Need help with Ireland itinerary
 

Please take a look at our plans for a 2 weeks trip in Ireland, next August. We’re in our early 40s and we are looking for a relaxed vacation, with great scenery, waves crashing, good food, quaint villages and some history. We will fly in and out of Shannon:

Day 1 – Arrive in Shannon + drive to Clifden
Days 2, 3, 4 – Connemara
Day 5 – Drive to Doolin, see the Cliffs of Mohr and if time permits, drive through the Burren. Overnight in Doolin
Day 6 – Drive to Dingle via Tarbert
Day 7, 8 – Dingle Peninsula
Day 9 – Killarney NP, Muckross House, overnight either in Killarney or Kenmare
Day 10, 11 – Beara Peninsula, overnight in Kenmare ?
Day 12 – Sheep’s Head, Mizen Head – overnight in Baltimore maybe?
Day 13 – Cashel and Cahir – overnight in Cashel
Day 14 – Drive to Bunratty
Day 15 – Fly back home

I think I am pretty happy with the itinerary for the first 8 days, but after that it looks a little bit too rushed for the way we like to travel. We generally like to stop and enjoy the scenery, have time to stop for lunch rather than grab a sandwich on the run, and not drive all day long.

Should I cut some more? And if so, what? I had already cut the day trip to Aran Islands, and I’m not too happy about it, but I really don’t know when/how to squeeze it in. Any ideas/comments on this itinerary would be appreciated, thanks a lot.

xyz99, we like a relaxed vacation too, with time to dawdle anyplace that entices us. On our travels to Ireland, Italy, and Costa Rica, we have found that our favorite places tended to be the places where we spent 3 nights...because we had more time to explore the nearby areas.

So when I planned our July 2006 trip to Ireland, I made a list of all the places we longed to see in Ireland, and then put them in order (#1, #2, etc.) Then I basically made a nice relaxed itinerary, our style, and then left off all the places on the bottom of the list...for next trip!

Looking at your list, I recommend 3 nights in County Clare, in order to enjoy the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and Irish trad music in the pubs in little villages. Lots of little villages in County Clare (You can stay 3 nights in Doolin or Ballyvaughan for example.)

I also recommend 3 nights in Dingle to have enough time to explore the Dingle Peninsula and also check out music in the pubs in town and also spend time at the Blasket Island center on dingle...

We merely drove through Connemara enroute to someplace else, and my husband said, definitely put this area on our list for next trip!

We skipped Cashel, only because we just couldn't fit everything in, so plan to see it next time. I worried for months about missing Cashel, but once we arrived in Ireland, we felt like we were having such a wonderful time, we never for one moment felt like we were "missing" anything.

We wished for a 4th night in dingle, because after seeing the blasket island center, we really wanted to take the boat over to the Great Blasket Island, but there wasn't enough time.

We wanted to see the Aran islands too but like you we couldn't fit them in.

I suggest you cut something out (save it for the next trip, you never know!) For example you could see either the Dingle Peninsula or the Beara Peninsula...(we had to choose between Dingle or Beara Peninsula or Ring of Kerry...I decided they were all great but chose the Dingle Peninsula for our first trip. Loved it!) Loved staying at Heaton's Guesthouse on the Dingle Peninsula by the way...

You might want to consider that the weather can cause you to miss something you were planning to do...Nothing you can do about the weather, but I figure if you spend 2 or 3 nights in one place you have a greater chance of getting some good weather to sight-see.

Also we like staying in a b&b for 3 nights where there are lots of interesting day-trips available nearby within driving distance...we like staying in small villages but we don't spend all our time there, they serve as our bases.

Okay have fun! Now that our 15-night trip was finished, the only parts I regret are the parts where we went a little too fast, I wish we had cut one more place out... Everything was wonderful but how much wonderful can one heart really take on one trip?!

Don't be afraid to cut more place out and slow down your trip a bit more. If you do your research I know you will stay in areas that will delight you. The entire area from Connemara down to Dingle is wonderful, wild, beautiful, and full of friendly quaint towns.

Enjoy!

