I've been reading this forum and others for weeks, but need some help please! I am taking my mom to Ireland June 4 - June 14. My heart wants to exlpore the SW and off the path places, but mom wanted to see Dublin as well..so current itinerary is:

June 5th am - arrive in Dublin, stay 5th and 6th. See sights.

June 7th - take long drive to Kinsale, stopping in Kilkenny and other places as needed. Stay Kinsale June 7 and June 8th.

June 9th, Drive to Dingle, do Gap of Dunloe on the way. Stay in Dingle June 9th and 10th. See Fungie the dolphin.

June 11th, drive to Doolin, do Cliffs and Aran Island Ferry.

Now I'm stuck. Where to go on June 12 and 13? We fly out of Shannon at noon on the 14th. I've listed the key things I want to do here, but would love additional suggestions and comments on the trip.

I am 41 and mom is 67, and I really want her to have a fun time.
Thank you all!

Dublin is an amazing city and I would definitely pay attention to Mom on that one!

Hi nicoli:

Some of the days are too full, others are fine.

5th and 6th are fine

7th: You really won't have any time to see Kilkenny other than to say you have been there. Kilkenny is a very interesting town and a quick stop won't do much for you. I would take one of you days at the end and add it here if you want to see Kilkenny. Otherwise, maybe make a stop at the Rock fo Cashel on the way to Kinsale.

There is lots to see around Kinsale so those two days are great.

You can't do the Gap of Dunloe tour leaving from Kinsale in the morning unless you leave at a very early hour. The tours start around 9:30 or 10 and last until about 4. Sure, it can be done, but you are talking about leaving at about 7am to be sure to start the tour in time. Not a very relaxing morning.

Dingle to Doolin is about 4 hours depending on how well you time the ferry at Tarbert. You could possibly catch the evening ferry to Doolin and stay overnight which is always nice. Be aware, in bad weather, especially high winds, the ferry doesn't run from Doolin.

Personally, I would take the two days inad put them in the middle of the trip to allow you to slow down a bit. Hope this helps.

Bill

So, effectively you've got the 12th & 13th to be spoken for. Starting at the back end, I would recommend spending the night of the 13th in Ennis.

Galway would be a good stop for the 11th; then, on the 12th you could venture up to Mayo: Croagh Patrick, Cong ('Quiet Man' village), Knock Shrine, and maybe even stop over in Westport. There's much to be seen within a few hours drive from Galway.
BTW
Cruise's Pub in Ennis has Trad Irish music every night. It's on Abbey St., adjacent to the Queen's Hotel.

I would also recommend Galway or Killarney if you can fit it in.

Thank you all so much!! I think you saved me from a lot of stress of trying to do too much.

So, I have changed my itinerary to stop in Killarney for an overnight on the way to Dingle. I really want to do the Gap of Dunloe, so thanks Bill for the heads up on this.

Instead of then going to Doolin from Dingle, we will travel to Ennis and use as a base for Doolin or Galway visit.

Any advice on a good B&B in Ennis?
thanks again!

My wife and I honeymooned in Ireland 17 years ago. We kind of did what you propose, nicoli. If we went back, I'd spend most of the time in the west- Doolin, the Burrens, Aran Islands, Dingle, Valentia Island, Cong.

Our last trip we stayed at Rose Cottage B&B om Ennis. It's south of the main highway but you should have no trouble getting out of town quickly for Doolin, Ennistymon, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher or even Dromoland Castle. Rose Cottage has a few parking spaces in front. Ask for a room away from the Pub. Your hostess would be Carmel Daniels, a nice lady. When we arrived from Shannon, she checked us in at 9:30 so we could take a nap and get over our jetlag

Ennis also has several good Hotels: The Old Ground and the Temple Gate. The Temple Gate used to be a part of a Convent: the Irish Tourist Office across the square was the Convent's main building.

I did the same trip for my mom's 60th birthday. Or let's say, I planned the same trip.

What ended up happening is that Mom was spending too much time in the car, trying to see (with not the greatest eyesight)places, rather than being in them. You can't underestimate what it takes to travel from one end of the country to the other - its more effort than you realize.

So we ended up cancelling half of the itinerary, settling midway, and enjoying ourselves as we immersed into it.

So some tips - plan your packing well. Dragging luggage from the car to the hotel, unpacking, repacking, and dragging it back to the car will fall on your shoulders - literally. Try to plan/pack so that not all of your belongings have to be brought in and out of every stop if you are only staying one-two nights there.

Driving is tiring. Be sure you have rented a REALLY comfortable car, with unobstructed sightlines for your mom (and yourself). Guesstimate at least a third more travel time between stops than you might have gleaned from maps, and plan frequent stops for food and exploration.

Free up your itinerary as much as you can for spontaneous stopping and enjoyment. I'd suggest an intent for Dublin (its an overnight, you arrive at dawn, you're going to be tired), Kinsale (its beautiful; its a long drive from Dublin - I wouldn't plan on stopping anywheres in-between except maybe to eat. Kilkenny should be next time.). Then Ennis. You can do some of Dingle as day trip from Ennis, and some of the northern spots as day trip from Ennis too. At least in our experience, Ennis was very amenable, and traversable for my mom.

FWIW, some thoughts. In any event, have a WONDERFUL time. It was an amazing experience to share with my mom, and I'm sure yours will be as well. Enjoy!

I agree with Barlynne... The first time we went to Ireland, we did "hit and run" Ireland. While all areas were beautiful, they are sometimes beautiful in a similar way.

Since that first trip (which was a month long) we've spent several one week trips in Ireland. We stay in a tiny village, Courtmacsherry. We enjoy the neighboring west cork area (including Kinsale). And we enjoy what makes Ireland great (the people!). Matter of fact, our Courtmac friends just flew home after visiting us last weekend in Colorado.

It's just another thought.

I will agree with previous posters that traveling in the West is tiring and it is difficult to drive forty miles in an hour. Not only are roads in the Irish west winding but they are very narrow and often close by fencing, stone walls and shrubbery. If you stretch your arm out the car window you can touch fences, walls, shrubs and sometimes sheep and goats. I would limit daily trips to 2 to 3 hours maximum and try to drive eeven less.

I guess what I was saying (if you read between the lines) is slow down. You're doing quite a bit in a short period of time. I agree with what all were saying about travel time and not seeing Ireland through a windshield. Ireland is best enjoyed at a slow pace. By the way, we all make that mistake the 1st time.

Bill