SW Ireland Trip Report
Oct 5th, 2005, 01:52 PM
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SW Ireland Trip Report
(In case this did not post properly to the Ireland Forum the first time)
Thank you to all of those who contributed ideas for our trip to Ireland! My husband and I returned from our trip this past Sunday and had a wonderful time! It lived up to all expectations. Below I share our experiences and will try to address issues that I have seen posted on the forum. Excuse my spelling as I do not have all of my notes in front of me and I want to post this sooner rather than later.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrived in Shannon at 7:30 am. Picked up rental car. We rented the car from Auto Europe online. We had no problem picking up the car. We waived the CDW as we paid for the car with a platinum MasterCard. I gave them a fax from MasterCard regarding insurance coverage but they did not ask for it. We headed from the airport straight for the Buren. Boy are the roads narrow! We stopped in Gort at a café for a scone and then proceeded back through the Burren by taking a right on Boston and driving around. We stopped at Black Head and got out of the car to walk around and when we came back to the car we noticed that we had a flat tire. Yea, bummer. There was a full size spare in the trunk so we changed the tire. To make a LONG story short, the spare had a bubble in it. Luckily we made it to Doolin without a problem and purchased a new tire from John Sherfey (who was wonderful) in Doolin to replace the flat and kept the spare in the trunk. Moral: Look at the spare tire in the trunk before leaving the car rental site. We did not get charged for the bubble on the spare upon return because we immediately notified the car company and also spoke to them again the day before returning the car but had we not talked to them the spare with a bubble would have been put on a damage report and we would have been charged (although maybe not if we did not bring it to their attention but in any event when you leave the rental place you want a good spare so I advise checking it out).
We stayed at Daly’s House in Doolin. The room was a nice size and very clean and easily accessible to town. We ate dinner at O’Connor’s Pub which was very good and had our first Guinness and Cider.
Day 2: We drove to the Cliffs of Mohr and walked up to the top. It was windy but the sun was out so it was very nice and I was very glad that we went to see them. From the cliffs we made our way through Kilkee (stopped for a walk on the beach) to the Kilrush/Talbert Ferry. Took the ferry and proceeded to Dingle with a stop in Tralee for the end of the Kerry Football game. We arrived in Dingle in the day light about 6:30 pm. In Dingle we stayed at Cil Brec house. Unfortunately we were over the kitchen and so we were awoken at 6:30 am the next morning by the people cooking. Therefore, the accommodations were ok. The price was very reasonable and the accomidations were fine just nothing special...if I were to stay there again I would definitely request to not be over the kitchen. It was also a bit further from town than I thought but still walkable. The breakfast both mornings were very nice.
Day 3: We drove around the Dingle Peninsula. We followed Rick Steve’s tour of the peninsula making some detours and it was wonderful! The scenery was the most beautiful in our opinion of the places that we visited.
Day 4: We left Dingle for Kenmare. We visited Inch Beach and saw a great rainbow. We drove to Kate Kerney’s cottage (arrived at 11:30 pm) where we left our car and hiked through the Gap of Dunloe. The plan was to take the boat on the lakes to Ross Castle and then take a bus back to our car. Unfortunately we missed the 2:00 pm boat by 5 min. Guess we took too many pictures. Oh well. So after the 10 mile walk (we brought a pedomitor with us) we had to walk 4 miles back up hill before we found a car coming in our direction from whom we hitched a ride back to our car. Luckily we had very nice weather for the walk (one storm came through for about 10 min and during this time we took shelter in a old house with some sheep .) We then went to Ross Castle and stopped off at Muckrose House (unfort. The house was closed when we got there but the landscaping was beautiful). We arrived in Kenmare around 7:00 and stayed at the Lodge. The Lodge was FABULOUS!! Great location, great room, and great breakfast! We ate dinner at Foley’s and had a wonderful meal. I highly recommend it. Reasonably priced and wonderful food. Dan O’Sullivan was playing which was an extra bonus.
Day 5: It was raining today but we drove around the Ring of Kerry. It was nice but due to the rain it was not as beautiful as it probably otherwise is. Also we had just been on the Dingle Penninsula which was amazing. That evening we also stayed in Kenmare and ate at Paddies which was also delicious. We each had the lamb stew. It was a very romantic setting. candle light etc. and very reasonably priced.
