steph

Just back from 10 days in beautiful SW Ireland. I will do short bullet points about our trip, and if anyone is interested just let me know what you would like me to expand. In general, let me say that Ireland exceeded my expectations. It is stunningly beautiful, and the people are just fantastic.<BR>FLIGHTS<BR>- flew Delta over, 777 is nice with the personal video but a bit cramped (we were in economy).<BR>- bumped off Delta coming home, flew Aer Lingus. More room on the plane (Airbus 300 or 330, I think). Very congenial staff, and better food/wine than Delta. <BR>CAR<BR>- Rented an automatic station wagon from Dan Dooley. The trunk area had less room than our Camry here in the US, but we were able to fit all the bags for 4 adults + my 2 year old (we brought her Pack & Play for sleeping).<BR>- It was very weird for my husband & father in law to drive on the left. The toughest thing was their tendency to slide too far onto the left shoulder.<BR>LODGING<BR>- We rented a 4 bedroom/3.5 bath house about 1.5 miles east of Dingle called Highfield House. Beautiful, roomy, clean. Perfect for our group (our brother/sister and law met up with us) of 3 couples + my daughter. Easy walk into town, great views.<BR>- The last night we stayed at Dunaree B&B in Bunratty. Best B&B I've stayed in. Very reasonable (64 euro), great hosts...food...rooms...mattresses, etc. All en suite. Bunratty is kind of cheesy, but this was very convenient for our flights out of Shannon the next morning.<BR>FOOD<BR>Let me first say that I am not a foodie with a sophisticated palate. And I'm not a big meat eater, either. Actually...I'm not sure how long these messages can be so I'll post food in just a minute.

marylouise

Steph<BR>It's fun to hear your good report! What did you explore on Dingle Peninsula and did you do daytrips? Just interested. We rented in Castelgregory 2 years ago with our two children and had a very memorable trip. Love hearing about yours!<BR>Thanks for taking the time!<BR>Marylouise

steph

OP here:<BR>FOOD<BR>- Mozart's in Tralee (Ashe Street) My husband loved his cajun chicken sandwich and I loved my vegetarian wrap. Great service, small place, reasonable prices. Varied menu. I'd give it an 8/10.<BR>- Maire De Barra's Pub in Dingle (Strand St - the low road that's parallel to Main St). The first time we both had the potato/cheese layer. Very tasty! Had onions, peppers & tomatoes. Sides of waldorf salad, pasta salad and normal salad with good veggies (yellow peppers, etc.) I was very impressed. We went back later in the week and it wasn't quite as good, but still one of the best pub places in town. Service not great the first time, outstanding the second. 8/10.<BR>- Murphy's Pub in Dingle, Strand St. Good egg salad but the rest not as good as Maire de Barra's. Much more touristy. 7/10.<BR>- Murphy's Ice Cream in Dingle, Strand St. (not related to the pub). We loved this place. If they have the tiramisu ice cream available, get it. And the strawberry cake - to die for! I think we snacked there 4 times. 10/10.<BR>- The Oven Doors in Dingle, Strand St. Some pizzas very good (veggie, 3 cheese) some not as great (margarita just so-so). Very good garlic bread. Interesting apple crumble topped with pumpkin seeds. 8/10.<BR>- The Chart House in Dingle, by the roundabout on the low road (N-86). Fancy place, great food. The poppyseed tartlet appetizer was AMAZING! Sea bass not as good as what I've had in the USA, but the risotto was outstanding. My husband really loved his lamb. They brought apple slices for my daughter, which was very nice. The chocolate pudding for dessert had cloves in it (didn't say that on the menu), but was good. Pricy, but worth the splurge. 9/10.<BR>- Homely House cafe in Dingle off Green St. Down an alley past the Courtney bakery (which is quite good, great apple cream pastry). Just a quick lunch place with wraps and sandwiches -- all very good. Lots of veggie options. 9/10.<BR>- Adam's Pub, Dingle, Main St. I loved this place. Great veggie options, I ate there twice. Had carrot & potato soup one day, leek & potato the other. Both great. Had a mozzeralla, red pepper & tomato baguette, too, which was a little pricy but excellent. 9/10.<BR>- The Dingle Pub, Dingle, Main St. Veggie lasagna was like vegetable soup topped with cheese. I wasn't a fan of this place. Very touristy. 5/10.<BR>- Doyle's, Dingle, Main St. This was the other fancy place we went. Very nice, the salmon was outstanding and the creamy red pepper & parmesan soup was perfect. 9/10.<BR>- The Old Smokehouse, Main St. This was not quite as fancy as The Chart House & Doyle's, but still nicer than a pub. Great fried brie appetizer, and I really enjoyed the veggie shepherd's pie. Their sticky toffee pudding was even better than Doyle's. My meal was 10/10, but my husband liked Doyle's salmon better, so I'll give it a 9.5.<BR> <BR>Overall, I was extremely impressed with the food in Ireland!

