Ireland: Book B&B's Ahead or Not?
 

We are planning a two week trip to Ireland in June,
and flying into Shannon. Any nice place to stay near
there? Should we book our stays ahead or is it okay
to find them as we go? From Shannon, which direction
should we start--go NE to Dublin or SW to Dingle
Peninsula? Any idea on how long we should alott for
certain areas/cities? Whew! I have lots of questions! Thanks!

Hi Susan,

I would recommend, booking in advance, particularly for the more popular places. That's not to say you could'nt 'travel and see', but then you might not get what you want. The Irish Tourist board will provide you with info on B&B's. As for an itenary well its would be best to tailor it to your requirements. Do you like mountains , sea, countryside, small villages large towns. Scenically there are some areas you should definitely check out. From Shannon, SW to the Dingle peninsula, on down through Kerry, Killarney and into west Cork. Lots of nice fishing villages , with good seafood restaurants along the way. Here's the catch though, another place worth seing is NW of Shannon, called Connemara, just west of Galway city. Dublin is also worth checking out, you would need about two days there. Don't forget to goto the Blanney woolen mills in Blarney, Co.Cork for all your clothes shopping. ( I should get commision for that!). Anyway there just a few ideas. You should in the end please yourself, and don't try and do too much, allow yourself some time just to enjoy the pace of life. Oh, and one last thing, where ever you go in Ireland, be sure and drop into the 'local' pub. Enjoy, Tim.

Susan I've been to Ireland twice in the last year , June & Oct.,we've traveled with no formal agenda(no reservations)planning each day the night before.We had no problems at B&B's getting accommodations the first time,every time . We prefer to "WING IT", not being obligated by reservations ,as Ireland is so wonderful you will find areas were you will want to just stop and spend a day or so.Two weeks ,you'll find is not a lot of time,so don't make the mistake of trying to cover a lot of ground.Go slow and fully enjoy all that you see and you can't go wrong touring the West/Southwestern part of the country.Have a safe trip,I'm jealous !!!!

Susan, I would strive to book B&Bs in well-travelled areas since these may be the first to fill-up in the summer. I would think that any small towns you visit would have vacancies into the afternoon. I wouldn't wait beyond 6:00 p.m. however. I can remember going door-to-door in a town near Donegal around 8 p.m. until I finally found a B&B with a room (an hour later). Re: trip plans, in addition to Ring of Kerry and Dingle, I'd also vote for Connemara, the Burren, and the northwest area around Donegal and Sligo - where it's much more secluded with an abundant number of castles, churches, stone crosses, etc. in addition to fantastic scenery. To see the sites above plus Dublin would require about 2 - 3 wks., however.
Please contact me for more details, if you like.

We've travelled in Ireland both ways..winging it and booking in advance. We are planning a trip this summer to return to Ireland and we are booking in advance. Granted it is easy to plan as you go, but we enjoyed those 15 or 30 or 60 minutes a day that we spent looking & booking each night on our first trip as we went.. on our 2nd trip enjoying Ireland--do your chores in advance. Staying "in" town often requires some advance planning, as we like to go to the pubs and walk to our B&B, this is important to do. West Ireland from Dingle to galway to clifden to county Donegal is wonderful. ENJOY!

My husband and I visited Ireland last April. We
phoned a day ahead and had no trouble getting accomodations. In fact, many B&B hosts are happy to recommend accomodations in other towns and will phone in the reservation for you. If you have some towns in mind, contact me. If we were there, we will let you know where we stayed.
Ask your hosts to recommend the best place in town for pub food. Pub grub is far superior to (and far
less expensive) than restaurant food.
We had a great time and are certain you will, too!