veramarie

I am having more trouble getting a handle on this trip than I have had on any before, so I hope you can steer me in the right direction. I have pored over Fodors and Cadogan Guides and the Michelin map, trip reports and web sites and still have questions.

We will arrive at 3:30 p.m. in Cork on a Friday in June. Jet lag not an issue, since we are coming from Greece. We plan to rent a car and drive north and then west and south over seven days, ending at Castletownbere on the Beara Penninsula where we will spend three days with friends.
So:
Arrival day, drive to Blarney Castle (for the gardens, not the kissing stone). Then head north toward Cashel for the Rock of Cashel. How long to drive from Blarney to Cashel? Should we stay in the vicinity of Cork the first night or is there an interesting place along the route?
Day two: Visit Rock of Cashel, drive toward Bunratty.Time to see Bunratty this day? Overnite where?
Day three: Head to Lahinch area. (I would like to stay at Berry Lodge in Miltown Malbay S. of Lahinch for a couple of nights.)Cliffs of Mohr. Can we also fit in a trip to Aran Islands that day?
Day four: Drive along coast and come back via various ancient ruins between Burren and Ennis. (2nd night at Berry Lodge perhaps)
Day Five: Dingle Penninsula, Slea Head (overnite where?)
Day Six: Muckross House and Muckross Abbey, Killarney Nat'l Park. Overnight Where?--our anniversary, so should be a little special, maybe?
Day Seven: Ring of Kerry--same place to stay as night before?
Day Eight: to Castletownbere.(time to tour the Beara Penninsula and points south)
Day Nine and Ten: Castletownbere
Day Eleven: Depart from Cork

wojazz3

Blarney is open until 7 in June so you should be able to make it. I'm not sure if you are staying in B&Bs or hotels, but if staying in a B&B, standard check in is between 4-6 so you would want to make arrangements if you will be there later. I think I would get a room in the area.

viamichelin puts the travel time at 1.5 hrs so assume 2 to Cashel. IMO, don't take their route through Cork. It's a confusing city to drive in and it would be much easier to just go straight north to Mallow.

Personally, I would try to spen allthree nights in the same place in Co Clare to avoid packing up and moving to someplace an hour away. Lahinch wouldn't be a good overnight for Bunratty though I don't think I would do my planning around seeing the folk park. BTW, many people like the folk park, I don't get much from it. You could stay in Bunratty that night but my preference would be Ennis which is a real town. There are plenty of nice B&Bs in Bunratty, probably not quite the selection in Ennis, but I have grown to be a big fan of Ennis. The city center still holds a medieval feel and there a number of fine music pubs that are not as much "made for tourism" type places. Try Cruises for instance.

Day 3-4 are fine, but a day trip to the Arans in June will be fairly crowded. If the weather is quite windy (which it can be) the boats won't leave from Doolin harbor so you would want to have back up plans.

My favorite place to stay in Dingle is The Shores Country House on the north side of the peninsula. OK, you have to drive over Conor Pass, but there is only a short section of it that is narrow anymore and on my last trip, I made the trip every night to catch music in the village. It was about a 20 minute drive (i drove a bit like a mad man - or local but it was off season).

I would choose Kenmare in June over the much more touristy Killarney. There are some lovely places to stay (not in the budget I usually plan though). Consider Sheen Falls Lodge. There are a few others but aren't coming to mind. Kenmare is a small village but has a number of very nice restaurants and would be my choice for a romantic stay. I would stay both nights in Kenmare.

Hope this is helpful.

Bill

veramarie

Bill: That's a lot of helpful information. Mostly I'm happy to have somebody confirm that my schedule is not entirely crazy.

Perhaps I could switch the Bunratty stop to the end of the three days in Clare instead of the beginning? Corny or not, I still want to do it. Then we'd be driving from Cashel to Lahinch area on day two.

I wasn't sure whether you were recommending staying near Blarney or near Cashel on the first night?

We will probably mix b and bs and hotels--more b and b or small lodge type.

Although I wasn't thinking specifically of staying IN Killarny, Kenmare seems awfully close to the Casteltownbere area, although quite different. Does that influence your recommendations?

Spotted a place on Dingle peninsula called Slea Head Farm which looks wonderful--very remote and scenic. Waiting for their reply. www.sleaheadfarm.com

Any more suggestions on things to see, etc., are very welcome, and I hope some more people will join the planning party.

wojazz3

My suggestion would be to stay around Blarney. By the time you are done there, I think it would put you in too late for a B&B in Cashel. You could choose a hotel though. Generally though, outside of Dublin, I always stay in B&Bs. Less expensive, usually as nice or nicer and a better opportunity to get personal service.

