jkiley2

Hi All:

Wife and I are planning a trip to Ireland with kids 8 & 6 and in-laws
in Summer 09. Below is my latest, revised, itinerary. Need some critical comment. Is it too daring (or not enough)?

Day 1-3 Dromoland Castle
Day 1 Land Shannon- check bags and Drive thru the Burren, lunch in Doolin, see the Cliffs. Afternoon jet lag recovery-

Day 2 Dunguaire Castle, Ailwee caves, Afternoon in Bunratty- Dinner Medievil Feast

Day 3 Day trip to Aran Islands

Day 4 Drive to Dingle - looking to stay at a working farmhouse
( any recommendations?)

Day 5 Dingle - Day of relaxation- possible beach, horseback riding for kids

Day 6 Dingle- day trip to Killarney, Ross Castle, etc

Day 7 Drive to Kilkenny
Stop in Cahir
Evening in Kilkenny
Kilkeeny River Court Hotel looks nice (any recommendations)

Day 8 Kilkenny
Day in Kilkenny town

DAY 9 Kilkenny
Day trip to Cashel - see the Rock

DAY 10 Drive to Dublin
Stop at Trim Castle

DAY 11 & 12 Dublin
Need advice on good hotel for kids

Day 13 back home

Thanks

Jim

Irishgal127

Hey Jim,

Good luck with your travels! We're going in February and I'm as exicted as you guys!

I'll let you know how it goes. We've found wonderful B&B's on here and with the help of many fodorites!

Blessings!

Irishgal

Ceidleh

It looks like a decent itinerary for the most part. The arrival day plans seem a bit ambitious given you will have jet lag and you aren't sure what the weather is going to be like. The Cliffs are very windy on sunny days - miserable to be there on a rainy, overcast day with a cold wind.

Aran Islands are also contingent upon weather - so be flexible with your plan for a day trip. Doolin can often be unreliable for getting ferry service to the Islands - even on sunny days the sea can be too choppy and they cancel the crossings.

irishface

Two suggestions:


On your relaxation day in
Dingle, take one of the short (hour or hour and half) boat rides around the harbor.


You will have a good chance of seeing Fungie, the resident dolphin, who loves to pop up and greet boaters. The trip I took was as full of locals as of tourists. It was what my BIL calls a "slice of life".

Unless you have a special reason for stopping in Cahir, substitute Cashel as your stop on the way to Kilkenny. Then on that Cashel day in Kilkenny drive over to New Ross and visit the "famine ship". It is a recreation of one of those infamous ships. As you enter, you are given a "ticket" with the name of one of the passengers who took the ship 150 years or so ago and you will find your bunk with your name on it. (Had you been on the original ship, your whole family--
kids and inlaws-- would probably have one bunk where you would sleep and store your luggage, which would have had to carry food for the trip as the ration to which your ticket entitled you would be too sparse
to keep you well fed through the voyage.) A docent dressed as one of the passengers tells the story of the voyage.

A little farther afield is the Hookhead lighthouse which is open to the public. There is a nice little cafe in the visitor center.

You could do both of these in a day.

It sounds like a great trip for three generations! have fun!

bratsandbeer

Dunquaire Castle has an excellent Medieval Banquet. We stayed at a b&b close to the castle. The lady at the b&b said she knew personally the lady who is in charge of the banquet. She wants to have good food and good entertainment. She had both. It was a wonderful evening. I have heard it is much better than than the Bunratty dinner.

You may be planning a bit much for your first day.
We had to dig out our stocking caps and gloves for the Cliffs - it is a cold wind there off the water.

SiobhanP

How old are your kids and what do you look for in a hotel with them that should help with Dublin. There are too many places to choose otherwise. You will LOVE Dromoland.

jkiley2

Thanks for the tips all.

As per advice, I think we'll save the Cliffs for the second day. Can't check into Dromoland until 2:00 p.m. Any suggestions for good way to occupy 6 jet lagged people for 5 or so hours in Shannon area?

I like the Famine Ship idea in New Ross- the kids would be interested in that. Didn't want to give up Cahir Castle, as my Father in Law is a Castle buff and I hear it is one of the better ones. Question: Driving from Dingle to Kilkenny - can we do both Cahir & Cashel along the way?

Do we blow off the Bunratty Feast?

The Dingle harbor boat sounds great. Can anybody recommend a working farm B & B on the Dingle?

