May 2003 - First Ireland Trip - Itinerary Question? Experienced help needed!!
May 12th, 2003, 05:27 PM
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May 2003 - First Ireland Trip - Itinerary Question? Experienced help needed!!
Hello. My wife and I will be traveling to Ireland for a self drive tour. Arrive May 26. Eight nights total..here is the plan.
Day 1 - Arrive Shannon 0745. Rental car, see Bunratty Castle, Cliffs of Moher, Burren, overnight at Sea View Houses in Doolin. Hopefully stay awake to enjoy some music and a Guiness or two in the evening.
Day 2 - Doolin -> Connemar -> Kyelmore Abbey -> Cong or nearby for overnight.
Day 3 - Cong -> Birr (Bog Tour, Castle Visit) to Cashel area for overnight.
Day 4 - Train from Thurles (15 miles north of Cashel) to Dublin for a day visit. Return to Cashel for second overnight. Legends Townhouse B&B?
Day 5 - Cashel -> Waterford (Crystal) -> Blarney Castle/Stone -> Killarney for overnight.
Day 6 - Ring of Kerry (bus tour) Killarney overnight. Try to do the Laurels Singing Pub evening? Your thoughts on Laurels?
Day 7 - Killarney -> Dingle Penninsula lazy day?
Day 8-> Sleep in? HA HA Wind our way to Bunratty for overnight in Bunratty Lodge for overnight. Try to take in the Castle Banquet (your thoughts)
Please provide your thoughts on my days drives...also, the Dublin day trip? Any other ideas appreciated!
Dave Zemens
Rochester, Michigan
Day 1 - Arrive Shannon 0745. Rental car, see Bunratty Castle, Cliffs of Moher, Burren, overnight at Sea View Houses in Doolin. Hopefully stay awake to enjoy some music and a Guiness or two in the evening.
Day 2 - Doolin -> Connemar -> Kyelmore Abbey -> Cong or nearby for overnight.
Day 3 - Cong -> Birr (Bog Tour, Castle Visit) to Cashel area for overnight.
Day 4 - Train from Thurles (15 miles north of Cashel) to Dublin for a day visit. Return to Cashel for second overnight. Legends Townhouse B&B?
Day 5 - Cashel -> Waterford (Crystal) -> Blarney Castle/Stone -> Killarney for overnight.
Day 6 - Ring of Kerry (bus tour) Killarney overnight. Try to do the Laurels Singing Pub evening? Your thoughts on Laurels?
Day 7 - Killarney -> Dingle Penninsula lazy day?
Day 8-> Sleep in? HA HA Wind our way to Bunratty for overnight in Bunratty Lodge for overnight. Try to take in the Castle Banquet (your thoughts)
Please provide your thoughts on my days drives...also, the Dublin day trip? Any other ideas appreciated!
Dave Zemens
Rochester, Michigan
May 12th, 2003, 07:11 PM
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Cashel-Waterford-Killarney seems a long trip for one day - suggest breaking it (I generally like to average 45 mph on the roads in Ireland when estimating distances / times).
Kenmare, 20 miles over the mountains from Killarney might be a better bet for somewhere to stay 3 nights. It's a great base for travelling, has great pubs (with music, ask your hosts which ones) and will be more relaxing than Killarney.
Dublin trip sounds ok - so long as it's not a Friday (for the return train journey). good idea to go by train rather than drive.
Kenmare, 20 miles over the mountains from Killarney might be a better bet for somewhere to stay 3 nights. It's a great base for travelling, has great pubs (with music, ask your hosts which ones) and will be more relaxing than Killarney.
Dublin trip sounds ok - so long as it's not a Friday (for the return train journey). good idea to go by train rather than drive.
May 12th, 2003, 08:26 PM
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Hi Dave,
It's a nice list of places to see. You may find yourself doing a little adjustment as you go, as some of the day's driving may end up being a grind (and I like to drive and see the scenery myself). Some I think take longer than you think though.
Day 1 - sounds OK. Depends on how the flight wears on you. The nice thing here is that the sights between Bunratty and Doolin are either close to your B&B in case you need to shift to a morning visit or drive through scenery. Not terrible on drive time at all if on a direct route.
