Hello, Ireland Fodorites! I'm back to Fodor's for some more great advice, this time for Ireland. (Last time it was Italy in May, 2001, and it was an amazing trip thanks to the advice I got here). Anyway, my DH and I will be traveling with another couple to celebrate our Irish heritage (mine and my friend, that is) and our anniversaries (25 for us, 37 for our friends, where does the time go!). Our anniversaries are in May, and we'll be traveling in October, but never mind. it's the thought that counts. Here's one possible itinerary, what do you think?

Oct.3- Leave NYC for DUB

Oct. 4- arrive am. in Dublin - stay overnight in or near Dublin for three nights, using Dublin as a hub for day trips and sightseeing. OR arrive Dublin, pick up rental car , sightsee Kells, Slane, Monasterboice, Newgrange, Hill of Tara, (NOT necessarily all of them, of course), staying overnight nearby, then stay two nights in/near Dublin for Trinity College, Book of Kells, museums, pub crawl...

Oct. 5-7 Dublin. with day trip to Glendalough

Oct. 7 in afternoon, drive to Clonmacnoise (We're interested in early church sites, in case you've noticed!) Overnight in Athlone (Riverdale House)(would be interested in any suggestions for B&B's here and elsewhere!)

Oct. 8 Mon.- In am. Clonmacnoise, if we didn't get to it the day before. In afternoon, drive west and south to The Burren and Cliffs of Moher. Overnight nearby maybe Doolin for Trad. music or the Berry Lodge for the food.

Oct. 9 Tues- Okay, basically, from this point until we leave on Friday, Oct. 12 (from Shannon) here's what we'd like to do..so, how can we do it? if we can do it? HELP!
Ring of Kerry- especially the Skellig Experience, weather permitting, Dingle Peninsula, especially the Gallarus Oratory, Killarney National Park. I wouldn't mind staying in Kenmare or Dingle if possible, Shannon River Tour (optional, unless it's to die for). Lastly, I'd like to stay at castle, if possible, so I'm thinking maybe Dromoland on our last night?. What do you think?

Thank you for any help and advice!
Kathi

Hi, it's me. Can anyone tell me why this post doesn't show up in the Ireland forum, just the Europe one? Just curious. Thanks!

You have to select Ireland, as well as place Ireland in the title.

Trip Suggestions:

I wouldn't pick up the car until I was leaving Dublin for good. There are group tours to Newgrange, etc. that are quite good and save you car rental $$$'s AND the hassle of dealing with a car while in Dublin.

Alternately, spend the first two nights in the city and do the Hop On - Hop Off City Tour on day one and the Glendalough tour on Day two. On Day three, pick up the car and tour Newgrange, Kells, etc. and spend the night somewhere between there and Cashel. It's a BIT of a detour, but if the "thrust" of the visit is churches and monastic sites, Cashel is pretty much a MUST.

From Doolin drive down to Killiner and take the ferry to Tarbert and continue on to Dingle via Connor Pass and have lunch and then drive Slea Head (Gallerus and Kilmakeder). Overnight in Dingle Town - Small Bridge Pub for music.

Drop the full ROK drive and drive from Dingle to Kenmare, via Killarney. Spend two nights in Kenmare, using the second day for the Skellig Experience. That way, you'll see MOST of the ROK, at least.
Last full day drive to Dromoland and spend the night.

Bob

Bob,
Thanks for the advice, especially about Dingle/RoK. Also, would we be able to fit in Clonmacnoise? That one is pretty much a must see on our list. I have to look on my map.
I think it's a good idea about waiting on the car. Can you recommend taking a train to Glendalough? I saw a tour that looked interesting on the train website.
Also, I still can't find this thread in the Ireland forum. Should I repost it? Thanks so much for your help!
Kathi

no - you don't really need to re-post. There is no "Ireland" forum. All threads are in "Europe". Clicking on Ireland does let folks search for info about Ireland - but it only finds about 60%-70% of them since many people don't click on a country before posting.