steph

ACTIVITIES<BR>- We did the Rick Steves drive around the peninsula one afternoon and loved it. It points out lots of interesting places to stop. It's 30 miles or so, and took us about 4 hours with lots of time spent at a beach and shopping at Louis Mulcahy pottery. <BR>- We wanted to go to the Blaskets but the weather didn't agree with us on the days we wanted (they guys wanted to come with us and they were off playing golf several days). <BR>- Oceanworld aquarium is pretty dated. My daughter still liked it, but it's not much to see.<BR>- Killarney National Park was a great day trip. Muckross House, the gardens and the traditional farms were lots of fun. <BR>- Minard Castle & the boulder beach next to it were beautiful. There is a turnoff for this about 3-4 miles east of Dingle. <BR>- Inch Beach was nice. My daughter loves beaches! We also stopped at a smaller one near Ventry on our drive.<BR>- We did not do the Conor Pass (nervous drivers!) I hope to next time.<BR>- We did spend a good amount of time in pubs watching World Cup matches, which was great! The Ireland/Spain match was the highlight, of course (even though the outcome wasn't what we'd hoped).<BR> <BR>We did a lot of "just hanging out". Our family is spread over the country so it was nice to just be together and visit.

Mina

Steph, thanks for posting the info! We can always use more trip reports on Ireland!<BR><BR>Thanks for posting the info on the pubs...I'm all about food and drink, so I'll have to check out some of the places you mentioned.

lynda

Great details - thanks Steph! I am curious what you mean about Bunratty being "Cheesy"?

steph

Hi Lynday -- That probably wasn't the best word for me to choose -- I just meant it was much more overrun with tourists than other places we visited. The castle/folk park was interesting (although I liked the Muckross Farms better) and it was a great location for our last night before departing from Shannon.

Ann

I agree--Bunratty is cheesy, but it's cheesy in a fun way.<BR><BR>Boy, if you though Aer Lingus had more room that Delta, Delta must have the least legroom of any airline in operation! I don't fly Aer Lingus any more because it's just too cramped.

Buddy

Steph, We are going to SW Ireland and have 4 adults all with Luggage. Do you remember the make of the station wagon you rented from Dan Dooley.

Sue

We went in May (4 adults with luggage) and rented a Ford Galaxy from Dan Dooley. It was perfect for us! More like a minivan than a station wagon, which had the added benefit of good sightseeing vision from the back seat. Standard transmission , with CDW covered by Platinum MC.

steph

Hi Buddy,<BR>Our station wagon was a Renault, but I am not 100% sure of the model. We had 3 large backpacks, 2 large duffel bags, 2 roll-on suitcases and my daughter's pack & play (which is the size of a large duffel. All this luggage just fit in the back of the car. <BR> <BR>We looked at getting a mini-van, too, as mentioned above, but the station wagon was a better price, and it worked fine for us. If all 4 of you are very tall, maybe the mini-van would be better...although I am 5'11" and sat in the back of the car the whole time. It was fine for me.<BR> <BR>Wnjoy your trip - I can not WAIT to go back! Ireland has been my favorite place in Europe so far.

steph

Hi Buddy,<BR>Our station wagon was a Renault, but I am not 100% sure of the model. We had 3 large backpacks, 2 large duffel bags, 2 roll-on suitcases and my daughter's pack & play (which is the size of a large duffel. All this luggage just fit in the back of the car. <BR> <BR>We looked at getting a mini-van, too, as mentioned above, but the station wagon was a better price, and it worked fine for us. If all 4 of you are very tall, maybe the mini-van would be better...although I am 5'11" and sat in the back of the car the whole time. It was fine for me.<BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip - I can not WAIT to go back! Ireland has been my favorite place in Europe so far.

