Need Help Planning 1st Trip to Ireland
 

I am trying to plan a trip to Ireland as a present for my husband. I have been doing some research, but am overwhelmed.

We are looking to go in April for about 8-10 days.

I can't decide between a tour or planning everything ourselves. I don't want to spend every waking minute with tour people and be forced to do only those items on the "list". However, I don't want costs to get out of control with a "do it yourself" type trip either.

Are there people who would be willing to point me in the right direction?

Much appreciated!

scollins... it's understandable to be overwhelmed.
On our first trip I pinned down the first and last nights (I want to know where I'll sleep then).

After that I perused the possibilities, checking towns, the tourist board etc. When I found a few that caught my eye and imagination I started planning.

Our first trip was a 3 week jaunt that started at Edinburgh and took a south loop around the end of Scotland and a north loop around Northern Ireland and then across to Dublin. We took the bus the entire trip. You get to meet more folks on the coach!

One of the things that caught my eye and imagination was a small town's inclusion of a cat on their "people" section. We went to Kirkcudbright Scotland then and have returned twice because this caught my eye.

You can go by public transit, not break the bank and still see what interests you. When the bus doesn't go there, get a taxi!

Have a grand time!

This forum is loaded with folks like me who will be glad to give you all the advice you can handle. I have been to Ireland 9 years in a row and others have also been many times. Tell us what you want to see and what you like to do and we will be glad to point you in the right direction. By the way, driving in Ireland is different but not difficult so do not climb on a tour bus out of concern for driving.

An alternative to a coach tour would be a many fly and drive package...which can be especially reasonable in April. B&B vouchers are also available with many packages. Vouchers get mixed reviews, some people swear by them, others find them limiting. They are usually a decent value and lock in your rate (realize you will pay an upgrade for en suite rooms, which are rooms with their own bathroom, and that in April most B&Bs will be charging their lower rates anyway, so the vouchers might not save you as much money as in high season).

There are day tours you can take in most regions. They are often good deals and add some variation to your trip. Connemara, Dingle and the Ring of Kerry all come to mind for day tours. There is also the Hop On/Off bus in Dublin and several day tours from Dublin that are worthwhile.

With 8-10 days, you don't want to try covering the whole country, but you could certainly see a whole region (i.e. Dublin with Galway, Clare...or...the West...or...the Southwest...or...Northern Ireland...or...the Southeast and Midlands).

Frommers Ireland for $80 a day is a good resource if you are trying to tour Ireland without breaking the bank...and their "Finds" are always worth the visit. It's a good idea to choose your region before diving in to the book though.

Good luck

Hi scollins:

I think that with just a small amount of advice and maybe none at all, you can easily keep your costs well below the price of an escorted tour. Your biggest expense will probably be airline tickets. From there, rent a small car and stay in B&Bs. That should control costs pretty well. Oh yeah, the passenger may have to buy some valium, but that shouldn't be a major expense.

Decide what kind of traveler you are. This may sound stupid, but there are two types. Jam in as much as you can or go to fewer places and enjoy. Generally, most people will plan an itinerary and post it here and the first reaction will be "Slow down!" There are those though who want to see it all and if that is your style, see as much as you can. Remember, Ireland looks small but it takes a while to get around. Figure your average speed will be about 35 MPH when touring. Most route planners have that a bit higher and are usually a bit inaccurate.

My suggestion would be to start with a map, pick a section that you want to see (SW, NW, Northern Ireland (etc) and then prioritize the sites you want to visit. In an 8-10 day trip you'll have time to visit 3, maybe 4 areas within a section of the country at a moderate pace.

So get started and then ask more questions. Good luck.

Bill

I just had my first trip to Ireland in March. We had a wonderful time, but as others have said, we tried to do too much in the 9 days we were there. We rented a car, which I would highly recommend. Driving took a little getting used to at first, but you settle in after a while. Plus, having your own car gives you the freedom to do whatever you want on your own schedule. My favorite part of Ireland was the southwest section....Tralee, Killarney, Cobh....there are so many sights, ring of Kerry, Connemara, Cliffs of Moehr...and Galway isn't too far away either. You can keep the costs down by staying at less expensive hotels / b&bs....we had some good ones throughout our trip. Food can range in price, but breakfast is usually included in the hotel/b&b rate so you are only paying for lunch and dinner. We usually had an inexpensive lunch at a pub or something and then a nicer dinner each night. It is a beautiful country and part of the fun is seeing all of the different scenery as you move around the country. Please let me know if you have any specific questions, I'm happy to help!