It would be regrettable to omit Clonmacnoise if you interested in church and monastic sites. I agree with Bob that you should try also to get Cashel into your itinerary.

While Kells was an important early monastic site, there is not that much to see there now unless you research a good deal and use your imagination (it's a matter of the way the monasteries formed the town rather than the monastic buildings still being there).

So you might progress Newgrange/Knowth, Monasterboice, Slane (short visit) and then head for Clonmacnoise.

Perhaps you should sacrifice the Cliffs of Moher for Cashel -- you can't do it all, and you need to make choices.

While you are in the area, you might like Ardfert Cathedral (just north of the Dingle Peninsula). On the Dingle Peninsula, look for Riasc Cross (signposted on the Slea Head drive).

There is no rail connection to Glendalough, but there are plenty of bus tours and there is also a scheduled bus service.

Padraig,
Thank you for the suggestions. I think we may need to omit the Cliffs if we decide to head to Cashel. Oh, so much to see, so little time! Thanks also for the info. about Riasc Cross. I hadn't come across that one yet. I'm still researching. I found some pictures and information on the internet which look great.
and janisj, well, what can I say? I just can't seem to get this thread to come up when I click on Ireland . I always find it waaay down on the Europe thread, though, so it's okay. I'm getting what I asked for.
hanks to everyone who's posted so far, I really appreciate it and all the suggestions have been very helpful!!!

Kathi

Another "while you are in the neighbourhood" vist -- this time on the Newgrange-Slane stage, as you plot a route towards Clonmacnoise: Bective Abbey.

See: http://cloghmore.bravepages.com/meath/bective.html
It's a good ruin, surprisingly untended (not even a car park!).

Padraig,
Thanks for the link. It does look awesome! There are somany sites, really, it's hard for us to choose. But we have decided to limit ourselves to those of the 10thC and before. Maybe next time....

Kathi:

Our favorite in Dublin (which we've recommended to family and friends also)is the Georgian-design Staunton's on the Green...right across the street from St. Stephen's Green, two block walk to the heart of Grafton (Pedestrian) Street, walk to Temple Bar, and most pubs on the "crawl" are also walking distance.

http://www.thecastlehotelgroup.com/s...page31093.html

In Dingle, we have eaten at and stayed at Doyle's Town House (painted bright red!)on the main street. Excellent restaurant and comfortable lodgings upstairs.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-3530..._s_townhouse-i

Stu T.

Thanks, tower, for the recommendations. Staunton's on the Green looks like one nice hotel!! I need to decide if we want to be outside Dublin and stay at a less expensive hotel, but then have the 'inconvenience' of traveling back and forth (which doesn't appear to be so bad, depending on where we'd stay), or pay a little more and stay at a very nice, conveniently located hotel right in town. At this point in my life, I say, "Go for it!". I think our big "splurges" this trip will probabley be Dublin hotels/B&B's and Dromoland Castle. Of course, I haven't told my husband about THAT yet!

Be a shame to omit things like Clonmacnoise or Cliffs of Moher if a bit of itinerary-tinkering can fix it.
I see you planned a night at Athlone? We found it no trouble at doing Dublin-Galway in one day and taking in a long visit to Clonmacnoise en route, so I'm sure it would be just as easy doing Dublin-Doolin/Lisdoonvarna in the same way, thus covering the Burren in the same day and putting you right on the doorstep for the Cliffs of Moher next day.

twoflower, the complication with routing is not that of including Clonmacnoise: it's getting to Cashel, which is on a different line to Kerry. It's a big adjustment rather than a minor tweak. It's Kathi's call, of course.

Kathi, Ardfert does not quite satisfy your dating criteria, as it is early second millenium rather than first millenium -- but it's so close to your route that it would be a pity to miss it. See http://cloghmore.bravepages.com/kerr...cathedral.html

St. Brendan is an important figure in Irish ecclesiastical history, and had strong associations with the Dingle Peninsula: Mount Brandon and Brandon Creek bear his name. So you can hang a number of things together as the Brendan part of your trip.

