bit ambitious. I would drive to Clifden, do the Sky drive and visit the Nat. Park and that would be a full day. As everbody on this forum will tell you driving in Ireland can be an adventure especialy if you get off the major routes. Have fun

Irish57

thanks JohnOD. If I take your suggestion, then I'll have to take a night off of Dingle. New plan would look like this:

Mon: arrive Kilkenny @3pm or so.Do the town.
Tue: head for Kinsale, overnight
Wed: head for Kenmare, overnight (maybe beara pennisula? deffinately not doing ROK)
Thurs: dingle
Fri: dingle
Sat: in morning, head for Cliffs of Moher via ferry. see the cliffs, onto Salthill (or nearby)
Sun: Salthill, was told on another forum that a circular drive from Cliften to Westport to Cong and back is a doable option. Will have to think this again.
Mon: head for Bunratty
Tues: home to USA

CAPH52

Irish57, I'm not sure I'm understanding your Sunday plans. Are you still planning to start and end in Salthill? Or are you starting and ending in Cliften?

I'm a little concerned that starting and ending in Salthill may make for an awfully long day. We were there last year as part of a larger family group. One day my brothers did a day trip from Galway that included Kylemore Abbey and Cong. It worked out just fine for them. However, the next day my husband, kids and I drove from Galway to Westport (with Westport as our final destination, not as a day trip from Galway) via the coastal route, Roundstone, Clifden, Kylemore Abbey, the Doolough Valley, Croagh Patrick. Seems to me we left around 9AM and arrived in Westport around 6PM. I'm sure it depends on your route and the number of stops you make. But there's so much to see that I wonder if you might be cheating yourself by trying to do it as a day trip from Salthill.

Irish57

My plans were to start and end in Salthill. I was told on another forum that a drive from Salthill, clifden, westsport, cong and back to Salthill was a dobable drive. But I'm now starting to question this. Perhaps I should leave out Westport. Do I really need to stop here? Perhaps Clifden is better. (I don't think we'll go into Kylemore, just take some pictures of it and move on)

So, maybe just salthill to Clifden over to Cong (dad needs to see quiet man stuff) and back to Salthill. Suggestions????

CAPH52

We didn't go in Kylemore Abbey either. Just took pictures and went in the gift shop.

I think Westport is a wonderful place to spend a night or two. We loved the pubs and it was a wonderful base for a day trip to Achill Island. But I don't really see any point in including it in a day trip like yours.

Irish57

What does anyone think about Clifden as a sidetrip from Salthill. Never been there.

Padraig

I suggest you forget Westport for this trip. A workable (but long enough) day's drive is Galway - Oughterard - Clifden - Letterfrack - Kylemore - Leenane - Maam - Cong - Galway. It's about 120 miles, mostly at a moderate speed. Lots of places you might want to stop for a few minutes or for a couple of hours.

Personally, I like Cong in spite of, rather than because of "The Quiet Man".

I think Clifden itself is a bit ho-hum -- it has sold its soul to tourism. But the routes to and from it are great.

Kylemore Abbey is much better from the outside than inside. Take a picture and move on.

Irish57

Thanks for the info. I think I will skip Westport. If we choose not to do the Clifden to Cong drive, anyone have other suggestions on where to go with a day in County Mayo?

Padraig

I suspect you don't know the county boundaries. Salthill and all the places I mentioned are in County Galway with the exception of Cong, and even part of that is in Galway.

If the full circuit is too much, you might go as far as Recess, turn right and go up the lovely Inagh Valley, turn right at the end of the valley, and go through Maam to Cong.

We are discussing some of my favourite territory here, and it would be a shame if you cut too much of it out of your programme.

Irish57

Sorry about the boundaries, an oversight on my part. I was on a tour a few years back and we went buzzing throughCounty Galway. I told myself if I ever returned I would go back to this lovely county. I will keep the drive to Clifden on our intinerary. Just wanted to know my options if my travelling companions thought the drive was too much.
I went on AA routeplanner and calculated the Clifden, Cong and back to Salthill should be roughly around 4 1/2 hours, not counting any stops.