Irish Itinerary
 

We are planning a trip to Ireland in May. We will be there for 2.5 weeks and really want to do the loop South and North.
I know there will be many that will tell me not to plan too much but we may not get back so we have to see what we can see. Your advice would ,as always be invaluable.
We plan to fly in and out of Dublin, only because if we fly in and out of Shannon I am not sure what we would do with the car while we are in Dublin. So here is the plan.

Fly Wednesday night May 7 from Canada arriving Thursday morning. Transfer to hotel in Dublin without a car.
May 8 & 9 Thursday & Friday Dublin (2 nts)
Saturday pickup car at airport and head south.
Saturday May 10 Kilkenny (1 nt)
May 11, 12 Kenmare (2 nts)
May 13, 14, 15 Dingle (3 nts) - We want to golf near here one day
May 16, 17, 18 Galway (3nts) - We want to golf near here one day
May 19 Sligo..or somewhere near here..not sure about this one but want to break the drive north (1 nt)
May 20 & 21 Derry.....again not sure if 2 nights here and one night Belfast or reverse) ( 1 nt or 2 nts). Not even sure if Derry is the place to stay
May 22 Belfast (1 nt or 2 nts)
May 23 Dublin... or near. (I heard about a little town within an hour of the airport and I think the flight leaves at 11:00 am
May 24 Saturday fly home from Dublin

So there. Tell me your thoughts and suggestions. We can adjust the three days in Dingle and Galway if someone thinks there is a better place for golf. The extra day in both of those is to allow for a day of golf. I can't imagine that we will get in more than two rounds.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I'm not going to be of huge assistance wrt your itinerary, however my one observation is that you are picking your rental car up at the airport and then travelling South. I think it would make more sense if you could pick the car up at a city centre location - saves you a trip out to the airport and the nightmare of the M50!

I will offer some very limited advice. Play golf at Tralee while you are at Dingle or on the way to Galway. Certainly one of the most beautiful courses in the world.

Sprig - See you there! We are in the planning stage for a trip to the UK including Ireland but will not be doing it in depth like yourselves because of time constraints.
We are hiring a motorhome in England and hitting the open road.
Plan to do a lot of island hopping firstly to Isle of Man then to Ireland and from there to Scotland.
We plan to fly on 1st May and return around 24th.
We have a business client in Kilkenny which we hope to see and ....fingers crossed, may even get to meet a famous TV chef at her home!

Friends who have been to Ireland several times said we should not miss "Sally Gap" - still have to research that one.

Another terrific course between Dingle and Galway is Lahinch. But much depends on your budget and how good a golfer you are.

We (nine of us from Canada) have played Lahinch three times. Each time the good golfers loved it and the hackers hated it. As in golf clubs in the ocean hated it.

Sprig,

some quick comments on your itinerary:

Fly Wednesday night May 7 from Canada arriving Thursday morning. Transfer to hotel in Dublin without a car.
May 8 & 9 Thursday & Friday Dublin (2 nts)

So far so sensible

Saturday pickup car at airport and head south.

I know other posters have other opinions but I think you can probably manage to go from the airport OK. The M50 will bring you around the city and to all points South.

Saturday May 10 Kilkenny (1 nt)

Good choice. Very impressive castle and craft centre. Hotel choice is a bit limited but some very good bars (Langtons/Tynans etc).

May 11, 12 Kenmare (2 nts)
Another good choice. It may be that this offers better options for golf though (e.g. Parknasilla)

May 13, 14, 15 Dingle (3 nts) - We want to golf near here one day

Three nights is plenty here. Dingle itself is small, has good tourist services but still has a degree of authenticity. You are early in the season, which will help. It is a good base for touring up and down the peninsula.

May 16, 17, 18 Galway (3nts) - We want to golf near here one day

While only 158 miles, you should allow 4-5 hours for this trip. You might consider stopping in Co. Clare to see the Burren, Doolin/Lisdoonvarna or any of the great golf courses such as Lahinch or Doonbeg. Generally links courses in this neck of the woods. Ennis is a good-sized town with good services. Plenty to see and do in Galway. If Druid Theatre is playing, take the opportunity.

