LSUvetgirl

Hey guys, my husband is turning 30 at the beginning of March (8th) and I'd like to plan a trip to Ireland for the weekend. I've made one Ireland trip before, visiting Dingle, Galway, Cliffs of Moher, etc and loved it. I had thought Dingle would be a great place to take my husband, BUT....

I checked on RyanAir (We live outside of Brussels) and they are only flying into and out of Shannon on Friday-Monday. SO.....

We will have to fly into Dublin. We can probably fly in on Wednesday night, and then we need to fly out on Sunday night. We can fly out of Dublin, or we can fly out of Shannon.

We want "laid back," a "taste of Ireland," your typical stuff: trad sessions, conversations with friendly locals, guinness...but *I* want lovely scenery, sheep, etc. as well. We've had fun touring breweries before; we like really interesting history stuff but easily suffer from "history fatigue"

So, here are my thoughts.

Weds p.m. : fly into Dublin, happy bday
Thursday: Explore Dublin
Friday: Train to Galway, rent car, drive to pretty area in Connemara?
Saturday: Connemara
Sunday: Gradually drive down to Shannon, fly out of shannon in p.m. (around 7)

or....we could fly into Dublin, spend 1 or 2 nights in Dublin, and then spend the rest of the time somewhere near Dublin that would'nt require a car or anything.....then fly out of Dublin sunday night....

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions/input? I just don't see us needing more than 1 day in Dublin, since we really don't know anything about literature, etc.

Carrie

aerbare

If you want to spend a lot of time on the bus or train fine, but otherwise if you only have a weekend then stay in Dublin and take a trip to the country from there a day or so. It's a great place, but can fly to Cork? Check that out.

SiobhanP

Its a lot of travel for a few days. I live in Dublin and even going to connemara is a long distance for a weekend for us. We usually do over 3 days and it still is a rush on Sunday to get home. Either stay in Dublin for paart and go somewhere closer maybe by train. Kilkenny is a possibility. Or Fly to shannon and head from there to the countryside and skip Dublin.

LSUvetgirl

OK, that's what I was wondering. And again, can't fly into Shannon, unfortunately. I took a quick look at flying to Cork, but it didn't seem to make sense financially and time wise.... So, if we do stay in Dublin and the surrounding area, does anyone have any suggestions on semi-pretty country type villages easily accessible from Dublin? I've just never been all that interested in the Dublin area, so I don't really know where to head. I would really like to spend some time in a quiet country cottage with pretty scenery; is this possible anywhere near Dublin?

Carrie

yesiree100

For a picturesque village, consider Inistioge between Kilkenny and New Ross. Several films (Circle of Friends and Widow's Peak) were filmed there. And it really is quaint...even has a river with sheep grazing on the hillside.

We walked from the town square to Woodstock Gardens (about a 1/2 hour walk and only a 5 min drive) and loved the hike. There are also paths along the river and in the woods that are very nice.

The drive between Inistioge and New Ross is very scenic. Places like Thomastown (Jerpoint Abbey) and Bennettsbridge (Nicholas Mosse Pottery) are nearby, and Kilkenny is a great medieval town with a lot to see and do and live music several nights a week.

GreenDragon

I agree, Kilkenny is a lovely area. We stayed there for a week in our last trip, doing day trips (including one to Dublin, it's doable). We stayed at Knocktopher Abbey, a wonderful place! Jerpoint was very nice, and Thomastown was a 'quaint' village. The surrounding countryside was lovely!

GreenDragon

Hit done too quickly!

I would also suggest taking a daytrip to Glendalough and Powerscourt -- both are very worth the trip. Glendalough is one of my favorite spots in Ireland, and I'm visiting it again (third time) this June

otto

lsu...me too! i turn 30 march 7, and i'm going to ireland for the week in may! it'll be my second trip. (i'm from the u.s)i would try flying into Shannon, and back home from Dublin. the train to and from both coasts is a great idea.

CU

www.visitdublin.com should help you out.

LSUvetgirl

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The current plan is to fly in and out of Dublin, arrive late Weds. p.m. and depart Sunday evening. Have booked a hotel in central Dublin for Weds. and Thurs. night.

Would really prefer to be out of the big city for the weekend, plus it's seeming pretty difficult to find reservations for Friday and Saturday night (realized too late this was the weekend before St. Paddy's Day!)

So I am now looking for where to go after Dublin. We have Friday/Fri p.m., Saturday/Sat P.m., and Sunday, before we need to be back at Dublin airport around 6:30 p.m.

Is the Kilkenney/Inistoge/Glendalough navigable via public transportation? I.e. would it be viable to take a train to Kilkenney from Dublin and then take a day trip or 2 from Kilkenney to Inistoge or Glendalough via bus or train? Those suggestions all sound very nice, but I'd like to make it a car-less weekend....

Carrie

GreenDragon

YOu can check out Bus Eirreann schedules here:
http://www.buseireann.ie/site/your_j.../day_tours.asp

It looks as though there are buses to Glendalough from Dublin, and buses to Kilkenny from Dublin, but not buses from Kilkenny to Glendalough -- a longer trip might be necessary

Train schedules are here:
http://www.irishrail.ie/

Again, it looks like you have to go through Dublin to get to Glendalough from Kilkenny

yesiree100

Getting between Kilkenny and Dublin won't be a problem with both train and bus service. There is a bus between Kilkenny and New Ross that stops in Inistoge, but I think it only runs once a day. It's less than 20 miles, so you could look into a cab to Inistoge.

Without a car, it's going to be a little more difficult to truly get into the country.

You could also consider some of the coastal towns on the DART line (Bray, Dalkey, Greystones, Dun Laoghaire, Malahide). You'll be a short trainride from the city, but a world away from the hustle and bustle.