You have three days in Connemara and Rossaveal where the ferry goes to the Aran I. is not a far drive from Clifden. Maybe a day trip to Inishmore would give you a taste and let you know what you might like the niest time. There are lots of minivans and pony carts lined up on the pier to meet each ferry and you can negotiate with the drivers to do what you would like. there is also a bike rental place at the end of th pier.

another choice while in Clifden might be to drive to Cleggan (half an hour or less) and take the boat to Inishboffin Island. I spent a magical day there. You can rent bikes or walk as it is a small island. Not a lot to see, but a quiet pace, nice beach, fields of sheep and horses.

Have fun!

I think your days 1 through 6 look good. Rather what we did on one trip and worked out well. I can't opine on the rest because I haven't been to some of that territory and an unaware of driving distances/times. You'll have a great time whatever you do!!

Days 1-5: I love Connemara, but wonder if you might want to take one of your nights there and trade for a second night in Clare. (I prefer Ballyvaughan or Kinvara to Doolin, but that's just personal preference.)

Days 9 -11: I'd stay in Kenmare. It's centrally located and if you stay in the same place for two nights, you don't have to spend time packing and moving.

Day 12: Baltimore's a beautiful little town and a great place to stay.

Overall, I like your itinerary. It's full, but you're getting a taste of some wonderful places. If you want to cut back, don't do Beara, Sheep's Head, AND Mizen Head. Choose one or two. I won't say "if you've seen one, you've seen them all", but if I had to cut that's where I'd do it.

I think that you have a wonderful trip planned.

suggest spending one of your connemara days for aran islands
or
take one of the connemara days and add to Baltimore(or clonakilty) ...I have not driven sheeps head/mizen head...but seems likes lots of driving...may want extra day there

while in connemara...a wonderful drive is past kylemore abbey thru leenane around the fjord thru the doolough valley to the base of Croagh Patrick.

I would also suggest staying in kenmare on your day 9 (vs killarney)...you will have plenty of time to see muckross house (be sure to take a walk out to the friary) and enjoy some of the park on way to kenmare (the drive between killarney and kenmare thru the park past ladies view and moll's gap is very scenic).

you should have plenty of time to see both dingle and beara peninsula(do drive the healy pass!) both are fantastic

for an idea of time...this june we did a day trip from kenmare to beara including a trip to garnish island where we enjoyed walking the gardens and a nice coffee break then drove the healy pass then had a leisurely lunch and were back in kenmare before 3...leaving us plenty of time to shop, go to sat. evening mass and then dinner and music at a pub...did a lot but never felt rushed.

you will not regret taking a day to see cahir and rock of cashel...really enjoyed both as well as staying in cashel over night...enjoyed an evening at the bru boru centre...they do a very nice show and session afterwards.

Because of winds and tides, ferry service from Doolin to the Aran Islands can be hit and miss. You'd be better off booking with www.aranislandferries.com out of Galway/Rossaveal.

Not a lot to add. Some very good advice here. You could also consider a flight to the Arans from Inverin. Not a lot more than the boat and MUCH quicker.

I move slower than chip by the way. We didn't make it back into Kenmare until closer to dinner time from our tour of Beara. We did take every conceivable side road though but didn't go out to the island.

Bill

Wow,
Great advice on this board, thank you all. So unless I can extend the trip to 3 weeks (and I know I can’t do that) I think I will take a day away from Connemara (leave Aran Islands for next time) and add it to the Baltimore area. How does this sound?

For now, I will try to keep the Cashel day as it is, but I guess I’m willing to reconsider that.

The Burren is not very high on our list of priorities, but Mizen Head is. So I’ll keep it short in Doolin (or Ballyvaughan or Kinvara – any B&B recommendation there?) and allow some extra time for Cork county. In the end we have 3 stops of 3 nights each (Clifden, Dingle and Kenmare), one stop for 2 nights in Baltimore, and 3 stops of 1 night each (Doolin, Cashel and Bunratty). I’m not very happy about these one-night stops, but I really don’t know how to cover that extra territory without a lot of back-tracking.
Please let me know what you think.

Two of my guidebooks give very favorable reviews for the Rusheen Lodge B&B in Ballyvaughan (www.rusheenlodge.com).

In Ballyvaughan I recommend Drumcreehy House. It is a superior place to stay with great breakfasts. They also do dinners on some nights. It is clean, comfortable and overlooks Galway Bay.

IrishEyes,
Thanks – I emailed Drumcreehy House and booked a room there. Things start to come together and I’m getting very excited about the trip :)