May 19 Sligo..or somewhere near here..not sure about this one but want to break the drive north (1 nt)

Sligo is not a bad choice. Burial place of WB Yeats and some spectacular views of Ben Bulben. If you can golf, you can manage to climb Knocknarea. Its only 1000 ft and for every stone you take from the foot to the cairn at the top, you get a wish. Apparently especially recommended for women in search of husbands! It is also the mythical burial spot of Queen Maeve.

May 20 & 21 Derry.....again not sure if 2 nights here and one night Belfast or reverse) ( 1 nt or 2 nts). Not even sure if Derry is the place to stay.

If you have the time, you may wish to reach Derry via Glenveagh National Park in Donegal. It is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland and includes a castle built by Henry McElhinny of Tabasco sauce fame. The total distance is about 130 miles or 3 hours. But you would need to allow about 3 hours in the park. I'm afraid I can't recommend anywhere to stay in Derry but it may be an idea to spend one night in the countryside. I'm sure discoverireland.com will have good accommodation listings.

May 22 Belfast (1 nt or 2 nts)
Crown Bar is a must. Apart from that...Harland and Wolf shipyards (home of Titanic)

generally speaking you may find that tourism facilities are less well-developed in N. Irl than in the South. However, if you can hack the clipped accents, you will find a great welcome.

May 23 Dublin... or near. (I heard about a little town within an hour of the airport and I think the flight leaves at 11:00 am.

A couple of choices here - Malahide or Howth. Both are fishing villages that are part of Dublin. If your swing is still working, you could try Portmarnock for one more round. All have easy access to the airport.

A bit further away is a lovely village called Carlingford. Its probably a bit too far from the airport but could be nice for a night if you saved a night somewhere along the route.

May 24 Saturday fly home from Dublin


Hope you have a good trip.

Tim

So now I am wondering if we shouldn't go North first after our arrival and 2 days in Dublin and do the loop the other way. Maybe 1 night Belfast, 1 night Derry, 1 night Donegal, 1 night Sligo and then on to Galway and then to the South.
There seems not to be as much reason to stay long in the North as in the South and so maybe we should start with the shorter stays and then end as we tarry longer in the south.
I can't think of amy reason why we should go South first.
Probably makes more sense to travel at a more leisurely pace at the end.

Everyone seems to go South first or is it my imagination?

I think many people have heard wonders about the southwest and want to get there.

I definitely agree with the slower pace at the end.

You have your trip backwards; head North and then loop counterclockwise; depart from Shannon. If a vacation has a fast/slow pace, your relaxing days should always be at the end, never at the beggining. I found Belfast to be an amazing city, loved the food, pubs, and the people were fantastic! You do not mention any stops around Kilkenny; a stop at the Rock of Cashel is suggested; a bit of history never killed a golfer. :-D

While at Kenmare, visit O'Donoughbans; best beef Stew and Roasted Chicken with vegetables!!

Not a chance that we would miss the Rock of Cashel. This is the actually the first time that we are taking our clubs with us on a holiday like this.
I think we will start with the north and do our relaxing at the end. I appreciate everyone's suggestions.

Lots of good advice.

Our trip has now stretched to a full three weeks. We will start in Dublin and go north to Belfast.
We ended up with a couple of extra days and as we are planning to golf a little were thinking of injecting a two night golf stop into our 3 days in the Derry/Sligo area. Has anyone stayed and/or played golf at Rosapenna Hotel/Golf Resort. It looks beautiful but a little deserted. It is close to the little village of Downing. Again this is just an idea we came up with tonight. The plan now is
3 night Dublin
3 night Belfast
3 night???Derry/Sligo or golf somewhere for a couple of days.
3 night Galway
3 night Dingle
2 night Kenmare
2 night Kilkenny
1 night Malahide

We aren't die hard golfers and usually deserted wouldn't appeal. The scenery in Donegal is beautiful I know.

Always appreciate your help.