Nicole

After getting some sage advice on this board - my husband and I have recently tried to finalize our itinerary for a 7 day/6night trip to Ireland. I am hoping to get advice on the plan - as well as any suggestions on B&B's (we are using the voucher system). We are flying into Shannon from New York City on April 1st.<BR><BR>Itinerary:<BR>Day 1: Arrive Shannon - Bunratty Castle (if we aren't too tired - drive to Cliffs of Moher) - we stay in Kilrush (near car ferry).<BR><BR>Day 2: Kilrush to Dingle Penn. Stay in Dingle.<BR><BR>Day 3: Dingle to Killarney. Stay night in Killarney<BR><BR>Day 4: Killarney to Cahir, Cahir to Cashel. Stay in Cashel.<BR><BR>Day 5: Cashel to Kilkenney. Stay night in Kilkenny or Carlow.<BR><BR>Day 6: Drive into Dublin. Stay in Dublin. <BR><BR>We had originally planned to also see Blarney and Glendalough - but we cut those out because people said we were doing too much driving. Are there any suggestions on this plan??? Also - we are trying to find nice B&Bs that take vouchers in each of those towns... ANY HELP IS VERY VERY APPRECIATED!! =) <BR><BR>-nicole

Terry

My wife and I went to Ireland in 1999. Found it very easy to just book a B&B as we went - no need for vouchers which tend to limit your choices and make you adhere to a time schedule.<BR><BR>Your itinerary looks great. Do not miss: Bunratty castle, some say it is for tourists but thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Rock of Cashel and Cliffs of Moher. You will be pressed for time to do this in 7 days.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip!

cd

Nicole<BR>We are doing this trip in March and we are driving much more than you. A lot of driving for one person is not a lot for another. So, I think you need to decide for yourself, consider what others have recommended, but on your own, with a map, check out distances & figure how long it will take you to drive from one destination to another. Realizing that it will take longer to drive distances in Ireland than the States because of the narrow curvy roads. Once you've done that, you can determine if your plan is good for you allowing enough time to see and do what you want, and if you can add anything else to the itinerary. Re:vouchers, call the Irish tour board 1-800-223-6470 and ask for the Ireland 2002 Bed and Breakfast book ASAP. You can check out the same info at www.townandcountry.ie/ but you will need to take the book on your trip unless you make reservations ahead of time. I strongly urge you to make reservations for Dublin, if no where else, because so few B&B's in Dublin take vouchers any more, you'll notice that when you bring Dublin up on the web site. It took me a couple of weeks of emailing to secure reservations there. When using the web site, you will have to enter accoring to county, re: Dingle is Co Kerry, Shannon is Co Clare, etc. Also, If you want to attend the Bunratty Medieval Dinner, which is supposed to be a lot of fun, you will need reservations. Call #01135361360788 and talk to Marie Slattery, Reservations Manager. Hope this helps, have a great time!!

budget

Instead of making an expensive phone call to Ireland for reservations for a castle banquet send an email instead: [email protected]

Nicole

Thanks for the advice. I have actually done a lot of research for this trip (I am suffering from info overload!) - I am interested 'Cd' in your itinerary for your March trip... you said you were doing much more driving... Curious to know how many miles you plan to drive a day? I originally had planned approx 100 miles a day in our original plan - but when I posted it on this site (and on ireland.expert.com) I got lots of responses that said we were driving too much and that in Ireland 50 miles a day was a good rule of thumb... I do feel worried that we are missing out on some of the locations we had originally planned (Kinsale, Blarney and Wicklow area)... Everyone let me know your thoughts! What is a good rule of thumb mileage wise??? <BR><BR>Also - I have done lots of research on B&B's - we have to use vouchers (we got a package that includes them - I realize after research the pros and cons- but for this trip I am stuck with them). Here are some of the ones I thought looked nice - but would love to hear people's advice on these and others: <BR>Kilrush -- Hillcrest View<BR>Dingle -- Mount Eagle Lodge<BR>Killarney -- Abbey Lodge or Killarney Villa<BR>Cashel -- Ashmore House<BR>THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!

