Flying into SNN- 1st night in Doolin? Then onto Ballybunion?
 

This will be mom, dad, and husband's first trip to Ireland! :) We are flying into SNN Sat, June 5 and have 8 days to get to DUB.

The men are golfing Ballybunion June 7-8. My thought is to drive north to Doolin, see the Burren and Cliffs of Moher and spend our first night in Doolin. Any recs on a charming and clean B&B? They all get such fantastic reviews on tripadvisor that it's hard to choose.

Do you think Doolin in a good choice?

Then we will leisurely make our way to Ballybunion, arriving Sunday evening. And recs on where to stop for a yummy lunch and dinner?

Thank you so much for your thoughts.

Hi Tx.
I was in Doolin for 2 nights last Sept. and stayed at Killilagh House. No problems, loved it. Mike & Brid Shannon will do right by you. Doolin Village has NO bank or ATM. While there I took "Doolin 2 Aran" ferry to the small, and closest Is. I can recomend both, Killilagh & "Doolin 2 Aran"

Michael G.

Personally, I prefer Ennis -- more to see and do -- If you check in early and catch a short nap, the Cliffs, Doolin, Bunratty and the Burren are all only short drives away.

Bob

I vote with Italian Chauffer for Ennis. It is closer to Shannon and, as he says, you can check in and freshen up before you go to check out the many sights in the area. It will also make the next day's trip shorter.

I am sure others will disagree but I did not like Doolin at all.The village may be world famous but I was not impressed. I went there because I heard the Irish folk music was so great but I found many other towns to be better. Dingle is a good example. Just down the road a short drive from Doolin is the town of Lehinch which I liked very much. The beach and the cliffs there are great and there are lots of pubs with good music. As for Irish pubs I have never found a bad one.

Larry J

I meant to say I have never found a bad Irish B&B..............now that I think of it the pubs are o.k. too.

Larry J

Really? Okay, thanks so much for the feedback. I'm thinking a cruise along the Cliffs of Moher would be nice... wdyt?

So our flight arrives at 9:40am... SNN seems small, so I bet we're driving out by 11:00. Should we drive to Ennis, check in, have lunch, and then continue to the Cliffs and The Burren? That way we're not backtracking on Sunday? Or is that too much for an afternoon?

I really appreciate your ideas. Italian.. I believe there is a pub w/ live music you rec? What about dinner/lunch? B&B? (I'm going to check tripadvisor right now.)
tia!

We enjoyed the cruise to the Cliffs that left from Doolin. If memory serves, it leaves at noon so you wouldn't be able to make it on that first day. There may be more than one boat operating so you could Dogpile (my choice over Google) and see what is available.

Cruise along the cliffs would be great. Yes, SNN is tiny :) You'll be out by 10:30, probably. Drive to Ennis, check in, have lunch, and then go on to what you want to do. Whether it's too much all depends on your state of exhaustion and jet lag.

I do like Ennis as well - many more options.

Hi TXgalinGA,

We had the same question, altho our plane supposedly arrives in Shannon at 7AM (next Tues!!!). Anyway, after reading many of the threads here and doing a little research, we opted to rent the car, drive to Doolin (staying at Daly's House), and hire Shane Connolly of Burren Hill Walks for a private tour of the Burren that afternoon. You can find him here: http://tinyurl.com/y8tvwph He is charging us 20E an hour and will pick us up at the B&B and do all the driving. He's supposed to be very good.

My thinking was this. I rarely get good sleep on the flight over and, from past experience, I know I get very tired by the early to middle of the afternoon on that first day when the adrenalin rush of being in a new country is over. But I didn't want to waste the better part of the first day sitting in a B&B due to jet lag. At the same time, I didn't want to be behind the wheel driving on the wrong side of the road on narrow country roads when I was sleep deprived. Thus the decision to hire Shane and do the Burren sightseeing on Day 1. If I should take a nap or 2 in the car during his tour, at least I won't kill anyone!!

I suspect Shane could pick you up in Ennis. I chose Doolin because I wanted to walk to a pub to hear some music that first nite. Plus I wanted to have 2 shots at seeing the Cliffs. If it's raining hard on the day of our arrival, we can try again first thing in the morning before heading to our next destination because they are so close.

Just my 2 cents.......

If you want to take a trip at the foot of the cliffs of M, we went from Liscannor harbor. The boat had several trips a day.
Liscannor is on the way to the cliffs from Ennis, so on return you could go just a few miles farther and see the cliffs from the top as well.