My new bride and I will be in Ireland Nov. 22 leaving Dec. 2; 6 nights/7 days. First time to Ireland for each of us. We have a b/b package arriving dublin leaving from shannon. We want to make the most of our short time but not "rush" thru in a "green blur" either. At some point we will be visiting friends in Belfast. Would like some help in planning daily budgets for meals, pints and the like. Also to maximaze seeing sights what are the "don't miss" attractions? Thank you so much for your help!

Patrick

Can you supply some more info.. like how many days you want to spend in Belfast and what sights you consider "must see's". That will determine your route from Dublin to Shannon via Belfast. I think food is very reasonable in Ireland and like in the U.S. you can spend as little or as much as you have budgeted. (Very few fast food places though... a plus.)

Thank you for your response. We will most likely be spending 2-3 days in Belfast. Would like to see the Clifs of Moore, Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, Blarney Stone, Waterford, Galway, County Cavan (ancestors. I realize these sights are all over the country. Do you think it reasonable to try to see them all or concentrate in one area or two?

Pat

My math skills may be deteriorating, but if you're there from Nov. 22-Dec. 2...that's more than 6 nights/7days. Maybe you have more time than you thought?

A couple of things to remember.
1. Sunset at that time of year will be around 4 pm. The roads in Ireland do not have street lights and get very dark and can be hard to negotiate at night.
2. A lot of attractions will have shut down for the season - do some research as to what is still open AND just as Important - what the hours of operation are.
3. Be very realistic as to what you can see each day - you will AVERAGE 35 mph. Really - no kidding. So those 40 miles from Shannon to the Cliffs , will take you around an Hour and a Half. Honest.

I think you need to decide which direction you want to head - Dublin Belfast- Cavan - Galway - Cliffs - Shannon
or Dublin - Kilkenny - Waterford - Blarney -Cliffs - Shannon
It would just be TOO much to try to do all of it in about a week, especially that late in the year. Even if you were flying In/Out of the same airport, it would still be too much to do.

Another decision you need to make is, do you want to base yourself out of a couple places or move to a new town/B&B every night. The plus to basing yourself is that you don't have to find a new B&B every night, and you know where you are going to. The plus for a new place every night is that you reduce your 'back tracking' and can keep moving forward.

Debbie

Pat,

Well, there is some confusion over how many days you will actually be in Ireland. However, whether it is 6 days or 9 you really do not have the time to see/do all the things on your list. Those places are just too spread out so I would concentrate on just an area or two.

Sounds like you should spend a day or 2 in Dublin doing and seeing what you'd like there. then move on to Belfast and visit with your friends for, at least, 2 days. I would then head to Galway area which will take most of your day/daylight to do. A day there plus visits to Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty and maybe even a day in Limerick if so inclined.

Good luck to you,
wendy

First you should study a map and see which parts you have to visit. As the others said you don't have nearly enough time to see all the places on your list.

Besides the 35 MPH average, your travel days will be limited to between about 9:30 - 10 AM (afer the B&B has served b'fast) and 4 - 4:30 PM when it gets dark. Getting from Dublin to Belfast to Waterford to Shannon and all those points in between would take 2 or 3 weeks in the summer when the weather is nicer and it is daylight until after 10PM. In winter it would be impossible to do in your short timeframe.

As an Irishman living in Belfast I would say the 3 most impressive counties for scenery are Antrim, Donegal and Kerry. Kerry might be a bit difficult to get to, but if you start off in Dublin, head up to Belfast and then basically go along the Antrim coast, into Donegal and then down the west coast to Shannon you at least get to see a lot of two of them. Antrim is often neglected when tourists talk about Ireland, mainly I think because of the political situation that for years kept many people away from Nothern Ireland entirely, but has some wonderful coastline and attractions up there - Giants Causeway, Carrick-A-Reed ropebridge (though I think this might close for the winter) and Bushmills Distillery to name a few, all pretty close to each other. I had some friends from England/Scotland/America over visiting a couple of weeks ago and they all loved it up there. Also it is only an hours drive from Belfast, so you could easily go on a day trip from there. Kerry is kind of a long way from anywhere, though I suppose you could maybe take a couple of days to go there at the end of your trip if you had time.

Dublin is ludicrously expensive, the rest of the republic of Ireland less so and Northern Ireland lower again.
Pints - In Dublin 4-5 Euro, rest of the republic 3.5-4.5, Northern Ireland £2-£2.70.

As for the roads, the southern roads have been pretty poor for years, but the last decade or so they have improved immeasurably. You will still find plenty of dodgy little country lanes, but there are a lot a big new roads between the larger town and cities. Dublin to Belfast is a pretty easy drive nowadays, 2 or so hours - once you escape Dublins awful traffic. Northern roads have always been good, and chances are you will be OK anywhere you are going to be on them. The worst roads you are likely to see are coming down the West coast (though I think there might be a relatively decent one from Donegal Town to Galway). Apart from that area (and anywhere near Dublin traffic) the 35mph figure is way to low. I wouldnt worry about driving when it is dark though, cars have headlights for a reason!