Need help with Itinerary.....
Jul 14th, 2005, 10:01 AM
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Need help with Itinerary.....
We have planned an itinerary for early October in Ireland. It will be a self-drive tour with a mix of B&B's, hotel and castle stays. We would love to get advice and opinions on our itnerary as this is our first trip to Ireland.
Day 1: Arrive into Shannon and lodge at Bunratty Castle Hotel with Medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle.
Day 2: Travel by way of Cashel to Kilkenny for a night there at a B&B.
Day 3: Travel to Kinsale for the evening at a B&B.
Day 4: Travel to Killarney and stay in a B&B.
Day 5: Drive the Ring of Kerry and on to Dingle for the night at a B&B.
Day 6: Travel from Dingle across Connors Pass up to the Cliffs of Moher and on to Galway for the night at a B&B.
Day 7: Drive out to Clifden in Connemara for a night at the Abbeyglen Castle hotel.
Day 8: This day we are open for options as we head towards Dublin. (Possibly head back to Galway for another night)
Day 9: Travel the rest of the way to Dublin for our final two nights in Ireland.
Day 10: Dublin
Day 11: Fly back to the U.S.A.
We would love to hear advice on where to possibly stay on our B&B nights and activities along the way. Do we have enough time to see all of the planned stops on the trip or will we be rushing from place to place? Also, what along the way should we see and avoid? Any travel tips would be greatly appreciated!
Day 1: Arrive into Shannon and lodge at Bunratty Castle Hotel with Medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle.
Day 2: Travel by way of Cashel to Kilkenny for a night there at a B&B.
Day 3: Travel to Kinsale for the evening at a B&B.
Day 4: Travel to Killarney and stay in a B&B.
Day 5: Drive the Ring of Kerry and on to Dingle for the night at a B&B.
Day 6: Travel from Dingle across Connors Pass up to the Cliffs of Moher and on to Galway for the night at a B&B.
Day 7: Drive out to Clifden in Connemara for a night at the Abbeyglen Castle hotel.
Day 8: This day we are open for options as we head towards Dublin. (Possibly head back to Galway for another night)
Day 9: Travel the rest of the way to Dublin for our final two nights in Ireland.
Day 10: Dublin
Day 11: Fly back to the U.S.A.
We would love to hear advice on where to possibly stay on our B&B nights and activities along the way. Do we have enough time to see all of the planned stops on the trip or will we be rushing from place to place? Also, what along the way should we see and avoid? Any travel tips would be greatly appreciated!
Jul 14th, 2005, 11:01 AM
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I just returned from Ireland a couple of days ago and can give you my impression. While I am no expert, I think you're moving around way too much. I can guarantee you that you will get tired of loading and unloading your suitcase every day. We spent 10 days there and stayed two nights in each place. Then we would use that as a base to do any sightseeing or whatever. Even at two days in each place, I got tired of lugging the luggage. One day simply is not enough.
We did stay at the Bunratty Castle Hotel for our last night and it was very good. It is only 15 minutes or so from the airport and right across the street from the castle. While I thought the banquet was a little hokey, the food was excellent. I'm glad I did it, I just wouldn't do it again. Go for it, you'll have fun.
You're doing some doubling back on your route.Try something like this.
Day 1- Shannon,Bunratty etc
Day 2,3,4- Stay in Killarney- from there Dingle is only 1 1/2 hours away, so that's a day trip. The next day do the Ring of Kerry if you'd like, and the next day do the Gap of Dunloe
Day 5,6- If Blarney interests you, stop there on the way to Kinsale. 2 nights Kinsale.
Day 7,8 - Go to Kilkenny and use that as a base to see Cashel and whatever else intersts you in that area.
Day 9,10- Go to Dublin for your last two nights.
This way you will be well rested and not doing so much back tracking on yourself. This means that you will have to give up the Galway area, but remember, you can't see everything in 10 days. I started my planning like you are and then just had to prioritize with what I could not do without and take it from there. My itinerary changed many times over several months of planning and I'm sure yours will as well.
