Help with itinerary days and stays, please?
 

Well, after having no power, phone, internet or cable for a week due to Irene, I'm finally back on! And I'm fretting that I'm not even close to ready for an itinerary and we leave on the 24th.

We land in Shannon on the morn of the 25th. We leave out of Shannon at 1100 on 6th Oct. We have a map highlighted on our wall with pins of all the locations my daughter wants to see. I know we won't get all of them in. But if I give you an idea could you give me a clue as to what you think the best amount of days and stays and where should be with this list I've narrowed it down to?

Dingle is on her list with a trip out to Skellig Michael, Cummingeera and maybe doing the Ring of Kerry.

Blarney Castle, Mizen Head, Kinsale and the Charles and James Forts.

Over to the east for Glendalough, Knowth, Newgrange, Tara and Trim.

Husband would like to check out Trinity and a few Dublin sights but we will be driving ourselves and I hear that's not fun to drive yourselves in Dublin so I don't know if we sould just skip the city.

Antrim is a must for the Causeway, and Dunluce.

Over to the west for Carrowmore and Carrokeel. Maybe a stop in Athenry.
Then the Burren, Corcomroe Abbey, Poulnabrone Dolmen, and Cliffs of Moher.

That would circle us around, hitting the major places she definitely wants to see. Do you think that this is doable in the 11 days we will be on the ground?

Thanks so much,
Jen

Skellig Michael is not off Dingle it is of the Ring, Cummingeera is Beara then Mizen. This little bit of the Itinerary takes up about 4 days so needs to be narrowed down. Getting to Skellig would be weather dependant so If your aim is Dingle and Beara/Mizen then drop the ring.

Kinsale ok not my cup of tae but its not my trip

Glendalough from Kinsale and stay just south of the city so you can get in on the Dart/train (Dun Laoghaire?).

Howth, Belfast, Antrim Coast is a long days drive as is the journey back to the mid west over a couple of days.

It can be done but its a tour not a vacation.

The general consensus is to draw a line Galway to Dublin and devote 10 days either north or south of that line.

I presume you are far along with your trip planning but this sounds like way too much to me. Yes, as Tony says, it can be done but his north or south idea is much better.

You probably won't have much energy on your 1st day so you could get a bleary eyed view of Dingle.

Skellig Michael alone will take up most of a day. The Ring of Kerry is a long drive that also takes much of a day. Blarney IMO is a waste of time, there are much more interesting castles though the gardens are pretty nice. They may not be very interesting in late September.

I would devote most of a day to any of the Peninsulas even smallish Mizen Head. Kinsale is cute, touristy but by the time you are there, it should be a bit quieter. It can be nice in the low season.

You certainly can't do Glendalough and Newgrange in the same day. You need to get to Newgrange relatively early as it can sell out. I would skip Dublin for the reasons that you suggest. It's no fun to drive in and worse to park in.

The the haul to the north to see two sites. Yes, they are lovely but you will be flying right by. The best part is the Antrim coast especially the Torr Rd. Going all the way to the north to see Dunluce and the Causeway isn't worth it IMO.

Carrowkeel is out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, it's very interesting and you will likely be the only ones there but it invloves some hiking around and some very porrly marked roads... unlessthey have been improved since I was there about 6 years ago.

Athenry has a marginally intersting castle and a couple of crappy tourist shops taking advantage of Pete St John's sappy but popular song. You won't get any sense of the angst that was caused by stealing Trevelyan's corn.

Some people make this green blur trip and find a way to enjoy it. To compare, I will be there at about the same time, see half as much in twice as much time.

I hope this helps.

Bill

Thank you for your responses. Yes, I've taken some advice from Tony and we have backed off even going into Dublin and visiting Blarney and the Cork area.

This is my itinerary so far:
2 nights in Dingle to recover and explore the penninsula.
2 nights in Kenmare to hopefully head to Skelligs, Cummingeera,maybe Mizen Head and Innisfallen.
1 night in Cashel and explore that area.
2 nights in Navaan with the hopes to visit Knowth, Newgrange, Trim, and Tara.
1 night in Antrim to see Causeway etc.
1 night in Sligo to see Carrowmore/Carrowkeel
2 nights in Galway and finish out with the Cliffs, and Burren.

I know driving can be tough but we honestly enjoy drving just for the joy of driving and seeing the countryside.

Does this sound more doable than the previous list? I wil probably never get to Ireland again and would like to see the highlights with my daughter that were important for her.

Thanks for your input!

Jen

Hi Jen- I think your itinerary is doable.It is a lot of driving and moving around , but most first time Ireland trips you want to see as much as you can.

It looks like you are flying from the east coast,which will help a little.Your first day will be long.

"I will probably never get to Ireland again"-I disagree! I bet you will be planing your return on your flight home!

We leave on 9/23 and return on 10/8 for our 5th trip.If your itinerary stays the same we should be in Galway at the same time

Have a great time!

Susan

Thanks Susan!

I am hoping for a return trip when my other daughter turns 16 in 6 years, but other than that, it probably won't happen. We have a sweet little boy with significant disabilities from the result of a brain injury at birth (www.j-ustm-e.com). So, most all of our money goes to him. Luckily my mom is still around so she is watching him while we are gone.

I'm just very excited to be going!! I've heard nothing but the Irish part of our family since I can remember. My grandad was full Irish and his dad and mom immigrated during the late 1800's. Aunt's still speak Irish...

We are flying from Raleigh to Boston to Shannon. Thank God we live on the east coast now. We were planning this trip way back when we lived in California!

You might want to take a look at my journal here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-may-2011.cfm

We went north from Dublin up to Giant's Causeway, then west to the Slieve League, going south to Galway, then back east to Dublin. Carrowkeel was one of our favorite sites, so I hope you do get to go. It's a bit hard to find (both driving and once you get there). Hopefully my journal is detailed enough. If you have any more questions about places I went, please ask.