Day 2 - Personally, I'd leave a little more time. Assuming you won't be stopping in Galway, the Connemara is outstanding to take in through drives and not all that small. I'd circle through Clifden for a stop, then the Abbey. You might like the drive through the Lough Inagh valley. It's the first 'major' right as you're heading east past Kylemore. Outstanding views. Cong might be a little far, although I do like the town. If you run out of steam, maybe Oughterard for the night? As planned - Doolin to Cong, at least 4-5 hrs of actual drive time.
Day 3 - Also a long day. 3-4 hrs windshield time minimum. Still, all nice places to see. You may want to watch your time in Birr so you aren't on the road too late. Still, it's daylight till all hours in late May, but confirm late arrival with your accommodations.
Day 4 - Legends is a nice place. Ask for a room with a view. Rosemary and Micheal are excellent hosts and we'll stay with them again. Train sounds like a good way to get off the road for awhile.
Day 5 - Personally, I'd skip Waterford. It's not the most relaxing or scenic of places and there are other crystal places to see. Plus, it's a serious jog out of your circle back towards the west. I'd chck out Cashel itself and then head through Cahir (excellent castle of the fortress variety) and on towards Blarney. The castle at Blarney pales to Cahir Castle, but they have nice gardens and a very contagious rock that you hang upside down at a height of about 5 stories in order to smooch. If you're a big fan of driving, hit the coast from Kinsale to Bantry as sort of a wide swing on the way. Beautiful country!
Day 6/7 - No idea about Killarney pubs. Ring of Kerry vs Dingle is an ongoing conundrum. I like Killarney Nat'l Park and the Lakes, but otherwise am in the Dingle Ring camp.
Day 8 - Bunratty Lodge is a nice clean place to stay. Had a mit of mix up over a dinner but otherwise a comfy spot to rest. I didn't say sleep in! You might want to after a couple of those days, but... sleep on the plane! It's your last day in Ireland. Go have a pint.
It's a nice list of places to see. You may find yourself doing a little adjustment as you go, as some of the day's driving may end up being a grind (and I like to drive and see the scenery myself). Some I think take longer than you think though.
Day 1 - sounds OK. Depends on how the flight wears on you. The nice thing here is that the sights between Bunratty and Doolin are either close to your B&B in case you need to shift to a morning visit or drive through scenery. Not terrible on drive time at all if on a direct route.
Day 2 - Personally, I'd leave a little more time. Assuming you won't be stopping in Galway, the Connemara is outstanding to take in through drives and not all that small. I'd circle through Clifden for a stop, then the Abbey. You might like the drive through the Lough Inagh valley. It's the first 'major' right as you're heading east past Kylemore. Outstanding views. Cong might be a little far, although I do like the town. If you run out of steam, maybe Oughterard for the night? As planned - Doolin to Cong, at least 4-5 hrs of actual drive time.
Day 3 - Also a long day. 3-4 hrs windshield time minimum. Still, all nice places to see. You may want to watch your time in Birr so you aren't on the road too late. Still, it's daylight till all hours in late May, but confirm late arrival with your accommodations.
Day 4 - Legends is a nice place. Ask for a room with a view. Rosemary and Micheal are excellent hosts and we'll stay with them again. Train sounds like a good way to get off the road for awhile.
Day 5 - Personally, I'd skip Waterford. It's not the most relaxing or scenic of places and there are other crystal places to see. Plus, it's a serious jog out of your circle back towards the west. I'd chck out Cashel itself and then head through Cahir (excellent castle of the fortress variety) and on towards Blarney. The castle at Blarney pales to Cahir Castle, but they have nice gardens and a very contagious rock that you hang upside down at a height of about 5 stories in order to smooch. If you're a big fan of driving, hit the coast from Kinsale to Bantry as sort of a wide swing on the way. Beautiful country!
Day 6/7 - No idea about Killarney pubs. Ring of Kerry vs Dingle is an ongoing conundrum. I like Killarney Nat'l Park and the Lakes, but otherwise am in the Dingle Ring camp.
