Ireland - how many hotel changes in 9 days are ideal?
 

We fly into (Oct. 2) Dublin and out (Oct. 10) Dublin. We will have 8 nights and 9 days. We have a party of four (husband, aunt, uncle, myself - ages 45-59) and will be renting a car.

We have NO idea how many nights to stay and in which locations. We don't want to spend all of our time driving back and forth if it is more efficient to change locations...just depends on how much there is to see in each area. We are not there to see "everything" in a short amount of time, but also don't want too much leisure time!

Should we stick to central and northern Ireland (Dublin to Galway...then north?), central and southern Ireland, or all of Ireland? Is there a difference in landscapes? It looks like maybe (?) the southern coast is more barren? (I don't care as much for the more barren landscapes...prefer green rolling hills/mountains/cliffs, etc. For example, I prefer northern Tuscany over southern tuscany landscapes...even though they both have their own beauty and so much to see and experience.)

OUR LIKES/WISHES:
1) Old castles (tours and/or hotels in)
2) Scenic country-including farms, ocean cliffs, rivers and waterfalls (Torc waterfall near Friar's Glen for example).
3) Local festivals or celebrations
4) Shopping-Items made in Ireland (but not overly interested in tours of factories, etc.)
5) Golf-part of 1 day for my husband (the rest of us don't golf, so having something nearby for us to do while he golfs)
6) Cliffs of Moher (including tour in seaboat possible)...also are there cave tours that are worthwhile?
7) Wicklow Mtns. National Park
8) At least one night in Dublin (9th of Oct. for sure, since it is the night before our departure back to the states)
9) Giant's Causeway (if we go north)
10) Hotels 4-5 star...we are not demanding tourists who want waited on, but want a nice hotel. My definition of a great hotel has more to do with ambiance and cleanliness than "high maintenance."

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP!

Hey tt

You want a Travel Agent to plan your itinerary for you.

((I))

No need for a travel agent! We spent a week there in May and stayed in a bed and breakfast a max of 2 nights! This is the best way to do it! If you need more help or recommendations just ask

Hey Taylort771-thats the way we like to travel in Ireland,but OP wants 4-5 star hotels.

I can't help with hotels as I stay in B&Bs, but maybe you could take the suggested itinerary and tweak it to your needs.


Day 1--drive from airport to Newgrange area, not too far for first day on the ground. Visit the tombs in the Boyne Valley. Also Monasterbice and/or Mellifont Abbey ruins.

Day 2 head north to Giants Causeway territory. Lots of wonderful scenery along the antrim coast road. some good hikes.

Day three explore the Giants Causeway, DunLuce castle ruin, Carrick-a-rede bridge. Distillery tour (I haven't done this, but many here have and have enjoyed)

Day 4 head back toward dublin, take some time to explore more of the Glens of Antrim. Spend the night on the journey.

Day 5-6 spend in county wicklow. I know there is a golf course in Greystones for hubs while others explore Powerscourt, Powerscourt Waterfall (highest in Ireland, but not a raging torrent), Glendalough, Avoca (craftshops and place where Ballykissangel was filmed)

Day 7-8 Back to Dublin, ditch the car. Driving in Dublin is no fun and parking is expensive) Hop-on-hop-off bus tour, guiness tour, museums, Kilmainham Gaol, shopping, etc.

If you want to head southeast

Day 1-2 county Wicklow--Powerscourt, Powerscourt Waterfall (highest in Ireland)Avoca (craft shops and scene of Ballykissangel series) Glendalough, great drives through countryside or seaside. There is a golfcourse at Greystones.

Day three-drive to Killarney via Cashel

Day 4 Ring of Kerry drive. Back to Killarney

Day 5 Killarney Ntl Park, Muckross house and gardens, Torc Waterfall

Day 6 head back to dublin for rest of trip (see above)

If you want to squeeze one more day out of the west, on Day 6 head to Ennis and explore County Clare. There are the ailwee Caves in the Burren, take a boat tour from Liscannor around cliffs of Moher or visit from above--boat trips may have stopped running in October. Do some of this on Day 7 before heading back to Dublin for you last night.

