jedivader

I might be making my first trip to Ireland in August (group of four). Flying into Dublin and trying to see as much as possible without being rushed. Thinking of some type of circle trip through Dublin-Cork-Galway. We are not much on the big city atmosphere so don't plan on much time in Dublin. I want to see Ireland, not a downtown with trendy shops and bars playing American music (so I've heard). Any suggestions, ideas, do's & don'ts?

Are the brewery/distillery tours worth the price?

Best pubs for atmosphere and cheap pints/eats?

Best small towns?

Best castles?

Best scenery?

Stay in a B&B, Guest House, Hostel?

I'll take anything and everything you can throw at me!

kaneda

August is of course the busiest time (kids on holiday) so you should have booked already. I found the best small towns just by wandering around Ireland. They all have something different. Kinsale is nice for a place to stop for a bite to eat but gets very busy. Kilkenny is the best castle. It's restored. Many of the others need restoring. I did B&B's and hotels, but that was in September, off season. It's nice to roam and book as you go but as I said, August is very busy so you really need to book beforehand.

chip

Do fly in and out of shannon! (or atleast into Dublin and out of shannon)

if you don't want big city...don't stay in dublin, cork, and galway!...or killarney!

Midleton Distillery (we toured on day trip during stay in Kinsale)-do quickly volunteer for the tasting!

Best small towns-Dingle and Kenmare

Best castles-Ross Castle, Glenveagh Castle, Bunratty Castle, ruins-Dunluce Castle and Cahir Castle
not a castle-but liked Muckross House

Best scenic drives-
Dingle/Slea head loop;
Croagh Patrick thru Doolough Valley past Aasleagh falls and on to Kylemore Abbey;
ROK between Killarney and Kenmare thru park past ladies view and molls gap;
Beara Peninsula/Healy Pass

Best all day scenic tour-Gap of Dunloe by jaunting cart to Lord Edward's Cottage (best Irish Coffee!) then by boat to Ross Castle

Best scenic sites-Cliffs of Moher, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Rock of Cashel, Glenveagh National Park/Castle, Garnish Island, Glendalough, Hill of Tara

historic-Newgrange/Knowth
tour of Kerry/wall and Bogside murals
kilmainham jail-Dublin

garden-Powerscourt

abbey-Jerpoint Abbey

Best B&B-Castle Murray House-St. John's Point, Donegal

Do stay in B&B's and smaller guesthouses...and enjoy those full-Irish breakfasts!

Best Pubs-
Doolin-McGann's and O'Connor's
Dingle-Murphy's, O'Flaherty's, Small Bridge
Westport-Matt Malloy's
Dublin-pub crawls

we also enjoyed all of the pubs we stopped in along the way for a quick bite, pint, or coffee-for the driver...great soups/bread!/mussels/desserts-anything with cream!

Do-get out and walk...bounce on a Bog

Do-watch for pull-outs and get out and explore, plus you will need a break from driving.

Do enjoy as much Guinness (or Murphy's) as you can...it is different/better there!

Do-enjoy music in a pub-get to a pub early and scope out best seat near music...be patient and enjoy pub grub and a pint or two.

Do stay Left!
Do be sure to be careful when crossing the street...you have to look in the opposite directions!

el344

Great list, Chip. My absolute favorites were the Rock of Cashel, Newgrange, and Dunluce Castle. I'm looking forward to going back next summer and seeing more of the things on your list.

jent103

Definitely agree with flying in and out of Shannon, or at least in one and out the other. Our recent trip stuck to County Kerry and County Clare, so from that I'd definitely recommend the Dingle area (absolutely beautiful). Killarney's not a big city. It is kind of touristy, but the attraction of Killarney is its proximity to the national park, Muckross House and Ross Castle, not the actual town. (I think, anyway.) Some people recommend Kenmare instead - we drove down for a bit and it seemed really nice. We also stayed in Ennis, which was fine for our purposes - about an hour from the Cliffs of Moher and close to the Burren, and about 30-45 minutes to Shannon airport. Most of the time we spent in town itself was in Cruise's pub for the music.

As far as where to stay, we found plenty of b&bs in those areas for €35 pp/night - about $50 each, give or take. We did stay in a hostel in Killarney (the Railway), but it was cheap enough that we got a private ensuite room.

GBC

Excellent advice noted above.

Another vote for Newgrange and also one for Dingle.

Best sure take advantage of any opportunity to hear local Irish music. A special bonus of Ireland.

jedivader

Thanks for all the info....keep it coming.

Are the Guinness, Beamish, Jameson tours worth it or overpriced?

Been looking into ferry crossing to: Inishmore/inishman/Inisheer
Isle of Man
Whales (Liverpool or Holyhead)

Any info on these?

I thought I had seen a super ferry to Liverpool that took 4 hours instead of 8 but cannot locate what I thought I saw.

jent103

Are you thinking about doing Wales in addition to Ireland? If so, how long do you have for your trip? If you want to cover most of the country (it sounds from your original post like you do), I'd stay there if your trip is only a couple of weeks.

