My husband and I are traveling to Ireland in February. Is there a town we should base our selves out of or should we travel to a new B$B each night.We are staying for 7 nights. We know we want to stay in Southern Ireland. We are flying into Dublin and out of Shannon. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks Jeanette.

Hi Jeanette<BR><BR>I'd recommend a bit of a compromise: stay in one place for two or three nights at a stretch. Moving every night will wear you out, and many places will require more than one day to see.<BR><BR>Do invest three days in Dublin: there's a ton of action going on, in this town. Catch a play, catch a gig, see the Guinness brewery, see Smithfield, do some shopping on Grafton Street, catch a tour up to Glendoloch in the Wicklow Mountains and go on a short hike.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip! There's some more info on my website, and feel free to email me for any honest (ie not tourist industry/travel agancy) advice/recommendations you need.<BR><BR>Mick<BR>www.dfaguide.com

I would suggest buying a book or two on Ireland and a good map. Read to find out what you want to see and then map it out. You can then see where it is best for you to stay or travel to. Foders and Frommers both have good books on Ireland.

Jeanette,<BR><BR>Check out www.ireland.travel.ie and Pat preston's site for further info'on Ireland. You should also remember that if the weather is wet it will reduce the daylight hours available to you - and at the moment it gets dark about 4.00 and it is normally not great daylight until about 8.30 or so depending on the weather. Are you hiring a car or using public transport ? Car hire is expensive unless pre-booked and you should allow twice the amount of time and then double it to travel half the distance you would normally do at the home. Public transport is a hit and miss affair depending on where you are travelling to and what the mode of transport is.<BR><BR>Hope this helps you,<BR>Have a great time,<BR><BR><BR>Cathy

I agree with Mick on a compromise, but if I had only seven nights, and this is your first trip, I would not spend them in Dublin. Nothing personal, there is lots to see there, but it is a big city. Get out and see the countryside and save Dublin for another, longer trip. Trust me, on your flight back, you'll be planning your next trip.<BR><BR>In the south, I've stayed in Mizen and around the Kenmare area. Kenmare is a great jumping off spot because you can the the Ring of Kerry, Ring of Beara, Killarney Nat'l Park and even sneak up to Dingle from the same location. And it's a neat little town. <BR><BR>Cathy is right about the daylight. It gets dark very early. On the positive side, that gives you more time to spend in pubs.<BR><BR>I also recommmend the Michelin Green guide. The descriptions are very good and there are some suggested tours with excellent directions from certain locals. Also, the Michelin map is probably as good as you can get in the US. I understand there is also a very good one available over there, but I forget the name.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>Bill