Shannon straight to Dingle? Planning Nov. trip
 

I've been reading the forum (and getting lots of useful ideas) but now I need some specific input.<BR><BR>Travelling with my sister 11/15 - 11/22<BR>Into Shannon, out of Dublin, self-drive with CIE Tours, Town & Country vouchers; trying to stay 2 nights in each place.<BR><BR>I know, I know, we didn't really need to do the voucher thing, and we should have flown out of Shannon and maybe skipped Dublin on such a short trip. But those are fixed. Now to plan the trip!<BR><BR>We both like the coastline, especially in winter, and we're both pretty good & patient drivers. I know we need to limit the driving.<BR><BR>My rough plan right now is --<BR><BR>Dingle 2 nights (Sat/ Sun)<BR>Dingle peninsula, I'd love to try to get to Mizen Head but the station's only open Sunday so it may be too far...<BR><BR>Kinsale 2 nights<BR>Hanging out and eating, going in whatever directions take our fancy<BR><BR>Dublin 2 nights<BR>hitting Waterford on the way<BR>probably staying at a city hotel and paying the extra<BR><BR>Questions:<BR>Will we be too tired to go straight to Dingle from the airport? (Possibly stopping at Bunratty, a favorite of mine.) In other words, pretty much all of day 1 will be the drive from the aiport to Dingle. Is this too ambitious?<BR><BR>Should we choose Kenmare instead of Dingle as a place to stay?<BR><BR>We're not trying to plan every minute, I'm just trying to target the "landing spots" so we can plan from there. <BR><BR>I'd love to get thoughts and feedback, and thanks in advance.

you will save yourself a bit of driving by taking the Tarber / Killimer car ferry ( look on the map - near Kilrush) , instead of driving down around Limerick to get to Dingle. It takes about 1/2 hr and leaves once per hour. <BR>We did this the other direction, and it was very helpful.

Definately take the ferry. And, in my opinion, definately stay in Dingle!! It's very lovely. I don't think you'll need to spend 2 nights in Kinsale, it's a very small town. Beautiful but, small. When in Kinsale, make sure &amp; have a pint at 1601 and say hi to Pat McCrae.<BR>Enjoy your trip.

I don't think that it is faster to take the ferry if you are leaving from Shannon. Time of day can make a big difference, but the roads I took from Bunratty to Dingle kept me away from Limerick town center. It was very fast, but then again, it was Sunday morning ... no traffic. The ferry is certainly is certainly faster from Doolin though.<BR><BR>You will probably be pretty tired, but it can be done. If both of you are drivers, you may be OK, I tend to crash about 2 hours into a drive. Driving is one of those things that jet lag likes to attack. It hates sunshine and exercise.<BR><BR>As far as Kenmare vs. Dingle, both are great. The Dingle Peninsula is wonderful and you are certain to get the notes to drive the Connor Pass Rd and Slea Head drive. Connor Pass won't be much fun if the visibility is bad. Kenmare is my favorite little town in Ireland and has great access to the Ring of Kerry and Beara Peninsula. Most people would pick Dingle over the Ring of Kerry, but there are some beautiful things around Kenmare.<BR><BR>You could feasibly make it to Mizen on the way to Kinsale or as a day trip from Kinsale. It used to be possible to walk as far as the bridge on weekdays in the winter. I don't know if it still is.<BR><BR>If it were me, I'd take a day off of Dublin and spend another day in the west. Probably, depending on taste, spend 3 dyas total in Dingel and Kenmare, divide them up anyway you want. Don't get stuck on the &quot;must spend two nights in all locations&quot; to the exclusion of having the best trip possible. It certainly won't kill you to spend just one night somewhere. <BR><BR>Also, I wouldn't go through Waterford on the way to Dublin, but rather go towards Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel. Aside from the crystal factory, Waterford doesn't seem to get the highest marks for tourism. Also, if the Crystal is what you had in mind, there are a number of crystal manufacturers in Ireland, and most consider Waterford to not be the best. Kinsale crystal is very nice for instance. I'm not and expert, so I can't advise any more on that. <BR><BR>Hope this helps<BR><BR>Bill

We stayed in both Dingle and Kenmare during our trip last July. Liked Kenmare, but loved Dingle. If I had to choose between the two...Dingle, hands down.

I agree wholeheartedly with Bill's advice re:crystal. Skip Waterford and instead look up Dingle Crystal in Dingle (see website http://www.dinglecrystal.ie/ )<BR>or Kinsale crystal ( http://www.kinsalecrystal.ie/ )<BR>Both of these artisans make lovely, deepcut crystal like Waterford USED to make. When you see it you'll appreciate the difference. Interestingly enough, Dingle crystal is owned and operated by Sean Daly, and Kinsale by his brother Gerry Daly - the 2 best crystal artists in Ireland in my opinion! I love crystal!