Hello! I am planning a trip to Ireland for either late September or October. I keep reading that the weather in October is rather unpredictable. Would September be any better? I have changed my route about four times now. The only thing I know for sure is that I MUST see Cork (ancestors are from there) and that I prefer scenery to crowds and the city. At the moment - I am thinking of a route going from Shannon to Cork. Stay in Cork for about three days, Killarney for two and back into Shannon to go home. After reading your posts - I am wondering if I can possibly accomplish anything in this length of time. I figured five days of sight-seeing and two coming into airports and leaving. After reading another post - I am thinking maybe I need ten days total? I appreciate the help and have really learned a lot so far by just reading the posts! Thanks - Cat

Cat, <BR>Check out www.ireland.travel.ie. Weather in Ireland is always unpredictable - yesterday Sunday May 28th saw hail stones, lightening, heavy rain and sunshine. Temps ranged from 12 to 18 and that was in the space of 6 hours. You can get alot done in 7 days - you don't need to allot two days to arrival and departure. I would suggest seeing the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Park before leaving the Shannon area and then heading for Cork - what part of the county or city are you interested in ? See the Heritage Centre in Cobh, and visit the fishing villages eg Ballycotton etc . Check out the above web site before you plan any further and post if you have any more questions, also do a search on this forum as there has been a lot of questions re Ireland recently, <BR>Have a good time planning the trip, <BR> <BR>Cathy

Dear Cat: Unless you actually have LIVING relatives who are looking firward to your visit to Cork, ONE day would be more than enough. And though I myself do have relatives in Killarney, on my most recent visit I found Kenmare and the area around it preferable. Hope you have a lovely visit. Joan

Joan - I was planning on using Cork as kind of my central point for seeing things on that side of the country. I am not sure where Kenmare is - will get the map out tomorrow and look for it. I <BR>mainly just wanted to see where my relatives came from - after that - I would like to see castles, and scenery. There are so many places I would like to see, but my time is going to be limited - so I want to make the most out of it! Thanks again! Cat

Cat, <BR>Cork is an excellent city from which to base yourself. You can take day trips over to Killarney instead of staying in Kerry. Cork is not as full of tourists as Kerry would be, although in October Kerry tends to be quieter. When in Cork do visit the seaside villages and pop over to Waterford for the day. Check out www.cie.ie for day trips if you don't plan on hiring a car, although to see where your relatives came from will probably require a car, here in Ireland public transport is not great, have a good time, <BR> <BR>Cathy

September is often the nicest month in Ireland. That said, it can also be miserable, but so can any time of the year. September and June are the best bets. Avoid Killarney--way too many tourists.

If you cut your trip short, you will leave wishing you had chosen more time. There is just too much to see! We moved to a new location every night, which kept us busy, but we did not see enough in 7 days. I found the west coast to be the best. The Bunratty Castle suggestion is a good one. One word of caution: Don't leave anything in your car there. We were there last week and they were starting to have many breakins (glass broken the whole bit, but the park is wonderful. Try to have dinner in the castle if you can. Have fun!

Kim- what part of the west coast did you visit? I do want to see the Bunratty Castle - I also would like to have more time, but not sure if arrangements can be made to be gone that long or not. <BR>Ann- Do you thinks the tourists would be as bad at the end of September? I am leaning towards either the last week of September or the first week of October. <BR> <BR>Thanks everyone else too - for the help! Cat

Cat, <BR>If you really want to see spectular scenery along the west coast then head for Sligo and Donegal - the NorthWest (and you could head down to Dublin from there if you want). Otherwise along the Cliffs of Moher and around by Galway - take a day trip to the Aran Islands. Galway is a bustling city and is very popular with young visitors. <BR> <BR>Bunratty Castle is on your way to Cork from Shannon and will take a half day or more if you want to stay for the evening dinner. <BR> <BR>Ireland is always popular with visitors with I think that late Sept is generally quieter. BTW that some places will change their opening hours in Oct as low season comes in. Have a good time and post if you have any more questions, <BR> <BR>Cathy

if you are driving get a Michelin 2000 map.We had two and this is the best. <BR>.

We absolutely loved the Dingle Peninsula. We could have taken two days to drive around it. There a lot of little non-touristy sites that are incredible. Be sure to find your way to the remains of the Minard Castle. We also stopped into the Celtic Musuem and the guy who owns it is full of suggestions. He told us about a ring fort that no one ever goes to. So we packed a lunch and climbed the mountain through the sheep and had an incredible view. The Connor's Pass is breathtaking. <BR> <BR>Unfortunately, we were to head towards the Cliffs of Moher, but had so much fun on Dingle that we had to move onto Bunratty. <BR> <BR>Have fun!