Day 8 - Bunratty Lodge is a nice clean place to stay. Had a mit of mix up over a dinner but otherwise a comfy spot to rest. I didn't say sleep in! You might want to after a couple of those days, but... sleep on the plane! It's your last day in Ireland. Go have a pint.
May 13th, 2003, 05:11 AM
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Sounds like a fun and energetic trip. I would tend to agree with Clifton about being flexible on days 2 and 3 as those may be very long days in the car and you may be trying to do to much, although your choices are good. The Lough Inagh Valley is a must when you are in Connemara. I would also think about skipping Waterford as it would be more inconvenient than enjoyable. I enjoyed Blarney; even though, I had avoided it for years, as it has beautiful grounds. Finally, if you skip Waterford you would be able to comfortably travel the coast road around West Cork and preferable stop in Kenmare for the evening. Enjoy yourselves and don't drink all the Guinness. Keenan
May 13th, 2003, 06:39 AM
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Stay at Rose Cottage Farmouse B&B, near Letterfrack in Connemara. Excellent base for touring Kylemore & Connemara area. The Chef/Owner John O'Toole is a delightful young guy. If you want to treat yourself to a fantastic meal during your holiday, do it at Rose Cottage. Food is divine!!
May 13th, 2003, 08:41 AM
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We did the Bunratty banquet on our last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You do need to make reservations ahead of time, as they tend to book up very fast.
After the banquet , stop in at MAC'S BAR , in the folk park - it is an actual bar, which is supposedly where a lot of the locals go. We were there on a rainy night , and the fireplace in this small-ish pub was a nice calm place to have a drink.
As much as I love Waterford, I have to agree that you are going way out of your way to see Waterford then onto Blarney & Killarney. I would either skip Dublin, and spend that day exploring Cashel, Cahir & Waterford ( possibly even Kilkenny) or skip Waterford completely.
In Cashel - I stayed at Dualla house -and loved it - will definitely go back. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34414657
Durty Nellies is worth a stop, but is really very small and usually packed.
May 22nd, 2003, 07:07 PM
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UPDATED ITINERARY ---- better?
Day 1 - Arrive Shannon .... rent car ... drive to Doolin, Cliffs, Burren, make a full day of it, overnight in Galway (B&B sugestions?)
Day 2 - Connemara, Clifden, Kylemore, back to Galway to same B&B
Day 3 - Birr, Cahsel overnight....
Day 4 - Dublin day trip, or Kilkenny Waterford day trip.
Day 5 - Cashel - Blarney - Mizen Head - Bantry (where to stay???)
Day 6 - Bantry - Berea Penninsula - Killarney
Day 7 - Killareny (Ring of Kerry or Dingle Penninsula)
Day 9 - -> Listowel, Tarbert car ferry, to Bunratty for overnight and Castle banquet?
Your thoughts?
Day 1 - Arrive Shannon .... rent car ... drive to Doolin, Cliffs, Burren, make a full day of it, overnight in Galway (B&B sugestions?)
Day 2 - Connemara, Clifden, Kylemore, back to Galway to same B&B
Day 3 - Birr, Cahsel overnight....
Day 4 - Dublin day trip, or Kilkenny Waterford day trip.
Day 5 - Cashel - Blarney - Mizen Head - Bantry (where to stay???)
Day 6 - Bantry - Berea Penninsula - Killarney
Day 7 - Killareny (Ring of Kerry or Dingle Penninsula)
Day 9 - -> Listowel, Tarbert car ferry, to Bunratty for overnight and Castle banquet?
Your thoughts?
May 23rd, 2003, 07:24 AM
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dwzwmens,
If you are planning to stay overnight in Galway your first night then there's no real reason to go to Doolin at all. Definately do the Cliffs, you can't miss the Burren on your way to Galway no matter which way you drive (eg Coast Road or straight through) and Doolin is a little podunk town that has good music in a couple of bars but is mainly swarming in tourists (my personal opinion and may not be shared with others...). You can get the same great music in Galway as well as tons of other smaller towns all over Ireland. The drive along the coast to the Cliffs is a good one though -- Doolin is down below near the ocean's edge.
