Budman

Sherry, we stayed here in Kilrush -- about a 10-15 min drive to the ferry. The place was nice. There were two pubs in town that we were told were nice, but it was our first night and retired early.

http://www.hillcrestview.com/

Here's my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34503975

Samsaf

Okay, here's the new, tentative plan. After our days in Dublin, drive to Galway on Friday (stopping along the way at Clonmacnoise). Explore Galway, spend night there (maybe at Garvey's - 45 Euro per person per night). On Saturday, explore Connemara area, then back to Galway to spend night. Sunday -expore Cliffs of Moher, Loop Peninsula, lighthouse. Spend night in either Kilrush, Ennis or Dromoland Castle. (We can get Dromoland Castle for U.S.$260 per room per night through Expedia -- is that a good deal?). Monday - Bunratty & anything else in area. Spend night in same place as Sunday night. Tuesday, drive to Shannon Airport - home to Atlanta! How does this sound? Too much, too little? Thanks so much for taking the time to help us.
Sherry

bobludlow

Dingle trumps the Ring of Kerry in every way. As for choosing either Galway or Dingle, it depends upon what you like. Dingle is a picture-perfect fishing village surrounded by a beautiful agricultural area and rugged coastline. If you want to soak up old Ireland and don't mind adjorning to the same pub every evening, go to Dingle. If you want a larger town with much more nightlife options - including some of the best folk music in the Ireland - choose Galway. It is much more hectic, but there is probably more to do there.

And as others have mentioned, you might want to trim a day off of your Dublin itinerary in order to see more of the west country.

Samsaf

I wish we could add a day to the West and stay one less day in Dublin, but my husband is there in Dublin on business, so we have to stay. We'll keep checking re Dingle vs Galway. Thank you.
Sherry

chip

Just a preface to my suggestion:
We did stop at Clonmacnoise on our way to Galway and we also stayed at Cregg Castle after touring the Connemara area and loved it all...but the southwest had more of the "Irish-feel" you may be looking for on your short stay.

At Cregg Castle the music night made it for us, so if the owners are not there it will be a long night! Also, they were not offering dinner when we were there and we had to drive quite a ways for dinner...but we had the advantage of long summer days...wouldn't want to get down their tree-lined lane in the dark! I couldn't imagine spending time in Galway, another big city, after staying for 5 days in Dublin (which we also loved but 2 days was enough to see what we wanted to see there).

As to driving...you will be driving a lot if you want to get "the most bang for your buck". As you have probably noticed the favorites in Ireland are usually scenic drives (loops, rings). Also, no matter which way you go, it is going to take most of the day getting from Dublin to the west, especially if you plan a stop on the way.

I suggest going to Killarney with a stop at the Rock of Cashel.
From Killarney you could tour Killarney National Park (Muckross House and Abbey and Ross Castle, etc.) then Dingle Pen. on the other day, or spend that night in Dingle. You could break up the driving by spending a night each in Cashel(with a night here you could probably also tour Cahir Castle), Killarney, Dingle, and Doolin. I know that some people like staying in one spot, but with a short time and a long way to go...I would rather not backtrack and get to experience the different towns...personal preference.

The Cliffs of Moher would be a must see for me along with the Dingle Slea Head loop and Killarney National Park (the drive between Killarney and Kenmare was wonderful).

We drove from Ennis to Dingle using the ferry shortcut and it was still a pretty long drive, so I would definately stay the last night closer to the airport (Doolin or Ennis because they both have good pubs/music).
We didn't care for Bunratty.

As for Dublin, while your husband is working, I would definately look into a day trip or two to Glendalough and Newgrange.

See...you will have to find a way to return!!

MaryZ

Sherry, it might be worth checking the Dromoland website (www.dromoland.ie) or calling them directly. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a better rate at that time of the year.

Samsaf

I've printed out all of your replies, and my husband and I are researching all of them. Thanks so much for taking the time to help us plan our trip. I'm sure we'll be back with more questions. Thanks again.
Sherry