Try and arrange your schedule so you are not doing as much driving and you will enjoy it more.
Have fun and good luck!!
We did stay at the Bunratty Castle Hotel for our last night and it was very good. It is only 15 minutes or so from the airport and right across the street from the castle. While I thought the banquet was a little hokey, the food was excellent. I'm glad I did it, I just wouldn't do it again. Go for it, you'll have fun.
You're doing some doubling back on your route.Try something like this.
Day 1- Shannon,Bunratty etc
Day 2,3,4- Stay in Killarney- from there Dingle is only 1 1/2 hours away, so that's a day trip. The next day do the Ring of Kerry if you'd like, and the next day do the Gap of Dunloe
Day 5,6- If Blarney interests you, stop there on the way to Kinsale. 2 nights Kinsale.
Day 7,8 - Go to Kilkenny and use that as a base to see Cashel and whatever else intersts you in that area.
Day 9,10- Go to Dublin for your last two nights.
This way you will be well rested and not doing so much back tracking on yourself. This means that you will have to give up the Galway area, but remember, you can't see everything in 10 days. I started my planning like you are and then just had to prioritize with what I could not do without and take it from there. My itinerary changed many times over several months of planning and I'm sure yours will as well.
Try and arrange your schedule so you are not doing as much driving and you will enjoy it more.
Have fun and good luck!!
Jul 14th, 2005, 12:09 PM
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Hi there!
We went to Ireland 2 years ago on our honeymoon and it was fabulous! We did the self-drive, B & B route as well and spent one night at a guesthouse and one at a manorhouse.
A few recommendations on accomodations:
We stayed at Woodbrook House in Tralee and it was wonderful! The owners (Deidre and Paddy) were so gracious and we really enjoyed our stay. We did the Dingle peninsula for 2 days and stayed there during that time. The house was immaculate and Deidre and Paddy were so friendly, warm and helpful with our questions.
http://www.esatclear.ie/~woodbrookhouse/
They recommended the manor house we stayed at (more expensive than a B & B or guesthouse but it was our "splurge"
and even called ahead to let them know we were friends of theirs coming to stay. The dinner there was magnificent and afterwards we had drinks in the parlor with a wonderful and diverse group of travelers including some native Irelanders. That evening they had an Irish storyteller in one of the parlors and we listened to him spin some tales as we sipped brandy in fron the of fireplace. And the accomodations were great - heated bathroom floors, antiques in the rooms, etc. I think our total stay including drinks, dinner and breakfast was $300-$350 for the night.
http://www.ballylickeymanorhouse.com/index.htm
In Killarney, we stayed at a really nice guest house (a big more expensive than the B & B's) but the rooms were much bigger and we remember this place for their great fruit salad for breakfast! There is a wonderful park in Kilarney worth checking out with a gorgeous waterfall.
http://www.killarney-rivermere.com/
We had absolutely no itinerary when we went. We just drove until we were tired and then stopped for the night! One of the B & B's let us borrow their book (http://www.townandcountry.ie/index.jsp) and it was extremely helpful. I don't know if you can buy one directly but it would really help if you can check ahead of time. But it seems every other house over there is a B & B!
My favorite part was the Dingle peninsula. It was so beautiful! We liked to stop and take pictures and just wonder around the countryside and look in the old churchyard cemetaries and that kind of stuff. I took A LOT of pictures out that way! If that kind of thing appeals to you, just allow your self at least 2 days to enjoy it.
I hope that was a little helpful! Have a wonderful and memorable trip!!!!!!!
We went to Ireland 2 years ago on our honeymoon and it was fabulous! We did the self-drive, B & B route as well and spent one night at a guesthouse and one at a manorhouse.
