Fossbomb, our trips are both close! I am getting so excited. My wife still doesn't know where we're going! I hope I can keep it from her for another 2 weeks! The Super CDW stuff is not at all clear to me either. I spoke to Auto Europe, and what I gather is that you rent the car from them with their top insurance, and then get the Super CDW from another outfit. This basically gives you a 0 deductible should something happen.... which from what I gather is a good possibility. I saw a thread where someone had to fork over 1800+ for a scratch down the car. Please post if you find anything else out. I have a feeling I need to completely secure the car reservation by the end of the weekend.

alg, sounds like some good ideas. Rick Steves said the National Museum was also pretty fantastic. When are you going?

FYI - the brunch in the Westin on Sundays is meant to be one of the best in Dublin. It's pretty pricey (though i think the price includes a glass of champagne) but might be worth checking out if you plan on staying in the hotel Sunday morning.

we leave Wednesday! My husband tried to guess and decided that we're going to Chicago.

Have a wonderful time!

I booked yesterday thru AutoEurope and insurance4carhire.com
I am just crossing my fingers now that there isn't some fine print that I am missing. Not much more I can do at this point. That's great that your wife has no idea, enjoy your trip!

Littlejane, thanks for the tip on the brunch!

alg, have a great time, an send us a trip report when you get back!!

Fossbomb, it looks like the insurance4carhire.com insurance is a yearly membership sort of thing??

redneck -- Do you have a World Points Master Card? That is the one credit card that will cover collision in Ireland. (At least that was true a year ago). There is no extra cost for this insurance and there is no deductible. The only things you must do are (1) use the card to book the car, (2) use the card at the rental counter at pickup for any extras involved, (3) decline the CDW on the rental contract when you pick up the car. If there is damage to the car, you must pay up front then submit a claim to Master Card with documentation of damage costs. Your credit card company will then credit your account with that amount.
If you have this kind of card, I advise you check with them to make sure this policy is still in effect. Have a wonderful trip!

CORRECTION: It's World Master Card, not World Points. Sorry.

crckwc1 - Unfortunately, I don't have a world master card.

Fossbomb - what kind of car did you get from AutoEurope. I booked today, and got a Hyundai I30 compact with a free one class upgrade. I'm not inclined to take the upgrade though. From what I have heard you want the smallest car you think you can live with.

What a total waste of an afternoon. I've been reading all of this stuff about car insurance and the like!!

we booked a Nissan Micra, it is an automatic, it will be fine for us I think. Yes, the insurance4carhire.com is a 12 month coverage, not too badly priced. We may go somewhere over the winter too so it would cover that as well. My husbands World MC did not cover us in Ireland, we called and triple checked.

We're leaving for our trip a week from yesterday, and now I am having really bad anxiety that I haven't covered all of the trip reports, guidebooks, and forums. For some reason I feel like I'm going to squander our trip. Dingle is the biggest longest stay of the trip, and I feel like I don't really have a plan for Dingle (other than maybe a trip to the Skellig hotel spa on our bday / Anniversary day).

Am I crazy for kind of just letting things fall into place in Dingle?

Dublin (only from noon to noon) - Guinness Storehouse (got to bring some stuff back for folks), Pub crawl, and either the Gaol or the National Museum....bad ideas?

Cashel - The Rock

Doolin - Its all about the music and the cliffs as far as I'm
concerned. No?

Letting things fall into place is half the fun. :) Planning is great, and important, but it's also important to be flexible and prepared to completely ignore some of the plans that you made to persue the things that you discover while you are there.

In Dublin, Kilmainham Gaol and the Museum are both worthy of a visit. I haven't been to the Storehouse, but many people seem to enjoy it. There's Dublin Castle, too. And the Book of Kells. Go with what you think might work best for you. Bail on anything that isn't quite meeting your expectations or interests.

In Cashel, the Rock is pretty much the thing, but Hore Abbey is a short walk away. Cahir Castle is a short drive away from there, too.

For me, Doolin is about the cliffs, sure, but also about some Irish Stew at Gus O'Connors pub.

Have a great trip!

I also would not worry.

You have a very reasonable itinerary that allows for flexibility. Also allow for local advice, i.e. your hosts in Dingle who might point you to a festival or sight that no one here knows of.

You can add items on your way from Dublin to Cashel, and Cashel to Dingle, depending on your daily "mood" (or level of exhaustion).

