afrank

Hi Guys,

An oft asked question. Sorry if there's a post that is relevant and I didn't see. I did checkout a few posts but still had questions.

My husband and I are planning a 10-12 day vacation to Ireland in August this year. Flying in from Toronto, Canada. We are sure we want to do a self driving vacation - get to see the countryside and coastal towns and experience the famous Irish hospitality.

We're okay with history and stuff but more interested in nature, scenic beauty, landscapes and a lot of Photography. I am very much into that. We'd like to stay in B&Bs and small towns while avoiding cities preferably.

Please see this link on what we've thought of so far regarding the itinerary.

http://prntscr.com/2r4sg5

Questions:

- Is August a good time to travel or should we postpone to September? We were thinking around 10-11 August 2014. We'll be prepared for rain - from what I have read, there's always a chance of rain, hopefully it will be good. I know it's going to be busy at the time, but we can't do July or before. Would have to be August or Sep, preferably August.

- As per the proposed itinerary - we're planning on hitting Dublin, Cork, Kinsale, Kenmare, Killarney, Dingle, Doolin, Galway and Connemara. While doing this we'll also hit Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry (clockwise) - see the map above on the link. Is this a good itinerary? Or is this too much?

- Where do you propose we stay? I'd rather stay for 2 nights and explore the area around than be driving every day. I want to give myself time for the drives as well since we might be stopping along the way for any scenic places etc.

- We'll be flying in to Dublin and flying out of there as well. Ideally we wanted to spend last two days in Dublin but see how that goes. How much are we looking to spend on Car rental for 10-12 days. $750 or 500 Euro sound a good budget for that or would we require to up that?

- For B&Bs if we;'re spending on accommodation for 10 days, what budget should we consider? Is there a common B&B site which has listings for all b&bs or should we book individually?

I guess that's all I can think of for now - will edit later if I have more questions.
Thanks so much for your replies in advance.

crckwc1

I don't pretend to be an expert on Ireland, even though we have travelled there several times, but I will offer some comments and a couple of suggestions: first, I think your itinerary is much too much for your allotted time. Driving time in Ireland is slow compared to the US and other countries. In addition, you lose time every time you check in then check out of a hotel/b&b and you need to plan to spend some time actually seeing the sights. If you plan too many towns, too many miles, then all you'll do is a quick drive-by.
Booking accommodations - we like www.booking.com which has extensive listings of both hotels and b&bs in all price ranges. Their site is easy to navigate and they give pricing and accurate descriptions of the accommodations. Car rentals - since you don't say what kind/size vehicle you need, it isn't possible to give prices. Check prices on www.autoeurope.com or Dan Dooley or enterprise.ie. I'm sure you will get more information from other fodorites. Ireland is a special place for us and I urge you to slow down and savor all it has to offer.

crckwc1

We have been in Ireland in both August and September and prefer August. IMHO, the weather is a little warmer and a little less wet (usually!) in August.

longhorn55

Based on the two trips I have made to Ireland and the 10 different B&Bs we stayed in, you should budget for an average of 35 to 40 euros per person per night.

I booked all of our B&Bs after reading their reviews on Trip Advisor. I find it helpful to see what other people liked/didn't like about a certain property. Then, I checked their website and contacted the owners directly through the website or by phone to make a booking.

Tony2phones

see also http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-ever-help.cfm

You have an extra 2 days so makes it slightly more possible..
See my comment on Ring of Kerry especially August..
Hopefully you have other than a Rick Steves guide book for more accurate information.

abram

We spent the entire month of August (plus a couple of days in July and a couple in September) in Ireland and Northern Ireland. We loved that it was light very late, so evening strolls were quite enjoyable. Didn't find crowds to be a problem; only had to wait in line for tours a couple of times in 34 days of sightseeing.

We were lucky and had very little rain--an hour here and there, only one day where it rained all day. Many of the activities we loved would have been much less fun in the rain, so think about having back up plans. A couple of the coastal boat rides we planned (Cliffs of Moher, Blasket Islands) did get cancelled on days that looked fine to us.

Unless you're driving the big M roads (not as much fun IMHO), plan on averaging 35 mph as you're planning your days.

If you'd be willing to remove Athlone, you might consider flying into Dublin and out of Shannon.

If I were planning the trip again, I'd skip Cork City. Cork & Kinsale are only about 30 minutes apart.

Killarney is a good base for the National Park (Muckross House, Ross Castle, Torc Waterfall, Gap of Dunloe) and the Ring of Kerry.

kleeblatt

Definitely do an Aran island. It was the highlight of our trip.

afrank

Thanks for all your replies. Anything on the list that we should be skipping? What locations (cities/towns) should we stay in.

- Dublin for sure ( 2days)
- Cork/Kinsale? (1 day)
- Killarney (would that be a good base for Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula? (3 days)
- Would Galway be a good base for Connemara and Doolin? (3 days)

thank you agian guys.

@Tony2phones _I have read a lot of your replies. You're very helpful - could you advise on the specifics above, please.