Also - still need a Dublin Hotel. Kids 8 & 6 like to swim- so I though pool would be a prerequisite-Any suggestions?

Jim

jkiley2

Also thought I might venture down to Tramore one day from Kilkenny so the kids can go to the amusement park and possibly the beach. Is this worth doing? Is there a better town to do this on the Southeast coast than Tramore?

Thanks

Jim

irishface

Don't blow off Bunratty. I have done all three of the banquets (Dunguaire, Knappogue and Bunratty) and Bunratty is my favorite. I know, I know, it is touristy, etc., but I like it anyway. I also think it might be the most enj1oyable for the kids. I saw the most families at the early sitting at Bunratty.

Suggestion for first day is Cragganouwen which is quite near Shannon. There is a tower house with some furnishings apporpriate to the age. The crannon (recreated) is a small family compound situated on an island in a lake. Today there is a wood walkway out to the crannog, but in ancient times there would have been stepping stones just beneath the water's surface and they would have been set in a random pattern which only the family knew. Attackers would have fallen into deep water. There are actors who are dressed as these ancient people would have been dressed and who explain what life was like a thousand years ago.
You can go into the houses and see cooking utensils, bedsteads, etc.


The Brendan, the leather sailboat which Tim Severin used to cross the Atlantic and prove that ST. Brendan could have visited North America, is housed here. It must have been an incredible adventure!

There is a walk through the woods. As you walk, you'll see a part of an ancient log road which was dug up and moved here. There are wild boars (behind fencing!) in the woods. On one of my visits, I saw baby boars.

There is a field where ancient breeds of cattle and sheep graze.

A cottage serves as a cafe. Simple, good food.

Being outdoors and walking around is a great way to beat jet lag and keep awake.

This is one of my favorite places to take first time visitors who might be traveling with me to Ireland.

LindainOhio

If it is sunny when you land, I would head to the Cliffs. I thought it was a wonderful place to visit on our first day in Ireland.

Padraig

I think irishface's suggestion of Craggaunowen is a very good idea, especially taking account of what might appeal to the children as well as the adults.

Another visit with child-appeal, which can be done more easily in association with the cliffs of Moher and the Burren, is Ailwee Cave. Given that it is hard to be sure that they might like the other stuff, Ailwee might be a high point for them (also a low point, in being subterranean).

I never much liked Tramore, thinking it a bit tacky. But tacky might appeal to the kids, and it's their holiday, too. If you decide to head that way, you might pick a route through New Ross and visit the Dunbrody, a full-scale replica of one of the ships that carried emigrants in famine days. I think both adults and kids might find it interesting.

goodlifevt

Hi - sounds like a great trip for all. We did a trip 8 years ago of the sw of Ireland and one of the B&B's we stayed at in Dingle (actually in Ventry) was a working farm. Ard an Chaisleain is overlooking Ventry harbor and is a working dairy farm. email: [email protected].

Next door was a castle ruin called Rathanane which we did not explore but added to the charm. We enjoyed listening to their children study their "irish" at the dining room table and watching them play around the farm. It was a good location just outside of Dingle and we enjoyed our stay there very much.

jkiley2

I was convinced that I wanted to stay at Dromoland after landing in Shannon. A friend said he liked Adare Manor better.

Any opinions as to the better choice of the two?

Jim

jefe

In response to your driving from Dingle to Kilkenny question and doing both Cahir & Cashel along the way -- the answer is "it depends"

I agree that Cahir is a nice castle to poke around. If you get an early enough start, you could probably do it. You will probably just have to watch your time spent while at the castle. I think the Rock might be open later during part of the summer, so be sure to check open/closing times to see how long you can spend at various stops.

You are probably looking at at least 3 hours to Cahir, a short hop to Cashel, then maybe an hour to Kilkenny. So, around 4 hours in the car, plus ground time. I don't have kids, so I can't say for sure how they would handle the iternerary, but I think they would probably enjoy the castle.

chip

don't miss bunratty castle/banquet, loved tour of ross castle, cahir was interesting but more ruins, rock of cashel doesn't have to be a long stop...but wouldn't miss. jerpoint abbey outside of kilkenney is a great sight. trim is ok...would pick glendalough south of dublin or newgrange/knowth north of dublin over trim.

brocon

Not a lot of hotels in Dublin have pools, depends on your budget. Four Seasons in Ballsbridge has a very nice pool also in a very good location but expensive.