April 2nd: Left from Co Kildare. Stopped at Cahir Castle and bought Duchas cards (E19 per adult). Castle and tour well worth the E6.50/adult ticket.<BR>Drove to Goleen in West Cork, stayed at the Heron’s Cove B&amp;B and restaurant – good but a bit pricey. Rooms worth it; bigger bed, lovely view, great breakfast, big room. Goleen - sleepy little town,bet it really hops in the summer. <BR><BR>April 3rd: Drove out to Mizen Head and did the “Experience”. Beautiful sunny day but I felt the whole place was a bit overrated. Perhaps living on the CA coast spoils it? Ring of Kerry was nice but not the experience I thought it would be. Ended up in Dingle. Stayed at Milltown House on the western edge of Dingle town. This place was well worth the E90 we paid for two; big bed and room, great food, nice view of Dingle Town. Ate at Murphy’s pub - full of non-locals; pub food ok.<BR><BR>April 4th: Drove out Slea Head and absolutely loved it. The weather was cloudy but cleared as the day went on. Drove the Conor Pass, which is NOT for the faint of heart. On the west side was fogged in but the east side had a magnificent view. On a sunny day it is not to be missed. Drove through Tralee to Killarney. Neat to see the pony and traps full of tourists but I’d hate to be stuck in traffic during the high season. We took in Ross Castle tour, a Duchas site, worth the visit, too, but I’m partial to castles. <BR>Drove through Youghal and stopped for dinner at The Red Store. This place I’ll be coming back to! Not too expensive, had good-sized portions and the food was delish! Stopped in Waterford. Went to what we had thought was Jury’s but turns out Jury’s sold the hotel to McEffy Group which named it the Ard Ri Hotel. The best part of this place is the nighttime view of Waterford City. Other than that it’s not worth your time or money. They are trying to upgrade the place but we had mismatched broken furniture, an uncomfortable small bed and neighbors who were so loud we had to call the front desk to complain at 2:30am; huge room, gorgeous view at night. Won’t be back in a hurry.<BR><BR>April 5th: Breakfast was included at Ard Ri was average at best. <BR>We had lunch in Kilkenny at the Design Center, which is pricey but above average for food, selection. Note: Do not park too close to the castle as the area around it is reserved only for busses only - we got a parking ticket.<BR><BR>To Be Continued...

Hi waffle.<BR><BR>We found the Duchas card to be well worth the purchase too. The list of their sites from the little catalog works as an itinerary just by itself and the sites are already paid for when you get there.<BR><BR>We missed Mizen Head last time we were there and travel Beara instead, which we were both very impressed with. We thought Mizen would be a focus then for next time, but from your report, maybe not. Not much that stood out for you on Mizen Head?

Clifton, don't be so hasty to mark Mizenhead off your tour list. I have been on most of the west coast peninsulas and have found each one to be beautiful and unique, but I am from the east coast and don't get to see rocky coastlines too often. West Cork is a very beautiful area and shouldn't be missed. It sounds like a well planned out trip but lots of ups and downs. Thanks for the info on Heron's Cove. I have stayed in Schull which really doesn't have too many B&amp;B alternatives especially if you want to be in the town, but the locals were wonderful singing in the bar and buying me drinks. I will be returning in September to see Mizenhead again and very much looking forward to it. KJS

Sorry about the confusion here. Let me just explain a bit better...<BR><BR>We drove around Mizen Head which was a wonderful drive; beautiful scenery and quaint little villages and cottages. At the very tip of Mizen is a place called &quot;The Mizen Head Experience&quot; which included a small museum and visitor center which was interesting and tells the history of the lighthouse and shipping for the area. Also attached was a very nice and resonably priced cafe. <BR><BR>You buy a ticket in the center and then walk down a huge hill (which you must then climb back up remember!), across a high, sturdy suspension bridge to a lighthouse and buildings. There you can see how the lighthouse keepers used to live (you don't get to go out to the lighthouse that is off the coast, just the more modern monitoring station on the mainland) with old letters and other period memorabilia and several rooms that depict life under the sea, the sea &amp; light house at night &amp; the animals/plants of the coast line as done by (most likely) high school students. ie murals and uv lighting with a sound system playing seagull cries and crashing waves. There was also a room with a tv &amp; vcr set up but no one to run it. I pressed 'start' on the vcr and an old (probably late 70s early 80s) documentary show began about the lighthouse and Mizen area which we didn't stay for - I hit 'rewind' for the next lucky group though...<BR><BR>In fact there was no one there to even take our tickets until we went to the furthest edge of the area to snap a few photos. A couple of men were &quot;working&quot; at painting the lighthouse but were actually talking to a young woman who then asked for our tickets.<BR><BR>It's probably more organzied when more people are about and it was interesting to read the old newpaper articles and see old letters and equipment used but I doubt I'll be beating back a path to the &quot;Experience&quot; too quickly.<BR><BR>Now having said that, the 'experience' of driving and checking out small towns along Mizen Head itself was well worth the time and I'll go back here, especially during the high tourist season when the Ring and the rest of Kerry is chock-a-block with busses, cylcists, wagons, traps, cars, hikers...<BR><BR>enjoy,<BR>w

