We are thinking of a possible vacation to Ireland in 2008. This would be our first time there. Would you recommend a tour company or doing it on our own. We have been to London on our own and Italy but for some reason I can't get my head around the distances / places to see

If you were to recommend to a friend an itinerary to do on their own for a 10 day visit what would it be? Keeping in mind this is a first visit to the country

We will be 2 adults, 2 children age 14 & 11 at the time of travel

We can only travel either in the summer months or the first week of November in 2008

Thanks

Well, since you have done both independant travelling and tours, you already know the pros and cons of each.
I have been to Ireland three times. Twice with my husband and kids and once with my mother. With the family, we went on our own. That way we could go where we wanted to go and stay as long as we wanted. We could pick where we wanted to eat (a plus with picky eaters). We stopped when and where we wanted to stop. Driving is a little nerve wracking until you get used to it and gas is expensive.

My mom and I went on a CIE tour. The hotels we stayed in were nice. The tours were good and we met a lot of nice people. The teens on the trip didn't particulary like the hotel food, but the hotel selections had things for the kids to do in the evening when the parents were at the pubs (swimming pools, etc). I chose to go on a tour with Mom because I knew she would be way too nervous with me driving.

Since you have done both, you should be able to decide which is best for you and your family. If you do take a tour, I really highly recommend CIE.

Going in the summer is best for site seeing. It stays daylight until 10-11 pm. It will be more crowded that time of year, but I never really had long waits and didn't mind the crowds. In November, it will be less crowded and cooler, but it will be dark much earlier. Both are good times to go for differnt reasons.

If you go on your own, first determine if you want to see the north or the south. I don't think you can do both in 10 days without wearing yourselves out. Try to spend two nights in some places, it's less moving around and read the trip reports on this site. You will get great itinerary suggestions. I hope you pick Ireland. It is a beautiful, friendly place and always leaves me wanting more.
Suse

Thank you Suse

I do know we want to visit Dublin, Shannon and in between in the southern areas. I think we will keep the northern areas for another time. I do agree that we don't want to move too often and a minimum of 2 nights at a place is a must.

Based on that what cities do you suggest we have on our list to see?

Thanks

Let me throw out one point to consider...I'm not saying it's a make or break but it has to be taken into consideration, especially in Ireland...

Most likely you will want to rent a car and assuming you're from the USA or Canada, bear in mind in Ireland they drive on the left...not that big a deal.

However the more serious issue is that many of the "highways" in Ireland are most like country roads...lots of curves...lots of two lane roads with trucks and whatever constantly passing...essentially the driver has to be 100% vigilant at all times and might miss out on some of the scenery and at the end of a day driving that way might take time to unwind.

Some of the tours are really really good and you see quite a deal with probably less hassle than doing it yourself but then again you lose the flexibility to change your itinerary if something catches your fancy.

My supposition is that, whatever about yourselves, a package might not appeal to your children -- but you know them better than I do!

Does Shannon matter, or is it simply a matter of using the airport there? It is one of the least interesting towns in Ireland. Do you really mean that you want to develop an itinerary starting in Dublin and ending in Shannon?

I think you should give us an idea of what sort of things interest you. It's difficult to guess what might appeal to adults; it's almost impossible to guess what might appeal to young teens and pre-teens!

Ga,
I don't know your budget, but my kids favorite part of their visit was the stay (one night, because We were on a budget)at Ashford Castle. They LOVED the falconry, the food, and the evening's entertainment in the dungeon. It's a little more north of Galway than you might want, but a memory that will last them a lifetime. My boys say it's their single most favorite vacation experience, ever.

From there, I'd do the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and Bunratty Folkpark (with a hokey dinner at the Castle). Great chance for shopping here as well. Then I'd go to either the Dingle Pennisula for a few days or the Killarney, Ring of Kerry area for a few days. My kids enjoyed the tour of Ross Castle in Killarney. I'd try to fit in Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel and perhaps Kilkenny before venturing on to Dublin. You don't need more than two days in Dublin, by the way and could do it in one to 1 1/2 days if you wanted. It's not a huge city like London, NYC or Paris.

Do Ireland searches here. There are tons of great itineraries listed. Look at tour sites and pick one of their itineraries.

All of this is being said with the assumption that you will not be nervous in your rental car, driving on the wrong side of the road and wrong side of the car on roads no wider than your driveway! Dublin is a difficult city to navigate by car. We were thankful to get rid of our car after arriving there! We took a cab to the airport from our hotel.

Me, and this is me, would prefer to drive myself. You get more chances for exploration. That being said, the tour guides and drivers are so funny and you learn alot about Ireland from them. You don't have to worry about driving or where to go because they tell you how to get around before you get off the bus.

I say "Go for it!" and drive yourself! What a great adventure for you and your family!!!