Masterphil

I have driven in other countries where you drive on the "opposite side of the road" with no difficulty.

In Ireland, I knocked the left mirror off of the BMW I rented.

I actually hit the left mirror on a small bridge in Kinsale and on the back of a truck in Killarney.

The rental car company told me this is common for North Americans.

I consider myself a good driver and have never had problems driving in Australia and Turks and Caicos. Irelands tiny roads were a little different so be careful!

I think your itinerary looks fine.

If I remember correctly, driving from Killarney towards Galway requires you to cross the Shannon by ferry?

Have a great trip! Ireland and it's people are wonderful!!!

Tony2phones

Dublin for 2 days is fine.

Cork is a straight run down the M8 and you could call off for Cashel and Cahir or Cashel and Blarney on the way down.. I sometimes suggest Blarney as a good overnight spot giving chance to see the castle and grounds outside the 10 till 4 tour bus rush. Kinsale has been given a reputation for good food and charges accordingly, nice to visit but wouldn't make my personal overnight list.

Killarney is the best touring base for Kerry with the Ring, National Park, Muckross along with the Gap and Black valley.

Killarney to Galway needs a break really and driving round the Dingle peninsula makes a scenic day to somewhere between and including Adare/Limerick and Ennis/Quilty. There are two routes to cross the Shannon, The ferry is scenic, the Tunnel is the easier, cheaper, quicker option.

If you take this night to split the drive up then you can see the Cliffs and Doolin (another nice to visit but not on my overnight list) along with the Burren (drive Blackhead round to Ballyvaughan for the "moonscape") before Galway.

Galway can then be used as the bas for your Connemara day between the overnights,,

Of course you are pinching a night,, You could cut out Cork and go straight to Killarney or the night could come from Killarney or Galway.

The same bloke that tells folk to drive the ring clockwise also advises folk to drive with their mirrors turned in and to fit "L" (learner plates) to their hire cars,, both these acts will get the attention of the local Garda and not recommended. Many US drivers over compensate for the width of the roads and hug the ditches and hedges rather than the middle of their lane.. be careful not to slip into this trait.

afrank

Masterphil and Tony2Phones - thanks for your replies again.

Driving is not an issue.. I love driving. I am originally from India, and drove in madness and chaos for a few years before moving to Canada, so small cars, tight roads etc is fine. Might still have to get used to driving on the wrong side compared to here but should be okay.

Any ideas on car rentals? How much budget should I set aside for that? Looked on Hertz and some other companies - looking to rent a small car like Ford Fiesta maybe. Would that be okay?

Tony: So you recommend a stopover in Adare/Limerick..?

Should Cork be one of the places we should visit or can that be skipped. Still not sure about that. If we can skip it, I may spend one more day in Dublin and places around Dublin.

Again, thank you guys. Much appreciated.

Tony2phones

I usually recommend Ennis but that would be a bit biased perhaps as it's one of our regular spend time spots. http://www.visitennis.com/ It would be the best base for County Clare if you had the time. I like Adare, not over keen on Limerick not being a city fan.

Dooley get good rep for car hire, but check prices with their US office its (reputedly) generally cheaper than the online price. Anything above the micro cars that seem to be appearing wearing rental badges would be fine.

You are not going to see everywhere in the time you have, only you can sort the want's from the must's

katherinebw

Afrank, we were there last September for 2 weeks. Rented from Dooley (no problems at all; in fact when I found a coupon a month or so after renting, they gave me a discount--not the whole of the coupon, but about half of it) and got a Ford Focus. I reserved it because my husband has long legs and I thought he'd be more comfortable, but we should have rented the smallest car possible. We took a bit of extra insurance and are glad we did--we did return the car with minor scratches. Once, he pulled over a little too far to accommodate an on-coming truck and we probably dented the undercarriage. We found ourselves pulling over quite a bit for busses and other vehicles. The speed limits seemed quite high for us as "newbies" on the back roads, so we just slowed down, and folks passed us when they could. The Irish folks all seemed very tolerant of tourists' driving. No one honked a horn at us once--imagine that! They'd drive over you here in the States if they could. The M roads were fine, but we were not on them very often. We only had one complete day of rain (on Achill Island). Other than that, a sprinkle here or there. We landed in Dublin and went to Northern Ireland for three days, then over to Donegal. I can highly recommend both of these areas. In Donegal we stayed at Inishduff House and it's the one B&B whose name I remember because it was head and shoulders above the others (where we stayed, and they were very nice as well). From there we drove all over Donegal and really enjoyed Slieve League. After Donegal we stayed on Achill, then went to Clifden to spend time in Connemara (a don't-miss in our book). We found Tony2Phones' advice to be just right for us. On to the Burren where we only spent one full day there--way too short of a time for this fascinating landscape. We had dinner in Ennis and I would have enjoyed staying there. Seemed a lovely town. Then to Kenmare. Rather than drive the Ring of Kerry, we drove the Ring of Beara and never encountered a tour bus during the entire day. I hope to do a more detailed trip report before too long. It is a beautiful country and the people are as lovely as you can imagine. Hope some of this helps.