Itinerary Edinburgh and Ireland

Old Aug 8th, 2017, 02:27 PM
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Itinerary Edinburgh and Ireland

We are two couples planning a visit to Edinburgh and Ireland in September. We like history, scenery, local pubs, cultural experiences. We are not "foodies", but do like to try local fare. Flights, accommodation and car are booked (accommodations can be changed if we want, though.) Any suggestions on specific things to do/see (or not) or changes to the plan are welcome! I've listed things we have thought about seeing, as I like to have a list of more than we can do in a place, and then choose from the short list as we go. We are in our early 50's, and our driver has experience driving on the left. Yes, we do like a faster pace (although I worry this is too many long driving days.) Again, flights are not changeable, but where we stay and for how long can change.

17 Sept Arrive Edinburgh from USA. Staying 4 nights Apex Grassmarket. Day trip to St. Andrews (by train/bus?), Rosalyn Chapel, Edinburgh Castle, Walking Tour, Whisky Tour, Afternoon tea at Prestonwood House

21 Sept Fly to Dublin early AM. Pick up rental car, drive to Belfast. Staying 2 nights Malone Lodge Apartment. Black cab tour, Titanic Museum, dinner with friends.

23 Sept Drive to County Mayo, stopping in Derry on the way. (Other sights along this drive? Donegal area?) Stay 1 night in Swinford at Deerpark Manor B&B.

24 Sept Visit Ashford Castle, including the falconry walk. Drive to Ennis, staying 2 nights Hotel Woodstock. See Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, Burren area. Pub with local music?

26 Sept drive to Killarney, staying 2 nights Earl's Court House Hotel. Stop at King John's castle. 27 Sept drive Ring of Kerry.

28 Sept drive to Dublin, stopping at Rock of Cashel. Also Blarney Castle? Or Waterford? Or on to Dublin? Return car upon Dublin arrival. 2 nights Jury's Inn Christchurch.

29 Sept A Day in Dublin. Guinness Storehouse, a city tour, Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, Pub recommendations?

30 Sept fly home to USA.

Thanks for any suggestions!
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 02:39 PM
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Random thoughts:

>>Staying 4 nights Apex Grassmarket>Day trip to St. Andrews (by train/bus?), >Afternoon tea at Prestonwood Housefield House
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 03:01 PM
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On the St. Andrews day you might consider getting a car instead (pick it up at the airport) and follow a route like this - https://goo.gl/maps/JgmBDVEhVu42

This would take you through the incredibly picturesque fishing villages in the "East Neuk" of Fife, like St. Monans or Crail. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ail/index.html From there it's a short hop up to St. Andrews, then, if time permits, you could return to Edinburgh via the ancient royal burgh of Falkland with its palace, wonderful palace gardens, etc. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...and/index.html

This is a terrific day trip.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 04:24 PM
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I'd drive as well -- there is just sooooooo much to see and do in Fife. It will be a very full day and you'll wish you had 2 more days to stay in the area. But if you only want to see St Andrews, then take the train.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 08:50 PM
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< 21 Sept Fly to Dublin early AM. Pick up rental car, drive to Belfast. Staying 2 nights Malone Lodge Apartment. Black cab tour, Titanic Museum, dinner with friends. >

Is the cost of 2 days hire plus a couple of extra hours of driving less than a one way hire from Belfast to Dublin and flying to Belfast instead of Dublin
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 09:49 PM
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Flying to Belfast makes more sense itinerary-wise and one definitely can collect a car in Belfast and drop it at DUB. But being cross-border there is a drop off fee. I just did a dummy booking via autoeurope and the drop off fees was a little over $225. Is $200-$250 worth saving a 2.5 hour drive????

Dunno . . .
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Old Aug 9th, 2017, 12:28 AM
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This is a 10 day plan first written years ago and has been a backbone itinerary ever since. https://drive.google.com/open?id=13p...L0&usp=sharing

Your aim is to tackle a lump of that (and more !!) in far less time. Can be done but you won't fit much in. Not sure what you plan to do with yourselves in the evening but the Woodstock nice as it is wouldn't be my choice for Ennis, I like a few drinks before bedtime when on holiday and you would be a long way out from town.
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Old Aug 9th, 2017, 06:04 AM
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What's a "whisky tour"? Is that WITHIN Edinburgh or going outside the city? If the latter, then you're dedicating very little time to Edinburgh itself. And there's no way to do a "whisky tour" of all of Scotland in a day - too many regional variations from Lowland to Highland to Speyside to Islay, etc.

If it's within the city, it's superfluous. You can walk the Royal Mile and do a whisky tour of the various shops without paying someone else to drag you about (Scotch Whisky Experience shop, Royal Mile Whiskies, Robert Graham Whiskies, Cadenhead - all on the Royal Mile).
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Old Aug 9th, 2017, 06:37 AM
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Between the whisky shops and pubs on and just off the Royal Mile . . . just walking downhill will be about the best 'whisky tour' around.