Have a great time whatever you decide.
Suse

I would recommend what we did: fly into Dublin, out of Shannon; rent a car, see Dublin, drive down to Killarney-Kenmare, with stops at the Rock of Cashel. Rent a holiday rental (cottage, apartment) and day trip from there. Since you have children, your best bet for home base is Killarney and close environs. Killarney is not a quaint Irish village: is a nice size city with all the conveniences, including the ability to be in the countryside in 10 minutes. I loved the Killarney National Park and the lakes, castles, drives, food, and wonderful people around it. I recommend Kenmare Holiday rentals. We rented a 4 bedroom condo for $780/week. This is a money saver! Some people will be nervous to drive Killarney-Kenmare. No big deal when you see the amount of tour buses that drive that road every day. Easy drives are Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula. Definitely doable on your own. The key is to find a rental and day trip from there.

Suse - thank you for that information very helpful

We are ok with trying the driving thing, we drove in Sicily with a minivan. Ss others have posted the driver will not be able to take in the scenery as much and one of the reasons we were thinking of a tour.

Padraig - I was using those two cities, Dublin and Shannon, as a way to show what we were interested in and probably be going into one and out of the other

When we visit a country we like to tour some of the areas with history, quaintness and just take in the culture. My kids are pretty easy going when it comes to traveling as they have been since they were infants

Thank you for your ideas so far it gives me somewhere to start the research. Any other suggestions are most welcomed

ga9497 - I will be following this post carefully and hoping to pick up good tips on Ireland travel as we plan to 'motorhome' around in about May 2008. For us it is on the way to places far north and we plan to do a lot of ferry crossings. When it's just two of you I think it is a great deal easier!

I find myself thinking of what the kids might enjoy, even though it is the parents' holiday, too.

At the Dublin end of the trip, I hear that Dublinia is a big hit with young people and also enjoyed by many adults. I haven't been there myself. See http://www.dublinia.ie/ .

At the Shannon end, I think Bunratty Folk Park is a good visit, particularly for those who have an interest in folk history. Not far away is Craggaunowen, where you can get a window on earlier history, and it makes a good complementary visit.

A transfer between Dublin and the scenic southwest crosses the midlands, which are not noted for great scenery. You could route through Kilkenny, a small city with some medieval character and a good castle. It would be regrettable if you missed the Rock of Cashel en route.

We have frequent debates here about the respective merits of the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. I am in the Dingle camp. I also think it has much more appeal to children.

I see from another post that Wexford and Waterford are under consideration. I suggest that you put them on the back burner: don't write them off, but see first if you develop a good Dublin and southwest programme that fills your time.

I took the www.cosmos.com tour last June/July and was very happy with it. Full Irish breakfasts every morning and all of the meals were excellent. However, I was in Europe for four weeks, and having a tour guide for one of those four weeks was a nice change.

The only problem I had was one morning when I overslepted on the tour. I packed my bag in a hurry and put it outside the door with just my towel around me. I was planning to take a quick shower next, and the door closed, and I was out in the hallway with just my towel around me. That sure woke me up.

>..I was out in the hallway with just my towel around me.

Oh, Wally, you didn't!

ga9497, if you search my name for my trip report from Ireland 2006, you will get details of our trip, from Shannon to Dublin, staying 4 nights each in Ennis, Killarney, Kilkenny and Dublin. I dislike organized tours because they always have too much shopping time for me, not enough historical site time

Just be sure you take LOTS of money. We just returned from 2 weeks in Ireland. It is the most expensive place we've been to, including Switzerland.
Don't try to drive in Dublin if you can avoid it. If you arive in Dublin, do your sight seeing then rent a car when you leave. Don't miss the Cliffs of Moher.
You can go to www.viamichelin.com to get an estimate of distances, but always allow extra time. Computers go much faster than cars.

In May, 2004 we took a CIE tour, myself, husband and two sons, ages 18 and 19. We felt the tour gave us a good overview and freed up my husband from driving all day. Another consideration was getting those two sons up and ready early in the day- with the tour they HAD to be up, or left behind!CIE does a wonderful job and the guide was informative and entertaining- we laughed and sang our way 'round Ireland.

If you are looking to travel in the summer months, I would suggest June, as it is the shoulder season and the crowding will not be as much of an issue. You have indicated that you are looking to spend 10 days in Ireland. I would hope these are actually on the ground days. If they are, and you are doing an open-end trip, then you might do something such as this:

Days 1-4 (3 nights Lodging) - Dublin - this will give you time to explore Dublin, perhaps take a tour up to Newgrange (www.newgrangetours.com)
Day 4-6 (Pick up Rental Car) head for Kilkenny -(2 nights lodging) stop at Glendalough & Powerscourt enroute
Day 6-9 (3 Nights Lodging) Dingle Peninsula, stopping to see Rock of Cashel & Cahir Castle enroute
Day 9-10 - Ennis or Bunratty(2 nights lodging)- from here, you can visit the Cliffs of Moher & tour Co. Clare's west Coast & the Burren.

