Please forgive the multiple postings. I'm new at this!

I have learned so much from reading these posts and have planned my a large part of my itinerary from what I have read here. It's been a great help. I was hoping some of you experienced travelers could review my itinerary and let me know if there are holes or if it's too busy.

I am traveling this July with my husband and 2 daughters (ages 13 and one who's turning 11 on the trip) We don't want to spend too much time in the car, but we want to be active.
Arrive Shannon 9:30AM
2 nights Dromoland Castle - visit Cliffs of Mohr, Adare, Lough Gur (husband's family from this area), Bunratty Castle banquet second night.
3 nights Dingle (Castlewood House) - tour peninsula, possible horseback riding, relaxing (will arrive late first day and leave early last day)
2 nights Kenmare (Brook Lane Hotel)
partial Ring of Kerry, Muckross House, Gap of Dunloe, Berea Peninsula
2 nights Kinsale (Old Bank House)
Cahir Castle, Rock of Cashel on way to Kilkenny
2 nights Kilkenny (Butler Court) - Castle, Rothe House
Drop off rental car and take train to Dublin
2 nights Dublin (Dylan Hotel)

Is this too much? Nothing is set in stone except the first night in Kinsale. Do you have any recommendations for activities for kids in these areas. They love living history museums and farms. Also, my daughter is turning 11 in Dublin. Can you recommend any fun, special kid-friendly restaurants for her birthday? Has anyone been to the Irish House Party? We'd love to dine in a restaurant where there is entertainment and music.

Thanks so much for any help you can give.

This is not a bad schedule with a couple of exceptions. I would skip Adare which except for a row of thatched souviener shops is pretty mundane. As an alternative you might continue north from the Cliffs along the coast to Ballyvaughn and then back through the Burren to Dromoland. Great sea views and the Burren is quite impressive.
I think your plans for Kenmare are a little ambitious. The Gap of Dunloe along with the boat ride is a full day as is the Ring of Beara. Muckross house is nice but in the end its just and old house, good for a rainy day. I would suggest you walk the Gap, I have done it twice and if the Wx is nice its a great walk. The National Park south of Killarney and through the Mountains is a nice drive with good spots to get out of the car. Kinsale is a nice village. If your interested in history take the walking tour out of the Tourist office. The girls might like the ghost tour out of the Tap Tavern in the evening. Have fun

s
Since your daughters enjoy living history, be sure to take time to visit the folk park at Bunratty before the dinner at the castle. Also on the way to Dromoland the first day, you might enjoy Craggaunowen with its tower house, recreated ring fort, and crannog. A short walk throught he forest will take you past wild boars. The last time I was there in July, there were young boars and the kids with me were thrilled. Early breeds of sheep and cattle can also be seen here. The "Brendan", Tim Severin's leather clad "Ship" in which he crossed the Atlantic in 1976-7, is on display here. It is a recreation of St. Brendan's craft in which the saint sailed and discovered America hundreds of years before Columbus. There is a lovely little cottage where one can have scones and tea or sandiwches. The place can be visited in a couple of hours, which would give you a good wake up after a sleepless night and still get you to Dromoland by early afternoon.

If the weather cooperates, you might enjoy a trip out to the Blasket Islands from Dunquin near Dingle.

On the grounds of Muckross House is a farming museum that the girls might enjoy. There are animlas and crafts to watch. You could focus on that rather than the house.

sorry, pushed the wrong button and posted before I meant to.

On the way to Kinsale, you could stop in Glangarriff and take a little putt-putt boat out to the island. You pass seals basking on the rocks. The island has some short walks and a wonderful garden.

Between Kinsale and Kilkenny you might want to stop at Fota Wildlife Park. There is a ferry across the harbor which will allow you to bypass the city of Cork. The wildlife park has large enclosures and many of the animals are where you can get up close. I remember the kid I was with there got to pet a lemur. This park is part of the zoological society and is breeding endangered animals. Ample parking.

Even if you are giving Fota a by, I would highly recommend the ferry. The last time I was there Cork was a driver's nightmare to get through.(That was eight years ago, however, and maybe someone who has been there more recently can give an update on upgraded roads.)

Mitchelstown is not far from Kilkenny and there are interesting caves there if you want to spend an afternoon.

Have fun. 11 and 13 are great ages to take kids! I have taken nephews on various Irish, Scottish, English, and Welsh trips and we had a wonderful time. The oldest are in their 30's now and still talk about their jaunts with the crazy auntie.

Actually, the South Ring Road, via the Tunnel isn't bad at all, Irishface. In THIS instance, though, I agree that the teens would probably enjoy the ferry, too.

canofbeans: If you 'CLICK' on your screen name (in blue), all of YOUR posts will list in the left-hand column.

