zcat

Hi all.

My husband and I will be traveling this fall on our first international trip. We will be going to Ireland for 8 days. We plan on flying into Shannon and renting a car.

I was hoping the seasoned travelers here could give me some tips on what to see and where to stay. We'd prefer to pick a 'home base' and make day trips but are open to any possibilities.

I'm sorry for the scarce information. This is all new to me. We are interested in seeing the country of Ireland, the landscape, castles, good music, historic sites etc.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can provide!

PamEwing

Oh, you're going to have such a great time! Ireland is gorgeous, and the people are so friendly. Shannon is a great place to start. I love Dingle and The Cliffs of Moher, which are breathtaking. If your husband likes beer, you can tour the Guiness brewery in Dublin. The Irish B & B's are wonderful because breakfast is usually included, and your hosts can give you great tips about pubs, historic sites, etc. Some of the B & B's are actually in castles, so they are lots of fun and your hosts may even play some music for you at night.

Iowa_Redhead

I can't offer much advice, but I absolutely loved the Cliffs of Moher. It's a breathtaking location and if you get there first thing, you can often see puffins. Don't lose hope if the fog rolls in, sometimes it rolls out after 20-30 minutes and you get a clear view again.

Be careful with driving... that can be a trip in itself. Be sure you get information on the insurance bit (CDW?).

If you get down to Dingle, stay at the Heatons Guesthouse and order pancakes for breakfast. Holy god, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. They're not pancakes as I think of them, but more like some ungodly good cross with french toast. The rooms are very nice, it's an easy walk to town, and the couple who runs the guest house is great.

Have fun, the people are extremely friendly.

zcat

Thanks so much! We have checked out driving information and such. Looking at flights it seems as though it may be easiest to fly into Shannon and out of Dublin when it comes to getting non-stop routes. We'd prefer to spend most of our time in the west/southwest parts of Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher sound wonderful and we definitely want to go to Dingle.

janisj

if you want to mainly see the W/SW - I'd fly in/out of Shannon and forget about Dublin this trip. 8 days is really not long enough to cover the great things on the west coast AND Dublin the east coast.

The driving is great fun - but it is not fast. If you stick to the west side of the country you'll see much of the best scenery w/o having to dash around the whole country.

longhorn55

If this is your first international trip, then I highly recommend that you go to your local bookstore and/or library and find some guidebooks on Ireland. Read them to get an idea of what you'd like to see and do. Plus they will contain a lot of information which is helpful to the first-time traveler. Then get yourself a good map of Ireland and see where the places are that you would like to visit. (We got the Rough Guide Map of Ireland for our 8-day driving trip of Ireland and Northern Ireland in April and it was great. I've read that the Ordnance Survey Maps are great too, but I'm not sure if they are available anywhere in the States.) Note that the distances may not see far, but driving times are long. Go to the AA Route Planner (http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp) to get a good idea of driving times in Ireland. (The default setting is Great Britain, so be sure to change it to Ireland.)

jent103

Completely agree with janisj - flying to and from Shannon will be MUCH better if your main interest is in the west and southwest. Popular spots to visit are the Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, Kenmare/Killarney, and Galway/Connemara, but do some research and see what appeals to YOU. It's different for everyone! With eight days, you could comfortably visit Dingle and one other place.

What time of year are you planning to go?

zcat

We are planning to be in Ireland in September. Most likely it will be the end of September.

So far I am looking at spending 2 nights in Dingle, visiting the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher and I'd like to go to Kilkenny.

This is in no specific order I'm just brainstorming and hoping for advice. I have a guide book and just want to visit everything and I know it's not possible.

I'm add 50% to the driving times listed. I refuse to rush during the trip so please let me know if all of the places I've listed are not possible.

Looks like we will have 9 nights to play with.

jent103

I think those places are definitely doable. You can visit the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands from Doolin (though the Arans will be weather-dependent). I would start there, since it's your first trip and you'll be driving on the left - it's a much shorter drive to Doolin than to Dingle.

zcat

This is what I have at this point;

Doolin
Dingle
Kenmare/Killarney
Cork
Cashel
Dublin

Are any of these drives unreasonable? Does anyone have suggestions on how long to stay in each place?

jent103

Well, that's trying to pack a lot in. I'd say two nights in Doolin, two nights in Dingle, two in Kenmare, and then head to Dublin on a long driving day (maybe you can see the Rock of Cashel en route?). Trying to cram six places into nine nights will make for a very rushed trip.

I still think that it would be really helpful if you're able to fly home from Shannon, unless you really do want to see Dublin (your earlier posts didn't sound like it, but perhaps I'm misinterpreting). I'd take a connecting flight over having to drive across a country to somewhere you weren't that interested in seeing.

zcat

Thanks so much, that is what I needed to know. I don't really want to see Dublin as much as the rest of Ireland.

Any ideas on where to stay on the way back to Shannon or what to see?

zcat

Is Adare worth a visit?

jent103

I haven't been to Adare, but my impression is that it's not a must-see. Hopefully others who have been will chime in.

With nine nights, you could either do as I said above and add in Galway for a couple of nights, or just extend Dingle and Kenmare for an extra night each before spending your last night in Ennis or somewhere else closer to Shannon. (Or other options too, of course, but those come to mind.) Just depends on how fast you want to travel and what you want to see!

I will say that I stayed two nights in Killarney and I wish I had a) stayed in Kenmare and b) had an extra night. We did the Gap of Dunloe tour, which was great but took up most of our one full day there. With an extra day I would have liked to see more of the national park or Muckross House, something like that. In case it's helpful, you can get to my trip report by clicking on my name (Ireland is toward the end).

janisj

"<i>Is Adare worth a visit?</i>" Absolutely.

