lovexhappiness

Hey!
I am doing a week long vacation to Ireland in March.
I am flying in a Saturday morning and leaving the following Sunday morning. (giving me 8 full days)

I am debating on taking the sail rail to Britain from Dublin Friday afternoon and coming back Saturday evening. Has anyone ever taken the sail rail?
Is it worth the $?
Would you spend the extra day in Ireland instead?
I'm looking at all my options. Thanks!

janisj

>>Has anyone ever taken the sail rail?<<

Yes.

>>Is it worth the $?<<

Depends on why you are doing it.

>>I am debating on taking the sail rail to Britain from Dublin Friday afternoon and coming back Saturday evening<<

OK - I'll ask it . . . to <i>where</i>? Britain is a country. Where in the country would you be going? You take the ferry across and then a train to your ultimate destination.

But no, no place I can think of would be doable as a less than one day turnaround

OReilly

God NO! It takes a whole day. Don't consider it unless you are bringing a car, and why would you?. My niece did part of the journey (driving not rail), when she was bringing her car from Dublin to London. She was not impressed by the ferry.

I checked it out myself when considering one of my trips from London to home-town of Dublin and was put off by the amount of time it takes. I have, eons ago when I was on a school trip, taken that ferry, only because of the lack of money to take a flight. Be aware that that little body of water can get very choppy in Winter.

Get a cheap flight from Dublin and either spend the time in Dublin or London. Check out Aer Lingus (Gatwick and Heathrow), Cityjet (to City airport - my favorite and the only airport IN London with great transportation links) and Ryanair.

OReilly

OK Janis, I made the assumption of Dublin to London. However, I still would not do it.

janisj

Hi OReilly:

>>Get a cheap flight from Dublin and either spend the time in Dublin or London. <<

The OP is only asking about one night so flying to London probably isn't in the cards.

lovexhappiness: 8 days is not very long in Ireland. So depending on what else you have planned I'm sure you can find something worthwhile to add to your itinerary w/o going anywhere else.

lovexhappiness

Yes it was London... glad you both say it isn't worth it and I can stop looking into it
Can either of you give me feedback on this rough itentiary I have set, then?

Saturday/ spend the night in Dublin

Sunday/ Drive to Cong and stay the night at Ashford Castle.

Monday/ Drive and stay the night in Galway

Tuesday/ Drive and stay the night in County Clare (looking at staying in the little town of Ennis)

Wednesday/ Drive and stay the night in Killarney

Thursday/ Drive and stay the night in Cork

Friday/ Drive and stay the night in Dublin

Saturday/ all day saturday, unsure of how to use the extra day. (I'm open to using this extra day at some other point in the trip...

I know I am trying to do a lot in the 8 days I am there. But I want to say that I actually saw Ireland (well as much as I can in 8 days) than just staying in 2 cities.
Would you change any of the above? I am trying to not drive more than 3 hours in any day.

Thanks for all your help!!

OReilly

Too much driving, I think.

Have you booked your ticket? If not, can you fly in and out of Shannon and focus on the West, which is the best Ireland has to offer?

In general, I would avoid Dublin and Cork.

Ireland may be small, but you really should concentrate on just one area for 8 days. I would suggest you concentrate on the West Coast. Otherwise, you are just going to spend most of your 8 days on a highway. Choose 2 bases, at best three, and explore that area.

OReilly

http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/article...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is what you should be considering if you want to see the very best Ireland has to offer.

Best .. Ger

Macross

If you are driving to Cong, go to Westport for a couple of nights, beautiful village and so much to see and do. Clifden is also a nice place to visit. March, might be a bit windy and cold though.
How about Wicklow, Glendalough, Dingle? Might be a bit sunnier and warmer in March.

lovexhappiness

O'Rilley - I have heard that Dublin doesn't have too much to offer, that a day max would be good. However, I would prefer to go there. Even if it is just for one day. I do agree though that I am probably trying to accomplish too much in 8 days. Have you been to Ireland? If so, do you have a favorite city you visited?

Macross - I did hear Westport was a great city to visit! I might have to use my extra day to go there. I looked into Glendalough and Dingle and really wanted to make time for those cities too, but as you can see there is a lot I want to do.

This is my first European trip though. So I am a bit overwhelmed and unsure of how to plan a trip

OReilly

I am Irish, and born and brought up in Dublin. I would definitely NOT go out of my way to visit the city.