If you do decide to go over to the UK, will you have your own car? If not, I'd definitely look into flying to the UK rather than taking a ferry. Ryanair flies from Dublin to Liverpool, and you might have other options (other airports in Shannon, Cork, Kerry, Galway). However, unless you're taking a very long trip, I'd stick to Ireland since you sound like you want to cover so much of it.

kireland

We did the Guinness tour in Dublin (St. James Gate, I believe) and did not find it overpriced. The view from the top of the tower and the pint of Guinness you get while up there are worht the price fo admission alone! Didn't get outside of Dublin on my first visit, but next time I plan to visit Bushmills and maybe even stay there as I've heard very good things about it.

jedivader

The trip would only be about 7 days, give or take.

What about crime?

Found this info from the Ireland Embassy:

Although Ireland has historically had a low rate of violent crime, it is increasing, and there have been a limited number of incidents in which foreigners and tourists have been victims of assault, including instances of violence toward those who appear to be members of racial minority groups. In addition, there have been several reported incidents in Dublin of persons severely assaulted by small, unorganized gangs roaming the streets after the pubs close. There is a high incidence of petty crime, mostly theft, burglary, and purse snatching in major tourist areas. Thieves target rental cars and tourists, particularly in the vicinity of tourist attractions, and some purse and bag snatching incidents in these areas have turned violent, especially in Dublin. Extra caution should be taken to safeguard passports and wallets from pickpockets and bag snatchers.

There has been an increase over the last year in the number of crimes involving credit cards and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The use of skimmers to record credit card details has increased, and these recorded details are being sent elsewhere to program false and stolen credit cards.

Each year some 200 Americans report their passports stolen or lost in Dublin. Many are the victims of pickpockets operating in areas frequented by tourists, particularly museums or crowded bus and train stations. In the center of town, the area along the banks of the Liffey river is popular with pickpockets. Well-dressed pickpockets also stalk their prey in hotel restaurants and lobbies and in pubs.

jent103

Goodness. Well, I haven't been to Dublin in about eight years, but none of our group (about 40 college students) had anything stolen then. I would imagine it's like any other large city - be aware of your surroundings and keep hold of your stuff, don't leave your passport lying around, etc.

The only time I ever felt unsafe on our recent trip was when the tour busses and I were attempting to drive on the same narrow road. No attempts at pickpocketing, mugging, etc. - nothing whatsoever. Actually, come to think of it, I've never felt safer travelling.

With only 7 days, definitely stick to Ireland, and actually I'd stick to just one general area. I like to pack things pretty full, but we did some of County Kerry and County Clare in six days and that was all I'd feel comfortable with. It sounds like you're not all that enthused about Dublin anyway, so what about flying in and out of Shannon?

jedivader

Thinking of flying into Shannon now. Of course, I'd like to see Dublin but I don't want to spend a lot of time there

So, getting from one place to another in Ireland is not that fast?

I went to Scotland a few years ago and had a lot easier time picking our base-camp and destinations during our stay. For some reason I am having a hard time figuring out what I want to do/see and what routes/areas we should hang around.

CowboyCraic

The roads in Ireland are such that swift travel in most areas is not feasible, although native drivers certainly zip along with ease. For the average tourist, 30-35 mph is about average. You have to keep in mind sheep, farm equipment, other tourists, weather conditions, other livestock, road construction, narrower than average roads abutted by hedges and rock walls, blind ingresses/egresses. large lories/buses, etc. The drive times that they show on the road planning sites are usually highly optimistic. A good rule of thumb, take the distance and divide by 30 or 35 for your actual driving time.

Your B&Bs in most area will run the equivalent of a Hostel or a little higher.

Shannon is better for navigating in, out and through. If you fly in/out of Shannon you might be better to stay west and North, Galway/Westport/Donegal/Ennis. As you would have less crowds and phenomenal scenery.

Slan Beo,

Bit Devine

jent103

Agree with Bit. ViaMichelin.com is a good tool for directions, but based on my experience and things I've read here, it's best to take the estimated time they give you and double it. This is because VM assumes you'll go faster than you do and doesn't account for road works, sheep, tour busses, getting lost, etc.

My advice is just to pick one area, probably either Galway/Connemara or Kerry, and stick with that. Just to give you some ideas, we flew into Kerry airport on a Thursday night, did the Gap of Dunloe in Killarney National Park on Friday, then drove part of the Ring of Kerry and up to Dingle on Saturday. We stayed in Dingle two nights, driving the Slea Head Sunday. Monday was a long driving day when we went from Dingle to Ennis. Tuesday we visited the Cliffs of Moher, took the Cliffs cruise from Doolin, and drove back to Ennis via the Burren. Flew home Wednesday morning. (I'm working on a trip report.) Ennis was the biggest city we were in, and it's not that big. The trip was heavy on scenery and nature, and it was great.

