nbny

Hello,
i am planning a fly-and-drive trip to Ireland and Scotland early May. I am flying to Shannon and would like to spend about 5 days in Ireland, driving from Shannon up north and then take a ferry to Scotland.
While in Ireland, is it possible to see Hills of Moher, Connemara and Antrim? I am trying to work out the itinerary but there are so many gorgeous and intresting places that i feel I am being sidetracked. ANY driving itinerary advice is really appreciated for both Scotland and Ireland.
Many thanks to all for help.

surfmum

Hi nbny. Cliffs of moher are only 40 or so miles from Shannon airport, so depending on your arrival time you may be able to see them on day 1. Day 2/3 drive north,stay in Galway, see connemara, Day 4/5 see Antrim coast. Day 5/6 ferry (less than 2 hrs) from Larne or Belfast to west coast of Scotland. For travel routes in ireland look at theaa.com & click on find a route, then click ireland route. I have used this site for directions & estimated travel times with great success. Good luck. Don't forget to check out other fodorites trip reports , that is probably where you will get the best info

luckykat

If you get to galway, and you should, drop into The Roisin Dubh for some great tradtitional music (http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/i...ay-roisin-dubh) and McDonaghs for fish and chips like you've never had before!

More suggestions for you in the Ireland section of my site. Carrowkeel passage tombs highly recommended.

www.mcdougalladventures.com/category/ireland

cambe

Hi nbny,

Do you intend renting a car in Shannon and dropping it off in Scotland? I ask because I don't think you can do that????

Anyone know?

If you can't it would be IMO better to fly eastjet to either Glasgow or Edinburgh from Belfast and pick up another car there.

The Antrim Coast will be lovely in May (daylight until 10.00 pm). Don't miss Glenarrif and Bushmills (the Bushmills Inn would be a lovely place to stay but a bit pricy). On the way to get the Boat (if you can take the car), travel down the coast road to Larne or if you are going to the Airport come off at Larne and follow the signs to the International Airport.

Have a good trip

Helen

nbny

thank you all for responses!1 - surfmum, do you think the ferry is worth the trip? - I am debating between driving to the north and taking a ferry and driving across mainland to Dublin and taking Rianair to Edinburgh. Also, how far is the drive from Connemara to Antrim coast - am i signing mslf up for too much driving or is it workable? - i will certaily go and place the milage for the route but perhaps anyone took it already?
Luckykat - thanks for the site, i am going to look at it today and hopefully have my itinerary ready this week. I will rent the car in Ireland and then drop it off either near the ferry site or in Dublin (depending on where i go) and i plan to rent another one in Scotland (thanks for advice, cambe).
Luckykat - thanks for the site, i am going to look at it today and hopefuly have my itinerary ready this week.the car i will rent in ireland and then drop it off either near the ferry site or in Dublin (depending on where i go) and i plan to rent another one in Scotland (thaks for advice, cambe).

surfmum

nbny the ferry is only worth doing as a means of getting from northern ireland to scotland. It's not a scenic route although it is a quick way to get from a to b. If you want to go to dublin, then a flight to edinburgh or prestwick (on west coast of scotland) is a better idea. look at ryanair.com for prices. You will also need to decide what part of scotland you want to visit as this will also be a deciding factor. How long do you plan to be in scotland?

cambe

nbny,

Connemara to Antrim Coast approx 4 hours.

Connermara to Dublin approx 3 hours.

It depends where you want to go

Do check easyjet from Belfast to Glasgoew/Edinburgh and don't forget to add on the taxes when booking low cost airlines as they can vary considerably and make all the difference.
Helen

IrishEyes

Most car rental companies have big drop off fees if you rent in the Republic of Ireland and drop off in Northern Ireland and vice versa. Check on that when making your decision.

nbny

I just got the tickets - flying to Shannon, driving from there (Hills of Moher, Cannemara, possibly Donnegan, Antrim – Giant’s Causeway) to Northern Ireland (I was looking at Larne but Belfast is always a possibility) taking a ferry to Scotland, staying at Glasgow, driving towards Isle of Skye, possibly spending a night there, driving to Loch Ness, then possibly doing a whisky trail, then staying in Edinburgh for a day and flying to Dublin. I am still deciding whether i want to stay in Dublin for a day or just extend Edinburgh stay longer...
So that is the preliminary itinerary. I started looking at the car rental. IrishEyes, thanks for the tip about discount! - I was looking at Budget car rentals from Shannon - didn't see anything about discount yet but maybe it is worth calling and asking instead.
Also, hope that hotels won’t be a problem. I will start looking at B&B in both Scotland and Ireland. By chance, does anyone know if it is possible to stay in a castle – or such, either in Scotland or Ireland? I read about it but don’t know yet whether I will have any on the way…Any advice?
Thank you all!!!!

Budman

nbny, They're not Hills of Moher -- they're Cliffs: http://www.danheller.com/moher-cliffs.html

Check with Autoeurope.com for rental cars in Ireland.

cambe

nbny,
The ferries are designed for cars. They are fine if you need to take a care across the Irish Sea but for foot passengers it would IMO be cheaper and a lot more convenient to Fly to Glasgow

A flight from Belfast to Glasgow will be around £15 each and take 45mins, foot passenger from Larne to Troon will be around £21 each and take 2 hours.

luckykat

In Scotland, I can recommend Inverlochy Castle. It's not a drafty old building but a lovely 5 star. That said, it ain't cheap! But then, you'd be hard pressed to find a cheap castle stay.

http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/s...erlochy-castle

I haven't stayed at Ashford castle in Ireland but I hear good things. I have some link to Ireland special places to stay from my site as well.

http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/travel-links

IrishEyes

I did not mention anything about a DISCOUNT in my previous message. I said there is a DROP OFF FEE for renting in one country and dropping in another. Please read my message again.

janisj

Besides the car issues (I would not take the ferry/car - even IF you can find a company that will let you do it) . . I am a bit confused.

How many days are you going to be in Scotland? You have a very ambitious itinerary and it would take a minimum of a week.

<i>taking a ferry to Scotland</i> The ferry will drop you in far SW Scotland and there is a LOT to see between there and Glasgow.

<i>staying at Glasgow, driving towards Isle of Skye, possibly spending a night there</i> Do you mean to drive from Stranraer to Glasgow and the next day driving to Skye and then <i>driving to Loch Ness, then possibly doing a whisky trail, then staying in Edinburgh for a day</i>. It very much sounds like you are only allowing 1 day to go from Skye to Loch Ness to Speyside to Edinburgh.

Unless you have omitted a lot of details (like 3 or 4 additional overnights) this is a crazy itinerary.