I am planning a fly/drive trip for next April as a surprise for my husband. Here is what my travel agent has suggested.

1. Flying into Shannon and the first 2 nights at Dromoland. question- using this as a base any mustsees? I know we'll want to see the Cliffs of Moher.

2. One night at The Great Southern Killarney

3. The next two nights at Hotel Minella in Tipperary

4. She "insists" we go to Dublin for the last two days staying at the Brooks Hotel. I'm not sold on this. Should we skip Dublin, fly back from Shannon, and spend more time southwest?

Scenery (coastline, mountains) is important to us as well as history. I want a relaxed pace. We like to socialize when we travel (pubs). The forums have already talked me out of the Blarney Stone and Waterford (thank you thank you).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. At this point I'm pretty overwhelmed.

If you want a "relaxed pace" do not go to Dublin. Its like a mini New York only with faster drivers who like to run over people.

The Pubs in the smaller towns are fantastic. I loved it.

Since you are not "sold" on Dublin I would definitely skip it. We started our 9 day trip in Dublin and I was sorry we didn't spend the entire time on the west coast. I did also liked some of the central areas - specifically Kilkenny, Cahir and Cashel - but those three could easily be done in a couple of days from the west - no need to go all the way to Dublin. I found Dublin had the drawbacks that most city's have (noise, dirt, expense, congesttion) without the charms that so many cities in Europe have. And I like cities - Paris and London are two of my favorite places on earth. But in Ireland I would stick to the rural, scenic areas. I wish I had.

I totally agree with the other replies. I was just in Ireland and spent the last two days in Dublin. I won't go back there again. Nice city, but Ireland is, to me, all about the rural areas. When we return in November, it will only be Connemara and Clare (all that time permits). Emphasize the SW and Connemara region in your trip. I think with some web surfing you could come up with a lot more charming trip than the one you state here. Somewhat smaller more interesting hotels, etc. April is a good time to go--weather is decent but not crowded with tourists.

Although I like Dublin than some of the others who have replied, I concur with their advice.

The Southwest is TERRIFIC. Spend some time on the Dingle peninsula. Lots of pubs with music. Stay at Greenmount or Heaton's.

Addendum: I'm glad they convinced you NOT to go to Blarney or Waterford. Totally overrated in my opinion!

I'm always a bit suspect of travel agency bookings in Ireland. There was a place I wanted to stay long ago, and the travel agent told me they were booked. I called them and they had plenty of rooms. Clearly it was a commission question. Also, if your travel agent insists that you go to Dublin, you might want a different agent, or better yet, none at all.

I suggest booking without the agent and choosing B&Bs to stay in. They are more friendly and personal, almost always cheaper and frequently more comfortable. You can get a lot of great advice here on great B&Bs.

The agent will probably also book you in with vouchers, which are totally unnecessary. They limit your choices, usually don't save money and more likely are more expensive and are very expensive for the B&B owners. Hotels are hotels.

There are differing opinions on Dromoland and castles of it's sort.. Many love it and though I've never stayed there, I've stayed at the Ashford Castle, which is similarly expensive and I still enjoyed the B&Bs more. I'm a simple guy and quite frankly the whole 5 start hotel thing doesn't do that much for me. Ashford, though nice and very old, still just struck me as an old ornate hotel, not a castle. That said, many, many people LOVE it.

The town of Tipperary is usually one that isn't on peoples all time top hits list. Don't know why, but the fact that your agent has you booked there suggest that there is a hotel with another big commission. If I am staying in Tipperary, I would choose, Cahir or Cashel.

So, with just a week, I concur with the others. Fly in and out of Shannon, stay on the west coast and have a blast. If you need some city life, try Galway. It's a small city but very energetic.

I would say, first and last night in Co Clare (Bunratty or on the coast around Doolin) two nights in Dingle, two nights in Kenmare and then you have another night to blow elsewhere. These are the big hits of the west coast. There are certainly tons of other marvelous places to visit for instance, you could go north and see some of Connemara instead. If you want slow and relaxing, try to get some two nighters in. This is just a start, but there is no reason to book yet because airlines won't post their fares for April until sometime in June at the earliest and you should be able to find deals for that time of year in the September to November time frame.

So, drop your travel agent and do it on your own. You'll get better advice here than she will ever give you. Nobody's working on commission here.

Bill

Bill - That's a great post. You're so right--who needs travel agents--esp. for a country like Ireland. Book your own air on the web, and with lodging--and places to see, just keep clicking away till you find something you like. I think you mentioned--in April not necessary to book in advance as few if any places will be fully booked. And to gharrell-advice on this forum is great--last month when I went to Ireland I took tons of advice from here and it was all right on the money!

I like Dublin, but agree with the posts that if you have a week, I would skip it and stick to the south west. Having said that, I have stayed at the Brooks Hotel, and it is a nice hotel, centrally located.

Bill gives good recommendations. Kenmare is lovely, and Galway beats Dublin. If you go to Galway, do take the detour to Connemara. The most wonderful part of Ireland, I believe.

To one2travel (or others), which of the 2 Dingle guesthouses do you prefer, Heaton's or Greenmount?

If you only have a week, I wouldn't deal with two airports. Dublin is rich in history if that's your focus. But, the west coast has the more dramatic scenery if that's what you'd like.

