Philip

We are 6 Texas friends that need your help. I have spent time reading Karen Brown, tripadvisor, etc but am still confused. Arrive Dublin and drive immediately to Belfast. We will be in Belfast proper for 2 nights and then are heading to the west and southwest parts of Ireland. We depart back to USA from Shannon.

My confusion is the 4 days (3 nights) after departing Belfast and arriving Burren area.

1. Best route and MUST sees (e.g., Bushmills, Antrim coast, Giant's Causeway, great pubs with entertainment; restaurants). We will have a car.

2. BEST towns to stay (e.g., Derry, Donegal, Westport?).

3. BEST inns or B&Bs (love local hotels; price is not the important issue) that reflect the area and people (no Holiday Inn type hotels)

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Songdoc

Depends on what you like--and the time of year. I love scenery and natural beauty -- so for me, Antrim Coast, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, the Glens of Antrim, Ballintoy Harbor ... I've done this trip several times and this is my favorite area.

Check out www.limepark.com.

Philip

Thanks.

We love the things Songdoc mentioned PLUS local flavor like sitting at a great pub with friends and local music.

Philip

Thanks.

We love the things Songdoc mentioned PLUS local flavor like sitting at a great pub with friends and local music.

amer_can

Do not miss Newgrange on your portion of Dublin to Belfast or the Belfast area.. Outstanding!!! Aran View Hotel did well for us as a jump off point for the north coast.. Do not include Best Western Magherabouy Hotel in Portrush unless they have done a tremendous amount of renovation..Bushmills, OF COURSE!!
You will have a great time!!! Another place worth a stay on West coast would be Glen Abby Hotel...in Clifden. Clifden is a nice little town and easy access to the area's points of interest.. So many places so little time!!!~

jaja

Look at Ballycarton House just outside of Limavady, near Derry. http://ballycartonhouse.com . We stayed 3 nights, one after arriving from Sligo via Donegal and Derry, one after "doing" the Antrim coast, and one after the Inishowen 100. Good central location for lots of fun day trips.

SeeDee

amer_can; could you be thinking of the Abbeyglen Castle in Clifden?
Great place for a singsong in the bar after dinner; be warned, it won't be an early night!

amer_can

I can only apologize for my mis-naming Abbleyglen.. However, it doesn't detract from the ++++ comments.

Philip

Thanks all for your input.

Based on your suggestions and additional research, I am thinking about:

Leave Belfast and take Antrim drive to:
Bushmills ~ stay at either Bushmills Inn or Valley View Country House for 2 nights and tour north.

Leave Bushmills and drive to:
Westport ~ stay at either Boulevard Guesthouse or Castlecourt Hotel for 2 nights. I hate to just drive all that way to Westport from Bushmills but we only have 12 nights in all of our vacation. Are we passing anything along the way that is a MUST MUST stop? How long will it take to make this drive and are the roads decent? Otherwise use Westport as a base to visit the area.

ANY COMMMENTS on hotels and locations to do day tours.

MOVING on the west and southwest parts of Ireland............................
Leave Westport and drive to:
Doolin ~ stay at either Sea View House B&B or Ballinalacken Castle House for 2 nights.

Leave Doolin and drive to:
Killarney ~ stay at the Loch Lein Country House for 3 nights. Do all the SW things.

Leave Killarney and drive to:
Bunratty ~ stay at either the Avarest Bunratty B&B or Bunratty Manor for one night. Leaving the next morning from Shannon back to the US.

I think the 2 and 3 weeks of May look best. Less rain in May. Less tourist and since we are coming from US and trying to use points, less competition for the tree seats. I did not mention that one of our party is a tournament player level golfer. Any comments/suggestions on the 2 or 3 courses for him to play?

TPAYT

We stayed in Westport for 3 nights in Sept 2010 and it was one of our favorite towns. Originally we were booked in to the Boulevard House and then a week before we left home they had a family emergency and would be closed so they booked us in to www.plougastel-house.com Totally refurbished a few months before, it was a delightful stay and we will stay there again. It was a short 2 block walk to the main street so very convenient to not use the car at night.

In Westport our favorite restaurants were Mango's and Torrino's(you can read our individual reports on Trip Advisor). We were so surprised at the quality of the food in Ireland and these two restaurants were a good example.

Matt Malloy's was a fantastic pub with several rooms of different music. Particularly good on Fri. & Sat. nights.

Around Westport we enjoyed The Nephin Drive, Achill Island, and Westport House(you can read our trip report and see photos by clicking on our name and scrolling to the bottom of the page).

As far as the SW is concerned, Dingle and www.greenmount-house.com was our favorite part of Ireland. The Slea Head drive and the Connor Pass was the best scenery we saw and far less crowded with tour buses than the ROK.

Killarney was extremely crowded and difficult to drive around in. We stayed in Kenmare at www.shelburnelodge.com which was our favorite B & B(again, if interested, check our trip reviews and photos.
Kenmare was a delightful town, and IMO a better choice than Killarney, with fantastic restaurants (Mulcahy"s was the best dinner of our trip).

The only real negative of our whole trip(and we loved Ireland so much we are returning in May) was the drive on the ROK road from Killarney to Kenmare---what a nightmare. There is an inland faster road to take and if you're driving in that area, I highly advise it.

More suggestions---in driving from the NW to the SW we took the Tarbert Ferry from the Kilrush area to bypass Limerick where the traffic is interesting to say the least. It was very easy, inexpensive, and efficient.

When driving from the Killarney up to Shannon airport, make a stop in Adare for an hour or two. It is touristy but has the thatched roof cottages with shops and restaurants, quite cute.

I do hope that I have been of some help.

cambe

My preference would be The Bushmills Inn for your Northern section, it's a lovely local hotel, not cheap but worth every penny(do you have accommodation in Belfast?) I have had friends stay in a B&B in Belfast which they loved. I am not a big lover of B%B's preferring small local hotels but this one is something special and feels more like a local small Hotel. Do the slightly longer coast road drive rather than the inland motorway the views are wonderful.

Long drive from Bushmills to Westport and I would really just prepare yourselves for this and do it, stopping only for food and a wee.

I can recommend golf courses in NI if that is any help. When in Bushmills Royal Portrush - Championship course http://www.royalportrushgolfclub.com/

Belfast:

http://www.belvoirparkgolfclub.com/
http://www.malonegolfclub.co.uk/
http://www.royalbelfast.com/ - a bit snooty but excellent course and lovely outlook.

Enjoy your trip

cambe

Sorry Philip, that should read - do the slightly longer coast road from Belfast to Bushmills rather than the inland motorway route through Ballymena as the coast road has wonderful views.

Hope that is a littler clearer.