I haven't been to Galway or Connemara, so I'll let others advise you on that if you like, but hopefully that at least gives you some starting points. Try looking at guidebooks, searching for photos on Flickr.com, that sort of thing.

celticdreams

I would recommend getting a copy of the Eyewitness Guide to Ireland and a big road map. Sit down with the other people, go through the book and see what appeals. Then, plot your places of interest on a map and see what makes sense.

I just got back from a week in Ireland in May. I'd been several times but my husband hadn't. I knew what I wanted to see (Clonmacnoise being high on my list) and I knew what types of things he would enjoy (driving through The Burren). I highlighted them all on the map (I color coded by priority) and then made my decisions on what we were going to be able to fit in.

Just my two cents.

Chloe2

I got back a few weeks ago after 13 days in Ireland. We stayed in Enniskerry (25 min train ride south of Dublin), Kilkenny, Killarney, Dingle, Galway, Cong and Bunratty. I liked staying outside of Dublin and enjoyed the view of the coast while taking the DART into the city. We did the Guinness tour and I really didn't care for much of the "self guided" tour but I agree with kireland that the view was worth it.

We saw a mix of larger cities like Dublin and Galway and small villages as Enniskerry and Cong but in all of them I never had any concerns about my safety or crime. On the contrary, I felt very welcomed by everyone I encountered there. I was amazed at how helpful everyone was when I would stop for directions, I've had bartenders draw maps and one grocery owner walked out into the road to point out the specific roads for me. I think Bit had advised me to spend more nights in Kilkenny (which I should have listened!) We were there one night, just enough to see Kilkenny Castle, Kytelers Inn and a little of the town. It is a lovely medievel town. I would totally recommend the tour of the castle.

I felt that we encountered more American tourists in Killarney than in any of the other towns but it is a good location. Killarny was my 21 year olds favorite town probably because it had so many restaurants and shops within an easy walk of our B&B. I second Chips best scenic all day tour being the Gap of Dunloe...the views were breathtaking.

If I only had 7 days, I probably spend it on the west coast. The mountains were beautiful. I loved Dingle, we stayed right on the harbour and could walk to everything in town. If you're not big on cities, you may also enjoy Galway over Dublin.

We stayed in B&Bs most of the nights and I would definitely recommed it over staying in hotels. Sorry I think I got a little long winded on this post...

daydreamer19

Hi Chip You mention the Gap of Dunloe Tour-was this a guided tour? I'm interested in a tour when I'm in Kenmare in August. Also does anyone have a recommendation for a B&B in Ennis? Thanks!

jent103

daydreamer - we did the Gap of Dunloe tour a couple of weeks ago. It's not a guided tour; you meet at the Deros office in the town centre (well, if you're taking the Deros tour), and they drive you to Kate Kearney's cottage. You then either walk through the Gap or pay a jaunting cart driver €20 to ride through the Gap to Lord Brandon's cottage. With the Deros tour, you met at Lord Brandon's and took a boat ride through the three lakes to Ross Castle, where they picked you up and took you back to town.

We stayed at Glenomra House in Ennis. It was completely fine - the rooms could use some updating, but otherwise, no complaints. Mary and her family were quite warm and helpful, fixing us and several others an early breakfast our last day (we were flying home from Shannon). It's about 1km from the town centre, so walkable. There are plenty of choices in town, though.

Oscmoz

The best option is to land in Shannon and depart from Dublin. This way you'll cut out the round trip.

If you decide to stay in Dublin don't bother with the Guinness brewery - it's very overpriced. For views over Dublin visit the Smithfield Chimney instead.As you'll probably just stay 1 day/night the best way to see the city is by taking a walking tour www.walkingtours.ie or the hop on/hop off bus tour www.dublinbus.ie.

The best small town in the West Cork area is Schull. I would reccommend staying here. It's on the way to Mizen Head, the most southernly point in Ireland and a good basing point for the Beara Penninsula. It also has some great atmospheric pubs - Newman's and Hackett's. Good food at the Waterside Inn restaurant and Adele's.

Definitely try and fit in The Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Slea Head/Ring of Kerry, Molls Gap/Killarney, Breara Peninsula (Healy's Pass), Kilkenny town/Jerpoint Abbey, Glendalough and Newgrange.

Connemara is beautiful I don't think you'll have enough time to really appreciate it if you want to see Killarney, Cork, Kilkenny & Dublin. Maybe save the Galway/Mayo/Sligo/Donegal area for another trip.

SiobhanP

I think its a bit exaggerated the warning about crime in Ireland. I have never encountered wandering mobs looking to rob people after pub closing...just the usual people heading home trying desperately to get a taxi.

There are pickpocket EVERYWHERE in Europe just bring a bag that zips and don't be lazy with your belongings. Most crime here is non violent against tourists. i ahve been oickpocketed at a tourist place (Kilkenny shop waiting for lunch in Dublin) but my bag was not a zip one and I had it down by my side so I was to blame for not being careful. I would never take your passport with you leave it at the hotel or in the room safe. Just bring a photocopy if you feel you need this.