Kenmare was definitly a great town. Next time I might stay 3 nights as opposed to just 2.
Day 6. Left Kenmare and drove 3/4 of the way around the Berra Peninsula which was beautiful. If I had to make a choice between Ring of Kerry and Berra I would w/o a doubt do the Berra. We were only able to go 3/4 of the way because we still had a trip to Kinsale but we did get a great flavor for it and only missed the tip. The drive to Kinsale was also very nice. We stayed at the Lighthouse in Kinsale. It was clean and close to town and a great deal because we booked online, but not the same calabur as the lodge in Kenmare. Had dinner at the Blue Haven which was very good. But dinner the next night at the White house was better. Great food for a great value.
Day 7: Had breakfast at Café Blue (we opted out of the breakfast at our B&B) which was great. We each had a bagel with smoked salmon. Walked to Charles fort and took a tour. We then ate an amazing lunch at the Spaniard. I had the seafood chowder which was fabulous and my husband had the fish and chips which was also very good. I highly recommend it. We then drove to Old head and around that area and took pictures. That evening was when we ate at the White House.
Day 8: After another great breakfast at Cafe Blue we drove to Cork city and walked around. The English Market was great. Then drove to Adar to see the thatched roofed homes and ended the day in Brunratty where we stayed at Brunratty Loge. Mary Brown was a lovely hostess and the room was charming. A great place to spend the last night. We ate dinner at Kathleen’s which was great.
Day 9: Left from Shannon back home. It was a wonderful vacation and the driving was very manageable in terms of distance. We look forward to returning to Ireland at some point in the future.
Thank you to all of those who contributed ideas for our trip to Ireland! My husband and I returned from our trip this past Sunday and had a wonderful time! It lived up to all expectations. Below I share our experiences and will try to address issues that I have seen posted on the forum. Excuse my spelling as I do not have all of my notes in front of me and I want to post this sooner rather than later.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrived in Shannon at 7:30 am. Picked up rental car. We rented the car from Auto Europe online. We had no problem picking up the car. We waived the CDW as we paid for the car with a platinum MasterCard. I gave them a fax from MasterCard regarding insurance coverage but they did not ask for it. We headed from the airport straight for the Buren. Boy are the roads narrow! We stopped in Gort at a café for a scone and then proceeded back through the Burren by taking a right on Boston and driving around. We stopped at Black Head and got out of the car to walk around and when we came back to the car we noticed that we had a flat tire. Yea, bummer. There was a full size spare in the trunk so we changed the tire. To make a LONG story short, the spare had a bubble in it. Luckily we made it to Doolin without a problem and purchased a new tire from John Sherfey (who was wonderful) in Doolin to replace the flat and kept the spare in the trunk. Moral: Look at the spare tire in the trunk before leaving the car rental site. We did not get charged for the bubble on the spare upon return because we immediately notified the car company and also spoke to them again the day before returning the car but had we not talked to them the spare with a bubble would have been put on a damage report and we would have been charged (although maybe not if we did not bring it to their attention but in any event when you leave the rental place you want a good spare so I advise checking it out).
We stayed at Daly’s House in Doolin. The room was a nice size and very clean and easily accessible to town. We ate dinner at O’Connor’s Pub which was very good and had our first Guinness and Cider.
Day 2: We drove to the Cliffs of Mohr and walked up to the top. It was windy but the sun was out so it was very nice and I was very glad that we went to see them. From the cliffs we made our way through Kilkee (stopped for a walk on the beach) to the Kilrush/Talbert Ferry. Took the ferry and proceeded to Dingle with a stop in Tralee for the end of the Kerry Football game. We arrived in Dingle in the day light about 6:30 pm. In Dingle we stayed at Cil Brec house. Unfortunately we were over the kitchen and so we were awoken at 6:30 am the next morning by the people cooking. Therefore, the accommodations were ok. The price was very reasonable and the accomidations were fine just nothing special...if I were to stay there again I would definitely request to not be over the kitchen. It was also a bit further from town than I thought but still walkable. The breakfast both mornings were very nice.
