Pax House is apparently "The" place to stay in Dingle. SG and other Dingle fans put it up as a regular recommendation.

Thanks Tony! I think I'm going to go with Abbey House for Kenmare too.

What about this: I was thinking of staying in Malahide on the 2nd to last night and doing Newgrange and then dropping the car off later that day.

Need to see if they have an airport transfer....or we'll just stay at the Premier Inn the last night.

Newgrange is amazing - personally I found Galway my favourite town of all - it is sinply great to wander around and full of genuine atmosphere - try to free up time to be in the town itself - say 2 days? The Cliffs of Moher are a bit of a drive from Galway - close to Lehinch which is a tiny place with a beach - lots of b & bs- we staiyed at the Atlantic Hotel which was just lovely (low key, friendly, very clean) but that was 19 years ago now! I envy you - take your time and don't rush around - the point of Ireland used to be smelling the roses..

Thanks Jen! We're actually going to be just stopping Galway and opting for overnights in smaller towns in the area.

Emailed a few B&Bs in Kinsale and Kilkenny.

I was thinking of driving from Kilkenny to somewhere outside Dublin. Somewhere that we can be close to Newgrange in the AM. Is that doable, if the only major stop is Glendalough?

Suggestions for a town to stay in for the night?

Day 13: Thursday 7/19 Beara Peninsula, Blarney. Overnight in Kinsale?

Day 14: Friday 7/20 Rock of Cashel. Overnight in Kilkenny.

Day 15: Saturday 7/21 Kilkenny to somewhere near Newgrange. Stops in Glendalough.

Day 16 - Sunday 7/22 - Visit Newgrange in the AM.

Overnighting at airport (likely Premier Inn)

Day 17: Monday 7/23 - Depart early AM

Perhaps on Day 15 you could try a castle hotel: Smarmore Castle Hotel http://smarmorecastle.com . For just the two of you, ask for one of the rooms in the original part of the castle.

Oh wow jaja...that would be so amazing!! I will check this out.

I have emailed Smarmore and am waiting for a response.

Does anyone have any other castle accommodations that would set us up to be near Newgrange? I am really liking the idea of spending one night in a castle

I do hope you can get in at Smarmore. The price is right, for a castle hotel, and the people charming. I also hope you can get a room in the tower. We were three so had the Earl's room.

I don't know of any other castle hotels near Newgrange.

Thanks jaja, I have my fingers crossed! Hopefully I'll hear something today. If I can wrap that up then I just need to book our airport hotel and accommodations are done.

Then the serious route planning begins

That time zone difference can be maddening when you want to know something RIGHT NOW, can't it? I'm Central so 6 hours different and I hate having to do math in my head (an accountess shouldn't be admitting that, should she?).

I agree jaja! We're on Central too...so often the responses come in the middle of the night.

However.....we got it! A castle tower room!!!!

I am SUPER excited about this, thank you SO much!

Now it's time for the route planning. Not sure whether to start a new thread.

Tony gives you lots of excellent advice. I disagree, however, about Grey Gables in Ennis. We stayed there a couple of years ago and it is one of the very few places we would not return to. The only good thing about it is its location, which is a super easy walk into town.

My other two cents: you have a lot of one nighters in your plan. If at all possible, we try to limit them as best we can. It is very tiring to change bases every night. (Actually I am surprised that I haven't heard this from anyone yet.) Most B&Bs serve breakfast between 8 and 9:30. By the time you have eaten, packed up the car and settled up with the hosts, it could be 10:00 already. I think you have enough time in Ireland so you can relax a bit.

And if you somehow don't see the ROK, that's okay. There is lovelier scenery in other areas. When you are farther north, think about Achill Island and in Clare, Loop Head.

I understand your excitement because we love Ireland and I am still excited after many trips to plan another. We have been home a week from our most recent Irish adventure and are already thinking about the next one!

Hi Allison,

Thank you so very much!!!

What did you not like about Grey Gables?

We do have quite a few one-nighters....but it almost feels like they are unavoidable or we would have a lot of backtracking. We've done a few road trips in the US that were all one-nighters....it wasn't horrible.

Re Grey Gables...Our room was very dated. The bathroom was icky. The tea making facility was in a commom hallway. There was a picnic table with an ashtray on the lawn right outside our room and I could smell it inside.

She asked what time we wanted breakfast. We had a flight that morning and wanted an early-ish breakfast at 8:00, but she didn't have space for us and put us down for 8:30. We weren't seated in her dining room until 8:45, which stressed me. Over breakfast we talked to another couple who couldn't get hot water in the shower or the tv turned on, and the hostess seemed (to them) inconvenienced by their requests for help.

Overall, we just did not leave with a good feeling about the place. (The breakfast itself was fine!)

Quite surprised at the comments. I agree about the communal tea and coffee being the down side but Mary is very customer focused. She does try and schedule breakfasts as the dining room can be tight when they are full. I am guessing from your description that you were in the end downstairs bedroom which is where Pops and Pat stayed when we were there for his 80th last September. They praised all the accommodation on that trip and they are used to far better than I could afford to put them in.

When did you stay?

I am trying to think of the B&B Bannergirl recommends for Ennis? I think it might be Glenomra but send her a message on TA.

Tony, I think we stayed there in 09. The last 3 trips we have stayed in or very near Bunratty. And yes, that sounds like the room we had.

Mary gets mostly good reviews on TA, just not from me. (I didn't put a review there.)

Think it was Nov 09 we first stayed there for the TradFest. We used to Stay out at the Auburn Lodge but sort of fell out with the place due to the cab price getting home. I am not up to walking that far into town any more so would be a cab both ways.

One of the off reviews might be down to myself and a couple of others recommending the place and it just didn't live up to expectations. The worst recent review on TA is from someone complaining that Mary told them to keep the noise down and go to bed (actually turned 1am)?

I went through all the reviews this AM and it seems like most of the bad reviews were pre-2010. Perhaps there have been some updates in the last couple of years?

Thanks Jeanne....I can cancel anytime, so I'll be watching prices for the cars.

Based on our time on the ground in Ireland would you recommend purchasing both the Heritage Card and the Touring Guide? It seems like they would be money savers, but I wanted expert opinions. I would just pick them up in Dublin.

Dublin Question - We are centrally located at the Merrion Hotel. Does it make sense to do a HOHO bus tour? The only site that seems to be out of the way is the Gaol (which I am thinking of adding to my list). Not sure it would be worth the $ if I'm in walking distance of everything.

We picked up our rental car from Dublin airport early in the morning on a Sunday in May and then headed up to Newgrange and were there when it opened. It's maybe half hour drive if I remember correctly. We really really enjoyed it. We were actually on the first tour. We then headed to Doolin and took our time but made it in a reasonable amount of time.

We took a boat from Doolin and went to Inisheer and spent the day, then the cruise along the base of the Cliffs. It was quite beautiful but very very choppy, not for a weak stomach.

We enjoyed the Gaol and learned a lot about Irish history during the tour, but it is out of the way. It took us probably an hour to walk from Trinity College to the Gaol.

Looks like you have received a lot of great information. Enjoy your trip!