beach_dweller

First, a big thanks to folks like Budman, O'Reilly, SiobhanP, wojazz3, and many others. I have already learned so much from you in preparation for our 7 day trip to Ireland in late October this year.

The only trip feature we're locked into at this point is our flight: to and from Shannon. We spent a week in Scotland a few years ago, and one of the things we realized we got right (thanks to my smart wife) was not to move around too much. We stayed 4 nights in Edinburgh, 2 in Portree on Skye, and the last night in Glasgow at the airport.

We have narrowed down our preferences for Ireland to Connemara, the Dingle Peninsula, the Killarney area, and based on many comments in Budman's recent thread, Mizen. We also really want to see the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, but I am figuring we can do that en route between Connemara and Dingle--or between Shannon and Connemara the first day (our flight arrives at about 8:15 a.m. in Shannon).

I guess my big questions are:

1. considering a last night in either Ennis or Bunratty (for our flight the next day, 1:00 p.m.), can we divide our 5 nights between two base camps and see what we want to see--if so which cities to stay in and why?

2. considering our arrival/departure point of Shannon, should we go North first, or South?

Looking forward to your ideas and suggestions!

MaryZ

Something to consider with a late October trip is the dwindling hours of daylight, so your plan to choose a couple of bases makes sense.

I'd choose Galway as one base because you can do a number of day trips from there and have a great pub/restaurant selection at night. From there, you can easily do trips around Connemara which I find lovely, but lonely, in late fall and winter.

You may want to visit the Cliffs and the Burren on your way from Shannon to Galway if you're not too tired. If that doesn't work, these are workable day trips from Galway.

I guess I'd pick Killarney as my second spot. It gets very full of visitors in the summer, but has a different feel at the time you'll be there. The drive to Dingle from Killarney is about 1 1/2 hours, but you'll need to schedule a full day with an early start if you want to travel around the peninsula.

SiobhanP

Connemara is a long way from Dingle or Mizen head. Fot 7 days I would stay in an area that is driveable or you will spend most of the holiday in the car. Why not sty the shannon, cork, kerry route. Give yourself time in a few places to soak up the atmostphere.

enjoy

NEDSIRELAND

In response to the first part of your question #1: Unless you are going for Durty Nellies or Bunratty Castle for the Banquet & Show, I prefer Ennis. Bunratty is not really a city; Ennis is.

goodtogo1

Considering the driving with 5 days would not try to fit in Mizen head.
Connemara in the north, Burren and Cliffs of Moher, on way south, Dingle OR Ring of Kerry is more than enough.

goodtogo1

Your 1st day you'll be tired--getting to Galway area or Killarney or Dingle area and a little sightseeing will be enough.
Like everyone says, driving takes longer than Scotland--I've done both and driver really has to pay attention to driving.

Clifton

For a first visit to all these areas, I'd probably pick Galway and Dingle as bases and Ennis area as a last day location. I guess agree with most everyone else.

I'd prefer the Connemara from a rural standpoint, but when it gets dark so early, the lights in town in Galway would help extend your activities, so I'm in agreement with Mary.

Budman

Ennis? I don't get it. On our 3 trips to Ireland, we must have driven thru Ennis about 5-6 times. After all the hype on Ennis in planning this past trip, I brought it to my wife's attention, and we both agreed that Ennis was not one of the places we would want to spend the night.

I would recommend Bunratty if you've never been. Assuming you would be arriving there mid-afternoon, there is plenty to fill up your time with the folk park, medieval banquet, Bunratty Mills for last munute shopping (this is a huge place), and dinner and a couple of pints at Kathleen's.

With a 1:00pm flight, you could also consider Doolin or Kilkee or Kilrush as a last night stay since it would be less than 1 hour to the airport.

You could spend 7 days/nights just doing the Southwest Peninsulas. If you are set on Connemara, then I would suggest 2 nights in Galway and the remaining 3 in Killarney, with last night in Doolin or Bunratty. You will be doing an awful lot of driving.

There are so many things/places to see and do from all the great recommendations here. You're just going to have to set your own priorities. Good luck.

beach_dweller

Everyone,

thanks so much for the quick replies. I am beginning to think Connemara AND the peninsulas to the south may be too much.

Budman, great idea about Doolin or Kilkee as an alternative to Ennis/Bunratty (with a 1:00 p.m. flight we definitely have that option).

And I am beginning to see two different plans from the comments so far: either Connemara and Dingle/Killarney or Dingle/Killarney and further east along the coast.

Especially given MaryZ's comment about Connemara being a bit lonely in late October, would the coastal areas east of Killarney (e.g., Beara Peninsula, Mizen) be better that time of year?

wojazz3

Hi beach:

I'm not sure if you have a must see list. If so, is it Connemara and Dingle? If Connemara is not on the must see list, I'm with Siobhan on this. If I were going to do Dingle and and other peninsulas to the south, with the time you have, I wouldn't do Connemara. Connemara is beautiful, but it's two different directions. Though not distant, It still requires some back tracking.

If your really want to see the Connemara, then you should. As far as the Connemara being lonely, I wouldn't take that as a bad thing. There would probably be VERY little going on in Roundstone and Clifden would be pretty quiet. That can add to the beauty which I am guessing was what Mary was thinking. Galway would definitely be the place with things going on.

My choice would be two nights in Dingle and three nights in Killarney or Kenmare. Though most would suggest to reverse that, I think that Kenmare has more to do as a jumping of point. If you are there for nightlife, Dingle would be a better option for 3 nights. I prefer Kenmare to Killarney, though in the offseason, Killarney could be quite tolerable. Like Dingle, Killarney would have more to do in the evening and the nights will be fairly long at that time of year. Kenmare will probably be pretty quiet, though that is not a bad thing.

