aussie_10

We will be visiting Ireland for 11 days in early September.

Looking at flying in to Dublin and out of Shannon and back to London. We will hire a car from Dublin. Would like to base ourselves in maybe 3 places after maybe 2 nights in Dublin. Not too keen on 1 nighters but maybe if it is practical, I will slot one in.

I have read many trip reports and guide books and now don't know the best way to break it up. Looking for suggestions.

Tony2phones

Everyone has their own Ideas how to break up into a bunch of 2 and three night stays. It is your holiday and must suit your interests. The more information you give the more informed the response. The only thing I have planned for September is Arts week in Clifden Connamara but this starts on the 20th,

Dublin for 2 or 3 nights gives options for the East coast from Belfast (Titanic Centenary)and Antrim down to the vales of Wicklow. From Dublin down to the South west for Cork and Kerry up to Clare and Galway possibly spending your last night in Ennis, Bunratty or Shannon itself?

aussie_10

Tony thanks for your reply. We will arrive on 3 September. Had looked at fitting in Northern Ireland but as we like to do the travel a bit slower these days, we think that it may be off the plan.

Travelling south from Dublin where would you base?

- Kilkenny? or a little further south?
- Then Killarney or Dingle
- Doolin or Ennis?

Is this too much back tracking to a home base?

Tony2phones

I would suggest possibly a night in Kilkenny then a stay in Killarney or Kenmare as a touring base to cover the South west. Galway is a good base for the Connamara and Aran's and Ennis is a good base for the whole of Clare and handy for Shannon.

Ozarksbill

So you will travel east to west? which is what we did sonme years back? But in Ireland for how many days? And what interests? Lots to do/see in Dublin and nearby south and north. And lots in the west such as Killarney area.

aussie_10

Tony I appreciate your suggestions. So a 1 night in Kilkenny is enough? Would you see Waterford from there on the way to Killarney or Kenmare.
Is Galway a busy city? Yes finishing in Ennis would be good for a flight out.
For September would we be able to not book all accommodations and free wheel it a bit. That would be tempting.

Ozarksbill yes travelling from east to west after Dublin we would have about 9 days.

dinty66

Down south I would recommend Ennis or Shannon good roads to Kerry, Cork, Galway, Sligo. Reasonable value hotels in area as well . The burren in Clare will take your breath away . Dublin- Limerick/Clare 3hrs approx !

Tony2phones

Waterford is a nice enough place but with a limited time scale I am not sure if I would include it. There should be no problems winging it in September unless you come up against a local event and then just move to the next town. Book your first and last night and have a list of potential Guest houses (B&B with 5 or more rooms) so you can check availability for the night whilst waiting for your breakfast being served.

If you do decide on Waterford then get to Kilkenny early and stop overnight between there and Waterford possibly the Rising Sun @ Mullinavat?(have evening meal in Killarney 1st) We use the Grey Gables in Ennis which is a good clean and friendly guesthouse just 5minutes walk into town.

Tony2phones

Meal in Kilkenny 1st...Really need an edit button on this forum

aussie_10

Thanks dinty66 - yes the more I read about Ennis, I really like it for a location.

Tony - I looked up both of your recommendations and have bookmarked them, great suggestions. I am a planner but am very tempted to wing it. Your suggestions are very helpful. Thankyou

GreenDragon

I agree, skip Waterford with your limited time. I would do two nights in Kilkenny (it is a lovely city with lots to see, Jerpoint Abbey nearby is great, too). Then move on to Kenmare for 3-4 nights, and finish up in Ennis for the remainder.

In Kilkenny, we had a lovely hostess at Alcantra B&B. The Rothe House museum is a great place - medieval merchant museum. Trad music at Kyteler's Inn, great sandwiches at Marble City across the alleyway from the Inn.

In Kenmare, we stayed at O'Donnobhain's - Gerry and Vanessa run a great B&B in town, with a gastropub below with fantastic food. They also have some self-catering properties. Its' a big place, so lots of rooms.

