Ireland Itinerary Help
Aug 1st, 2006, 07:04 PM
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Ireland Itinerary Help
Ireland Itinerary
We are two couples 50/60 who are somewhat seasoned travelers. We enjoy planning a trip and making our way around a country. We like good food and drink, music, the out of the way and unusual, and local festivals culture. I have been reading all of the Ireland posts for the last six months and have developed an itinerary for next May based upon the numerous comments and suggestions. I would value the opinions of the Fodorites and any suggestions you may have.
Day 1&2 Arrive Dublin in the early AM. Check-in and tour Dublin.
Day 3&4 Pick up car in the AM and travel to Cashel about 110 miles. Stay in Cashel and tour nearby cities.
Day 5&6 Travel to Killarney & Kenmare about 120 miles. Stay in Kenmare.
Day 7&8 Travel to Dingle about 30/40 miles. Stay in Dingle and tour the Peninsula.
Day 9&10 Travel to Westport or Clifden about 160 miles. Tour up to County Mayo, back to Cliffs of Moher etc.
Day 11 Travel to Inishmore from Rossaveel about 30 mile from Clifden. The ferry leaves at 10:30 am. Stay the day and 1 night in Inishmore.
Day 12&13 Ferry back to Rossaveel at noon and travel to Galway and stay in Galway.
Day 14 Travel to Bunratty and stay the night.
Day 15 Depart from Shannon.
We are two couples 50/60 who are somewhat seasoned travelers. We enjoy planning a trip and making our way around a country. We like good food and drink, music, the out of the way and unusual, and local festivals culture. I have been reading all of the Ireland posts for the last six months and have developed an itinerary for next May based upon the numerous comments and suggestions. I would value the opinions of the Fodorites and any suggestions you may have.
Day 1&2 Arrive Dublin in the early AM. Check-in and tour Dublin.
Day 3&4 Pick up car in the AM and travel to Cashel about 110 miles. Stay in Cashel and tour nearby cities.
Day 5&6 Travel to Killarney & Kenmare about 120 miles. Stay in Kenmare.
Day 7&8 Travel to Dingle about 30/40 miles. Stay in Dingle and tour the Peninsula.
Day 9&10 Travel to Westport or Clifden about 160 miles. Tour up to County Mayo, back to Cliffs of Moher etc.
Day 11 Travel to Inishmore from Rossaveel about 30 mile from Clifden. The ferry leaves at 10:30 am. Stay the day and 1 night in Inishmore.
Day 12&13 Ferry back to Rossaveel at noon and travel to Galway and stay in Galway.
Day 14 Travel to Bunratty and stay the night.
Day 15 Depart from Shannon.
Aug 2nd, 2006, 05:02 AM
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dondo
Sounds like a wonderful trip! My only suggestion is to take along Fabreeze. Unless the pubs have gone non-smoking, they are very smokey and your clothes that you intended to wear more than once (sweaters) really stink. I hung my and DH sweaters up in an open window at night and it still didn't take out the smell. The peat fires in the pubs are wonderful!
The only thing I would add to your visit would be to stay one night in a castle. We stayed in Dromoland the last night before flying out of Shannon.
Sounds like a wonderful trip! My only suggestion is to take along Fabreeze. Unless the pubs have gone non-smoking, they are very smokey and your clothes that you intended to wear more than once (sweaters) really stink. I hung my and DH sweaters up in an open window at night and it still didn't take out the smell. The peat fires in the pubs are wonderful!
The only thing I would add to your visit would be to stay one night in a castle. We stayed in Dromoland the last night before flying out of Shannon.
Aug 2nd, 2006, 05:23 AM
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The only thing that concerns me is how much you have packed into days 8 through 12. You will spend the lions share of your time driving to and from those destinations on narrow winding and bumpy roads that would not be enjoyable driving at night. I'd loosen up that itinerary a bit if it were me and skip Galway altogether. You'll have a ball either way. Enjoy.
