Planned Itinerary - 7 Days/Nights in Ireland
May 27th, 2008, 11:34 PM
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Planned Itinerary - 7 Days/Nights in Ireland
I have dreamed of visiting my ancestral home in Ireland my whole life. It has taken me till age 35 to be able to comfortably afford it 
I would like to stay much more than 7 Days/Nights, but to be honest, that is about all I think me and the wife can leave our 10 and 14 year old with their Grandma.
Here is my itinerary. Please let me know what you think, but be nice cause this is my first go at it
I am not counting my 2 travel days as part of my time in Ireland, figured not much would get done on those days anyways..
Day 1 -June 28th -Travel day- Boston to Shannon
Day 2 and 3 - Stay in Galway. Visit the Cliffs of Moher, Inishmore, The Burren, and maybe Kylemore Abbey.
Day 4 - Stay in Tralee. Explore Dingle
Day 5 - Stay in Kinsale. Explore Cork and Kinsale
Day 6 - Stay in Waterford. Explore Waterford and Wexford.
Day 7 and 8 - Stay in Dublin. Explore Dublin and surrounding ancient sites.
Day 9 - July 6th -Travel day- Dublin to Boston
I would like to stay much more than 7 Days/Nights, but to be honest, that is about all I think me and the wife can leave our 10 and 14 year old with their Grandma.
Here is my itinerary. Please let me know what you think, but be nice cause this is my first go at it
I am not counting my 2 travel days as part of my time in Ireland, figured not much would get done on those days anyways..
Day 1 -June 28th -Travel day- Boston to Shannon
Day 2 and 3 - Stay in Galway. Visit the Cliffs of Moher, Inishmore, The Burren, and maybe Kylemore Abbey.
Day 4 - Stay in Tralee. Explore Dingle
Day 5 - Stay in Kinsale. Explore Cork and Kinsale
Day 6 - Stay in Waterford. Explore Waterford and Wexford.
Day 7 and 8 - Stay in Dublin. Explore Dublin and surrounding ancient sites.
Day 9 - July 6th -Travel day- Dublin to Boston
May 28th, 2008, 03:40 AM
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It is too much, but just do it. You'll always wonder what you missed if you skip a place you want to see.
I would say, however, that I think you should narrow down your "explorations" to specifics. If you truly want to just explore, then don't pick cities to stay in. Why stay in Tralee if you want to explore Dingle, for example? Do you want to drive to Slea Head? See the Gallarus Oratory? Go out to the Blaskets? Then stay in Dingle town or further out on the peninsula.
It's all doable from my perspective, just a lot of car-time, but even then you're seeing beautiful scenery. See the trip report I just posted, we did much the same and would do it again if we were re-doing our first trip (including driving all the way to Kylemore Abbey from Adare, and back again--one of our best day trips!). Best wishes.
I would say, however, that I think you should narrow down your "explorations" to specifics. If you truly want to just explore, then don't pick cities to stay in. Why stay in Tralee if you want to explore Dingle, for example? Do you want to drive to Slea Head? See the Gallarus Oratory? Go out to the Blaskets? Then stay in Dingle town or further out on the peninsula.
It's all doable from my perspective, just a lot of car-time, but even then you're seeing beautiful scenery. See the trip report I just posted, we did much the same and would do it again if we were re-doing our first trip (including driving all the way to Kylemore Abbey from Adare, and back again--one of our best day trips!). Best wishes.
May 28th, 2008, 10:22 AM
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First, I'll have to respectfully disagree with FlaAnn. You're 35, this is the travel dream of your life. You'll be back.
I imagine your 1st day on the ground is day 2 in Shannon. You won't get a lot inthat day because you'll be pretty jet lagged. Try to keep driving to less than two hours. You could make a trip to see the Cliffs on the way to Galway and then make it to Galway. That amount of driving would be over 2 hours but plenty of places to stop. On that day you can see Cliffs, brief stop in Burren (Poulnabrone Dolmen perhaps), Stop for a bite in Ballyvaughan, Dunguaire Castle and then in to Galway. You will be exhausted, but the stops are well spaced. You may need a stop between Shannon and the Cliffs. Just get out anywhere and enjoy the air.
Inishmore is a full day adventure and you could do that on day 3. Adding Kylemore Abbey on to that would be rough and you would certainly be to late to get in, which is fine. It's not particularly interesting onthe inside. You see 4 rooms. Personally, I think Kylemore is out of the question.