A few recommendations on accomodations:
We stayed at Woodbrook House in Tralee and it was wonderful! The owners (Deidre and Paddy) were so gracious and we really enjoyed our stay. We did the Dingle peninsula for 2 days and stayed there during that time. The house was immaculate and Deidre and Paddy were so friendly, warm and helpful with our questions.
http://www.esatclear.ie/~woodbrookhouse/
They recommended the manor house we stayed at (more expensive than a B & B or guesthouse but it was our "splurge"
and even called ahead to let them know we were friends of theirs coming to stay. The dinner there was magnificent and afterwards we had drinks in the parlor with a wonderful and diverse group of travelers including some native Irelanders. That evening they had an Irish storyteller in one of the parlors and we listened to him spin some tales as we sipped brandy in fron the of fireplace. And the accomodations were great - heated bathroom floors, antiques in the rooms, etc. I think our total stay including drinks, dinner and breakfast was $300-$350 for the night. http://www.ballylickeymanorhouse.com/index.htm
In Killarney, we stayed at a really nice guest house (a big more expensive than the B & B's) but the rooms were much bigger and we remember this place for their great fruit salad for breakfast! There is a wonderful park in Kilarney worth checking out with a gorgeous waterfall.
http://www.killarney-rivermere.com/
We had absolutely no itinerary when we went. We just drove until we were tired and then stopped for the night! One of the B & B's let us borrow their book (http://www.townandcountry.ie/index.jsp) and it was extremely helpful. I don't know if you can buy one directly but it would really help if you can check ahead of time. But it seems every other house over there is a B & B!
My favorite part was the Dingle peninsula. It was so beautiful! We liked to stop and take pictures and just wonder around the countryside and look in the old churchyard cemetaries and that kind of stuff. I took A LOT of pictures out that way! If that kind of thing appeals to you, just allow your self at least 2 days to enjoy it.
I hope that was a little helpful! Have a wonderful and memorable trip!!!!!!!
Jul 14th, 2005, 05:26 PM
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Irish_Lad, even if you leave everything else the same, on day 5 consider spending your day at Killarney National park before going to Dingle, it’s so much better then driving Ring of Kerry.
If you travel Dingle - Cliffs of Moher – Galway on the same day you will not have time to explore Dingle peninsula. I would spend at least the morning in Dingle (we took morning Sciuird Archaeology tour with Tim Collins [email protected] , it was excellent or you can take Rick Steves’ Dingle Peninsula self driving tour). You can stay in Doolin or other location near Cliffs of Moher instead of Galway and drive to Clifden the next day.
We would be happy to have two days for Connemara as you have, it was one of the highlights of our trip.
We also moved around a lot (we do it for years). It takes 10 min to move in/out and eliminates hours of extra driving. We don’t take all the luggage from the car every night (pack light bag at every other place with everything we need).
I have a Word document with information I collected from this board and few others. I can email it to you if you would like.
Have a wonderful trip.
If you travel Dingle - Cliffs of Moher – Galway on the same day you will not have time to explore Dingle peninsula. I would spend at least the morning in Dingle (we took morning Sciuird Archaeology tour with Tim Collins [email protected] , it was excellent or you can take Rick Steves’ Dingle Peninsula self driving tour). You can stay in Doolin or other location near Cliffs of Moher instead of Galway and drive to Clifden the next day.
We would be happy to have two days for Connemara as you have, it was one of the highlights of our trip.
We also moved around a lot (we do it for years). It takes 10 min to move in/out and eliminates hours of extra driving. We don’t take all the luggage from the car every night (pack light bag at every other place with everything we need).
I have a Word document with information I collected from this board and few others. I can email it to you if you would like.
Have a wonderful trip.
Jul 15th, 2005, 05:32 AM
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Thanks so much for the advice on our trip to Ireland! It has been a big help and has me thinking of better ways to spend quality time i there. Travfirst, could you e-mail your word document as you stated in your response? Thanks again!
[email protected]
[email protected]
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