Aug 2nd, 2006, 06:05 AM
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I think your itinerary sounds quite enviable. You will be busy but I'm sure you know that! If you like music, I would stay in Killarney rather than Kenmare as there was more going on there at night. We stayed at the Great Southern in Killarney and loved it. I would not miss Galway.
Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:36 AM
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Generally the trip will work fine. What time of year are you traveling?
Dingle to Westport will be a long day. I wouldn't visit the Cliffs of Moher from either Clifden or Westport, but you can catch them on your way from Dingle. Take the ferry at Tarbert. Generally, you will want to stick to the main roads as much as you can that day just because the ride will be pretty long.
Westport would be a better choice for music than Clifden. There is almost always some trad on in the evenings there. Matt Molloys and the Porterhouse (right next to each other) are good choices, but there are others. Then again, getting from Westport to Rossaveal by 10:30 would be tough from Westport. If you stay in Westport, consider catching the plane from Inverin. It's a 10 minute flight and isn't much more than the boat. Since there are 4 of you, you should get a discount which brings the price down to about €36. Here is their website http://www.aerarannislands.ie/sampleschedule.htm
Actually, it looks like the group price is 40 now.
As far as Killarney vs Kenmare, that's a personal preference. There will be more tourist oriented nightlife in Killarney. Finding good trad in Kenmare is a bit more difficult, but I found it at a place out of town on the Beara Rd just past the Harbour View B&B. I sat in on Bodhran with them. Kenmare is much less tourist crazy. I prefer it.
Bill
Dingle to Westport will be a long day. I wouldn't visit the Cliffs of Moher from either Clifden or Westport, but you can catch them on your way from Dingle. Take the ferry at Tarbert. Generally, you will want to stick to the main roads as much as you can that day just because the ride will be pretty long.
Westport would be a better choice for music than Clifden. There is almost always some trad on in the evenings there. Matt Molloys and the Porterhouse (right next to each other) are good choices, but there are others. Then again, getting from Westport to Rossaveal by 10:30 would be tough from Westport. If you stay in Westport, consider catching the plane from Inverin. It's a 10 minute flight and isn't much more than the boat. Since there are 4 of you, you should get a discount which brings the price down to about €36. Here is their website http://www.aerarannislands.ie/sampleschedule.htm
Actually, it looks like the group price is 40 now.
As far as Killarney vs Kenmare, that's a personal preference. There will be more tourist oriented nightlife in Killarney. Finding good trad in Kenmare is a bit more difficult, but I found it at a place out of town on the Beara Rd just past the Harbour View B&B. I sat in on Bodhran with them. Kenmare is much less tourist crazy. I prefer it.
Bill
Aug 3rd, 2006, 04:12 PM
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Thanks for the comments. wojazz3, we are planning a May trip. Do you think we have the right amount or too much travel? As to Kenmare, I am little enamored of the Park Hotel but as I read more, it may be too formal. Perhaps, Killarney would be more fun?
Aug 3rd, 2006, 06:59 PM
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Hi Dondo,
As long as you follow Bill's suggestion and hit the Cliffs on the way north from Dingle, it looks like a great trip. I'd stay in Westport, fly to the island as Bill suggests. You might consider skipping Galway as well. There's nightlife there but it's crowded and wild, like a college kegger. Westport has delightful nightlife and you may as well stay there several days to really enjoy it.
I like Kenmare. It has good restaurants. The pubs are somewhat quiet but we found local trad music there in May. It worked well for us. The Park Hotel did look very formal to us from a distance but there's certainly great places to stay in Kenmare.
As long as you follow Bill's suggestion and hit the Cliffs on the way north from Dingle, it looks like a great trip. I'd stay in Westport, fly to the island as Bill suggests. You might consider skipping Galway as well. There's nightlife there but it's crowded and wild, like a college kegger. Westport has delightful nightlife and you may as well stay there several days to really enjoy it.
I like Kenmare. It has good restaurants. The pubs are somewhat quiet but we found local trad music there in May. It worked well for us. The Park Hotel did look very formal to us from a distance but there's certainly great places to stay in Kenmare.
