galway city vs clare with husband and 2 teens
 

We are going to Ireland last 10 days of July starting in Dublin for 3 nights . We will drive to Clifden and stay there 3 nights and then either stay in Galway City or somewhere in Clare for 2 nights. From either place we will hopefully see The Cliffs, Aran Islands and The Burren plus Galway. I thought Galway would be a compromise between spending the day seeing the beautiful landscape and evening in a town with action.
Any thoughts on this plan would be appreciated.

From Dublin are you just going to drive west to Clifden? If so you'll miss many of the things worth seeing in southern Ireland. I'd have the arrival day and another in Dublin then head south by way of Kilkenny (a nice shopping centre/town) which has an excellent restored castle with a good tour. South to Waterford with a nice little town and the Waterford Crystal works (shut dinner time), west to Cork where you have Blarney with the castle and stone nearby. Then north to Limerick and then on to Galway which you could use as a base to visit those places as well as Clifden which is only a short drive away.

I'd also buy a good guide book (so you don't miss all the places worth seeing) and a good map. Watch out for speed cameras near Dublin and a few other places.

The kids will of course be on holiday in late July and you will need to book places beforehand if possible. South of Cork is Kinsale which is a nice little upmarket harbour town on the coast.

thank you for suggestions..I would love to see southern Ireland but I am trying to limit the amount of time in the car. Do you think that we can see Dublin in two days?

I honestly think you can "see" Dublin in 1 day -- but since the first day will (probably) be jet lagged, 2 days is about right.

thanks Janis..If we stayed in Dublin 2 nights where would you stay the extra night if we are headed to the west coast. Do you think that 3 nights in Clifden is too many? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I personally prefer staying longer in one place (she says after talking you out of three days in Dublin :) It is just that I much prefer the scenery and sites on the west coast to Dublin. I like cities - Dublin just isn't one of my faves)

So if it were me - yes, 3 days in Clifton as a base for touring around would be great. Connemara, Galway, Aran, Clew Bay/Westport/Achill are all w/i easy reach

Everybody,

On an earlier post susiev was wondering if she should stay in Galway City or in county Clare. I haven't stayed in Galway City but from reading this forum, I've heard so many of you say with teens Galway City would have more to offer. Could they still tour The Burren from Galway?

You're right...I would like to know whether I can accomplish seeing all the said sites from Galway city . We are going to be staying at Dromoland castle at the end of our trip but I am not sure whether we will be sightseeing at that point as I am certain that golf will become a priority. As it stands now our itinerary is

Dublin 3 nights (could be two)
Clifden 3 nights
Galway City 2 nights
Dromoland 2 nights

I am trying to avoid spending all our time in the car but of course like all of us ..I don't want to miss anything.

Hi, Joan. I don't think touring the Burren from Galway would be a problem at all. And, of course, they can go to the Aran Islands from Galway. The islands are actually a continuation of the Burren.

We drove from Westport to Knock to Ennis in one day. We had lunch in Kinvara, just south of Galway. From there we drove through the Burren and visited the Cliffs. It was 6:00 or so by the time we got to Ennis. But, still, I think anyone leaving Galway in the morning could easily do a day trip through the Burren and get back to Galway that evening. I'm guessing it still stays light fairly late in July.

"...I would like to know whether I can accomplish seeing all the said sites from Galway city . We are going to be staying at Dromoland castle at the end of our trip but I am not sure whether we will be sightseeing at that point as I am certain that golf will become a priority. "

In Galway, you should stay at Salthill. Your teens might even take a dip in Galway Bay.
The day you leave Galway (early), you can drive thru Clare: see the Burren & the Cliffs of Moher; Doolin. Lahinch, Spanish Point, etc. The latter both have nice Golf Courses: Spanish Point a 9-Hole Links layout and Lahinch an 18-hole Links course. But you'll probably be heading for the Greg Norman designed Doonberg course a little further south. Take a look at the pix on my http://groups.msn.com/NedsIrelandPubsandgolf