My husband and I are traveling to Ireland in March with my parents to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. It is a first visit for everyone and we are all SO excited. This is the first real trip out of the U.S. for my mom (not counting her honeymoon in Aruba and a brief visit over the border into Canada), and her mother's family was from Ireland so I want to make this a really special trip. So many of you helped me to refine my itinerary early on and our final-ish plan is below. I know some of you will think this is a lot of driving, but we were unable to get open jaw tickets and wanted to make the most of our 10 days.

Day 1 - Fly into Dublin, drive to Kilkenny and spend the night (Butler Court B&B)
Day 2 - Drive to Kinsale and spend the night (Olde Bakery Inn)
Days 3 & 4 - Drive to Kenmare and spend 2 nights (Waters Edge B&B)
Days 5 & 6 - Drive to Dingle and spend 2 nights (Emlagh Lodge)
Days 7 & 8 - Drive to Doolin and spend 2 nights (Atlantic View B&B)
Days 9 & 10 - Drive to Dublin and spend final 2 nights (Amberley House)

Here are my questions:

1) We would love to take my parents out to a really nice dinner for my mom's birthday somewhere along the trip. Any suggestions??? We all love good food and have no dietary restrictions. We'll be in Doolin for St. Patrick's Day and my dad's birthday falls when we are in Dublin (coincidentally, even though this trip is techncially for my mom) so I think I would like to celebrate in either Kenmare or Dingle.

2) After much digging on ancestry.com and other websites, I have come to learn that my ancestors were from Limerick (I found some really cool stuff!). Is this a place worth visiting for a few hours? It would probably have to happen on the drive from Dingle to Doolin.

3) Finally, the one thing we are missing and the one thing I really wanted to do was to stay in a castle for one night. I think Dromoland is the closest one for our itinerary, but I hesitate because it is so much more than the B&Bs. Is it worth it for the experience? Do you really feel like you are staying in a castle or is it more just like a fancy hotel? Working this in would create two more one-nighters on the trip so I really hesitate unless it is something we should not miss out on.

Thanks in advance for your help in sorting out these final details!!

Bunratty Castle is about 10 miles or so from Limerick. While it is VERY touristy, it is also interesting to have dinner there, as it come with a show and the food is similar to what would be served a few hundred years ago.

Bunratty does have a hotel too, but I have no idea how it is.

Re: Dromoland ...

IMO, "yes" it's worth it. Very special. It also would be the perfect place for your special dinner, as the restaurant seems fit for royalty. The rooms themselves are indeed like any fancy hotel--but the grounds, the lounges, galleries, etc ... definitely felt like a castle to me.

Check their website for specials.

On another topic ... as you predicted, I think it's way too much driving. You're not leaving much time to see anything. Your first day, you'll have to clear customs, rent a car, and have at least a two-hour drive to Kilkenny. You'll arrive exhausted. When will there be time to explore Kilkenny -- and since you're in the area, the Rock of Cashel?

Everyone has different styles. But bear in mind that the roads are very narrow and winding. And when you factor driving on the "wrong" side -- for me, even after doing it many times--driving in Ireland is NOT a relaxing experience.

I've done the green blur and saw everything that was on my list on trips where I drove 3 or 4 hours every day. But I was exhausted and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as when I've given myself time to settle in and get to know--and enjoy--an area. But different strokes for different folks.

Songdoc - Thanks for the info on Dromoland. I'll have to check out their website again. They had what seemed to be a pretty decent rate for March - 98 Euro per person.

Regarding the driving, we have a pretty good idea of what we are getting into. It is unfortunate that we can't fly out of Shannon (darn Delta!). We actually land in Dublin the first day at 7am so I'm not really concerned about getting to Kilkenny too late to explore anything. We'll see how it goes, though. My parents may never travel overseas with us again! Ha ha.