Day 3: We drove around the Dingle Peninsula. We followed Rick Steve’s tour of the peninsula making some detours and it was wonderful! The scenery was the most beautiful in our opinion of the places that we visited.
Day 4: We left Dingle for Kenmare. We visited Inch Beach and saw a great rainbow. We drove to Kate Kerney’s cottage (arrived at 11:30 pm) where we left our car and hiked through the Gap of Dunloe. The plan was to take the boat on the lakes to Ross Castle and then take a bus back to our car. Unfortunately we missed the 2:00 pm boat by 5 min. Guess we took too many pictures. Oh well. So after the 10 mile walk (we brought a pedomitor with us) we had to walk 4 miles back up hill before we found a car coming in our direction from whom we hitched a ride back to our car. Luckily we had very nice weather for the walk (one storm came through for about 10 min and during this time we took shelter in a old house with some sheep .) We then went to Ross Castle and stopped off at Muckrose House (unfort. The house was closed when we got there but the landscaping was beautiful). We arrived in Kenmare around 7:00 and stayed at the Lodge. The Lodge was FABULOUS!! Great location, great room, and great breakfast! We ate dinner at Foley’s and had a wonderful meal. I highly recommend it. Reasonably priced and wonderful food. Dan O’Sullivan was playing which was an extra bonus.
Day 5: It was raining today but we drove around the Ring of Kerry. It was nice but due to the rain it was not as beautiful as it probably otherwise is. Also we had just been on the Dingle Penninsula which was amazing. That evening we also stayed in Kenmare and ate at Paddies which was also delicious. We each had the lamb stew. It was a very romantic setting. candle light etc. and very reasonably priced.
Kenmare was definitly a great town. Next time I might stay 3 nights as opposed to just 2.
Day 6. Left Kenmare and drove 3/4 of the way around the Berra Peninsula which was beautiful. If I had to make a choice between Ring of Kerry and Berra I would w/o a doubt do the Berra. We were only able to go 3/4 of the way because we still had a trip to Kinsale but we did get a great flavor for it and only missed the tip. The drive to Kinsale was also very nice. We stayed at the Lighthouse in Kinsale. It was clean and close to town and a great deal because we booked online, but not the same calabur as the lodge in Kenmare. Had dinner at the Blue Haven which was very good. But dinner the next night at the White house was better. Great food for a great value.
Day 7: Had breakfast at Café Blue (we opted out of the breakfast at our B&B) which was great. We each had a bagel with smoked salmon. Walked to Charles fort and took a tour. We then ate an amazing lunch at the Spaniard. I had the seafood chowder which was fabulous and my husband had the fish and chips which was also very good. I highly recommend it. We then drove to Old head and around that area and took pictures. That evening was when we ate at the White House.
Day 8: After another great breakfast at Cafe Blue we drove to Cork city and walked around. The English Market was great. Then drove to Adar to see the thatched roofed homes and ended the day in Brunratty where we stayed at Brunratty Loge. Mary Brown was a lovely hostess and the room was charming. A great place to spend the last night. We ate dinner at Kathleen’s which was great.
Day 9: Left from Shannon back home. It was a wonderful vacation and the driving was very manageable in terms of distance. We look forward to returning to Ireland at some point in the future.
Oct 5th, 2005, 02:37 PM
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Great to see that you enjoyed your trip,
as we lift our glass to bid you farewell may we toast you and yours:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at you back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Come back to see us again, Slan agus beannacht oraibh go leir (Goodbye and Godbless you all)
as we lift our glass to bid you farewell may we toast you and yours:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at you back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Come back to see us again, Slan agus beannacht oraibh go leir (Goodbye and Godbless you all)
Oct 5th, 2005, 03:45 PM
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LDK, thanks very much for sharing your trip report. Eek, so sorry about your flat tire, glad no one was hurt.
I am planning our first trip to Ireland for June 2006 and I'm very excited. I want to book the b&b's soon, which means I have to finalize our itinerary. My brain is totally stuffed and overflowing with Irish info.
It's interesting you preferred the Beara Peninsula over the Ring of Kerry. What about comparing the Beara Peninsula to the Dingle Peninsula? Which did you prefer and why?