Day 4: No reason tp stay in Tralee. It's a rather dull industrial city with very little to see. If you can, go a little further and stay at The Shores Country House in Castlegregory. She may well be booked up at this point. It's my favorite B&B in Ireland. http://www.theshorescountryhouse.com/ Tell her Bill highly suggested you stay there. She will know who I am.
The drive from Galway will take most of the day unless you do nothing bu drive straight there. You could take the ferry at Killimer which if your timing is good, may take a few minutes of the ride. The drive through Limerick (if you go that way) pretty much skirts the town so it's not to bad and speeds will be higher. That would take you through Adare which is good for some shots of the thatched roof cottages.
Unless you drive the fairly uninteresting direct route, you would spend most of your day getting to Kinsale. Ignore Cork. You'll get lost and there is not much to see. I think I would wouldn't do Kinsale at all and add another day to Dingle.
Other than the crystal, which is not by any means considered Ireland's best, Waterford as a city has little to offer. Both Dingle and Kinsale have great little crystal shops and are much better options.
The last two days in Dublin are ok. You could see Glendalough on the way to Dublin and then have a night in Dublin, then decide if you wanted to travel more and see Newgrange the nexty day. Dublin has plenty to see though, so you would have to choose between the two.
I agree with Padriag that you have roughly 2x what is reasonable to do. In the end, my 1st tier of cuts would be Kylemore, Cork Waterford/Wexford. If you keep kylemore, drop Inishmore. Then decide if the drive to Kinsale is what you really want to do, or would you rather slow down and enjoy Ireland like you should. Ireland is not best enjoyed through the windshield of a Nissan Micra.
Let us know and perhaps we can help some more.
Bill
I imagine your 1st day on the ground is day 2 in Shannon. You won't get a lot inthat day because you'll be pretty jet lagged. Try to keep driving to less than two hours. You could make a trip to see the Cliffs on the way to Galway and then make it to Galway. That amount of driving would be over 2 hours but plenty of places to stop. On that day you can see Cliffs, brief stop in Burren (Poulnabrone Dolmen perhaps), Stop for a bite in Ballyvaughan, Dunguaire Castle and then in to Galway. You will be exhausted, but the stops are well spaced. You may need a stop between Shannon and the Cliffs. Just get out anywhere and enjoy the air.
Inishmore is a full day adventure and you could do that on day 3. Adding Kylemore Abbey on to that would be rough and you would certainly be to late to get in, which is fine. It's not particularly interesting onthe inside. You see 4 rooms. Personally, I think Kylemore is out of the question.
Day 4: No reason tp stay in Tralee. It's a rather dull industrial city with very little to see. If you can, go a little further and stay at The Shores Country House in Castlegregory. She may well be booked up at this point. It's my favorite B&B in Ireland. http://www.theshorescountryhouse.com/ Tell her Bill highly suggested you stay there. She will know who I am.
The drive from Galway will take most of the day unless you do nothing bu drive straight there. You could take the ferry at Killimer which if your timing is good, may take a few minutes of the ride. The drive through Limerick (if you go that way) pretty much skirts the town so it's not to bad and speeds will be higher. That would take you through Adare which is good for some shots of the thatched roof cottages.
Unless you drive the fairly uninteresting direct route, you would spend most of your day getting to Kinsale. Ignore Cork. You'll get lost and there is not much to see. I think I would wouldn't do Kinsale at all and add another day to Dingle.
Other than the crystal, which is not by any means considered Ireland's best, Waterford as a city has little to offer. Both Dingle and Kinsale have great little crystal shops and are much better options.
The last two days in Dublin are ok. You could see Glendalough on the way to Dublin and then have a night in Dublin, then decide if you wanted to travel more and see Newgrange the nexty day. Dublin has plenty to see though, so you would have to choose between the two.
I agree with Padriag that you have roughly 2x what is reasonable to do. In the end, my 1st tier of cuts would be Kylemore, Cork Waterford/Wexford. If you keep kylemore, drop Inishmore. Then decide if the drive to Kinsale is what you really want to do, or would you rather slow down and enjoy Ireland like you should. Ireland is not best enjoyed through the windshield of a Nissan Micra.
Let us know and perhaps we can help some more.
Bill
May 28th, 2008, 07:19 PM
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Thanks for all the great suggestions!
How about this?
SNN airport to Galway 1 1/2 hour drive excluding stops
Galway to Dingle 4 hour drive excluding stops
Dingle to Kinsale 2 1/2 hour drive excluding stops
Kinsale to Dublin 4 hour drive excluding stops
2 days in Galway City - Auburn House B&B
2 days in Dingle Town - Nic Gearailt B&B
1 day in Kinsale (must kiss Blarney stone and would love to try Kinsale cuisine - Four Winds B&B
2 days in Dublin - Have not figured out a good B&B to stay in near Dublin.. Suggestions? I wanted The Azure on the Howth Peninsula, but they only have one of my 2 days available.