As Tony said, Ennis is a great place for basing explorations around the Burren, Doolin, Bunratty, and positioning yourself to fly out of Shannon. The B&B I stayed at there was pretty average, but clean and neat... I don't remember the name, but if you are interested I can look it up - it's in my 2006 trip report if you prefer to find it yourself

Karen_Vicencio

When you are down south, basing yourself in Kenmare or Killarney is a good idea. We do self catering houses and have an activity centre (you can see us on TV online at http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1129800 we are on the last 6 minutes of the show) that is 10 minutes from Kenmare and Sneem, 35 minutes from Killarney, 10 for Molls gap, 90 minutes from Cork, and about the same from Dingle. We are on the Ring of Kerry, and right near the Kerry Way.

There is a LOT to see and do in Kerry. There is Muckross House in Killarney, along with the national park. In Sneem is the Geopark, and in that area the Staigue Fort, the stone circle in Kenmare, The sheep farm (very cool watching the sheepdogs working sheep in the rocky Irish mountains, and watching the sheep shearing), lots of festivals-you could easily spend the entire time in Kerry and not even see a tiny bit of it.

There's a nice rural Tavern up the road (15 minute walk, 1 or 2 minute drive) that is very family friendly and has dancing including traditional set dancing on Friday nights.

aussie_10

GreenDragon - thankyou for your suggestions. I did have a look at your trip report and got lots of good information. You have had lots of good times visiting Ireland.

Karen - thanks also for your suggestions. Kerry does look beautiful and we will be certainly alloting lots of time in the region. I have been doing lots of research and reading and have learnt lots of great things about Ireland along the way.

I always like to investigate peoples recommendations and add them to my notes. A wealth of information!

GreenDragon

My research methods include gathering everything I can, and then sifting through it to find what's best for me. Sounds like you are similar - enjoy the trip!

bluejayca

We stayed at the Lake Hotel in Killarney and really liked it. It is right on the lake and I made sure to book a lakeview room. We were very close to Muckross House and Abbey and Ross Castle. We took a drive to Ladies View and Torc Waterfall. We didn't explore Killarney itself just drove through it to get to our Hotel. We would definitely stay here again. It has a huge continental breakfast included. We had dinner at the pub restaurant and it was the best steak I've had.

TPAYT

OK, I'll put my 2 cents in--we went to Ireland twice in 8 months. The first time was in Sept. 2010, flew into Shannon and absolutely loved the west coast(Ennis, Westport, Dingle, Kenmare.) In fact we loved it so much we went back in May, 2011 where we landed in Dublin, picked up a car (click on my name and read the trip reports.) Headed west, no Dublin, loved Trim and really loved Lough Key House in Carrick-on-shannon.

From there it went downhill. we traveled down the middle of Ireland to Kinsale---to us it looked just like Wisconsin. As much as we loved the restaurants in western Ireland, we found nothing good to report in Kinsale, just the opposite.

Then it was off to Kilkenny. Sorry, but other than our B&B, the town did nothing for us.

In hindsight, I'd stick to the west coast. We will travel to Ireland again, but it will be in Sept.(better flowers, not buds) and it will be to the west coast.

So, IMO, you picked the right month(Sept.) and I agree about the one nighters, except for Trim. After that and Carrick-on-shannon, I'd head for the west coast.

Again, IMO, Killarney was a traffic mess. Kenmare was wonderful, and the Dingle Peninsula was the highlight of both trips. Again, this is just the opinion of one traveler.

aussie_10

Bluejay thank you for your ideas.

TPAYT Just finished reading your great trip report and viewing your stunning photos. So beautiful. I hope we have great weather like you did.

Your report gave me many good ideas and places to stay. Yes the west coast does look like the pick of the places to visit. Thank you for your 2 cents worth.

Still undecided about booking ahead or freewheeling it. But I am enjoying the research!