Planning for July 2006 Ireland
 

Hi Folks,

Have greatly enjoyed perusing this forum as I plan my first trip to Ireland. Like most I am looking for comments/suggestions on my itinerary and hotel choices. I am trying to avoid the over touristy areas and not over drive. I want to leave time for hiking, horesback riding and relaxing. Also we will be coming off three days in London so jet lag won't be a problem. It will just be my husband and I. We are in our 40's and pretty fit.

Preliminary Ireland Travel Itinerary

7/24 Depart London for Dublin, Mid- Morning, pick-up rental car. Park car at car park in Dublin and spend day sightseeing. Drive to Wicklow

7/24-7/26 two nights using free points at:

Marriott Druids Glen Hotel & Country Club
Newtownmountkennedy
Wicklow County, Ireland

Sightsee Glendalough, Powerscourte, Wicklow National Park etc…

7/26-7/27 – Kilkenny Area (one night) Newlands Country House, www.newlandscountryhouse.com

Sightseeing – Kilkenny Castle, Rock of Cashel

7/27-7/30 (3 nights) Harbour Lodge Guest House Kinsale http://www.harbourlodge.com/

Sightseeing – Kinsale, the coast, Cobh

7/30-8/1 (two nights) Balleylickey – Seaview House Hotel, 170 Euros per night www.seaviewhousehotel.com

Sightseeing – Mizen Head, Beara Peninsula

8/1-/8/3 (two nights) Dingle Area – Heaton’s Guesthouse http://www.heatonsdingle.com/index.html

Sightseeing – Dingle Peninsula, stop at Killarney NP during drive to Dingle

8/3-8/5 (two nights) Ennis Area – Old County Inn

Sightseeing – The Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle etc…

8/5 Fly Shannon to London to make 1:30pm United Connection

Balleylickey is a bit isolated. I think that the charming village of Kenmare with its excellent restaurants would make a better base. Highly recommended places to stay there are The Lodge and Sallyport House. I have stayed at both and they are excellent.

Thanks for the opinion. My concern with the time of year I was going, was how crowded Kenmare would be. Any opinion on that?

I think your itinerary is a little fast-paced, but should be fine for fit folk (how's that for alliteration? :))

I was in Kinsale in April when we went (2002) and it was very quiet. I can't imagine it is TOO busy, even during season. We'll be in the area this year end of June/beginning of July. I'll let you know :)

I'm glad you've planned on several 2-3 day stops. Switching every night can get tiring, trust me!

I'm sure you'll have a blast !

Kinsale was one of the first places that went on my itinerary. Ruled out the ROK fairly early, but want to do Mizen Head and Beara. This is the only area where I am still struggling where is best to stay based on time of year and crowds.

Sorry, I said Kinsale in my previous post, it should have been KENMARE (stupid dragon)

No problem. Maybe I will take a chance on Kenmare. Suggestion of the Lodge looks to be popular and Kemare is probably a good base to do Mizen Head and Beara.

www.travelireland.org should help

Thanks CU,

I have been to that sight, Fodor's, TA etc.. which has helped get me to this point. I am looking for the real experts in this forum to guide me toward the last steps before I finalize my itinerary.

Don't call myself a real expert but we did stay in Kenmare last September. We stayed at a lovely place called the Seashore Farm Guesthouse. It was a short distance out of town but the owners are lovely, the rooms are lovely, the view is beautiful.

We did day trips to Mizen Head and the Beara peninsula from there, completely doable but you will spend most of the time in the car.

I would highly recommend a stop at Gougane Barra forest park on your way from Kinsale to Kenmare. It is a little out of the way but worth the time. The forest is all lodgepole pines covered with moss. There is a beautiful old church, lots of swans and how could you miss the "Tidiest Toilet in Ireland"? It is thatched! :)

Thanks Ed,

The part about spending most of the day in my car is not appealing. Makes me lean back more toward Ballylickey over Kenmare. Might be more remote but I would like to get out and walk and hike a bit on the Mizen Head and Beara portions.

Thanks for the tip on the lodgepole forest. Sounds interesting.

Whether you do Beara and Mizen from Kenmare or Ballylickey you will spend time in the car. When visiting remote peninsulas in Ireland there is no other way unless you are hiking or biking. The thing to do is plan on seeing things along the way and getting out of the car at frequent stops. If you plan carefully this can be accomplished.

As for crowds, if you had wanted to avoid them you would have chosen another time of year. July and August are high season so there is no avoiding them. I notice you are in Kinsale over a weekend. Be prepared for massive crowds on a July weekend!

Irish Eyes,

Understand your point about the season. This trip is timed to coincide with a trade show I will be at the prior week in the UK. Helps to cut down substantially on travel costs. Wish I had more flexibility on timing as well. Two years ago with was Italy in July...didn't seem too bad.

You will be surprised, I think, by how different Mizen and Beara are. Even though we spent a lot of time in the car, we still had plenty of time to walk and stop.

We stayed at Heatons Guest House in Dingle last May and just loved it! It was our second favorite place that we stayed. Our favorite was the Quay House in Clifden. Nuela, the owner of Heatons is so nice. You must have the oatmeal with the drambuie for breakfast one morning. They make quite a presentation of it.
Theresa