As I mentioned in my first post, and jent103 agreed -- flying out of Dublin doesn't really fit w/ the rest of your plans. Fly out of Shannon, and then you don't have to dash across the country simply to catch your flight.

irishface

All the other posters have given good advice to get a guide book from the library or store and read about what there is too see.

You did mention that you would like to have a "homebase" and do day trips. May I humbly suggest that you choose Galway and Dingle.

Galway probably first as the drive from Shannon is easier. Stop at the cliffs of Moher on the way. You probably won't see puffins however, as they only come ashore to breed in June/July.

Galway itself is worth exploring.

While there you could drive to Rosseveal and take the ferry to Aran Islands. The ferry from there is a shorter ride and is less weather dependent than the one from Doolin. Or take a 10 minute flight from the airport near Galway.

Drive around the Burren. Ailwee Caves, Polnabroun Dolman, visitor center at Kilfenora. The center explains the geology, flora and fauna of this special area.

Drive a circle through Connemara--spectacular scenery, some castles, craft shops and little museums. Stop in Lenane for lunch at one of the cafes and visit the craft shops. Lenane is at the head of a fiord.

You might want to attend the banquet at Dunguaire Castle in Kinvarra. Many on this forum prefer this one, although my favorite is at Bunratty.

From Galway drive to Dingle.

Dingle is a delightful place to visit. Lots of pubs, interesting shops and cruise out on the harbor.

Drive around the Dingle peninsula--beehive huts, Gallarus Oratory, Blasket Center, and scenery galore.

When I stayed in Dingle with family, we did the Ring of Kerry from there. It is a longer trip than going Kilarney to Kilarney, but we were in a cottage for a week and it was not an unreasonable day. (Could have spent another week in Dingle). We went back and spent a whole day in Kilarney--Muckross House and farm museum, Torc waterfall, horse cart trip out to the lake.

We went out to the Blasket Islands, though I don't know if the ferry out there will be running in September.

On the way back to Shannon, stop in Adare. I think it is well worth it, but only you can judge that.

Spend the last night in the Shannon area. Many recommend Ennis. If you stay in the Bunratty area, you can do the banquet there--my personal favorite. Also in that area is Cragganouwen, one of my favorite places. There is a tower fort from the 1400's and a recreated farmstead built on an island in a pond. There are animals that have been "backbred"
to some ancient breeds. Also you might see some wild boars(behind a fence). Also on display is the "Brendan", the ship which was used to show that St. Kevin could have crossed the Atlantic in the fifth century.

Have a great trip!

irlad

Hi Welcome!
I am Irish and living in Ireland. Just like to add two points but if I can be of help please ask further question.
(a) To get the best experience over nine days do not attempt to travel to all the centres mentioned. Stay West and definitely avoid Dublin airport - locals commonly do this if possible! Also driving away from there can be a stressful (and costly) experience if first time driving in Europe. I would focus on Clare and Ring of Kerry. Cork city, nearby Kerry is a lovely friendly town with many local attractions (Blarney Castle and certainly Cobh Heritage town - last port of call of Titanic). All doable at nice pace. Problem with many visitors from stateside is that they fly into Ireland for a few days and want to see everything. Met many who would not do again as no pleasure in it.
(b) Someone mentioned guest houses (bed and breakfast) establishments as being best. This is questionable and of course depends on your personal preferencest. But in current economic climate it may be far better to stay in hotels as they are often cheaper and far better value than guest houses. The info posted by other person may be dated. Few Irish use guest houses right now when room costs of all grades of hotel are slashed. Best to book online and some travel critics advise in national press to telephone for cheapest prices nowadays.Interrnet prices can be higher! B&Bs cannot match the levels of comfort and facilities generally and concierge services are as informative as any B&B proprietor. Above is general rule and of course there will be exceptions but these are few.

Car hire can be relatively expensive also and of course gasoline at Euro 1.20 per litre is not cheap any longer.

Have a wonderful time and if I can assist with further info, just ask.

Cheers

jefe

longhorn55 mentioned the Ordnance Survey Maps - they are great, and usually available at most Barnes & Noble stores in the states. I think I've also seen them at Borders. Either one should be able to order if necessary, too.

Something to think about before picking where to stay is what do you want to see/do? I can recommend a lot of places that are great - for me Besides the Cliffs of Moher, is there any place that you really would like to go, or something that you would like to do? That can often dictate where you will need to base yourself, and can also dictate your travel plans.

Skim through your guide books (heck, spend a few hours at the bookstore or library and look at all of them) and see what tickles you. Lots of great ideas posted by others, but if you give everyone an idea of what sounds interesting to you, I think you might get even better responses on how to manage things.

And no matter what, you will have a GREAT time.

zcat

I want to thank everyone so much for their time and advice!
We have decided to do half in Galway and half in Dingle.

I have a few questions however. How long are the actual drives between:

Shannon and Galway
Galway and Dingle
Dingle and Shannon

Which place should I stay for four nights Galway or Dingle?

Thanks again, your guidance has really helped take some of the stress out of planning this. I'm just going to have to go to Ireland more than once!

Masterphil

zcat...I consider myself a good driver (and a good record to prove it).

I knocked the left mirror off of my car in Ireland and paid through the nose to fix it (a BMW "electric mirror").

I first hit a tiny, one car stone bridge in Kinsale. I followed that up with a second shot on the back of a truck I was passing in a traffic jam.

The folks at the Avis counter informed me that knocking the left mirror off was something that happens quite frequently by Americans and others use to driving on the right side of the road.

Keep that in mind when approaching tight areas and you will be fine!