Options which you could add, but should not feel to must add:

Dublin-Cashel: stopover in Kilkenny for little exploring a beautiful town and for lunch. Visit the Rock in the pm hours.

Cashel-Dingle: stop at Cahir, visit Castle. Take a scenic and "quaint" walk along River Suir to Swiss Cottage (1/2hr each way). Google opening hours first for Swiss Cottage and inquire locally. Swiss Cottage shut down for lunch break longer than posted on the web when I was there.

I'm glad y'all feel that way. I was a little nervous about leaving what I want to be a perfect vacation to chance.

I am definitely going to give a trip report...hopefully with photos. I might even update a little while I'm gone.

I can only reiterate what jefe and Cowboy have already stated. Ireland is a magical place. Enjoy and be open to all of its possibilities.

Redneck - I don't think you have a thing to worry about! Your wife is going to be blown away at the trip you've planned. I told my husband he was welcome to plan one of these surprises for me someday ;-)

Check out this Travel Journal - Their Photography and recommendations look great - http://www.nbhtravel.info/ireland.html

Safe Travels,
Bonnie

We stayed at a great B & B in Doolin called the Sea View House. It's been awhile since we were there - 2005 - but they still get great reviews. You're right in that Doolin is all about the cliffs and the music. The music was the best we'd ever heard.

http://www.seaviewhouse.eu/

Have a great trip - you'll LOVE Ireland!!

PamT

I stayed at the Cashel Palace Hotel twice in the 90's. It's a beautiful building, and some of the upper floor rooms facing the rear ( facing away from the street ) have views of the Rock of Cashel. If you're not expecting "Four Seasons" posh, you'll be happy with your decision to stay there. It's full of charm.

The Rock of Cashel is well worth going out of the way for. The ruins are magnificent, the view from atop the Rock is beautiful, and to see the Rock lit up at night is unforgettable. Don't miss it lit up!

There is a cultural center at the foot of the Rock. Sometimes, during the summer, there is entertainment there in the evening ( check with your hotel ). Otherwise, enjoy a beverage in the basement bar at the Cashel Palace Hotel, where Guinness beer was introduced to the world ( so they say ).

If you have any interest in visiting a working sheep farm, there's one that wouldn't be to far out of the way on your drive from Cashel to Dingle. You'd have to travel to Dingle via Killarney. From Killarney, it's about 15 miles south, driving through Killarney National Park, so you'd have an opportunity to stop at scenic sights like the Ladies' View along the way. After you stop at the sheep farm, you backtrack to Killarney, and continue west to Dingle.

The sheep farm owner, John Kissane, represents the 5th generation of his family on that farm. He and his wife Anne welcomed the sixth generation ( Sean ) just last year. John and Anne have sheep dog and sheep-shearing demonstrations, and you are able to bottle feed the orphan lambs. The farm is very clean and the Kissanes are very nice...great fun if you're an animal lover. Here's a link to their website:
http://www.adopt-a-sheep.ie/ .

Also, if you don't have it already, here's the link to the Shannon Ferry timetable for your drive from Dingle to Doolin:
http://www.shannonferries.com/timetable/ . Unfortunately, the summer schedule ends on August 27th, so, after that date, the ferry will operate once per hour, on the half hour, out of Tarbert. The ferry's pretty neat, easy to do, and saves you from driving the long route to Doolin via Limerick.

Have a safe and wonderful trip!

Two wonderful castle hotels that also have wonderful food are Ashford Castle (also with wonderful scenary in the West of Ireland in Cong, County Mayo) and Castle Leslie in Monaghan. The meals in both are great. Guilbaud's in Dublin, if you can get in, is great. The Shelbourne Hotel on St Stephen's Green has both great rooms and a great restaurant. When you book a "castle" hotel make sure the castle is still in existence and not just a ruin located on the grounds of the hotel. Other than that have fun and remember that you will be in another country, not the US. The good news is that they generally like Americans (since so many Irish immigrated here in the 1800's).
CJK

So we're here, and so far everything has been amazing! We have already been to Dublin, Cashel, and today arrived in Dingle. WOW....

I will be posting a full trip report upon my return.

I wanted to at least post the trip report from an accommodations viewpoint. I plan to type up the whole thing eventually.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-sept-2010.cfm