cd

Hi Nicole!<BR>This is our itinerary. Day 1 arrive Shannon drive to Clifs of Moher, see some the Burren and Ailwee Caves stay night at Doolin. Day 2 Drive to Galway, walk the town, Walk the promenade,etc.Party as it is St Paddy's Day, spend night. Day 3 Drive to Limerick for our big splurg to stay at Dromoland Castle and have dinner at Bunratty Castle. Day 4 Drive to Dingle via Connor Pass and Slea Head and on to Killarney for the night. Day 5 Stay a couple hrs in Killarney & drive to Cork for Blarney Castle and shopping at Blarney Mills and then down to the quaint harbor town of Kinsale, (it has a lot of history) spend the night there. Day 6 leave VERY early as it is a 5hr drive to Dublin and we want to spend 1-2 hrs at Cashel as it is on the way. Arrive in Dublin for walking the city, Seeing the Book of Kells if we can make it before Trinity closes. enjoying dinner and nightlife. Day 7 Time to walk the coast of the Irish Sea (as our B&B overlooks the Sea and is a 5min walk to the shore) and be at the airport by 1pm. We will make the most of sightseeing everyday and once darkness arrives (right around 7 when we're there. Later then that I believe when you are there) we will have dinner, Pub it for awhile and retire) It is a whirlwind but right for us. We are used to this kind of schedule as our families are all in other states and we often leave to go there after work on Friday, arriving late in the evening, stay Sat, go to church with them Sun morning and leave for home. We have done this for yrs, so we are just used to being on the move. I am very exited about our trip and wish you a fun, fun time. I just pray no one gets sick...it's always a concern, sure puts the brakes on a holiday!

steve

I don't see a problem with including Blarney in your itinerary. 100 miles a day of the 'major' roads is not too bad, but if you are on small roads, it might be.

DB

Bunratty is a great chioce on your day of arrival as it right down the street from Shannon airport. If you want to go to the medieval banquet dinner at the castle try to get a reservation ahead of time. I was there in Feb. and it was sold out. The rest sound great. Try to drive through the town of Adare on your way id possible and have lunch at a place called the Blue Door. it's adorable! Also, Glendalough is very close to Dublin and is worth seeing. You can see it in an hour if you are that pressed for time. The powerscourt falls are in that area and are amazing also, although the gardens may be closed that time of year. In Killarney, Foley's restaurant has great seafood. Slainte!

Bill

Nicole:<BR><BR>The only problem I see is day 1. You will probably only get about 3 gours of sleep on the plane (after they feed you and you wait in line for the restrooms and then wake up for breakfast) so you will probably be very tired. Some of the B&Bs around Shannon and Bunratty allow you to check in early and take a nap.<BR><BR>If you visit Bunratty, then make the 1.5 hour trip to the cliffs and then another 1.5 to Kilrush, you may not really enjoy it very much. Still, I would find a way the catch the cliffs, especially if you can be there early or late, before the tour busses arrive. Tough choices here, but depending on your interests, I would:<BR>1.Spend a night in Bunratty and catch the cliffs the next day and maybe stay in Doolin or Kilrush if you like. Then clip something off at the end, for instance go straight to Cashel from Killarney, see the Rock and then on to Kilkenny for the night. I would give up Cahir Castle for the Cliffs of Moher everytime. That's about 3.5 hrs of driving and about 125 miles. You could catch Glendalough on the way into Dublin from Kilkenny.<BR><BR>2. Skip Bunratty castle and head for Doolin and spend the night by the cliffs. I don't like that idea as much though.<BR><BR>One other thing is that you might consider Kenmare to Killarney. Many people find Killarney touristy and Kenmare is a beautiful littletown on the Kenmare River (it's really a bay that goes out to the Atlantic) with nice places to eat and a lot of character. I always opt for Kenmare over Killarney.<BR><BR>I hope this helps.<BR><BR>Bill