I do think your Ireland plans are very rushed and flying in to Belfast would at least help a teensy bit.

From your OP >>Yes, we do like a faster pace
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Old Aug 10th, 2017, 06:51 PM
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Thanks so much for the St. Andrew's day trip advice. We will rent a car and follow Gardyloo's suggested route!

By 'whisky tour' we were indeed thinking of the many places along the Royal Mile. It was on my list because it's something my brother really wants to do. Thanks for the "walk the Royal Mile downhill" and the names of the whisky shops/pubs. That is what I meant.

I knew I needed to trim the route in Ireland, but hadn't figured out what direction to go there. I am still working out the details, but the thought process is:

9/21-9/22 stay in Belfast
9/23 drive north to Giant's Causeway, Derry, stay near Donegal
9/24 visit Ashford Castle, stay in/near Galway.
9/25 Explore Galway area, second night in Galway
9/26-9/27 stay in Ennis. See Cliffs, Burnatty Castle, Burren area
9/28 drive to Cashel (rock of Cashel), then to Dublin
9/29 day in Dublin

Its a rough outline, but does this sound more reasonable? Next step will be to rebook accommodations and then fill in the details.

Thank you Tony2phones for the route map suggestion. Do you have a better suggestion for where to stay in Ennis?

Thanks so much!
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Old Aug 11th, 2017, 01:39 AM
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There are 4 hotels in the actual centre of Ennis, The Old Ground, Temple Gate, Ashford Court and Queens. We try for Grey Gables guest house or Glenomra which is walkable into town for whatever is going on.

There is another problem/expense Renting a car in Belfast UK and dropping the car in Dublin Ireland means paying to have the car taken back into the country which it belongs. There are a couple of rental companies that have Irish Cars at their Belfast points but there is still generally an added cost.
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Old Aug 11th, 2017, 07:09 AM
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>

What I noted are all whisky shops, and I visited each on our trip this past June (had the hobbits with us so no knocking it back at the pubs for us). There are other shops that sell booze (there's at least one Oddbins, a liquor chain in the UK) but the specialty shops will have the rarities. And your bro should only get something that's either an independent bottling (Signatory, Murray McDavid, Douglas Laing, Provenance, Cadenhead, Robert Graham, etc) that he won't find otherwise or a distillery offering that isn't sold in the US. Generally, the distillery offering he'd get in the US is (1) less expensive, (2) a larger bottle (US has 75cl bottles standard, Scotland has a lot of 70cl bottles - that's two shots), and/or (3) less watered down - many of the distillery offerings in the UK are bottled at 40% (80 proof) but for the US market they're bottled at 46% (92 proof). Why pay for water?

The Cadenhead lot tend to be gruff but they have the most unique stuff (often at commensurate pricing). The Robt. Graham shop is the one we bought from this time and they're sales folk were pretty helpful. At Royal Mile Whiskies, the staff helpfulness quotient depends upon who you get.

If bro is going to purchase, he needs to have some room in his bags and be packing for a check-in (even if it's a carry-on size bag, he'll need to check it on the way home because he can't take a bottle of hooch through security). The shops will help with the wrapping and I've not had a breakage in past trips.
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Old Aug 13th, 2017, 06:20 AM
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Thank you BigRuss for the whisky advice. Brother will be very pleased!

Thank you Tony2phones. We were able to reserve rooms at Grey Gables.

We already have our flight from EDI to DUB, so we will stay with the plan to fly to Dublin and drive to Belfast. Two nights there, as we have friends to visit. The next part is what I'm still working out:

9/23 Leave Belfast. Activities to choose from for the day: Giant's Causeway, Bushmills, Dunluce Castle, walking tour in Derry. Stay somewhere near Derry or Donegal. Recommendations?

9/24 Belleek factory, Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, ending up in Connemara area.
9/25 Visit Ashford Castle and surrounding area.
(Need place to stay in this area for 2 nights 9/24-9/25)

Then on to 2 nights Ennis and 2 nights Dublin.

Thanks again for the help!
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Old Aug 13th, 2017, 10:09 AM
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I am in Clifden with clients on the 22nd/24th September the 23rd is the night of the Arts week final Parade. Sunday the 24th and Monday 25th Clifden will have vacancies and the Sunday especially will still have musicians and others around and whilst i am having to stay a little out of Town Friday and Saturday, in town accommodation will be available Try DunRi which is a first choice, Then Ben View and Kingstone House next to each other and well located on the very edge of town. There are other options in town which range from the Hostel to Abbeyglen Castle if you need help let me know.
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