Ireland itinerary - where to start?
 

I'm just starting to plan our itinerary for our March trip to Ireland. We'll be landing in Dublin and flying out of Shannon with 7 nights in between.

We know we only want to spend the first day in Dublin and then head South and West. That's all I have right now. Any must-see/do suggestions are appreciated. Are there any good sites I can look at for sample itineraries?

Well, you definitely need a good guidebook or two to get started. I'd recommend reading up on Glendalough, Kilkenny, Cashel (for the Rock of Cashel), Killarney (with its beautiful national park), Dingle, Doolin, and the Aran Islands, to see which of these interest you. They're all along the route from Dublin to Shannon (more or less), and they're all places we enjoyed during our two-week trip to Ireland. Have fun planning!

You can't do it all in 7 days, especially with one day in Dublin.

I would pick & chose between the following areas in the Southwest.

Rock of Cashel
Kinsale
Mizen Head
Kenmare
Killarney
Dingle
Cliffs of Moher
Bunratty

((b))

Hello Yale. We are off to Ireland in May next year.

I phoned the Irish travel services people in Johannesburg (I'm in South Africa) and they were fantastic. They sent all kinds of brochures and two great bed and breakfast guides.

My Fodors Ireland has been invaluable and www.ireland.travel.ie is a really good site too.

Reading other people's trip reports on this forum is a great help too. If you do a search on Ireland or people's names, like Budman, Amyprib (I think that's right) you'll get tons of helpful information.

Hope this helps.
Lisa.

People here have also recommended www.irelandexpert.com which has a section dealing with the Irish Heritage Card.

I would like to recommend our favorite place to stay in all the world -- Glasha Farmhouse in County Waterford, Ireland. www.glashafarmhouse.com. Believe me, it's not your grandmother's farmhouse! From there it's an easy drive to Kenmare, Kilkenny and Rock of Cashel, numerous abbey ruins, and of course Waterford Crystal factory.

If you spend a couple of nights in Killarney, you can spend a day either driving around Dingle or Kerry (probably couldn't do both) and there is an interesting, well-done folk museum in Kilarney National Park where you can see re-creations of early Irish life. Our favorite place to stay in Killarney is Carriglea Farmhouse, just across the road from the National Park.

If you stay in Doolin a night, you can enjoy traditional Irish music plus visit the Cliffs of Moher -- not to be missed.

I presume your 7th night would be spent in or near Shannon before your flight.

That gives you:
1st night - Dublin
2nd, 3rd nights - Glasha Farmhouse (or someplace central to Kenmare and Kilkenney)
4th and 5th nights - Killarney
6th night - Doolin
7th night - Shannon

As said before, you can't see it all in 7 days, so research and choose. Remember, you can always return.

Thanks for all your recommendations. What about drive times between locations? Is there a good estimate on average km/hour?

Hi Yale. If you take a look at www.rac.co.uk you can type in your point A to B information and it not only plans a route but gives the time it will take and the distance in miles and kilometres.
Hope this helps.
Lisa.