Trip Report - 6 Days in Ireland
 

It's been a while since I got back, but I'm hoping this will be helpful to some. This was a fly and drive trip - open jaw into Shannon, out of Dublin from March 29th to April 4th.

Driving:
After cancelling my reservation with Hertz - to keep it brief, their age restrictions are incomprehensible. I booked with Dan Dooley. They were GREAT. We were both able to drive, and paid less than we would have at Hertz. Got a Ford Fiesta (with a sunroof!). Driving was tough at first, but we both learned, and we got pretty used to it by the time we left. I would highly recommend the extra cost of an automatic - it was enough of a challenge to drive on the other side, it was great to not have to worry about that. We went through 2 tanks of gas - cost about 80 euro total.

Flights:
We flew into Shannon and out of Dublin, which I would HIGHLY recommend. Thank you to the person who recommended that to me! Even just dropping the car off was a pretty intense experience in Dublin, the roads were really hard to navigate and traffic was crazy, even after having adjusted to right sided driving. Shannon was all country roads, which made it easier to adjust.

Weather:
Yeah, it rained. But we DID see a rainbow -I almost crashed the car when I saw it. The rain didn't ruin anything on the trip. It did make the drive through the Burren sort of lame, but it mostly held out when we needed it to. It was also chilly, as we knew it would be. Not freezing though.

March 30th:
We got pulled onto an earlier flight, which was great. We got into Shannon at 7, and after getting lost a couple of times, arrived in Doolin at noon. We slept for a couple of hours to keep ourselves going, and then went to the Cliffs of Moher. Pretty beautiful. The bars in Doolin were mellow, which was great for our first night. Needless to say, we crashed early.

March 31st:
We woke up early and headed for a trip around the Burren. It was pouring rain, so while the view was great, we didn't really have a chance to get out and look around. We drove back south and took a car ferry from Kilrush on our way to Tralee. We got to Tralee at around 5, and had taken our time getting there. We both LOVED Tralee. It was totally walkable, and there was lots to do at night. Most of which is now fuzzy due to the Guinness. But it was a blast.

April 1st:
Dingle penninsula was our mission for the day, and it was AMAZING. I have to recommend Connor Pass. Just make sure the person driving isn't afraid of heights. The whole drive took us about 3 hours, and we stopped a bunch of times. It was definitely a highlight for me. We drove on to Killarney from Dingle. Killarney was a blast - it definitely helped that it was a Saturday night, but it was the most fun we had going out. In fact, we didn't really go out at night after it. We never really recovered our appetites for beer. Ha!

April 2nd
This was Castle day. First stop (after we got stuck in rain at the park) was Ross castle in Killarney. It's a restored castle, and another highlight for me. The tour and the guide were great, and it gave us a great perspective for our trip to Blarney later that day. Blarney was BEAUTIFUL. Everything was blooming, and the sun was setting, so obviously this added to the beauty, but I was really glad that we ignored everyone who said to skip it. We drove from Blarney to Kinsale, where we stayed the night.

April 3rd:
Kinsale was cute, but I could have skipped it. It was a lot like Dingle, and it took us out of our way. But no matter, we got some pretty good food there (the best on the trip) and got a good nights sleep. From Kinsale we drove up to Dublin. A long drive yes, but I'm glad we made it to Dublin. We ditched the car and took the bus into the city. We went to a few of the more famous pubs in Temple Bar.

April 4th:
Started this day VERY early. Walked to St. Patrick's and wandered in just before a service started, which was great. We walked from there to the Guinness Storehouse. Loved it. I know, it's cheesy, but it was fun, and we got a Guinness, and bought some stuff, and I loved it. The bar on the top floor was quite cool, and I would have stayed longer. We left from there and went directly to the airport to fly home.

In general, I wish we'd had more time in Dublin. I'm VERY glad we went though. As for the driving, I have to say it was a great part of the trip. We stopped in little towns when we got hungry, or wanted a drink, and we had a great time. If we hadn't both been able to drive, it would have been very bad. But we both did, and the scenery moves slowly enough that neither one of us missed too much.

It was a great time, and a totally relaxing vaction. If I forgot anything that you're curious about, ask away, I'll try to remember. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for telling about your fun trip. Where did you stay and would you recommend or not?

Shirley82, Thanks for your report. You covered a lot of ground in your six days. I agree with you about Blarney and Kinsale. I stayed at the hotel connected to The Woolen Mill one year as it was the jazz fest in Cork and couldn't book a hotel. I enjoyed walking the grounds of Blarney Castle and it was lovely. We were there off-season so not many tourist. The hotel was called Christy's ,I think, and it was very comfortable and the dining room had very good food. Kinsale was nice, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to go again. I also would love to hear about where you stayed.

Ireland is a very beauty country. I visited up Dublin with my wife
about half years ago. However the
www.hotelmesh.com is a good
choose for quality hotel finding.

It sounds like you had a wonderful time as I enjoyed your trip report.

CoolSky, this was your first post on this forum and you give a web address to a generic hotel site. Sounds like advertising to me !! Mike

Hmm....where did we stay. We were looking for private rooms with a bathroom ensuite when possible, and we tried to not spend more than $30 each a night. We wound up paying $40 in Dublin.

Doolin: Aille River Hostel - It was a lovely place, right along the river. The room was TINY, but it was right in between the two main areas of town. Bathroom was not ensuite. Atmosphere was warm and friendly - Cute little shared living space with a stove and a rocking chair.

Tralee: Finnegan's Hostel - More like a B&B than a hostel. Room was ensuite, clean, and bright. Parking might have been a problem if we'd stayed in town for more than a night, but we were able to work with the spots right in front of the hotel.

Killarney: Neptune's Hostel - Room was BARE BONES, but cheap, and right in the center of town. WORST. SHOWER. EVER.

Kinsale: Guardwell Lodge - I'm still confused by this place. It was clean, bright, new looking, but EMPTY. Must have been the season. It was also really cheap, bathroom was not ensuite, but was only shared with two other rooms (it was empty anyway, so we had it to ourselves).

Dublin: Barnacles Hostel - The room was tiny, but like a miniature hotel. It was around the corner from Temple Bar, which was sort of noisy (ever hear kegs rolling on cobblestone at 7am) but we were up early that day anyway.

Everyplace was acceptable, but Finnegan's was my fav. It was homey and clean, and very much like a real deal hotel. Did I mention that I loved Tralee? : )

Shirley, thanks for the info on your lodging and how much you liked Tralee. Most of us just pass through. Sounds as if I need to give it a try sometime. I love the town of Ennis for some of the same reasons you liked Tralee.