There are a number of us on this board who have been many times, and a few who actually live in Ireland, as well. If you "CLICK " on the blue 'screenname for a person, you will be given a list of all the threads that they have contributed to.

Try reading some of the TRIP REPORTS, to get a feel for some of the places that others have gone, how much time to spend in an area, etc.

April is usually a great time to go --3 of our seven times were April trips, and I am planning one for this coming April, as well. We hail from Florida, so we find the weather cool, but not too cold, and at least, during our trips, we have found the rain minimal (April IS supposed to be one of the drier months, historically). Expect temps in the upper 40's and 50's during the day and upper 30-low 40's at night.
Three years ago, we actually had low 70's (Irish summer weather) the last few days of our visit.

You can help the board to help you, by letting us know a general idea of your interests -- scenery, music, archeology, etc... -, Dublin, or no Dublin, family ties to a particular area or county?
Self drive touring Should be cheaper than Tour Bussing it -- especially in April. My wife and I typically spend $3-3,500 per trip, total for both of us, for EVERYTHING: Parking at the airport, airfare, rental car, food, lodging, fuel, gifts for our Irish friends and family and for those that we leave at home.

Airfare from Florida runs from 500 - 950 per person (the lower end in Feb and April, and the high end in June and July). Car rentals have run us between 300, up to $900 (effected by the number of days and the size and type of car -- 3 of our trips have included 4 others in mini-vans (though they split the cost) and 2 have been with a total of 4 (where we paid the full amount)).

There are a few people on the board who have self-toured using public transport, as well, so information is available for that, also.

Think about what you want to see and do, and get back to us -- if your thread has 'fallen off the board', just click on your own screen name and it will appear in the listing to the left.

Thank you all for your speedy and informative replies. I guess I should get a bit more specific - I just did not want to overwhelm the readers :)

My husband and I both have an Irish heritage, but have to do some more research on that subject. However, I think for our first big trip together (read did not take a honeymoon) we might not get too involved with the heritage part quite yet. Definetely will be going to Ireland more than once.

I have grown up traveling to exotic places usually having only the best accommodations. However, now that it is our "own" money, I want to be able to control the costs. That is to mean, that I don't want to be "cheap", I would like to keep it reasonable and definetely have a range for what price to expect so that we are not blindsided later.

I don't like the tour thing unless it is simply a kind of jump on the bus for the next destination and they let us loose when we get there. I kind of like the car idea as it means we can go truly wherever, but that seems to require a bit more planning and definite knowledge of the better b&b's/hotels at the destinations.

With that all being said, I guess I first have to decide about where I want to go. I cannot plan a trip to Ireland without letting my husband go to the Guiness factory. So I guess Dublin is in the itinerary. After that I would like to experience SCENERY, some archeological sites, and probably a castle (maybe even to stay in). I would like the ability to pick up some wonderful gifts and sweaters too:)

My husband grew up roadtripping so I don't think that will be a problem and will allow us to see the beautiful backroads.

We live in Chicago so the weather is not too much of a consideration. We have tons of miles or will figure something out for airfare.

Any more thoughts from this information? Again, I am so greatly appreciative of your responses.

I have been to Ireland twice. This last trip we made a conscious effort to spend less time in the car and more time in each place--it was far more enjoyable than the first trip. I'd recommend flying into Dublin and out of Shannon or vice versa. It should be no more expensive.

There is so much to do in and around Dublin, 3 days was not enough for us. For archeology, I'd recommend a tour of New Grange. If you like to hike, we did a cliff hike south of the Dalky area. We also very much enjoyed Cashel visiting the ruins at Rock of Cashel and the Hoar Abbey--they were very calming areas. Dingle is still my favorite area--the Peninsula has the most incredible scenery.

I found lodging to be pretty inexpensive. We stayed at Milestone for 35Epp and very much enjoyed it, but for more money, we've also stayed at Heaton's which gets lots of recommendations here. In Dublin, we stayed at Mont Clare which was very comfortable and in a great location.

Overall, I'm one of those that would recommend not trying to fit too many regions in one trip--overnights at 2-3 places at the most.

I think we will take Jackie's recommendation and fly into Dublin and out of Shannon. I think we will also rent a car to travel

If we were to spend 2 days/nights in Dublin, how do we make it back to Shannon to fly home? I would like to have the Cliffs of Mohr and Ring of Kerry on the list of sites. Is that about all we can do or can I throw some more in there? Want to be doing stuff most of the time, but not feel like we are going a mile a minute. We will want to stop and enjoy the scenery and the peaceful life out there.

Should I throw in more than 8-10 days?

