Go or No go to Ballyvaughn
 

Will be travelling from Dingle up the coast via the ferry. Stopping to see the Cliffs. Since it'll be a long day driving we'll need to settle somewhere for the night. Was thinking of Ballyvaughn. Next day we have all day to do something before heading to Bunratty (doing the trad irish night there instead of banquet).

Anyone with suggestions about Ballyvaughn or perhaps a daytrip somewhere before heading towards Bunratty????

I posted this on one of your other duplicate threads -- don't know if you saw it:

On day 7, take the Ferry and head for Kilkee. Once you approach the town, drive off toward the right. The road parallels the golf course. At the end, park and walk out to see the cliffs. some great views. On the return, drive down to the lighthouse, thru Kilkee, and take the scenic route -- marked as such. Stop by the Bridges of Ross - more views. Be careful of your footing. Drive to the lighthouse and tour the area.

Stop for dinner in Carrigaholt at the Long Dock Pub. Head back to Kilrush, stay at http://www.hillcrestview.com/ and spend the night.

In the morning, head out to Lahinch, stopping maybe an hour or so for some shopping, head to the Cliff of Moher (close by), drive around the coast road thru Doolin, maybe stopping for a pint at O'Connor's, then you will be ready for lunch at Monk's Pub in Ballyvaughn. After lunch, head on to Bunratty for dinner, overnight, castle, shopping, pubs. ((b))

Budman, I saw your post. Was looking for other alternatives.

I assume this is still a late July trip. Ballyvaughan will be packed with tourists, and B&Bs will be at a premium. Late July is the busy time for the Clare coast tourists.

The top rated B&Bs at Ballyvaughan are - www.drumcreehyhouse.com - www.rusheenlodge.com

Early booking for the best B&Bs is very important during their high season.

I like to stay in the Burren during the busy times. Kilfenora is a good stop for Irish trad. music. - www.burrenacommodation.com

Drumcreehy house is quite nice and about a kilometer out of town.

We'll still be there at the busy season. Should be in or around Ballyvaughn on August 5 of this year

I would second Budman's suggestion - we went through Kilrush and it seemed like an interesting town. Ballyvaughan is fine but not all that interesting IMHO. There's some B&B's and a few restaurants. We stayed there August 4th one year and it struck me as rather quiet. I'd stay in Kilrush or Doolin or Ennis instead.

Irish57, we chose Ballyvaughan as a base for our 3-night stay in County Clare for our trip summer 2006. You can read my trip report which begins with the title "100 Kisses in Matt Malloy's Pub..."

For us, Ballyvaughan had a perfect location between the places we wanted to visit. From there, we visited the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and went to the Dunguaire castle medieval banquet in Kinvara. Loved the Irish trad music at Greene's pub in Ballyvaughan on Wednesday nite and loved watching locals set-dancing at the barn at Vaughan's in Kilfenora on Thursday night (you must consult their current schedules for your stay!!!)

Ballyvaughan is a very small town, and so is Doolin... It was more of a base than a destination for us. You can't "hang out" in the town all day as there wouldn't be enough to do. But I assume you will be heading out in your rental car and exploring places nearby as we did?

The best part about staying in Ballyvaughan was it's perfect location between the sites I mentioned above; getting to hear amazing trad music at Greene's pub right in Ballyvaughan; and having a nice lunch at Monk's pub in Ballyvaughan.

We stayed at Drumcreehy house in Ballyvaughan, which is actually a short drive outside of the town. The cold breakfast buffet was especially good there. They also had hot breakfast but we thought their cold spread was preferable. (Included in your room price.)

Would we stay there again? Well, just for the sake of variety, when we return to County Clare we will stay in a different small town next time.

While traveling around County Clare, I didn't see any other town which I thought was lots better...they all seemed like pleasant small villages to stay in.

We loved Dingle and spent 3 nights there, including the peninsula drive. After lively Dingle you will find the small villages in County Clare tiny.

We very much enjoyed visiting small-village Ireland in our car. It is part of the charm of Ireland and even if you don't stay there you have to stop for lunch or stop in a pub. We found locals in the small villages especially friendly, down-to-earth, and relaxed.

The pubs in small villages don't have music every night...you need to check their schedule.

I am getting ready for my trip to NZ so I wish you a great time planning your adventures in Ireland!

We also visited the Bunratty castle and folk park. It was Okay...but we liked the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum up in Cultra, east of Belfast, even better.

Dunguaire castle medieval banquet was a really fun experience, one of the highlights of the trip for my daughters and I...and enjoyable for my husband.

Irish57, I'll third Budman's suggestion. Ballyvaughn is just OK to me. Unless, you want to splurge and stay at Gregans Castle. I haven't stayed but everytime I go by it, I say I will, as it's in the midst of The Burren in it's own green gardens and has views to the sea.