Neither of these choices includes all of the things you want to see, but...

Take out a map and see if this will work for you. I know that you will get lots of more helpful advice and suggestions.

have fun!

.

I can't help with hotels as I stay in B&Bs, but maybe you could take the suggested itinerary and tweak it to your needs.


Day 1--drive from airport to Newgrange area, not too far for first day on the ground. Visit the tombs in the Boyne Valley. Also Monasterbice and/or Mellifont Abbey ruins.

Day 2 head north to Giants Causeway territory. Lots of wonderful scenery along the antrim coast road. some good hikes.

Day three explore the Giants Causeway, DunLuce castle ruin, Carrick-a-rede bridge. Distillery tour (I haven't done this, but many here have and have enjoyed)

Day 4 head back toward dublin, take some time to explore more of the Glens of Antrim. Spend the night on the journey.

Day 5-6 spend in county wicklow. I know there is a golf course in Greystones for hubs while others explore Powerscourt, Powerscourt Waterfall (highest in Ireland, but not a raging torrent), Glendalough, Avoca (craftshops and place where Ballykissangel was filmed)

Day 7-8 Back to Dublin, ditch the car. Driving in Dublin is no fun and parking is expensive) Hop-on-hop-off bus tour, guiness tour, museums, Kilmainham Gaol, shopping, etc.

If you want to head southeast

Day 1-2 county Wicklow--Powerscourt, Powerscourt Waterfall (highest in Ireland)Avoca (craft shops and scene of Ballykissangel series) Glendalough, great drives through countryside or seaside. There is a golfcourse at Greystones.

Day three-drive to Killarney via Cashel

Day 4 Ring of Kerry drive. Back to Killarney

Day 5 Killarney Ntl Park, Muckross house and gardens, Torc Waterfall

Day 6 head back to dublin for rest of trip (see above)

If you want to squeeze one more day out of the west, on Day 6 head to Ennis and explore County Clare. There are the ailwee Caves in the Burren, take a boat tour from Liscannor around cliffs of Moher or visit from above--boat trips may have stopped running in October. Do some of this on Day 7 before heading back to Dublin for you last night.

Neither of these choices includes all of the things you want to see, but...

Take out a map and see if this will work for you. I know that you will get lots of more helpful advice and suggestions.

have fun!

.

Taylor, njs, irishface,

Thank you all for your advice. While we like the 4-5 stars, we are not opposed to B&B's if clean and full of character & comfortable beds. Do most of the B&B's have private bathrooms? I also can't stay in a room where pets are allowed as the dander sets off my allergies & asthma. Do you need to have pre-arranges rerservations at the B&B's or do you take it as it comes and hope there is a room?

Irishface - your advice will be very helpful to us!

I am always amazed and thankful for the helpfulness of others when it comes to the trip planning.

We never take tours as we prefer to "scope it all out" and have great fun planning everything. This time, however, we are a bit "behind the 8 ball!"

Smiles!

http://www.irelandyes.com/

Michele at Irelandyes has reviews of B&Bs and Guesthouses that she has stayed and inspected.
She has excellent taste ,and we have always been very happy with her suggestions .
We will also be in Ireland this fall 9/23 to 10/8!Enjoy your trip!

Susan

Susan,

While we shy away from tour arrangements, Michelle's tailored option looks wonderful! Great link! Are you using her services? Is this your first time to Ireland? While having traveled Europe a lot, I have never been to Ireland!

Thank you and enjoy your trip also!

TT2T

We try to visit Ireland every year to visit my husbands family.This trip we will spend 5 days with them then travel around.

I use Michele's site to help plan,and have bought her book(wonderful and informative).I have learned alot from the many trip reports.

Susan