Take as many days as you can, but 8-10 will give you a nice sampling.
What follows is a SAMPLE of what CAN BE done, but is not necessarily a suggestion.

Day 1&2: Dublin
Day 3: Drive to Cahir or Cashel, via Glenndalough and/or Kilkenney. Stay at Carrigeen Castle, for a quasi-castle stay on a budget, or any number of B&B's in Cashel.

Day 4: Visit the Rock of Cashel and Cahir castle. Drive to Kinsale, via Chb (visiting the Queenstown Story Museum). Alternate to Cohb, Blarney. Stay in Kinsale.

Day 5: Drive along the coast to Glenngarriff, with a detour for Healey Pass. Stay in Glenngarrif or Kenmare.

Day 6: Drive through Kenmare to Killarney, stopping at Moll's Gap, Ladies View, and Killarney National Park. Stay in Killarney.

Day 7: Drive to Dingle, around Slea Head, back into Dingle. Spend the night in Dingle, or cross Connor Pass to Wojazz3's and Budman's favorite, The Shores, in Castlegregory.

Day 8: If stayed in Dingle, drive over Connor Pass, then drive through Tralee to Tarbert. Take the ferry across the Shannon and drive up Loop Head to the Cliffs of Moher. Spend the night in Doolin or Ennis or Bunratty.

Day 9: Get up early, drive to Shannon and fly home. Or, drive through the Burren to Galway. Spend night in Galway or Bong or Clifden.

Day 10: Drive to Bunratty, tour the Folk Park and Castle. Shop at the Woolen Mills. Spend night in Bunratty or Ennis, then fly home the next day.

This is an ambitious, but do-able trip. If you want to 'see everything that you can' in the allotted time. You can also eliminate sections to allow fewer and longer stopovers.

We have been to Ireland 4 times and are looking forward to our 5th trip early next spring. I like Itallian_Chauffer's suggestions above. This is pretty much what we did on our last trip, although we started and ended in Shannon because we have been to Dublin twice.

We have always driven ourselves and set our own pace. We have learned to slow down over the years and try to spend at least two nights in each area to really absorb the local flavor.

We also stay in B&Bs to keep our budget low. We have stayed in some very lovely homes and some others not so great. Once you have an idea of where you would like to go, you will get many suggestions for nice B&Bs or some more upscale lodges in each area.

Good luck with the planning!

I would definitely agree that Rock of Cashel is a great thing to see, but don't think it's necessary to spend an entire day/night there. I forgot to mention Dingle in my other post....that was my favorite drive of the whole trip. The scenery is so beautiful along the peninsula and the town of Dingle itself is wonderful. I wish we had more time there on our trip. I would also suggest more time in Tralee, it is a wonderful town. We were visiting someone in Tralee and spent a few days there, it's great. Plus, it's close to Ring of Kerry, Dingle, and Killarney so you can do a day trip and stay there overnight. I'll post more as I remember things!

Scollins, I love planning all our trips independently. May I make some suggestions which have helped me plan our trips to Italy and Costa Rica independently, and which I am now following for our first trip to Ireland?

Choose one book from the bookstore that you find very readable. Read the whole entire book. This gives you a nice base upon which to reflect on all the advice you will be given. It really keeps you grounded, otherwise if you're only using the internet you can feel quite scattered.

If you are like me, one book won't be enough and you'll then buy others to use as reference material! But I read one guidebook cover to cover.

Then form a list of places that interest you, based on what you've read. Find out more about them on this web-site by chatting with people. Especially useful, I find, are discussions about whether people love or hate places like Dublin, Rome, Venice, etc. These discussions really flesh out a city, giving it life. You'll be able to taste, smell and feel it before you even arrive!

Have a grand time planning your trip. Oh yes, and you can have fun on a budget. I love planning trips which include 1 splurge hotel, and other special places, family-run, for excellent prices, where service is more personal and you meet interesting people. There are loads of intriguing B&Bs in Ireland for good prices, people on fodors can tell you all about them!

Hello to all in Chicago. Had the pleasure of visiting you city ona number of occassions (Arlington Heights area) Do you know American Airlines (www.americanair.com)fly direct Chicago to Dublin. Aer Lingus the irish airline (www.aerlingus.com)fly direct to Dublin also and on to Shannon have their own web site with an amount of information and suggestions for American visitors.
Have a look at www.bedandbreakfastireland.net and you can not only see where you can stay but there is a photo of each house with the international phone number.
To help you on your way look at www.dirl.com and you will learn all about us.
If all that fails give me a shout and sure I'll put on the kettle for a cuppa for you.
Greetings to all in Arlington Heights. I long to return.