Macross

I have been to Dublin many times and love going there. Great night life, pubs, theater, dining etc. We love history, the free museums, the Churches, ease of getting on the dart and going to visit the coastal towns. Jameson is closed but try to go and visit https://teelingdistillery.com/ you might go on line to book a tour. They really make it there so more interesting than Jameson. We finally booked and saw Kilmainham this trip. Very moving and then went once again to Glasnevin cemetery. The Gravedigger's pub is through a side entrance and worth a stop.
This last trip I had read Ulysses once again and did my Leopold Bloom stops which I really enjoyed.
The big plus was the GAA Dublin players winning and watching it with locals down the street from our apartment. What we didn't know was there was a huge celebration under our apartment balcony the next night. We got back in time from Dalkey to listen to the great band play and see the players arrive and be introduced. Many sang to us. It was a fun bonus. Our landlord said he was very jealous of us and hoped we were enjoying it. Trip before we were staying on Cows lane across from Dublin castle and were there when the Yes Vote came in. Party all night and history for Ireland.

I also love the parks there. Stephen's Green and Merrion Sq. Don't miss them. Trinity offers some very interesting walking tours and try and see the Library. It is a bit of a mess with the tram construction but will be great when completed. We stayed in Smithfield last trip and it is completed there so rode everyday.

If you go to Cork please see Cohb.

janisj

For me Dublin is fine -- but the glorious scenery on the west coast trumps it many times over.

Why Cork city?

lovexhappiness

Macross; Thank you so much for all the information! It sounds like you have had so many great times in Ireland. I hope my boyfriend and I have just as good of times as you!!
Do you have any pubs you have been to that you specifically recommend in Dublin? I am looking at booking the Greshman hotel there. Have you been there?

Are Stephens Green and Merrion Sq. In Dublin? I don't think I have heard about them in my research.

Cork is on our list. What does Cohb have to do there? I hadn't heard of that small town either. I googled it and looked at images and it looks beautiful!

janisj

>>Cork is on our list<<

Why?

lovexhappiness

What are people's opinions on Kilkenny? Might do that Friday night and Dublin Saturday night before we fly out Sunday night.

Or is there another town people recommend us spend a night other than Kilkenny?

lovexhappiness

Janisj; No particular reason, I guess. It was just a larger town that I had heard of. I did see that Charles Fort was there which looked interesting online.

Are you not too fond of Cork? Is there somewhere else you would recommend going instead of Cork?

lovexhappiness

Macross; since you have stated that you have traveled to Ireland often... are there any parts of my itentiary you would change?
I wish I was able to fly into Dublin and out of Shannon but cost wise it isn't going to work for me.
Out of my plans outlined above, is there a city/place in Ireland that you think I would miss out on and have to stop in?
I am a bit overwhelmed with the planning of a European vacation and want to make sure I do my best.

I really appreciate all of everyone's help!

Padraig

Okay, some general comment:

Your basic itinerary is Dublin - Cong - Galway - Ennis - Killarney - Cork - Dublin. That's quite feasible as an outline. It becomes more challenging when you decide what you want to see and do between breakfast and evening. For example, you could drive directly from Cong to Galway in less than an hour along a road that is not particularly interesting, or you could make a route out through Connemara through beautiful landscape, and take many hours. It's similar with most legs of your trip. So my first suggestion is that you don't add to your programme: refine it. If you want another destination, drop one from your first draft in order to make way for it.

I like Cork, but it's something of an idiosyncratic taste: many people find it not to be very interesting. It's also difficult to drive in the city. Charles fort is in the attractive small town of Kinsale, a few miles SW of Cork, while Cobh is a few miles to the east. You could consider staying in either instead of in the city.

I disagree with my fellow Dub. There is plenty to see and do in Dublin. It's quite different from the west coast, but that doesn't mean less good.

Macross

I love you Padraig, you are so correct. Çong was just ok but the surrounding area fantastic. ballintubber Abbey, glebe stone circle, the mountains and crough Patrick were beautiful. I think the history of Cobh is interesting and my relative's sailed from there to America so liked it. Cork has the English market, great pubs and we went for a tour of Murphy's which was private because of our pub group.i would stay in Cobh or Blarney which is a nice village.