A_Nonymous

Given a mid-January arrival, does this look silly?

Day 1 Arrive AM in Dublin
Day 2 Dublin
Day 3 Dublin - Day trip to ???
Day 4 Dublin - Drive 2.5 hrs to Waterford, Crystal Factory, drive 1.5 hrs to Cork
Day 5 Cork - Trip to Blarney, Blarney Castle, Woolen Mills, etc. Spend remainder of day exploring Cork.
Day 6 Cork - Day trip to Killarney
Day 7 Cork - Drive 1.5 hrs to Bunratty, see Castle, drive 1.5 hrs to Galway
Day 8 - Galway City
Day 9 - Day trip to Balliasloe (grandparents' town)
Day 10 - Day trip to Cliffs of Moher and ???Day 11 - Drive 3 hrs from Galway to Newgrange, Newgrange, drive 1 hr to Dublin airport.
Day 12 - Fly out of Dublin

Thanks!

Padhraicin

Best day trips from Dublin would be to County Wicklow. However, in January, you will have to factor in weather. In January we are most likely to have very cold weather, icey roads and snow - but this is not predicatable!
Another consideration re. driving out of Dublin .. time to get out of city and to destination depends on traffic which can be very congested especially in evenings .
Day 6 - I would not drive back to Cork but stay in Killarney area and then go on to Bunratty next day.
From Bunratty etc., it would be best to do Cliffs of Moher (maybe stay in Ballyvaughan in North Clare) and then got to Galway, Ballinasloe and on to Dublin.

NEDSIRELAND

You may have windy, rainy weather: be prepared. I usually take a nylon rain parka and another lightweight jacket (for use when my parka is drying out).

Don't plan to begin your driving trips before 9:00 AM or so: even when the nights are clear, pavement may be covered with frost in the early AM and it can be slick.

At Ireland's Latitude, daylight hours will be short in mid-January.

johngerard

I drove from Cork to Dublin last summer setting off at 10.00 and arrived an exhausted 7 hours later with only two 45 minute stops. 1 traffic jam lasted 1 hour so good luck with your proposed trip.
Cobh was a good day trip & Cork could take 2 days - I remember the market was colourful. Kinsale was about the best town in the area but in winter it may be closed.
Galway to Cork was at least 4 hours & I have done that trip a few times over the years.
Ballinasloe is quite a large town to find lost relatives - a letter to the local churches now might start of some links.
Galway to Dublin looks about right at 4 hours.

StephenG

My wife and I with 2 of our children (21 and 22 years old) were there in January of 2004. Everytime I read other reports it reminds me why we planned our trip in the off!! season. We probably had less rain and more sun than many of the May and June trips, off season discounts and no crowds. We spent most of our trip in the southwest, more tourists there in season. We were the only people on the tomb tour at Newgrange, had the Book of Kells to ourselves, and a window table at the Guiness Gravity Bar.

wojazz3

I'm not sure I would use Cork as a hub. It has been a while since I have driven in the city, but it's not an easy town to get around in and easy to get lost in. Perhaps that has changed since the European City of Culture thing a year or two ago. I like Padhraicin's suggestion of going to Killarney.

Days will be quite short as was mentioned. Weather could be anything from sunny to nasty. Some sites will be closed at that time of year but the scenery is open year around. Nobody goes to Ireland for the weather anyway.

As others have said, I wouldn't count on those driving times to come through. It's possible and locals can probably make it that fast, but unless you are very used to driving in Ireland, you might want to add some time.

Bill

johngerard

Cork is like a roundabout - all 1 way & if you miss the turn you keep going round & there are by-passes that run through the city but the junctions are pretty well signposted if you know where you want to go. Galway is a difficult city to get around, most people park at the cathedral despite the notices.
Cheapest petrol is Athlone or near the border by Sligo.

A_Nonymous

Thanks for the replies. I knew the weather would be dicey but perhaps did not fully appreciate the traffic and distance/time situation. Things to ponder.

IrishJim

Ireland is wet in the winter but it rarely snows and the roads are grand where you're travelling, A.

Dress warm.

Slan,
Jim
www.tourclare.com