Ennis is a good place to visit if you are looking for music in the evenings. Other than that, like Budman, I haven't found a compelling reason to stay there. I probably need to walk around the streets a little more. I don't know of a great B&B there either though there are some hotels in town.

Hope this helps.

Bill

IrishEyes

beach_dweller, Just a thought about your 1pm departure. It probably seems like you have plenty of time but if you factor in a 2-3 hour check in (for transatlantic flights), filling up the car, returning the car, turning in VAT forms and a bit of duty free shopping the time will disappear. You will want breakfast in the morning (half hour or more) and probably need to do a bit of last minute packing. Then drive time to the airport. It all adds up quickly and may determine where you spend the night before. I personally prefer to be nearby the airport unless the flight is late afternoon.

NEDSIRELAND

Budman writes: "Ennis? I don't get it. On our 3 trips to Ireland, we must have driven thru Ennis about 5-6 times."

You say you have driven thru Ennis and you and your wife agreed that Ennis was not one of the places you would want to spend the night but you don't say you ever stayed overnight there: I have stayed at the Temple Gate Hotel (4-nights on two visits), at the Queens Hotel, at Abbey Tourist Hostal (2-nights), at a Guesthouse called Derrynane (2-nights) that no longer exists and most recently at Rose Cottage B&B (four nights). At Rose Cottage we requested a ground floor room away from the Pub.

I have been to Ennis for their Spring Music festival (late May) and I always visit Cruise's Restaurant & Pub where they have 'Trad' Irish Music nightly.

I was in Ennis a weekend in Sep'01 when Eircom declared Ennis Ireland's 'Information Age' town and gave a P/C to every household. Ennis is also trying to become a center for Traditional Irish Music (another music festival in November). It is close to Miltown Malbay (Willie Clancy's August Feis), Lahinch, Doolin and the Burren and Cliffs of Moher and to Shannon airport.

Don't knock it if you haven't tried it!

Holldoll

NEDSIRELAND: Thanks for that post. This November we're making a quick trip--three nights in Clifden and I chose Ennis for the other three nights. I had begun to question my choice till your post. I had figured it was a good base for the Cliffs, the Burren, Doolin, etc., yet in a town where music was a draw. We're booked into the Old Ground Hotel--any comments? I'm glad you have positive things to say about Ennis--we're looking forward to it. Plus very close to Shannon for a morning departure to Chicago. Thanks!

SiobhanP

While Ennis does not appeal to all of the above (I like it but I have family ther and get taken around by them) I think that its a real town as opposed to Bunratty which was "created" for tourism (Still good fun though). Go with your gut feelings...you can always change when you are over here!

Budman

NEDSIRELAND, I'm certainly glad you liked Ennis, but it didn't provide any character or ambiance to me. It wasn't one of those places that reached out, slapped me upside the head and told me that it would be a fun place to stay. Of course, I only did a "drive by shooting."

I guess differing opinions is what makes the world go round.

beach_dweller

Wow,

you guys and gals are great! (Although I didn't mean to trigger a skirmish over Ennis.)

IrishEyes, excellent point about probably needing to get to the airport/rental car drop-off at perhaps 9 or 10 in the morning for a 1 pm flight.

Although I am fascinated by the Connemara region, given our preference for staying in an area (or two) long enough to become familiar with it, I am leaning toward the suggestion from many of you to set up camp in Dingle for 2-3 nights and Killarney (or possibly Kenemare) for 2-3 nights, with the last night near the airport.

I know I've probably exhausted you already with all the refinements, but I'll indulge one last time.

As between Dingle and Killarney (or Kenmare), which place to stay 2 days/nights and which 3 days/nights?

wojazz3

I was going to stay in Ennis on my last trip, but I really didn't get any suggestions for great B&Bs in the area. I know there are hotels, but I prefer the B&Bs. My interest in the town would be it has a much more vibrant music scene than most. I haven't found anything wrong with it and as I said, I probably need to walk around more. We had lunch there last November and it was fine. I hope to see more in the future.

I'm always looking for suggestions on great places to stay but I prefer not to pay the big dollars for places like the Temple Gate. I just can't see spending $170-200 for a room in the city when I can get a room overlooking the ocean for $85 (current conversion rate). The Rose cottage looks nice enough and I presume her prices are in the standard B&B range. Any other great suggestions for B&Bs in Ennis?

Bill

MaryZ

I absolutely LOVE Dingle, but I'd say spend 2 nights there, and 3 near Killarney or Kenmare. Because you're looking for a place to serve as a good base, I think you'll find more opportunities for good day trips from Killarney or Kenmare because of their more central locations. You're a little more isolated out on the Dingle peninsula.

I, too, like Ennis very much and often spend my last night there...although I think Bill's right about the B&B situation. Killaloe is another last night choice of mine when I want something quieter than Ennis. I find that I prefer real towns to Bunratty. An Irish relative of mine refers to Bunratty as 'that B&B village near the airport'. Really nothing wrong with it, though, and it's quite convenient.

wojazz3

Great quote Mary. Bunratty is indeed a B&B village. Almost every house is a B&B. It is a popular last night stop for many, especially with an early flight. There really is nothing wrong with Bunratty though, but it truly is not a town.

I like Killaloe also. A very quiet little village sloping down to Lough Derg. Ballina across the river has some B&Bs also. A much different feeling than the coastal towns.

Again, Dingle 2, Kenmare (Killarney) 3

Bill

Irrover

Holldoll

if you are in Ennis during the traditional festival it is a great time. The website is www.ennistradfestival.com