What about giving yourself two nights in Kilkenny and then driving straight through to Kenmare with a stop at the Rock of Cashel on the way? I don't dislike Kinsale but think it is overrated, strictly my opinion. Sp the first day you could walk around Kilkenny which would help with jet lag.
The second day you could explore the area nearby--the dolman, New Ross and the Dunbrody (a recreation of the ship which brought many of the Irish to America in the famine days. You get a ticket when you pay your entry fee and then find where you would have been sleeping on the ship. A guide explains exactly what you got for your money and what the trip would have been like. After my visit I vowed never to complain about economy class on a plane again. Unfortunately that vow has been forgotten from time to time.), drive down to Hook Head lighthouse and along the southeast coast for a bit (Tramore, Ardmore, etc.)

While in Kilkenny go to DameKytlers Inn. They have reasonable and good early bird specials or go later and eat in the cellar where some nights they tell stories of Dame Kytler. Was she a witch or not?

I echo an earlier suggestion to try the banquet at Bunratty Castle. Some call it touristy, but I thought it was lots of fun.

I also was not impressed enough with Doolin to spend two nights there. I would choose Ennis instead which is an easy drive to Bunratty. There is lots to explore in that area. Bunratty Folk Village, Cragganouwen, Quin Abbey, even a run to the Cliffs of Moher. There are some pubs there which have trad music many nights.

Good luck!

Hmmm...irishface - you have given me a lot to think about.

Your suggestions for Kilkenny sound great! My husband and my mom seem very interested in Dromoland. If we skip our 1 night in Kinsale and 2 nights in Doolin, maybe we could do two nights each in Dromoland and the Connemara region (admittedly, I haven't read much about this area because it didn't seem like a possibility)?? This would still give us only one night in Kilkenny which means we would have to miss the cool things you.

Ugh - I always start second guessing my itinerary when the trip is rapidly approaching!! Guess my bedtime reading will be my Ireland guidebook!

After much reading last night, I am thinking that we will skip Kinsale and add a night at Dromoland Castle. I know many people here aren't crazy about Doolin, but is it at least a good place to relax for two days? I looked at a few other alternatives, but I like the idea of being near the water.

Day 1 - Fly into Dublin, drive to Kilkenny and spend the night (Butler Court B&B)
Day 2 - Drive to Kenmare, stopping at Rock of Cashel on the way (Waters Edge B&B)
Day 3 - Kenmare, Ring of Kerry (if we are up for it and the weather is nice)
Day 4 - Drive to Dingle (Emlagh Lodge)
Day 5 - Dingle pensinsula
Day 6 - Dromoland Castle
Day 7 - Doolin, stopping to see Cliffs of Moher and the Burren (Atlantic View B&B)
Day 8 - Relax and enjoy St. Patrick's Day in Doolin
Day 9 - Drive to Dublin (Amberley House)
Day 10 - Dublin
Day 11 - Fly home

Dromoland has a rate that includes dinner one night in the nice restaurant. Does anyone know if that inclusive dinner is a limited menu? Are we better off just booking the lodging and doing dinner separately? We love good food so the nice restaurant there is probably where we will have my mom's birthday dinner. Hopefully it's worth the $$!

Sessa - I'm wondering if you will enjoy doing the Ring of Kerry (which takes an entire day +- 10 hrs) and then immediately doing a similar drive the very next day around the Dingle Peninsula?
A lot of folks choose one or the other. We choose ROK because we were in a very large motorhome but it's an awfully long drive. We were in Ireland for 2 weeks and loved Kilkenny.
Take the guided walk which starts at the tourist information bureau. Well worth it!

tod - I have wondered the same thing. With all of our driving from place to place, we may want to stay put on Day 3. We will probably just play it by ear and it may also come down to the weather. It sounds like Kenmare is a nice town to visit even if we don't do ROK. My dad does not like any relaxation during the day on vacation so we may be forced into driving it!

sessa- Here is my Trip Report with photos, which you may find useful as is shows the distance we could travel in a day and what could be accomplished:
http://tinyurl.com/mmm492

I hope reading through it you may get another perpective on your trip.
The very best of Irish luck on your mom's 60th birthday!