Ireland in June
 

Hello <BR> I am considering going to Ireland in early June for 10 days. I am considering flying into Shannon and then driving south along the coast and up north to Dublin. I then plan on flying out of Dublin. Is 10 days enough time for this trip? Will I need to book my accomodations at B&B's far in advance or can we find a room the same day? Has anyone used frequent flier miles on American Airlines to purchase their tickets? How far in advance did you have to claim the miles? Since AA is a partner with Aer Lingus I would assume it would be easier to use my AA miles instead of United Airlines. <BR> Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Aer Lingus is pretty heavily booked in its own right in June, so I think you might have difficulty in using your AA miles unless you are REALLY felxible. <BR> <BR>10 days would be fine to do the loop. No need to book in advance unless there are sepcific places you wanted to stay. You might do your first and last nights in advance.

Kate, <BR>As an Irish person I would advise some booking in advance as June is high season tourist wise so book some places in advance as Ellen suggested but don't leave it to chance or else you will find that you will have to take what there is rather than something in your price range. Driving times in Ireland are deceptive - allow twice as much time as you would in the States and remember that the first weekend in June in Ireland is a Bank Holiday weekend and therefore there will be an increase in the amount of traffic on the roads. I would advise skipping Kerry and heading straight to Cork after spending the first night near Shannon (Visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Park) once in Cork visit the Cobh Heritage Centre (the dock where the Titantic departed from) and taking your time travel along the coast to Waterford (see the Crystal factory) and into Wexford - Fether-on-Sea and Hooke Head is worth a stop and then up throught the Wicklow Mts (Beautiful scenery). I can recommend Highfield House in Woodenbridge as an excellent place to stay in Wicklow (wonderful hosts and very helpful). <BR> <BR>Re flights - check out if you can use yoour miles to fly to London and then take a cheap flight to Dublin with Ryanair (check out their web site) <BR> <BR> Post if you have any more queries, <BR> <BR>Enjoy yourself <BR> <BR>Cathy

I highly recommend booking in advance. It is not like in the States where places are easy to find. The guesthouses are typically on a small road and hard to find sometimes. Driving is taxing enough. You don't want to be stressed out about where you are going to sleep for the night. Then again if you don't care about what kind of place you stay in maybe it would be ok. We were there for 2 weeks last June.

Think you got some great advice re: where to travel fr. Cathy. I'd add: if you need to stretch your legs, stop off at Ardmore, have lunch at Paddy Mac's pub and talk a walk along the cliffs. You can get a small brochure there that points out some interesting things. They also have a great beach here. We also liked Youghal, had a great lunch at Aherne's. And bought some lovely pottery at Jack O'Patsy's. Also agree you should the Interpretative Centre at Cobh, nr. Cork, my husband's family left fr. there and it was quite heart-wrenching to walk through it. We also really liked Kinsale, lots of B&B's there and great restaurants. Would also recommend Bunratty, lots of tourists but very interesting. Have fun.