Help with short Oct Itinerary
 

My husband and I will be flying into Shannon and will have 2 days in this area - we are looking for recommendations on what town or city we should stay in.

We plan to get a car at the Shannon airport.

We like fun nightlife like pubs (we are 38) so we are looking for a place that is not too small so that we have some options of pubs at night. We can drive around during the day and see sights - any recommendations for a place in the Shannon corridor or go further south?

The last 2 days will be spent in Dublin - any day trips recommended from here or just see the city and return the car (hopefully in the city). What is the best way to get to the Dublin airport?

Thanks for any help!!!

4 days is a pretty short duration to see sights on the east and west coast. There is a fair amount of driving involved in getting from coast to coast. Driving is much slower in Ireland than it is in the States.

Ennis probably has the most nightlife in Co Clare, though you could go up to Galway and find plenty to do there. You could also go south to Dingle. All three would provide nice touring options. Clare has the Cliffs of Moher, Loophead, the Burren, lots of tourist type attractions around Ennis (http://www.shannonheritage.com/).

Dingle doesn't need much explanation as it's a small peninsula with lots to do. The Slea head drive is the big attraction.

Galway is a young city with lots of nightlife and Connemara just to the north which is a beautiful area.

Although Dingle might very well be a favorite for most folks, it puts you further from Dublin and the drive from Dingle to Dublin would take the better part fo a day to get there.

I'm not sure how accustomed you are to driving on the left, but driving and finding things in Dublin is not real easy. I would drop the car off at the airport and regardless of where you leave the west coast, assume that you won't actually hit the city center until mid afternoon at the earliest. You don't want a car in Dublin. Consider the hop on hop off bus tours. They are quite good and give a good introduction to the city. Tickets are usually good for 24 hours so it doesn't matter much when you buy them.

Both Dublin bus and aircoach do an express bus to the city center with the first stop being just north of the O'Connel St. Bridge.

Dublin Bus: http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey...t_services.asp

Aircoach:
http://www.aircoach.ie/

Aircoach is the more expensive but may have more stops that get closer to hotels. I could never completely figure out Airlink (Dublin Bus).

Hope this helps.

Bill

Here's my help: re-post your question with Ireland in the title so people know what you want information about.

Do you think we would be better off based in Galway or Limerick?

I did a search and it says Galway to Dublin 3-4 hours - does this seem right?

How far would Limerick be from Dublin?

Thanks again!!

Give it 4 hours to Galway as you probably aren't used to the driving there. Bypasses are much more common now so the drive is quicker Galway to Dublin. Limerick does very little for me and if I were in that area I would choose Ennis over Limerick. The Ennis city center is really nice though driving the town, your'll never get a feel for ity. You need to get out and walk. Both Ennis and Galway offer plenty of pubs and nightlife to keep you going. Galway is more of a city and Ennis is more of a town. Limerick would be a longer trip than Galway, but I would give it a pass.

Bill