Depending on how much and which part of Connemara you plan on seeing you may not get too far as well as the drive to Clifden and Kylemore Abbey in there. We recently drove from Galway to Roundstone and back on the back roads which took us most of the day what with all the stops for photos, lunch, etc. that we did. You'll have longer daylight hours though so as long as you don't stray too long in any one place (and don't drive a lot of back roads where you have to go slow) you certainly CAN do Day 2, just stick to the main road.
Day 3 - Drive to Birr doing your touring stuff there but go on and spend the night in Cashel. (FYI: you can't get into the castle in Birr only the grounds. Thought you may not know that, sorry if you already do!) From Cashel you can catch your train to Dublin from Thurles the next day.
Or you can do your Cashel/Kilkenny/Waterford day trip from there. Up to you and your interests.
Day 5 -- Head for where it is you want to visit in Kerry. If it's Dingle then go; Mizen Head, Killarney where ever. You can probably take in Blarney Castle on your way if you get an early enough start. But once in Kerry I'd stay there and just make day trips out into the surrounding area. Here is not the place you want to be moving from B&B to B&B. Pick out a nice one, reserve your days and stay. You may want a place that's on the main road (ie Ballydehob, Bantry, Glengarriff, Anascaul, Dingle...) so that you can get to other places easily by the main roads while still be near enough to ring Mizen Head or where ever. I wouldn't stay anywhere on The Ring of Kerry but I'm not partial to loads of tourists either and you may want/enjoy that sort of busy.
Bunratty is a good place to spend your last night since you'll be nice and close to Shannon airport the next day. You could go on the ferry or go through Limerick it's probably about the same timewise and will depend more on what you want to see in between.
Have a great trip!
wendy
If you are planning to stay overnight in Galway your first night then there's no real reason to go to Doolin at all. Definately do the Cliffs, you can't miss the Burren on your way to Galway no matter which way you drive (eg Coast Road or straight through) and Doolin is a little podunk town that has good music in a couple of bars but is mainly swarming in tourists (my personal opinion and may not be shared with others...). You can get the same great music in Galway as well as tons of other smaller towns all over Ireland. The drive along the coast to the Cliffs is a good one though -- Doolin is down below near the ocean's edge.
Depending on how much and which part of Connemara you plan on seeing you may not get too far as well as the drive to Clifden and Kylemore Abbey in there. We recently drove from Galway to Roundstone and back on the back roads which took us most of the day what with all the stops for photos, lunch, etc. that we did. You'll have longer daylight hours though so as long as you don't stray too long in any one place (and don't drive a lot of back roads where you have to go slow) you certainly CAN do Day 2, just stick to the main road.
Day 3 - Drive to Birr doing your touring stuff there but go on and spend the night in Cashel. (FYI: you can't get into the castle in Birr only the grounds. Thought you may not know that, sorry if you already do!) From Cashel you can catch your train to Dublin from Thurles the next day.
Or you can do your Cashel/Kilkenny/Waterford day trip from there. Up to you and your interests.
Day 5 -- Head for where it is you want to visit in Kerry. If it's Dingle then go; Mizen Head, Killarney where ever. You can probably take in Blarney Castle on your way if you get an early enough start. But once in Kerry I'd stay there and just make day trips out into the surrounding area. Here is not the place you want to be moving from B&B to B&B. Pick out a nice one, reserve your days and stay. You may want a place that's on the main road (ie Ballydehob, Bantry, Glengarriff, Anascaul, Dingle...) so that you can get to other places easily by the main roads while still be near enough to ring Mizen Head or where ever. I wouldn't stay anywhere on The Ring of Kerry but I'm not partial to loads of tourists either and you may want/enjoy that sort of busy.
Bunratty is a good place to spend your last night since you'll be nice and close to Shannon airport the next day. You could go on the ferry or go through Limerick it's probably about the same timewise and will depend more on what you want to see in between.
Have a great trip!
wendy
