Ireland Itinerary - Critique and Help
Jan 9th, 2002, 12:27 PM
#1
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Ireland Itinerary - Critique and Help
My wife are headed for Ireland. We could use some help in making several decisions.<BR><BR>Itinerary <BR><BR>Day 1 - 3 Dublin - Trinity Lodge<BR>Day 4 - 6 Belfast - Self Catering Cottage<BR>Day 7 - 8 Derry - Self Catering Cottage<BR>Day 9 - 11 Fermanagh Lakelands - Self Catering Cottage<BR>Day 12 (Driving from through Sligo headed for Clifden) Any ideas where to stay, specific hotel,B&B,Country House?<BR>Day 13 - 14 Clifden, Joyce's Waterloo B&B<BR>Day 15 (Thought about heading for Doolin and the Moher cliffs) Any ideas where to stay, specific hotel, B&B, Country House?<BR>Day 16 - 18 Galway City, do not have a clue where to stay.<BR>Day 19 Late flight out of Shannon Airport<BR><BR>Note day 18 is St Patricks Day - from advice from regulars, friends and acquaintances we decided to spend the day in Galway.<BR><BR>Decision time. Should we continue from Doolin to the Dingle Peninsula, perhaps stay in Dingle and cut time out of Galway. Or should we head East and do ?????<BR><BR>Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.<BR><BR>My wife and I love people, people, people and history/culture/cemetaries/castles/ruins/architecture/beautiful scenery/photo ops. We are terrible shoppers (except we will buy some stuff in Beleek.
Jan 9th, 2002, 01:41 PM
#3
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I'm sure others will disagree with me, but I'd suggest less time in Galway. We spent two nights there as part of an nine-day Ireland trip last March, and wished (too late) that we'd spent an extra night somewhere else instead.<BR><BR>I guess we just felt Galway had been over-hyped to us as a hip, happenin' place -- when in fact we found very little to occupy our time that we hadn't done/seen somewhere else already. (Galway was the last stop on our trip.)<BR><BR>I'd definitely recommend Dingle -- it was our favorite place in Ireland, and we're planning to go back and spend a full week there later this year. It looks to be a fabulous spot for hiking and archaeological exploring (we couldn't do either, because we were there during the foot-and-mouth lockdown), and the views from the peninsula toward the Blaskets are breathtaking. The town is great, too, with some wonderful restaurants and pubs.
Jan 10th, 2002, 06:01 AM
#4
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Whether you'll like Galway depends on what you're looking for. It's a city full of students, and so it has a great night life. If you're looking for diddly-dee music and Irish dancers, then no, you won't like Galway. If you want a real city that's full of life (please ignore the horrific roundabout just outside the city), then you'll enjoy it. Don't have any suggestions for B&Bs, but a lot of friends stay in the Great Southern when they go to Galway.<BR><BR>Glad you're going to Northern Ireland. I love it up there. Haven't spent a lot of time in Derry, as we're usually near Belfast, but make sure to do the walk on the walls around the city. It's definitely the most "Irish" city in Northern Ireland. I spent a couple of days in Fermanagh in September, and it's gorgeous. Very relaxing.
Jan 10th, 2002, 08:58 PM
#5
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Two words of advice<BR><BR>www.irelandexpert.com<BR>www.irelandyes.com
Jan 11th, 2002, 08:21 AM
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We will be in Galway at the same time. We will party the 16th in the city and then head to Limerick to stay at the Dromoland Castle. If you want to splurge for a night, it looks just beautiful. Go to their web site and check it out!!! While there, we will drive to the Rock of Cashel which has been highly recommemded. Also, while there we have made reservations for the Medeival Banquet at BunRatty Castle which I understand the food is just so-so but a fun, fun, time! We will be there on 17th and as of yesterday when I made our reservations the only times they had left were 8:45 pm seating. Let me know if you want the reservation email and I will send it to you. We thought it would be a great way to actually spend St Paddy's day. I am having trouble finding reservations for the 16th in Galway, every place I have emailed has been full, so you might want to start looking. (we are doing B&B's) The Monday after St Paddy's Day weekend is a bank holiday in Ireland so the locals are celebrating also as they don't have to be at work until Monday. Email if you want any other info. See you in Ireland!!
Jan 11th, 2002, 11:38 AM
#8
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I agree with others posts. I would probably lessen the time in Galway and expand your time in Dingle. Also this is a very nice place to unwind and relax. Its about a 4.5-5 hour pretty drive from Galway to Dingle and I would highly recommend Heaton's Guesthouse in Dingle. I stayed there this past June and absolutely adored it as an end of vaction base. We only stayed one night and I really wished that we had stayed two nights there.
Jan 12th, 2002, 05:02 AM
#9
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Thanks a bunch.<BR><BR>We are going to add two days in Dingle and cut down on Galway City.<BR><BR>Many folks have suggested various Websites for accommodations. I have probably hit two dozen general sites and literally triple figures+ for individual sites.<BR><BR>I have always found the best information comes from a traveller that has experienced a particular lodging.<BR><BR>Again, thanks for your help.
