Itinerary Help
 

My husband and I are planning to go to Europe for our first time this coming July. We plan to spend around 3 weeks and would like some help/tips for our itinerary. We want to make sure we are spending enough time in the cities, and have correctly allotted travel time between the cities we plan to visit. We primarily want to see Ireland and Spain Please read through the itinerary and let us know any tips, suggestions, recommendations!

Day 0 Flights to Europe
Day 1 Arrive in Shannon, Ireland- Drive to Dingle
Day 2 Dingle
Day 3 Dingle
Day 4 Dingle and drive to another (not sure which-recommendations) city about 2-3 hours away
Day 5 Other City
Day 6 Other City & drive to Dublin
Day 7 Dublin
Day 8 Dublin
Day 9 Fly from Dublin to London
Day 10 London
Day 11 London, Afternoon flight from London to Paris
Day 12 Paris
Day 13 Fly from Paris to Biarritz, Train from Biarritz to Hendaye, Train from Hendaye to San Sebastian (This seams like the best option to travel from Paris to San Sebastian, any other suggestions are certainly welcome!)
Day 14 San Sebastian
Day 15 San Sebastian
Day 16 San Sebastian, evening bus ride to Pamplona
Day 17 Pamplona (Running of the Bulls)
Day 18 Morning train to Barcelona
Day 19 Barcelona
Day 20 Barcelona
Day 21 Flight Home

Break Down of Days:
Dingle: 1/2 day, 2 full days, 1/2 day
Other Irish City: 1/2 day, 1 full day, 1/2 day
Dublin: 1/2 Day, 2 Full days
London: afternoon, 1 full day, morning
Paris: evening, 1 full day
San Sebastian: afternoon, 2 full days, morning
Pamplona: afternoon/evening, 1 full day
Barcelona: afternoon, 2 full days

Far too little time in both London and Paris. Better to connect them by train, but you should drop Paris and fly from London to Spain, or drop both and just do Ireland and Spain. See skyscanner.net for cheap flights.

Be sure to do an "Illumination Tour" in Paris. While you are there or a very short time, this will enable you to see the beauty of a truly lovely city. They start in the late afternoon and go through until late.

My post disappeared . . .

- more time in Dublin (definitely a second tier city) than for either London or Paris would not be my choice for sure. London is HUGE w/ countless things to see and do, and Paris has 10 times more things to see than Dublin does. I'd either add a minimum of two days to both. . . . Or drop both of them.

- driving immediately after an overnight flight isn't a great idea. Jet lag and 'other side of the road' driving isn't a good combination.

- flying from London to Paris makes no sense. City center to city center the train takes 2+ hours vs flying that takes 5 or 6 hours.

- if it was me, I'd fly from Cork to London and skip Dublin.

Can't see the point of your days 9-13, you'll arrive then leave with little time to do anything else.

You can fly to Biarritz from Dublin with Ryanair.

Agree with all the others, skip London and France this time and fly from Dublin to Spain. You wont have time to see much and will waste a lot of time and money just travelling from place to place.

I agree that there is too little time in London and Paris, so I would just drop them. You might consider replacing them with yet another Irish destination. Possible choices would be Galway, or somewhere in the Connemara. Dublin has some things worth seeing and doing, but there are other places in Ireland that I would prefer.

Also, wild horses couldn't drag me to Pamplona during the running of the bulls. Unbelievable crowds, terrified bulls, and drunken humans staggering to a near-death experience.

No point in doing London and Paris in your itinerary. If they mean of that little interest, just drop them.

Since Ireland and Spain are your main interests, I agree with the others, skip London and Paris. London and Paris are fabulous but you will see very little in the time allotted. Fly directly from Ireland to Spain. Visit London and Paris another time. For what it's worth (very little considering your interests), I would skip Ireland and do London and Paris!

I spent two weeks in Ireland, and loved every minute. I loved Dingle. However, you can easily cut out one day in Dingle from your itinerary, and group that with your "other city" days to stay in Galway, and use that as a base to see Connemara. I enjoyed Dublin, but you can pull one day from your Dublin itinerary as well. In general, I believe people try to cram too much into too few days, and don't get to really experience the cities/towns they're visiting. You also need to figure in some spontaneous time, when you see a road less traveled and want to take it.

Regarding the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, try to get a hotel as soon as possible. Still some rooms left. http://www.booking.com/city/es/pamplona.html

Spectacular fiesta and good spirited atmosphere, I've come here again and again for many years. All kinds of people in all ages and all kinds of activities, and of course a lot of drinking and good food. But also families come here in great numbers for the singing, the dancing, the fun fair, the concerts, the parades, the cafés etc. etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFK-A4uTw4s

Perhaps make a reservation for dinner in a good, traditional restaurant? Restaurante San Fermín in the heart of the Old town might be a very good option: http://www.restaurantesanfermin.com/indexeng.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...a_Navarra.html

Travelling Friends!

Thank you all for such good advice! I think that if so many of you are saying we should drop London and Paris, we might just have to do that!

Any recommendations for adjustments to the Ireland and Spain parts of our adventure? We definitely need another city to visit in Ireland, just not sure which one? Would you recommend adding days to both Ireland and Spain, or just one? With these days should we just add more time to the cities we already plan to visit or see another city or two? Can you recommend which cities to spend more time in?

I greatly appreciate all of this advice!

Happy Travels!

I'd add more time to San Sebastian and Barcelona. There's so much to see. Have you considered flying from San Sebastian to BCN? Vueling flies from Hondarribia to BCN.

Four Days in Dingle a small peninsula that covers 0.6% of the Island of Ireland and 100% inclusion of those who have never even been here.. Have fun with your fellow countrymen. Dublin is also not Ireland but a City not unlike Liverpool, Manchester, etc etc. Throw away your Rick Steves Guide and come to Ireland to see the country and meet the Irish..