dorian1879

Hello --
I will be in Ireland (flying in and out of Dublin) Feb. 4-10. I realize that's not a lot of time, nor is it the ideal time to go; however, great rates made it an easy decision. Anyway, I just wanted to throw out a tentative itinerary to make sure I'm not making a mistake. I know it's best to visit a couple of "key" areas if you only have a short amount of time, but I just can't rule out any sites I now have on my edited list.

So, my plan is to spend the first day and night (flight arrives in the morning) in Dublin. The next morning travel to Newgrange and (this is what concerns me) drive to Kinvara or Ballyvaughn for the night. I need to find some other good sights, etc. on the way. On the third day I would like to see the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, etc. and make my way down to Kenmare. From what I've read it seems that Dingle is recommended over the ROK, so I'm still deciding there. I would spend two nights in Kenmare. I'm assuming that Dingle is an easy drive from Kenmare for the day.

From there (on the fifth day) I would like to go to Cashel and make my way up to Dublin or thereabouts. My flight leaves around noon.

So, there you have it. My biggest fear is spending too much time going between places and too little time sightseeing, etc. Am I just paranoid?

Thanks for any suggestions.

NEDSIRELAND

We were in Ireland end of February to beginning of March last year. We had good weather but there was a lot of hoarfrost on the roads in County Clare until around 9:30 AM.

If you make it to the west coast (i.e., The Cliffs of Moher) stop in Lahinch and visit the ITB Shop there: They had 30% off 'across the board' last February. They also fill out your 'tax back' form so you can take it to the Tax Back desk in Dublin airport.

KateIP

Your plan is fairly logical, not too rushed, and not too many places. Newgrange is wonderful, and a good choice. On your second day, get an early start, and try to get the first tour of the day. Then head west. Stop at Clonmacnoise, south of AThlone~another wonderful historic site. Then continue on to Kinvara. Remember that days are short, so you may be doing the last bit of driving in the dark. If you're going to be staying in Kenmare (and this will be a long drive from Co Clare), I would recommend just doing Killarney (Gap of Dunloe) and then the Beara Peninsula, before heading back to Dublin.

wojazz3

Hi dorian:

I'm not sure if you land on the 4th or the 5th. A couple of things to keep in mind.

I'm not sure where you intend to stay in Dublin, but you don't need or want a car in the city center so you can consider renting the car on Day 2. This would require a pretty early start on the 2nd day though as you would have to spend the time renting the car. You might want to stay on the outskirts (north side) which would give you a better jump on getting to Newgrange. Be aware that the Irish are not terribly early risers and many B&Bs don't start serving breakfast before 8-8:30. Some will allow a special request for an earlier meal.

I agree with Kate that you want to get to Newgrange 1st thing and get the earliest tour possible. There shouldn't be a problem with crowds at that time of year, but even in the shoulder seasons, you can arrive say at noon and find all of the tours sold out. Newgrange opens at 9:30 and they list the average length of stay as 2 hours for the center and Newgrange. If you add Knowth, it's three hours. Here is the website:
http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/His...ndKnowthMeath/

Figure at best, you will be leaving at 11:00-11:30 and figure 4 driving hours from Newgrange to Kinvara. With no stops (and no getting lost) that would put you in at 3:00. The one stop you can consider as Kate mentioned, is Clonmacnoise. With as little time as you have, I wouldn't spend the time in Athlone. It would probably involve getting lost at least once, and the Castle is closed except "upon request" in February.

You won't need to rush to get to Kinvara to see Dunguaire castle as it is closed in Febrary. Kinvara will probably be pretty quiet that time of year and Ballyvaughn will probably be the same. They are both pretty small villages. There will be very little nightlife. I'm a big fan of small villages, but during the off season, you might consider slightly larger. You could conceivably stay in Oranmore, which is a pretty small village but very close to Galway and you could go into Galway in the evening. The nights are much longer at that time of year so you should make plans to take advantage of being near a larger city.

I love Kenmare and it is just big enough to have a number of pubs open year around. It is unlikely that you will find music at that time of year unless you go to Casey's for the "show" if one is going on. Killarney will have more and at that time of year may be a nice option. Kenmare to Dingle (the town) is about 2 hours each way. The ride from Kenmare to Killarney is not far but the road is narrow, scenic and full of bends and twists. Figure about an hour.

I wasn't sure by the end of your post if you were planning to drive from Cashel to Dublin for a noon flight. I'm guessing no. That would be a bad plan. You'll want to be in or near Dublin on your last night.

Very long winded, but I hope it helps.

Bill

Itallian_Chauffer

Since you are not wanting to spend all your time driving, you should probably make your driving time more productive. You should consider driving to Galway the second day, and spend the night. The next day, you can drive through the Burren, visit the Cliffs and end up in Dingle for the night. The next day you can tour Slea head and then head down to either Killarney or Kenmare. While spending two or more nights in one place IS much more restful than changing locals every night, it isn't as efficient touring on abreviated trips. If you have a noon flight out, you'll probably want to be at the airport no later than 9:30 or 10:00, in order to drop off the car, clear security and visit the Tax Back. That means you will want to stay pretty close to the airport, in order to avoid a really early wake up.