Hi Keenan:<BR><BR>Were you looking for info on Heron's Cove? I've stayed there twice and will be trying a different place in May, closer to Crookhaven. I thought the B&amp;B was nice and the view is great when the tide is in. When the tide is out, it's a view of a mud field. The help there is quite friendly but the owner was a bit short. She basically shamed me into trying her white pudding at breakfast. It was edible by the way.<BR><BR>We will be staying at the Galley Cove in Crookhaven. If you're interested, I'll give you an update when I return.<BR><BR>Bill

Ah, see.. I did misunderstand. Apologies for that. Last time we were there, we poked into Kinsale long enough to get toes stepped on by the crowd and headed down the coast line.<BR><BR>Learned enough to know that West Cork should get a longer look. We drove down and visited through Clonakilty and Timoleague, but veered right at Skibbereen on the need to get along to Bantry, so we missed Mizen Head out of necessity. It's good to see that stopping back by would be a good idea. Thanks y'all!

Thanks Bill, but fortunately I won't need accommodations in that area this next trip as I will be staying with friends in Skibbereen. I had researched Heron Cove about a year or so ago and thought that the area looked very nice and the view from this B&amp;B, but we opted for staying in Schull. I have read many of your insightful entries and will definitely seek you out with any questions that I may have in the future. With regard to the Mizen Experience, I think that I will go ahead and visit, again. Last time, the bridge was closed so we weren't able to benefit from the better views on the other side. Anyway, good luck to all. Keenan

Where did you stay in Co Kildare? My husband and I are going to Ireland in about a month and we're looking for a place to stay in Co Kildare. Hopefully a B&amp;B convenient to N7.<BR>

Hi Wendy:<BR><BR>I keep meaning to thank you for your nice trip report. I'm glad you had such a great time. I agree with you about Cahir Castle. It doesn't get the mention that other places in Ireland do, whichis OK with me, because it cuts down on crowds.<BR><BR>Kennan: Thanks for the comment. Staying with friends sounds nice. I've never actually done the Mizen Experience, but I think the walk out there is nice. I don't know if you have to pay if you don't do the &quot;experience&quot; By the way, I believe that the climb in question is 99 steps.<BR><BR>Bill

kjvest,<BR><BR>I actually stayed with family in Newbridge while we were in Kildare. So we don't usually stay in B&amp;Bs while in the area. <BR><BR>However I did have the opportunity stay near there at Martinstown House which you can find online at http://www.hidden-ireland.com/martinstown.html. It's an amazing place, the owner just as nice as can be, the house beautiful and it's out in the country yet close to the National Stud with Wicklow and Dublin just a short drive away.<BR><BR>Hope this is some help,<BR>wendy

Bill,<BR><BR>Thank you for the nice comments. I did have a wondeful but too short time. <BR><BR>I have to agree with your previous comments about Heron's Cove B&amp;B and would love you hear your suggestions for other B&amp;Bs - anywhere, it doesn't matter, as I think we have similar tastes. I even started my own ranking for B&amp;Bs like you although I left out the tp ranking <BR><BR>I, too, prefer the &quot;road less traveled&quot; for places to see and stay; there are B&amp;Bs I love that I rarely tell anyone about in case they get too popular! Ha! But Cahir is one of my favorites places and we stop everytime we get close to it. <BR><BR>Cheers,<BR>w

Hi Wendy:<BR><BR>Well, this time I'm taking a shot at a different kind of adventure. We are going to navigate the River Shannon from Carrick on Shannon to Banagher. I haven't talked with anyone that has tried this, so I'm giving it my best shot. At worst, I should have some ridiculous stories to tell. That's my idea of the &quot;road' less traveled.<BR><BR>I'll give you a full report on my return (should I actually survive).<BR><BR>Bill

jkvest,<BR><BR>As regards lodging in Kildare, allow me to recommend TonlegeeHouse, located in Athy, about a one and one-half hour drive from Dublin City.<BR><BR>Tonlegee is a most distinctive accommodation (and, by the way, restaurant), featuring 12 en-suite rooms, starting at about euro 55. The service here is first-rate, and the restaurant is popular with both tourists and area residents.<BR><BR>You can learn more at www.tonlegeehouse.com.<BR><BR>Best of luck.<BR><BR>P.S. Waffle, it was good to hear of your Irish holiday, including your stay at Heron's Cove. <BR><BR>Should you ever return to West Cork and Goleen, do consider staying at Fortview House, surely one of the Republic's best &quot;value for money&quot; accommodations. (See www.westcorkweb.ie/fortview) The food alone at Fortview is worth a special journey; combine that with comfort and classic Irish hospitality, and you've got one of the best addresses a tourist could hope to discover.<BR><BR>How I yearn for a return trip to West Cork.