Shannon, Ireland- Things to see and Do?
 

Hello, My family will be flying into Shannon, Ireland over Memorial Day Weekend (US holiday). I have not found much info. on Shannon and on most maps it does not show up. Have any of you spent time in Shannon or the surrounding areas? What are the highlights of this area??


How is the drive between Shannon and Dublin. We plan to fly out of Dublin.

My suggestions for what to see and do after you arrive at Shannon depend on how you answer these questions: How many days will you be in Ireland? How many of those do you plan to spend in Dublin?

Shannon is basicaly an Airport surrounded by Corporate & Industrial 'Parks.' Nearby Bunratty has several B&B's and attractions. Surrounding areas: Ennis' Fleadh Nua (Spring Music & dance festival) ends May 29th, but you may still find some Trad Irish Music there thru the end of that week (I'm not sure if May 29th or Jun 5th is a Bank Holiday).

Highlights of the area (in Co. Clare) are the Burren & the Cliffs of Moher.

Ok, here is our beginning plans. We will leave ATL on May 26 arriving in Shannon on May 27th early AM, with jet lag we will probably not want to drive a long way especially with driving on the left side of the road.... we will need all of our senses.

We will depart Ireland on May 31st or June 1st. So our total time in Ireland will be 4-5 full days (I know it is short but that is all the time we have for this vacation).

We would like to spend some time in Dublin but are really anxious to see some of the beautiful countryside, castles etc. As you can tell our plans are up in the air so we are open to suggestions of things to see and do.

Remember we have 2 kiddos (9 and 12) and they are great travelers and do well with our short trips and jet lag.

Is there train service btwn Shannon and Dublin, if so how long of a trip? or is it better to rent a car and drive?

Any input you have please send my way.

Happy travels to you all...

with your day limitations, 2 kids, and wanting time in dublin, I suggest...

rent a car

27th in Bunratty, tour castle/folkpark (if feeling good a sidetrip to cliffs of moher, not too far...I feel cliffs are a must see), schedule the early banquet when reserve hotel/b&b.

28th stop and tour cahir castle and rock of cashel with stay in kilkenny...if time tour castle or do next day before leave.

29th tour newgrange/knowth (north of dublin)...many other sights in area (hill of tara, mellifont abbey, monasterboice, trim castle). stay in trim, drogheda, or one of the coastal villages just north of dublin (howth, malahide, skerries)

30th...drop off rental car, spend next day or 2 in dublin (depending on if you depart the 31st or 1st).
do hop on hop off tour...we liked stops at kilmainham gaol and book of kells

on our trips to europe...we are always so excited that we actually end up doing a lot the first day. for us it has always been best to stay up, be active, get to bed early (9-10). I get jet-lag coming home.

if you do have the extra day,
-you could spend an extra day in bunratty and explore the Burren/area around Bunratty
-you could spend a night in killarney and tour the park (muckross house/abbey, ross castle, gap of dunle, ladies' view, moll's gap, torc falls
-you could spend a day south of dublin and tour powerscourt and/or glendalough and spend the night in wicklow mts.

I'd suggest renting a car. Taking the bus from Shannon to Limerick and then the train to Dublin will not give you a chance to experience much of Ireland...especially countryside, castles and villages.

I like Chip's suggestions (I'd probably skip heading north of Dublin though, and add another day in Counties Clare or Kilkenny.

Is there a reason you want to fly in to Shannon? Since you specifically want to see Dublin, you could keep to the east and explore that region (Dublin-Kilkenny-Wexford is very nice) and just fly in/out of Dublin.

Definitely rent a car. I recommend www.autoeurope.com, a consolidator that finds you the best rate from among several companies. Be sure to pack light so your luggage will fit under cover. Buy a detailed map. The Michelin Ireland map is available from amazon.com.

Since you'll arrive at Shannon on the 27th, don't miss the chance to get in on at least a little of the Fleadh Nua (www.fleadhnua.com). If that doesn't work out, Cruise's in Ennis has traditional music sessions seven nights a week and good pub grub.

Here's an itinerary that includes more of the west coast.
27 - Arrive at Shannon. Drive to Bunratty for the folk park and castle. Drive to Ennis for the Fleadh Nua. Stay in Ennis.
28 - Drive through the Burren, see the Cliffs of Moher, visit Dunquaire Castle. Stay in Galway.
29 - Drive the Connemara loop (Galway-Cong-Partry-Westport-Doo Lough Valley-Leenane-Clifden-Galway. Stay in Galway.
30 - Drive to Dublin. Turn in your car at the airport and take a bus or taxi to your hotel. Tour as time allows. Stay in Dublin.
31 - Tour Dublin. Stay a second night.
1 - Fly home.

TimS writes:
"Here's an itinerary that includes more of the west coast.
27 - Arrive at Shannon. Drive to Bunratty for the folk park and castle. Drive to Ennis for the Fleadh Nua. Stay in Ennis."