Deb

Glad you had such a great time. Dingle is by far my favorite part of Ireland.<BR><BR>Next time, try the restaurant named Beginish. It is worth the splurge. Also you didn't mention whether you saw Fungi (the dolphin) or not? (Just curious). Next time, do enjoy the Conor Pass - it is spectacular!<BR><BR>I agree that Bunratty is somewhat cheesy but as you said it is a great location for staying the night you arrive or before you leave - very easy to get in and out of Shannon. Glad you liked your B&B; I can recommend another called Bunratty Lodge at the end of the Low Road - Mary Browne is a wonderful host.

steph

Thanks Deb,<BR> <BR>I looked at the Beginish menu several times (it looked WONDERFUL to me, but the rest of my group thought The Chart House and Doyle's had more variety, and my 2 year old was always with us & we thought it might have been too fancy a place for her). Mu husband and I just talked at lunch today about how we want to go back soon, just the 2 of us, so we will eat there for sure.<BR> <BR>Unfortunately we did not take any boat trips, so the only Fungi we saw was in pictures.<BR> <BR>As for the Conor Pass -- can you hike it/walk it from Dingle? Or would take too long or be too unsafe? Just considering that instead of driving as a way to spend a day next time.<BR>

marylouise

Hi Steph<BR>Conor Pass is not to be missed! Sorry you did. It would be too long to walk and I would think dangerous as the road is very narrow and cars are travelling in opposite directions. Not much room left for a pedestrian! My husband got quite good at navigating it. Our self-catering house was in Castlegregory so we traversed Conor Pass quite often to get to Dingle and other parts south on the peninsula. We did it in rain, dark and good weather. I know there are local van tours that will take you for the ride if you really don't care to drive it yourself. You can stop at pull offs along the way and hike the area. The views are breathtaking. Also, if you go to the north side of the peninsula, Brandon Mtn and Cloughane are lovely areas to explore. More remote than Dingletown. Castlegregory was a lovely town, as well. There are beautiful beaches and the scenery combining the mountain and the ocean are incredible! We can't wait to go again, either. For now, I peruse this forum to get my Ireland fix!<BR>Nice to hear your details and travel vicariously! Thanks!

gogoellen

We just got back from Ireland....spent two nights at Greenmount House in Dingle. The B and B was awesome! My daughter swam with Fungi and she enjoyed it!!! We ate dinner at Marie something or other (the one you mentioned) and it was great! We couldn't find any traditional music where we felt comfortable taking our 16 yr. old. We also LOVED rick steeve's drive!

Joe

Great report, thanks for sharing<BR><BR>Can you give me more information on the house you rented and if you don't mind a contact? You can e-mail me if you prefer<BR><BR>thank you

steph

Hi Joe,<BR> <BR>We rented the Highfield House from Michelle Flannery at West Kerry Holiday Planners. Here is their website, from there you can click on Highfield House for more info. If you have specific questions about the house, just let me know. I hope you get the chance to visit Dingle soon.<BR><BR>http://www.irish-holiday-rentals.com/west-kerry/

Dave

What is this Rick Steves drive to several of you refer? will be in Ireland in mid-Oct & am interested.

marylouise

Hi Dave,<BR>The Rick Steves website has very specific and descriptive directions for driving the Slea Head Drive which covers most of the coastal scenic route around the Dingle Peninsula.The drive is beautiful. I printed the directions off the site over 2 years ago. I imagine you still can do that. Stephanie may have more current info on it. <BR>Don't miss Dingle. It's a lovely area with lots to see and do. Wish I was going again!<BR>marylouise