Steeleyes

This October will be my third trip to Ireland in ten years, but instead of my wife, I am taking along 3 friends and we are all celebrating our 40th birthdays. The original plan was to golf our way through the country, but I am scaling back our golfing plans so that I can show these Ireland virgins some of the magical areas that make this island so addictive. Plenty of pints and sessions are in order! Our tentative itinerary is as follows, and except for the Sunday BnB overnight and Ballybunion tee time, it is very flexible at this point so I welcome all advice.

Sun- Arrive 7AM at Shannon. Blarney? Killkee Loophead drive? Banratty Folk Park? Lodging at Old Course BnB in Ballybunion.

Mon- Golf Ballybunion. At completion of round, drive down and over Conor Pass into Dingle. Lodge either at Greenmount or Heatons.

Tues- Drive Slea Head. Head North to catch ferry and see the Cliffs at sunset. Lodge at Cullinans in Doolin.

Wed- Drive thru Galway and explore Connemara. Kylemore Abbey, Sky Drive, lodge in Clifden or at Murlach Lodge in Ballconneely.

Thu- Play Connemara Golf Club. Meander back to Galway along the coast. Stay at Jurys or Brennans Yard.

Fri- Explore Galway city. Overnite again in Galway.

Sat- Depart back to Chicago

My main concern is what to do that first day. From a tourist standpoint, I'm thinking Blarney Castle. But my fear is the driving distance involved and the jet-lag, as we are lodging all the way back up in Ballybunion that night. I have never done Bunratty, and am not sure that it would fill an entire day. I've heard that Kilkee is breathtaking.

Alright, feel free to pick away. Any thoughts or alternate suggestions from the experts?

wojazz3

If you really meant Blarney and not Bunratty, I wouldn't give that a second thought. I would only stop at Blarney if I happened to be right next to it. Way too much of a drive on the first day especially then getting back to Ballybunion. There are much more interesting castles and in fact, Bunratty is a better choice. Quite frankly, the Kilkee drive and then down to Ballybunion is plenty for a first day. More that I would want to ideally do.

Generally, your first three days seem pretty full and then they slow down nicely. Consider as an option to staying in Galway, a night at Cregg Castle just up the road outside of Tuam. Interesting place with live music from the owners. Of course, if you want to party, Galway shouldn't disappoint.

Bill

Budman

I'm sure they meant Bunratty.

Make sure you factor in the ferry schedules and times, and the fact that daylight in October, sunset is 7pm on the 1st, and 6pm on the 31st. (shannonferries.com)

My only other concern is about 2pm on the first day I was fading fast. We checked into our B&B for a shower and 2-hour nap, then had the rest of the day to explore because sunset was after 9:30. If you spend the night flying over and celebrating your 40th's without the wives, I can imagine you will be doing a bit of drinking on the plane. That may slow you down the next morning.

wojazz3

Ihate to always sound like a wimp, but I like to take it easy on my 1st day and I try to limit my in the car, driving time around to 2 hours. I've done as many as 4-5, but it was hard and actually had to pull over and take a nap by the road side. Sitting and driving is the best friend of jet lag.

Bill

Steeleyes

Wojazz and Budman - Thanks for shocking me back into my senses. We'll steer clear of Blarney and concentrate on Bunratty. With a Shannon arrival at 7AM the first day, do you think we would have enough time to see the Castle/Park, do the Kilkee Loop Head drive, and still make the Ferry over and down into Ballybunion? A lot of driving, yes, but I'm thinking that the first timers will eat it up with adrenaline.

wojazz3

Hi Steeleyes:

It would be more than I would want to do. Adrenaline or no, it's really the driver that suffers and you don't want to doze off. I suggest getting out of the car a LOT. The ferry ride can be pretty cold if you climb up on the deck which should do a nice job of waking you up. By the way, where in the States are you traveling from. The further west, the worse off you are.

Bill

mari5

You COULD go from Shannon to Bunratty, walk around the park a little and have lunch at the famous Dirty Nellie's Pub. THEN head for Ballybunion(though wouldn't you be backtracking a little?)...and walk around there and get adjusted to the new time and settle in....and you should be ready for golf the next day.!
Sometimes driving more than a couple of hours a day can start you thinking "Can I trust myself to drive much more"..due to jet lag.
You have made a good choice with Greenmount in Dingle..(or I also understand that Heatons is nice also). Slea Head drive is wonderful!
Looks like a great trip.!..and it sounds like you know what you are doing, having been there a couple of times before.

amyprib

WHAT IF - you leave from the airport and go down thru Limerick and head straight over to Ballybunion... then once you get there you can see what time it is, how your fatigue is.. then possibly take the ferry over to Loop Head in the afternoon? Will probably take you a couple hours to get to Ballybunion, then see how it goes. If you're interested really in Kilkee and Loop Head only, you could cut out the extra unnecessary driving past Ennis, and still have the option of not going to Kilkee if you're too tired, already being where you want to end up... might work.

Otherwise, I'm gonna go out on a limb (against some of the others' preferences) and say that you could arrive from Chicago at 7am (exactly what we did, not a bad 7hr flight), drive up toward Ennis, and down around Loop Head, and then take a ferry over near Ballybunion, all on the first day... although you are going in October, so those days will be shorter.
I didn't get to go in the Bunratty Folk Park or Castle, but maybe you skip that if you want to head straight for Kilkee area.

If you have more than one driver, you should be ok. We had a FULL summer day of driving (and no flight sleep) our first day and were ok - though not recommended.
Keep in mind you might not end up leaving the car rental place until 9-930am depending on your luck.

Budman

Actually, the Loop Head Peninsula isn't that big. You could easily spend a couple of hours at Bunratty, and head for Lahinch for lunch, and then down to Kilkee -- on to the scenic route to the lighthouse (be sure to stop by the Bridges of Ross on the way -- watch out for your footings), then on to Killmer to catch the ferry. It leaves every hour on the hour -- last one is at 7 pm.

Hoping you have a great trip and don't run out of steam the first day.

wojazz3

You know me Budman. I'm lazy and don't like to drive the first day. If you're like me, you'll get out of the car a lot on that drive, so it won't be tiring. Good luck!

Bill

NEDSIRELAND

Here's an idea for a great place to get over your jet lag: From Shannon, head for Adare. Depending on how you feel you might want to spend the night in Adare; but I would continue on west on the Limerick-Tralee (N-21) road. Pass Rathkeale and in NewcastleWest before you get to the Courtenay Lodge turn left onto the Old Cork Road. There's a 1-lane stone bridge, then a Texaco station at a fork in the road: take the road on the right about 500m and you'll be at Killeline Lodge. There's a 34-room lodge, a fully equipped Spa with a hi-tech workout room, steam and Sauna and a 20m heated indoor swimming pool (they make you wear a bathing cap) and Mick McCoy's Sports Bar & Restaurant. There's also an 18-hole Parkland golf course: Professional is Kevin Doorien (formerly an assistant at the Legends Course in Myrtle Beach.

Former Dail member John McCoy owns the Restaurant & Bar and the Golf Course. Tell him Ned Madigan sends regards. The Lodge is owned by the McCormick family.

This way, you could leave Kilkee (and maybe Doonberg) for when you head back north thru west Clare. Then, you may even be interested in playing Spanish Point, a 9-hole Executive (no par-5's) links course at Spanish Point (Clare).

Steeleyes

A very belated Thank You for all of your wonderful comments and suggestions. I am sure that I will have another question or two before we depart, and I promise to write up a trip report upon my return.