And, of course, he discovered America.

twoflower,
Thanks for the suggestions. As Padraig mentioned, we were/are thinking about adding Cashel to the mix. But, someone on another thread that I have going(don't ask, it just happened . I'm very rusty at this, it's been 5 years, since our 20th anniversary, that I've been here), suggested the Cliffs of Moher cruise, and everyone in our party just loves the sea! Must have something to do with being Irish! (Although my DH is Greek). With that in mind, I just don't know how to fit Cashel in. Any suggestions? I know I can't do it all, darn it, but I can try.
Padraig,
I will check out that site after dinner. My poor children are really suffering with my travel planning! I was wondering if St. Brendan and the name Brandon had any relationship to each other, thanks for clearing that up, without me asking.

Hi ksaras,
I stumbled across post 2! So, from what I read here I think you might consider dropping the Cliffs entirely unless you had a desire to see the Burren. We loved the Burren. But I wouldn't take a day from other things for the Cliffs. But that's just me, for many they're a must-see.

hi rosetravels aka mcshane! I just got finished reading (and reading) your trip report. Sounds like the next time I go to Ireland, we need to go to Westport with you and Melissa, and our geologists! Well, I can't make up my mind yet about Cashel/Cliffs. I think I'll take a break and think about it. And do more researching.... I think I like trip planning as much as the travelling.

Kathi,

This is doing my head in! I think that trying to get in both Cashel and the Cliffs of Moher is a big ask. Let's try (suggested visiting time in brackets):
- Oct 4: Arrive Dublin early morning; resist jet-lag; do stuff in Dublin.
- Oct 5: Day trip to Glendalough; evening in Dublin
- Oct 6: Collect hire car early; drive to Drogheda; visit Newgrange (2 hours+); Visit Monasterboice (30 minutes); continue to Slane and have a quick look at the "college" and the village; thence via Navan to Tara (1 hour); thence via Trim (you pass Bective Abbey!) to Rochfortbridge and Athlone. Driving: distance about 125 miles; time 4 hours or a little over.
- Oct 7: Visit Clonmacnoise (1-2 hours); drive via Birr to Cashel (1 hour); continue to Killarney (yes, Killarney -- it fits the driving requirements best). Distance about 160 miles; time almost 5 hours.
- Oct 8: Ring of Kerry, some evening time in Killarney
- Oct 9: Dingle Peninsula, evening in Killarney
- Oct 10: Drive to Doolin, see the Burren
- Oct 11: Cliffs of Moher, cruise. Head for Drumoland.
- Oct 12: Home!

It's a busy programme, and I'm not sure I would recommend it.

Hi Kathi,
Padraig's suggestion to go to Killarny on the 7th is quite good. You might consider saving the Cliffs and the Burren for your next trip (when you go to Westport - we did love Westport!) Melissa was there the year after I was and she has a wonderful trip report. But back to your anniversary trip:
7th: Killarny
8th: Kenmare - explore Bantry or Beara Peninsula
9th: Skellig Michael, then drive to Dingle
10th: Dingle
11th: Dromoland

Padraig,
I'm sorry about your head! Thank you so much for all the trouble your going through to help 'get my cake and eat it too'. However, I'm thinking that the way to go would be to drop the Cliffs, and go to Cashel. As you say, your proposed itinerary is busy! Also, unknown to you, we probably need to stay in Dublin for church on Sunday. My friend is also my priest, so we can't play hookey . Greek Orthodox Churches are few and far between in Ireland. If you know of any other than Dublin, let me know.

I checked with our friends re: Cashel vs. Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs have won. I thank everyone who's offered an opinion and given advise about Cashel. (esp. Padraig). Part of the process is accessing the possibilities, isn't it?