If you use Shannon airport, then I'd suggest that you decide whether you want to go south from there to Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Killarney, etc. Or, go north to Galway, Connemara, and Mayo. With just a week, I hate to see people spend too much time in the car trying to see it all.

Your travel agent has suggested only hotels. Would you prefer not to stay in B&Bs?

if I count right you are only going for seven days -
forget dromoland or stay night before you leave if you flying out of shannon
with your time i would:

first night ballyvaughan,kinvara,lisdoonvarna or even doolin-do the cliffs of mohr and drive the burren do the night with dinner & music in doolin
from their south to loop head and then to killmer for the fairy to talbert and on to dingle stay at least one night in dingle take N599 around slea head - from dingle you can drive to Killarney in about an hour (I would stay in kenmare)can do the gap and lakes.bout 5 hr drive from kenmare to tipperary and I would drive the berra
peninsula before heading for tipperary this would be a long day so you might want to overnight before tipperary
stay in cashel or cahir--straight shot opn N24 from cahir to limerick to shannon.
stay at dromoland the last night - it is expensive but if you can afford it it's a great experience-- it is my one big splurge in Ireland - always stay there the night before leaving--

forget dublin you don't have enough time unless you are flying out of dublin then forget shannon and spend the last night or two in dublin

I always do dublin but I also always go for three weeks -

yes dublin is a big city with all that goes with a big city but don't let anyone talk you out of dublin if you have the time - there are many things to see in dublin the book of kells and trinity college alone are worth it - but beauty is in the eye of the beholder someone responded to you didn't like dublin but does paris as for me I hated paris couldn't stand being around that many frenchmen for that long
whatever you do have fun

forgot to tell you - go toaaroadwatich.ie -- great site for route planning

again have fun and sorry kinda to all you frenchman I insulted

We planned our trip - coming up in a bit over 2 weeks - on our own after finding a travel agent to be similarly unhelpful.

Besides the fact that I was finding better prices on flights than she was, she seemed to become quite irritated that we didn't want to use B&B vouchers. We also did not see eye-to-eye on the hotel she was recommending for our stay in Dublin. Much fancier than we care for, since we just look at hotels as a place to sleep.

So, I decided to just do all of the legwork myself. I believe I am going to have a much better time now, as I learned A LOT more about Ireland thanks to my research. I say ditch the travel agent, and make your own plans.

I think with just a week, all of the suggestions for staying in the west sound right to me. If we had just 1 week, that is where we would be visiting. And no offense to anyone in Tipperary, but I have never seen it recommened as a destination, much less a place to spend 2 nights - not even from folks I've spoken to who are from Ireland.

I was in Ireland for my first time in September. We visited Dromoland, and frankly, if you want to socialize, I'd simply visit it and stay in a B&B. It is beautiful and well-appointed, but stuffy and high-priced. You probably won't find any socializing there. Get out into the real Ireland and stay at some B&B's where you'll meet real Irish people and some travelers with great advice and great stories. We loved Galway and Kenmare. Some B&B suggestions are Four Seasons in Galway (easy to walk to main shopping and dining) and Virginia's Guesthouse in Kenmare (right at end of town, easy for walking all over). We didn't visit Dublin and at and have not been sorry. Except for Paris, we usually stay out of large cities and keep to the smaller towns and villages when we travel.

I forgot to put in my two cents about Blarney Castle. Any "castle" which makes you enter thru the gift shop and leave thru the gift shop....need I say more. I would rather wear a Mini Mouse custume and run around freaking Disneyland.

Skip Dublin, there is so much to see in the Southwest. You will love Dromoland. Take a tour (a day trip) of the Ring of Kerry, stop in the towns along the way. You can go by rental car or take a bus tour out of Killarney.

I can't thank you all enough for your replies. You confirmed some of my suspicions about the travel agent. Thinking back on previous travels, you are all correct in steering me to B&Bs. I'm going to put something together myself. I'll give you an update. THANKS!

gharrell,

It has been 3 years since we went to Ireland for 2 wonderful weeks, but I had to agree. Skip Dublin. We had 2 nights there at the start and I couldn't wait to get out of town.

If you have to choose between the Ring of Kerry or Dingle peninsula, my vote is Dingle. Stay in Dingle for 2 nights - great seafood restaurants. Drive around the peninsula the next day and just enjoy the coastline.

Have a wonderful trip -

Ginny

If you're looking for a special place for a first or last night in Ireland, take a look at the country houses and manor houses at this site: www.hiddenireland.com

Update- I've taken everyone's advice -now tell me what you think. We are not going until next April so I'm not booking until June. This trip is a gift so I have to plan early. Please offer any suggestions of things to do, sites pubs etc.

Day one- Arrive Shannon p/u Rental car Drive to Ballyvaughan- Gregans Castle Hotel

Day two- Cliffs of Moher, the Burren , Doolin (whatever strikes us) stay at Gregans Castle Hotel

Day three- head to Clifden stay at Quay House

Day four- explore the Connemara (again whatever strikes us) stay at Quay House

Day five- head to Dingle (this will be a big driving day that's why I put it in the middle)
We'll probably take the ferry to Talbert then on to Dingle- stay at Greenmont House-

Day six- Dingle peninsula stay at Greenmont House

Day seven- head to Kenmare stay at Shelburne Lodge

Day eight- stay at Shelburne Lodge- drive Beara Pennisula? Any suggestions??

Day nine- Head back towards Shannon- last night at Dromoland

You have all been a great help.