If you returned to Dingle, which part of town would you stay in? Or would you stay out somewhere on the Dingle peninsula? We'll have 3 nights in dingle area and I'm trying to decide where to stay. We want to enjoy trad music in the pubs at night and yet still want a quiet sleep at night. We will have a car but I'm not excited about the idea of driving in the dark from a pub to our b&b if it's too far, possibly with drunk drivers on the road as well.
Many thanks!
I am planning our first trip to Ireland for June 2006 and I'm very excited. I want to book the b&b's soon, which means I have to finalize our itinerary. My brain is totally stuffed and overflowing with Irish info.
It's interesting you preferred the Beara Peninsula over the Ring of Kerry. What about comparing the Beara Peninsula to the Dingle Peninsula? Which did you prefer and why?
If you returned to Dingle, which part of town would you stay in? Or would you stay out somewhere on the Dingle peninsula? We'll have 3 nights in dingle area and I'm trying to decide where to stay. We want to enjoy trad music in the pubs at night and yet still want a quiet sleep at night. We will have a car but I'm not excited about the idea of driving in the dark from a pub to our b&b if it's too far, possibly with drunk drivers on the road as well.
Many thanks!
Oct 5th, 2005, 04:53 PM
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LDK,
I agree with your opinion about The Lodge in Kenmare I stayed their last April for three nights,and found it of very high quality.Especially their great breakfasts.
Incidently if you check out their page over at Tripadvisor you can see some photos of mine listed under "Candid user photos"
I agree with your opinion about The Lodge in Kenmare I stayed their last April for three nights,and found it of very high quality.Especially their great breakfasts.
Incidently if you check out their page over at Tripadvisor you can see some photos of mine listed under "Candid user photos"
Oct 6th, 2005, 06:55 AM
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Melissa,
Please see my responses to your questions below:
What about comparing the Beara Peninsula to the Dingle Peninsula? Which did you prefer and why? The Peninsula's are very different. The Dingle Peninsula is all farm land with green rolling hills. The Beara Peninsula is more forest and rock with farm land in the valley's of the hills. They are each different but I think that if I had to choose one over the other I would choose Dingle. But Berra is beautiful as well.
If you returned to Dingle, which part of town would you stay in? Well, the Shores is a B&B that is talked about on this forum which sounds wonderful but I made the conscious decision that I wanted to be able to walk to town in the evenings b/c of driving during the day and not wanting to drive at night. Or would you stay out somewhere on the Dingle peninsula? We'll have 3 nights in dingle area and I'm trying to decide where to stay. The Cil Brec house is close enough to town yet far enough away that you do not hear anything at night. But there are B&B's closer to town I just do not recall the names. Again, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Hope this helps.
Many thanks!
Please see my responses to your questions below:
What about comparing the Beara Peninsula to the Dingle Peninsula? Which did you prefer and why? The Peninsula's are very different. The Dingle Peninsula is all farm land with green rolling hills. The Beara Peninsula is more forest and rock with farm land in the valley's of the hills. They are each different but I think that if I had to choose one over the other I would choose Dingle. But Berra is beautiful as well.
If you returned to Dingle, which part of town would you stay in? Well, the Shores is a B&B that is talked about on this forum which sounds wonderful but I made the conscious decision that I wanted to be able to walk to town in the evenings b/c of driving during the day and not wanting to drive at night. Or would you stay out somewhere on the Dingle peninsula? We'll have 3 nights in dingle area and I'm trying to decide where to stay. The Cil Brec house is close enough to town yet far enough away that you do not hear anything at night. But there are B&B's closer to town I just do not recall the names. Again, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Hope this helps.
Many thanks!
Oct 6th, 2005, 07:35 AM
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Melissa, I am sorry, you asked which part of town I would stay in. We stayed over the bridge past the ocean world. (I know that does not seem very descriptive but that is the way directions are given in Ireland) If you are at the information center in town facing the harbor we were toward the right. The town is very small so anywhere you stay that is near town will be close to all of town. Unfortunately I cannot find a map of the town to show you but there are a number of B&B's that we walked past to get to ours.