Easier said than done! 2004: the only accomodation I was able to find in Ennis during the Fleadh Nua was at Abbey Tourist Hostal. B&B's were all fully booked as were in-town Hotels.

Galway-Dublin is probably a bit easier than Limerick-Dublin. About two thirds of the Galway-Dublin route is Dual Carriageway (i.e. 4-lane divided highway). I took BusEireann from Limerick once and the traffic was very heavy: it took 6-hours. Galway-Dublin is about 4-hours.

"Turn in your car at the airport and take a bus or taxi to your hotel. Tour as time allows. Stay in Dublin.
31 - Tour Dublin. Stay a second night."

You may be able to drop off your rental car at an in-town location in Dublin and save the 'airport drop off fee.' Ask the people at the Car rental counter when you pick it up.

The Abbey Tourist Hostel has recently been renovated. It wouldn't be a bad place for a family to stay. Or, since they'll have a car, they could stay in a countryside B&B near Ennis.

The reason I suggested turning in the car at the airport was to avoid driving in Dublin traffic. However, if the only driving is to the city drop-off point, parking wouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the great recommendations of routes to take. We are now thinking about flying in and out of Shannon and save Dublin for another trip. We would like to stay in the smaller towns and explore the beautiful southwestern part of Ireland.

Hello, I have 2 questions.

I'll be travel to Killarney June 7-14 staying at a time share. It appears to be 70 miles from the Shannon airport. Do you think the bus eireann will work out for me too?

I'm also hoping to fly Ryan air or a similar low cost airline to both Lithuania and Poland where my parents were born. Can I fly into Shannon and then fly back to the US out of Poland or Lithuania? It seems like one way airfares don't work out.

Any tips or info would be appreciated. Thanks!!

travleler,

Bus Eireann has service from Killarney to Shannon (connection in Limerick). See the Journey Planner and timetables at www.buseireann.ie.

Go to www.whichbudget.com to see which airlines fly from Shannon to Lithuania and Poland.

So far as an open jaw ticket goes (home-Shannon and either Lithuania-home or Poland-home), that all depends upon what airline choices you have from home and where they fly to in Europe. You may need to fly back to Shannon and get a flight home from there.

Thanks Tim. After rechecking the resort name is Old Killarney village, the city is Aghadoe, County Kerry.

Have you heard of that city?

Given your time restrictions, sparks_fly, I think that's a very wise decision. I think you'll enjoy the trip much more if you take it slow and enjoy all there is to see in that area.

sparks_fly writes: "Is there train service btwn Shannon and Dublin, if so how long of a trip? or is it better to rent a car and drive?"

The closest Irish Rail Stations to Shannon are Limerick City & Ennis. There's frequent BusEireann service to both those cities from Shannon airport. Of the two, Connections to Dublin are probably better from Limerick City; and in both cases the rail & Bus stations are co-located.

For your boys: the upper level Cafeteria in Shannon airport opens at 7:00 AM.

Touching on something I mentioned on an earlier post: To the best of my knowledge, the Abbey Tourist Hostal has been closed for about a year. It was shut down because something really bad happened there

I second the notion of staying on the west coast with your limitied time. There is PLENTY to see to keep you occupied in that time.

Bill

Sparks_fly, I might be too late to the party, but to answer your first question, Shannon is county Clare's second largest town, but in itself, it does not offer alot for tourism, although its at an early stage of redevelopment. I would suggest leaving the Shannon town area until your last night.

With recent changes to the road system, (Ennis is fully bypassed)you could get yourself to county Galway for two nights, and explore Connemara. Maybe, if you can, have a look at Roundstone village.

Perhaps spend another two nights in north Clare, where you could day trip to the Aran islands from Doolin. You can go with the option of Inis Mor or Inis Oirr, the latter being a 20 minute trip from the pier at Doolin, and has a really nice beach with views onto Black head in county Clare.

There is the option of staying on board if you go with the Jack B sailing, and taking a one hour trip touring the cliffs of Moher from the sea. Excellent experience.

In the NC area, there's also Saint Bridgets well, Moher farm, Ailwee or Doolin caves, great coastal drives and the amazing Poulnabrone dolman & Burren centre (Kilfenora)for a Burren experience.

Look at basing yourself in Doolin or avail of the great beach in Lahinch.

For your last day in the immediate Shannon town area, as suggested, Bunratty is a great resource for children with the castle, folk park, play ground, farm animals (including two (new) big Irish wolf hounds), a a great timber maze within a play fortress - and Hazelbrook farm will have their fresh icecream in full production.

Other interesting places for children close to Shannon airport/town (and adults) are Quin abbey (fantastic place - entry free), Knappogue castle, Craggaunowen's living past, Mooghaun hill fort (same age as Dun Aengus) - and the grounds of Dromoland castle.

(Just a personal opinion, but I'm not sure how much you're children would enjoy the fleadh - although many adults find it very enjoyable:)


Hope that you have a great time.