lstamu

We will be renting a car in Dublin(after spending a couple of days there) to drive towards the Rock of Cashel (by way of Gardens of Powerscourt and Glendalough....plan on spending the night near the Rock of Cashel...any suggestions on places would be welcome...Can we see Powerscourt and Glendalough in one day? Then we will drive to Inch Island and spend the night there with friends( so that is two nights.)...we will then drive to Shannon the next day and turn in the car. We won't be in a hurry but how long does it take from Inch to Shannon.? We want to see Bunratty Castle. The next day we start a tour for 9 days of County Clare, Kerry and Galway...so we don't need the car for very long. Who would be best to rent from? We are two couples. What is a good size car for us?

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

jefe

You could do Powerscourt and Glendalough in a day. There might be a snag in your plan to spend the night near Cashel, however, if you want to spend any significant time at either site. It's at least 2 hours from Glendalough to Cashel, and that's being generous with driving time. You are probablt looking at at least another 2 hours on the road getting to both Powerscourt and Glendalough, so a good chunk of your day right there is going to be spent in the car.

As for Inch Island, do you mean the one in Donegal? Or do you mean one of the other Inch's? If you do mean the one in Donegal, are you really sure about the above itinerary? That's a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, especially when you consider that you will spend the next 9 days in such a relatively small area. Maybe consider some sights closer to your friends?

Car rentals - check out this thread for some recent opinions: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ental-cars.cfm My preference has been Dan Dooley. Size of car depends on how much luggage the 4 of you bring. Probably something bigger than the smallest car, unless you pack really really light

lstamu

thanks for your reply. the Inch I was referring to is Inch Strand (I guess!).I didn't realize that there are other Inches. It is near Dingle so we would be very close to Shannon and that day shouldn't involve much driving. My thought was to try and see Powerscourt and Glendalough in one day and just stay somewhere on the way to the Rock of Cashel...see that the next day and then go to Inch Strand to spend the night.

Have you been to Newgrange? I'm very curious about it. Thanks

jefe

Ah. Well that Inch makes things a bit easier for you

As for your plan, I was just pointing out that you will have to watch your watch, so to speak. Glendalough has a lot to see and could take up a great part of your day if you want to see it all. I haven't been to Powerscourt, so I'm not sure how much time you could end up spending there. It's more than I might want to fit in during a day, but not everyone travels the same (We spent the night near Glendalough, and only planned on getting as far as Kilkenny that day). I would just plan on keeping things flexible.

As for your trip form Inch to Shannon, it's probably over 2 hours. Check out this site for some travel times and route planning for ideas.
http://www.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/Search.aspx

I've been to Newgrange, and found it very interesting. I guess it depends on how much of Dublin you want to see, or not see. If I had an extra day in Dublin, I'd consider a day trip to Newgrange. But if I had to skip Kilmainham Gaol, or some other parts of Dublin, I might not. I guess it depends on how deep your curiosity runs!

lstamu

Whew!! Decisions. decisions. I want to see it all! Thanks for the website for the trip routes. I've already been looking and that gives me a good idea of the time involved which is very helpful because I don't want to just go to the place, I really want to see it.

Tell me what you think we HAVE to see in Dublin. Thanks.

jefe

Potential must-sees in Dublin:
1) Kilmainham Gaol - very interesting tour and history of the struggles Ireland was going through early last century.
2) Book of Kells - yes, pretty touristy, but also pretty incredible.
3) Guinness tour - I'm not a Guinness fan, but a lot of people seem to enjoy this
4) Chester Beatty Library - I found this to be worth a stop. A lot of very interesting items
5) A lot of people love the Temple Bar area - I found it to be OK, but preferred to poke along Grafton Street and visit St. Stephen's Green

I'm sure other folks might chime in - is there anything in particular you might be interested in doing while in Dublin?

ter2000

Avoid Temple Bar and do like the locals do - check out the restaurants and bars in the George's Street/Camden Street area. Still central, but a lot nicer and very lively, especially at weekends.

If you're visiting the Book of Kells, consider taking a guided tour of Trinity College - it only costs €1 onto your ticket into the Old Library to see the Book, and it's good fun and very interesting. If you're on a budget, befriend a passing student - they're entitled to bring two guests in to see the Books of Kells, free of charge!

The Chester Beatty Library (free entry btw) has a lovely self-service cafe called the Silk Road, serving absolutely delicious and reasonably-priced North-African style food. They also do excellent coffee.

Newgrange is well worth a visit for archaeology fans, but try to get there as early as you can. The amount of visitors per day is limited, and they don't take advance bookings. I've seen disappointed tourists turned away many times, so the earlier you can get there, the better.

The Viking Gold in the National Museum, Kildare Street, is well worth a look (also free entry). Almost next door, the Yeats Exhibition in the National Library is a must if you're an admirer of his poetry. You could visit both plus Trinity College in a morning, walk up to the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle, have lunch in the Silk Road Cafe and then visit the Library's displays for a very easy bit of sightseeing.