Oct 6th, 2005, 07:57 AM
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Oct 6th, 2005, 08:11 AM
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LDK,
Your experience with the bubbled spare tire is a prime example of why everyone should check out their rental car completely *before* taking to the roads. Something similar happened to us...
We rented a car from AutoEurope and had a few problems with it. To begin with, the windshield wiper blades were filthy dirty and dull. Not the thing to find out while driving on Irish roads and a rain storm comes up. We pulled into a corner store to wash the wipers and I bought a set of disposable emory boards (those things us ladies use to file our nails) to sharpen the wipers into something useable. We had been driving for a while but decided then would be a good time to see what else may be not right on the car. Good thing we did too because it turned out that there was nothing but the tiniest bit of oil in the engine. I think we ended up buying 2 quarts to fill up - plus an extra in case of leaks. Yikes!
I know many people love AutoEurope and have had no difficulty with them. I don't think that all their cars are like this. It was one car on one trip to Ireland. Just check stuff out is all I'm saying.
Did we learn our lesson though? Not entirely. Hubby went to home to Ireland to visit a sick family member, just grabbed his rental car and headed for the motorway without checking the car over. Turns out he had NO headlights, only high beams, which, of course, he only discovered when he went to turn ON said headlights because they were needed.
So, it pays to check over your rental car for those few minutes before heading to the roads of Ireland as we and LDK found out.
Cheers,
Wendy
Your experience with the bubbled spare tire is a prime example of why everyone should check out their rental car completely *before* taking to the roads. Something similar happened to us...
We rented a car from AutoEurope and had a few problems with it. To begin with, the windshield wiper blades were filthy dirty and dull. Not the thing to find out while driving on Irish roads and a rain storm comes up. We pulled into a corner store to wash the wipers and I bought a set of disposable emory boards (those things us ladies use to file our nails) to sharpen the wipers into something useable. We had been driving for a while but decided then would be a good time to see what else may be not right on the car. Good thing we did too because it turned out that there was nothing but the tiniest bit of oil in the engine. I think we ended up buying 2 quarts to fill up - plus an extra in case of leaks. Yikes!
I know many people love AutoEurope and have had no difficulty with them. I don't think that all their cars are like this. It was one car on one trip to Ireland. Just check stuff out is all I'm saying.
Did we learn our lesson though? Not entirely. Hubby went to home to Ireland to visit a sick family member, just grabbed his rental car and headed for the motorway without checking the car over. Turns out he had NO headlights, only high beams, which, of course, he only discovered when he went to turn ON said headlights because they were needed.
So, it pays to check over your rental car for those few minutes before heading to the roads of Ireland as we and LDK found out.
Cheers,
Wendy
Oct 6th, 2005, 12:58 PM
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Melissa,
I have not ever rented from Dan Dooley though I've heard from many folks who have and had great experiences with them. (Of course there's always the odd one that doesn't, too...)
When we go to Ireland we rent through RentACarIreland (add ".com" for their web site and they get all their cars only through Hertz. We also pick up and drop off in Dublin only - convenience for us, no other reason. We've had our best service and cars through Hertz. Plus we like to buck the trend and get a bit larger car than most tourists go for while visiting. (I know you love your Bimmer so you can understand where we are coming from!
)
Car rental has come a long in the last 9 years that I have been traveling to Ireland. Still, it takes no more than a moment to do a quick check over your rental - no matter who you get it from - and it just may save you some otherwise wasted time getting towed to a garage somewhere when you should be touring along the roads.
~w
I have not ever rented from Dan Dooley though I've heard from many folks who have and had great experiences with them. (Of course there's always the odd one that doesn't, too...)
When we go to Ireland we rent through RentACarIreland (add ".com" for their web site and they get all their cars only through Hertz. We also pick up and drop off in Dublin only - convenience for us, no other reason. We've had our best service and cars through Hertz. Plus we like to buck the trend and get a bit larger car than most tourists go for while visiting. (I know you love your Bimmer so you can understand where we are coming from!
)Car rental has come a long in the last 9 years that I have been traveling to Ireland. Still, it takes no more than a moment to do a quick check over your rental - no matter who you get it from - and it just may save you some otherwise wasted time getting towed to a garage somewhere when you should be touring along the roads.
~w
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