Hello,
My wife and I are traveling to Ireland and the UK May 13-30th and I am looking for suggestions on our proposed itinerary. We are both 30 years old and are used to relatively fast paced trips. Here is what we are planning so far -
May 14th - arrive in Dublin early AM. Pick up car and drive to Powerscourt Gardens and stop in Glendalough - overnight in Kilkenny
Day 2 - Tour Waterford crystal in the late morning and drive to Kinsale - overnight in Kinsale.
Day 3 Kenmare
Day 4 Dingle
Day 5 Dingle? / Tralee? / Doolin?
Day 6 Doolin? / Galway?
Day 7 Dublin
Day 8 Dublin
Day 9 Fly from Dublin to Edinburgh, sleep in Edinburgh
Day 10 - Edinburgh
Here is where I am not sure what to do - we are interested in visiting York and propably one area in the countryside as well as Hadrian's Wall. I am thinking of renting a car in Edinburgh, and returning it in York -will that work alright?
Day 11 ??
Day 12 ??
Day 13 York
Day 14 Train from York to London
Day 15 London
Day 16 London
Day 17 Depart from London

Any suggestions, particularly in the portions between Dingle and Galway and Edinburgh and York, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Andy

First, I would spend an additional day in Edinburgh if possible.

Regarding the trip between Edinburgh and York, most major car agencies won't charge a drop fee if you leave a car in a different location than where you got it.

My recommendation would be to travel via the Northumberland coast, stopping at the Holy Isle (Lindisfarne), Bamburgh, and visiting Alnwick Castle if time permits. Be sure to spend half a day in Durham - best cathedral in Europe IMO - before heading to York. There are many other places you could see along this route - the Yorkshire Dales, coast, Harrogate - but with your timing you won't be able to manage more than the highlights.

I can't stress eough to people that you need to take it easy when driving off a plane. Maybe I am paranoid but with Dublin traffic/rush hour you might be wrecked after all that. Kilkenny can be a long drive if there is traffic and getting to Powerscourts is a bit of a drive from the airport. Why not stay in Enniskerry by Powerscourt in a hotel (Springfied hotel) or a B&B. You will be fresh the next day. Its a small village but nice.

Thanks for the responses. Any others on the Irleand portion?

Your itinerary will give you a flavor of the places. If you like to stop a lot, the drive from Kinsale to Kenmare can take the whole day, but it will be beautiful. Follow the coast and go through Bantry. At Rosscarbery, take the R597 and stop and see the Drombeg circle and continue on through Glandor, a beautiful little village. Take a short side trip and stop for lunch in Castletownsend at Mary Ann's. The drive between Glengarriff and Kenmare is spectacular.

Don't spend a night in Tralee. A pretty drap town. This is a hurried schedule to say the least and my suggestion is to not see as much, but I understand where you want to be. I would spend an extra night in Dingle if for no other reason that to not have to pack up again. You can reach Dingle via the Ring of Kerry from Kenmare and have a beautiful drive. On the other hand, the road to Killarney over Molls Gap is wonderful and the views of the lakes from Ladies View is fantastic. You will likely liss one of those options.

If you are into cities, you might enjoy Galway more than Doolin. Personally, I love Doolin in the off season (which May is not), but it has little more than it's few good music pubs and a couple of fine restaurants. You won't get any shopping in. Some people don't think much of the place for that reason.

With your schedule, I'd take a day out of Dublin, but I'm not a city person.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Thanks Bill, those are some great ideas! We will stay the 2 nights in Dingle, so we can catch our breath and absorb more of the area. We will probably stay overnight in Doolin instead of Galway. More interested in trad. Irish music and a good pub than shopping - neither of us are big shoppers. Thanks again!
Andy

Andy:

Actually, there are a number of pubs in Galway that have trad also. There are a few that have it twice, one session that starts between 5-6 and another another that starts between 9-10. Last time, I caught the early one in Galway and then headed back to Cregg Castle to play some tunes with the owners of the place, the Brodericks. That is another nice option, but certainly a much longer drive from Dingle. Personally, I'd take a day off of Dublin and add it to the west, then add a day in Edinburgh. Actually, I'd do Ireland one year and the UK the next, but that's me.

Bill