Bob

I agree with JohnOD about your Kenmare section. It's good that you know those things exist so you have indoor/outdoor options, but I doubt you would get all of it in. The Gap of Dunloe is definitely a full day, especially if you start from Kenmare. It's well worth it, though, if you have good weather. We walked it, although depending on your activity level and how your kids are, the jaunting carts may be a better option for you. It's not a difficult walk, but it's pretty long.

You've gotten some really good advice here. I have a few thoughts.

Consider doing Lough Gur and Adare (Agree with John on Adare) on the way to Dingle. In Co Clare you could go either north or south from the Cliffs of Moher. The drive to Loop Head is very nice and has very little tourism. In July that will be nice.

I agree on the folk park and even more on Craggaunowen. The St. Brendan things is quite interesting and while on Dingle, you can visit the spot where it is believed Brendan launched his voyage. The girls might want to read up on St Brendan. There are lots of links on the web. Here is a translation of the earliest known transcript of the voyage: Nauigatio sancti Brendani abbatis:

http://www.lamp.ac.uk/celtic/Nsb.htm

More later, have to run to a meeting.

Bill

Continued:

As far as castle banquets, slightly further away is Dunguaire, which I prefer to Bunratty. It's more intimate and the lighting is much nicer. Both are part of Shannon Heritage. Be sure to make reservations now for which ever one you want. They book up early, especially in July.

The Gap of Dunloe is a fabulous tour in good weather. Walking is one option though the girls might like a jaunting car ride over the gap. The boat ride through the lakes is generally calm but can get pretty choppy at times on the large lake. It's really beautiful and makes for a full but special day. You can catch Ross Castle at the end also.

That said, with spectacular weather, you might consider a trip to the Skellig Rocks, though I fear at that time of year, they would be mobbed. It is a beautiful and awe inspiring place and I would love to experience it on a day with few travelers. Not sure how to make that happen.

You could feasibly pick up part of Beara on the way to Kinsale, perhapes by taking the Beara road out of Kenmare and then over Healy Pass and head back east from there. The entire Beara Peninsula is a full day otherwise.

I love the Mizen Peninsula, it doesn't get as smacked around by tourism and is a beautiful and wild area.

Corey at irishfireside.com put together a really nice self guided walking tour of Kilkenny. You might want to contact him for it.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Thank you so much for all of your advice. It's wonderful having experts to personalize my trip. I understand what you mean about the Kenmare portion. Maybe driving from Dingle we can drive part of the Ring and visit Ross Castle or the grounds of Muckross House. The next day we can devote to the Gap and on the way to Kinsale do the suggested short route along the Berea Peninsula. Do you think I need to make an advanced reservation for a Gap of Dunloe tour(we're going in early July), or can I figure it out the day before? I'd hate commit to a rainy day! Also, is this something we can do on our own or do we need to go on a tour? I think we would opt for the jaunting cart rather than walk.

I also like the Craggaunowen idea on our arrival day. The boat and ferry suggestions to the different islands sound very appealing. Do you know if there is a possibility of seeing puffins on any of these trips?

Also, the ghost tour in Kinsale sounds like fun as long as it's not too scary. Do you think I need advance reservations for that?

Thanks again for your help. It's so much fun learning the inside scoop! It's also great to be able to give the family a variety of options at each destination.

We reserved spots for the Gap of Dunloe tour when we got into town the day before we went (we were there in early June, though). My guess is that you would be OK just calling ahead the day before, but others who have been in July may have different advice.

The tour was definitely worth it. The thing is that the Gap is not a circle - you start and end in different locations. The tour drops you off at Kate Kearney's cottage, and picks you up at Ross Castle. If you drove yourself, you'd have to go through the Gap twice to get back to your car, as far as I know, or some other roundabout way. Plus the tour gets you the boat ride, which was fabulous (small motorboats, in case anyone gets motion sickness). You can just pick up a jaunting cart when you get there.

jent has pretty much covered the Gap questions. There are a few places you can pick up the tour reserving the day before would be fine. The Old Weir Lodge and the Killarney tourist office are the tow that I remember. With Deros tours you can reserve a jaunting car or grab one when you get there and bargain with the driver. Up to you. As jent says, it's quite a distance between Ross Castle and Kate Keraney's

Here are two companies that do boat trips to the Skelligs:
http://www.skelligstrips.com/gpage.html

http://www.skelligboattrips.com/

I've used Joe Roddy and it was great.

Not sure when luffin season hits. Didn't really see them in May.

Bill

that's "puffin"

Gap of Dunloe info:

http://www.derostours.com/gapofdunloe.html

Bob

We didn't take the ghost tour in Kinsale but did do the one hour daytime walking tour--- Herlihy's Guided Tour: 9:15 and 11:15 daily. The guide was a fabulous storyteller and made the history of Kinsale come alive. We totally enjoyed him.

bookmark