Day 11 - Home from Shannon

I think the kids would enjoy their time in Dublin. Dublinia and the Viking tour might be good ideas. The Viking tour is one of those amphibious vehicles that takes you on a land & water tour.

I am definitely in the Dingle Peninsula camp. There are so many activities to hold a child's interests, from the simple walks along the beach to Fungi the dolphin. They also have some great pony trekking on Dingle, if your interests run to that.

You will definitely see more and be less hurried touring on your own. I am not sure how people cope with being on a tour, as it seems almost akin to being herded along like livestock with most of their time stopping at the next shopping point.

One more caveat, stay away from the B&B vouchers,a s they can be more of a hassle than they are worth.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Hi ga:

You've gotten some great suggestions here. It has little to do with whether this is the 1st or 10th trip to a country, but rather, how you like to travel. My thought on it is sort of like this.

Guided tours (most of them) are designed to see as much as can possibly be seen in as little time as possible. If you want to see a whole bunch of sites in a short period of time, this is a good way to go. You couldn't easily or perhaps possibly see as much on your own. The drivers know where they are going and get you in and out in a hurry. This might be what you want to do if you are looking to get an idea of where to visit next time.

The downside of the tour is that you are always with a large group of people. You won't get that quiet walk on the beach with just you and your family. You won't get to go down that little road that nobody knows about and you'll spend most of your time getting to know other travelers and cashiers at predesignated (profitable for the bus driver) tourist shops. The argument that the driver doesn't get to see as much scenery only applies if that is the way you view the scenery, through the windshield. My idea is that it is best viewed by actually getting out of the car.

If, on the other hand, you prefer trips at a slower pace, with more freedom, self touring is the way. You'll be picking where you stop, where you want to go and how long you want to stay. You'll be moving at a slower pace, likely staying in B&Bs instead of hotels, chatting with the owners and perhaps viewing Ireland from a different perspective and getting different perspectives. A tour may include something that doesn't interest you, but you're stuck going there anyway.

The downside is yes, someone will have to drive. You won't see as many sites and you'll miss out on some possibly true, possibly not so much historical information. To get a blend, you could always take a local tour like the sciuird tour in Dingle which is more likely to have factual data presented. You won't see as many sites, but that may be a good thing, and you'll probably get lost a couple of times which is almost always a good thing in my mind (after the frustration wears off).

I like Bit's plan, though there are other possibilities and with only 10 days, I'd probably take a night off of Dublin and perhaps apply it to somewhere in the west, maybe a couple days Kenmare and a couple days in Dingle.

I've rambled long enough. Hope this helps.

Bill

Check out RailTours Ireland at railtours.ie if you are interested in tours. They have wonderful trips and wonderful guides - you do not feel like sheep! Dublin is their hub. If you want to travel by train on your own, check out Iarnród Éireann at
www.irishrail.ie. Again, Dublin is the hub (Heuston and Connolly Stations). If you are driving, get a map of Ireland, choose your destinations, and then log on to www.aaroadwatch.ie for distances between destinations in their Journey Planner section at the bottom of their home page. I would give you my itinerary from last year and the one I have planned for this year beginning (on the ground) October 25 and ending November 10, but I am a solo traveler and am not familiar with kid-friendly sites. However, I cannot imagine children not enjoying Blarney Castle, Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, the Burren, the Iveragh Peninsula, the Dingle Peninsula, Connemara, Galway or even Dublin.

I recommend independant travel. It really wasn't that hard to get around in a car (but what do I know, I made my husband do all of the driving!). I also really liked the area around Killarney, we stayed in a farmhouse rental near Kenmare called Doire farms. Highly recommend them! You can read my trip report here: http://www.markandmonica.com/Travel/Ireland.htm

Independent travel is great with teens. The trick is NOT to drive too far in one day. There's an AA web-site which tells you the drive times. If you plan a 4- or 5-hour drive between your 2 hotels, that allows plenty of time for the driver to stop a lot and see the sites along the way. (Including stops, a 5-hour drive becomes a 7-hour day, which feels leasurely since you're stopping often.)

Choose accomodations in a spot where there is lots to do, and get input from your teens. If you allow some 3-night stops, that gives everyone time to do what they like...teens can have some input this way...

Our daughters were college-age in Ireland, and they fell in love with the Cliffs of Moher. They also really loved the Dunguaire Castle Medieval Banquet. We spent 3 nights in County Clare because there is so much to do and see there...

Our daughters also loved the Dingle Peninsula...we spent 3 nights in Dingle as well, with time for the Dingle Peninsula.

Ireland is great for family-run b&bs...they have better prices than the hotels and come with a hearty breakfast. Michele Erdvig has very good choices in her Best Little Guide to Ireland (web-site IrelandYes.com).

Enjoy!