Dejais

I visited Ireland in 2012 with my mom and we drove around the entire country. I loved it so much that I wanted my husband to see it. So for our latest anniversary we have planned a trip to Paris and Ireland. We will be staying in Dublin for six nights since I have Hilton hotel points and our stay is gratis. Wanting to give my husband the best experience of both the city and the countryside, I have planned the following and would appreciate comments and/or suggestions for improvement.

Thursday Day 1: Hop On/Hop Off bus in Dublin - We generally do this in all new cities we visit to acclimate ourselves to the city. (I've only been there the one time so I will enjoy reacquainting myself with the city.) Having this pass for two days will allow us to see the major sights in Dublin.

Friday Day 2: Again the HOHO bus/sightseeing and an evening pub tour of traditional music.

Saturday Day 3: Half day trip to Malahide Castle and Dublin Bay

Sunday Day 4: Cork and Blarney Day trip to include Rock of Cashel

Monday Day 5: Glendalough and Kilkenny day trip

Tuesday Day 6: Depart for home

I worry that I have not picked the right days for the day trips. Do you think Sunday would be a good day for Cork and Blarney? Also, I originally was going to do the 14 hour Cliffs of Mohr/Galway trip but then thought it was an awfully long day and DH won't really care to see the cliffs. So that's off the table. I am open to suggestions if I overlooked something better.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Tony2phones

It wouldn't be my personal type of trip but.. You have clearly thought things out and dismissed the silly all day on a coach options. So. looks fine to me for you.

I will presume the same amount of thought has gone into selecting which Hilton/Conrad in Dublin.

jane1144

I think your days need to be interchangeably flexible to account for the vagaries of the weather.

flpab

A Newgrange trip if one if the others fall through.

nytraveler

I can;t imagine 2 days of HoHo in Dubin. It's a fairly small city and the tourist areas are easily walkable - and exploring on foot is - for me - a key part of visiting any city.

And agree that I would include Newgrange - a unique ancient site - unless y ou have problems with dark or small spaces.

Itallian_Chauffer

The advantage of the 48 hours is that it provides transport to some of the further out sites, such as Kilmainham, the Jennie Johnson, Parnell Square, Saint Patrick's Cathedral and Merrion Square. Otherwise, that can make for a LOT of walking, particularly if the weather is rather dodgy.
Which Bus? GREEN or RED?
Green -Dublin Bus -- http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/citytour.aspx
RED -- City Sight-seeing -- https://citysightseeingdublin.ie/

Dejais

We are on the Red bus. And yes, I agree that two days is a bit of overkill however DH is not much of a walker and it will allow us to see Kilmainham and other things on the outer edges. Also, it will allow us to get to things without a lot of walking between sites. I did this with my elderly mom and it seemed to work out.
I had not looked into Newgrange but will do so at your suggestions. Thank you.

flpab

Glasnevin cemetery is worth a trip. The bus takes you through Phoenix Park. Not sure if I would get off but at least you can enjoy the views.

littlejane

If you are going into Cork city, not sure I would pick a Sunday as many of the shops will be closed so there will not be much life in the city. For example, the English market in Cork is closed on Sundays, and that is often an attraction on people's lists.

If you are purely aiming to visit rural / scenic tourist attractions that could be OK, but if you were planning on getting a feel for life in the city centre, I would pick a different day.

Itallian_Chauffer

Actually, with Cashel and Blarney into the mix, there won't be a lot of 'City Center' time, in Cork.
With what there IS, you might consider this:
http://www.corkcitytour.com/

And, just coincidentally -- It's a RED bus, too! 8-)

Dejais

Littlejane...I thought the same thing as well. Definitely changing that day to probably Saturday or Monday. Still having trouble with deciding on my days.