Icantap2

My family of five is traveling to Ireland the end of July...here's our plan
July 19th arrive at Shannon airport...drive to Kilkenny and spend the night in a B&B
July 20th drive to Dublin and spend 2 nights in a hotel
July 23rd drive to Kinsale where we have rented a self catering for a week
July 29th leave Kinsale and drive to Dingle Peninsula where we spend a night at a lodge
July 30th drive to Ennis where we spend a night at a B&B
July 31st drive to Shannon airport and head back to the states

What are the must sees for our nearly 2 week trip at these destinations??

JOHNOD

I am not in love with your plan to drive Shannon to Kilkenny then on to Dublin and then back to Kinsale. Having said that Using Kinsale as a base you can visit Cork City, Cobh, The Mizen and Beara Peninsulas. The walking tour out of the Tourist office in Kilkenny was fun and for your last day around Ennis the Folk Park is worth at least a visit and there is some good shopping across the street. Have fun

Icantap2

Well, we are trying to see a lot of the country in 2 weeks. I figured we would see things going across the country in the beginning and go the southern coastal route down to Kinsale where we will take day trips for that week. The end of the trip will be back near the airport. We are renting an automatic van.

china_cat

I think Shannon to Kilkenny is a pretty long drive if you are coming in after an overnight flight. It doesn't seem like you'll have any time to actually see Kilkenny and visit the castle.

is there no way to for you to fly into Dublin? Then you would avoid that long first drive, and could go from Dublin to Kilkenny to Kinsale which makes much more sense. I've found that flights into Dublin/out of Shannon don't cost anymore than doing roundtrip to Shannon.

KarenE

A much better location for the one week stay would be somewhere around Kenmare. The landscape around Kinsale is not very interesting compared to the more western part of Southwest Ireland. Also the drive even to the Beara Peninsula is VERY long and you will be missing the wonderful Dingle Peninsula and the spectacular Ring of Kerry.

JOHNOD

If you are already booked into Shannon and have already booked the five nights in Kinsale why not drive Shannon to Dublin the first night, spend your two nights then drive south through the Wicklow Mts. to Kilkenny. The drive from Kilkenny to Kinsale is nothing to write home about but if you do not mind getting off the Main roads you can swing through Cashel for lunch and a view of the Rock. Take the walking tour out of the Tourist office in Kinsale and there is a rather campy but fun ghost tour out of the Tap Tavern. My favorite Pub is the Spainard and there is a nice walk along the water to Charles Fort. Driving through Cork City can be a little hectic so pay attention and if you get a chance sample the Kinsale Lager, it is brewed right in town and is great. The shortest drive from Kinsale to Dingle is through Macroom but if you take the longer route (N-71 the drive from Kenare to Killarney throught the National Park is fantastic. The drive from Dingle to Ennis is about thee and a half hours so you have time to do the Connor Pass in the morning. Have fun

Icantap2

Hmm Now I wish I had researched more before I went ahead and booked all our B&B's and our self catering. I had heard that Kinsale would be a great location to spend a week and take day trips. We are staying in Dingle because I had heard a lot of good things about that area and have ancestors to look up. We will have a couple of drivers so we hope driving these distances won't be too bad. In retrospect, we should've flown into Dublin and out of Shannon. Too late now as I am sure there would be a charge with changing airports. Our B&B in Kilkenny has e mailed me saying that whenever we get in, they will take care of us as we will be very tired. How will the trip from Kilkenny to Dublin be? Any suggestions for must-sees in Ennis?