BTW, I think Bunratty Castle is a nice restoration, it's the folk park that illicits the yawns for me. My suggestion is to get there early in the day because the crowds swell to enormous proportions quickly and getting up and down the stairs in the castle can be quite unpleasant. I would be at the gate at opening and go straight to the castle. Weekends are the worst, but an early start can fix that. It may make the idea of doing Bunratty at the end make more sense.

Outside of Ennis, I stayed at a place called Lakeside Country House; http://www.lakeside.ie/ The setting is beautiful and it's about a 5 minute ride into town. The B&B looks out over the lake to an Abbey in the distance.

I know people must think I'm related to Annette at the Shores (really I'm not), but her B&B is the nicest I've stayed in throughtout Ireland and the UK (probably 60+). The price is reasonable and she is one of the few 5* AA B&Bs. Location of Sleahead Farm looks lovely. Annette on the other hand sits right across the street from the longest beach in Ireland with Brandon Point and the Seven Hogs (islands) in the distance. The meals are spectacular and if she is serving, during the time you are there, a meal with her is wonderful. I plan vacations around visiting her. http://theshorescountryhouse.com/

I think Kenmare may be your best choice despite it's proximimty to Castletownbere. You are correct in that they are worlds apart and there is an unlimited supply of things to do in the area. If you get beautiful weather, consder getting up early and heading out to Portmagee to catch a boat to Great Skellig Island. The climb to the top is work but not impossible and it is one of the most amazing places on the planet. There are quite a few boat operators. I used Joe Roddy and Sons. You can also leave from Caherdaniel but the trip on the water is a fair amount longer and I believe you arrive earlier w/ Joe Roddy. In Kenmare, B&B wise, I have stayed at Shamanir http://www.shaminir.com/ which has a spectacular view of Kenmare Bay and the Waters Edge B&B http://www.kenmare.eu/watersedge/ which is a bit closer. Both are quite comfortable and nice. Both are on the Beara side, the Waters Edge is in reasonable walking distance if the path down to the main road is dry and you don't have to walk around.

Have fun and keep planning!

Bill

veramarie

Thanks for your additional thoughts, Bill. I feel like we're closing in on it.

Vera

im_hooked

veramarie,

Last June we were in Kenmare and throughly enjoyed our stay at the Shelbourne Lodge. http://www.shelburnelodge.com/
From there we spent a day driving the Beara Penninsula and the Healy Pass. It was breathtaking. We stopped in Castletownbere.

For a real treat we stayed in Clogheen, not far from the Rock of Cashel & Cahir Castle at the Old Convent http://www.theoldconvent.ie/ by far the highlight of our stays. I think it's Ireland's best kept secret as most of the guests there were locals on a getaway weekend.

In Bunratty we stayed at Bunratty Lodge http://www.bunrattylodge.com/ our last night before flying home. Very convenient to the Castle/Village and the airport for a early flight home. Mary Browne was a very nice hostess.

A report of our trip can be found here http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...oked&fid=2

If I had to do it again I wouldn't change a thing! Have fun and enjoy the planning!

veramarie

Thanks I'm hooked. You have me hooked on The Old Convent. You stayed in a lot of beautiful places, and your bits of advice in your trip report will help us a lot, too.

Thanks again.

wojazz3

As you are driving the north coast of Beara, before you get to the Healy Pass road, there is a little (I mean little) road that takes you up to Inchiquin falls. Take it. If it has been raining especially raining hard ... definitely take the road. There are a couple of short hikes in the area. The poeple that own the land will ask for a small token of your appreciation (a couple of Euros) and you might want to join them for a cup of tea after. The falls are beautiful and the views out to Kenmare Bay are fantastic.

Bill

veramarie

Thanks for another good tip, Bill.

xyz99

Vveramarie,
We did a similar itinerary last year.
I second the recommendation for “The Shores” – the room was immaculate and the breakfast, the best we had in 2 weeks in Ireland (thanks, wojazz). The rainbow we saw from our room there was the best Ireland “picture perfect”. And the view….ohhh, the view, here are some pictures if you need to see with your own eyes (scroll down – about the middle of the page).
http://picasaweb.google.com/xyz99p/2007Ireland

In Kenmare we stayed at the Shelburne Lodge, again, a great B&B.
In Bunratty, the Bunratty Lodge – wonderful place, very well located close to Shannon airport. Bunratty Castle closed at 4 pm the day we wanted to visit (and that was in August, so high season) so plan your day accordingly.

In Cashel, we stayed at the Dualla House – a working farm, very different from your regular B&B.
You will love Ireland, it is a very special place.