About my kids.. What I meant was--it will be tough to leave them for more time than we already are. I will miss them and it is a lot to put on Grandma.
How about this?
SNN airport to Galway 1 1/2 hour drive excluding stops
Galway to Dingle 4 hour drive excluding stops
Dingle to Kinsale 2 1/2 hour drive excluding stops
Kinsale to Dublin 4 hour drive excluding stops
2 days in Galway City - Auburn House B&B
2 days in Dingle Town - Nic Gearailt B&B
1 day in Kinsale (must kiss Blarney stone and would love to try Kinsale cuisine - Four Winds B&B
2 days in Dublin - Have not figured out a good B&B to stay in near Dublin.. Suggestions? I wanted The Azure on the Howth Peninsula, but they only have one of my 2 days available.
About my kids.. What I meant was--it will be tough to leave them for more time than we already are. I will miss them and it is a lot to put on Grandma.
May 29th, 2008, 12:28 AM
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Much better. Busy enough, but if you have normal energy levels for your age, that should not be a problem. It makes a good sampler visit for future trips.
It's great that you love your kids -- I mean that. But they are coming to the age where they will want to emancipate themselves from you; perhaps you should get in the first blow!
Now, if you could be persuaded the ditch the Blarney Stone nonsense...
It's great that you love your kids -- I mean that. But they are coming to the age where they will want to emancipate themselves from you; perhaps you should get in the first blow!
Now, if you could be persuaded the ditch the Blarney Stone nonsense...
May 29th, 2008, 02:07 PM
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Yes, that looks much better. On your drive times, it looks like you used a mapping tool to get those times which are usually pretty conservative. It will probably take longer. Since this is your 1st trip to Ireland, you will not be used to the roads. In most cases, though bypasses are prevalent now, you will drive through lots of small twons that slow you down. For a while we have been using the formula milesx35MPH. It may be just a bit quicker now, but since you are new to this, it will probably take longer.
There is a lot of motoraway on the way to Galway, so 1.5-2 hours may be close.
You won't make Galway to Dingle in 4 hours. If you decide to take the more scenic route along the coast, (catching the cliffs along the way), figure at least 6 of driving. I ceratinly wouldn't retrace my steps Shannon to Galway and then back to Dingle on the N18.
There are a variety of ways to get from Dingle to Kinsale, the least interesting is the one that viamichelin picks out. The scenic version which would take most of a day would take you through Killarney, Kenmare, Bantry, Skib, Clonakilty and then into Kinsale.
Kinsale to Dublin will certainly take more than 4 hours. Go with 5ish.
Bill
There is a lot of motoraway on the way to Galway, so 1.5-2 hours may be close.
You won't make Galway to Dingle in 4 hours. If you decide to take the more scenic route along the coast, (catching the cliffs along the way), figure at least 6 of driving. I ceratinly wouldn't retrace my steps Shannon to Galway and then back to Dingle on the N18.
There are a variety of ways to get from Dingle to Kinsale, the least interesting is the one that viamichelin picks out. The scenic version which would take most of a day would take you through Killarney, Kenmare, Bantry, Skib, Clonakilty and then into Kinsale.
Kinsale to Dublin will certainly take more than 4 hours. Go with 5ish.
Bill
Jun 2nd, 2008, 10:29 AM
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Lots of valuable information, many thanks to all who helped out.
Oh, and to Bill...
The Shores was all booked up but they said to tell you thanks for suggesting them..
When I get return from Ireland, I will be sure and post the details of my journey and a ton of photos.
Thank you all,
IrishCoyle
Oh, and to Bill...
The Shores was all booked up but they said to tell you thanks for suggesting them..
When I get return from Ireland, I will be sure and post the details of my journey and a ton of photos.
Thank you all,
IrishCoyle
Jun 26th, 2008, 04:27 AM
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Well, I leave in less than 48 hours.
(Boston to Shannon - then on to Galway)
I feel just like a kid on Christmas Eve anticipating Santa.
I seriously can hardly wait!
A thousand thank yous to everyone who provided help and advice.
(Boston to Shannon - then on to Galway)
I feel just like a kid on Christmas Eve anticipating Santa.
I seriously can hardly wait!
A thousand thank yous to everyone who provided help and advice.
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