Hi all,

Thank you so much for your time and input on this forum; it's really helpful. I'm a photographer, heading to Ireland for 9 days in September as a first-timer. Would love to see all the high spots without doing just a drive by. Can you comment on this itinerary?
Thanks to all!

Day 1 and 2: Dublin (do the Dublin thing!)

Day 3. Train to Kilkenny...rent a car there (if we can, otherwise would do it in Dublin). Overnight in Kilkenny.

Day 4. See Adare, Rock of Cashel, possibly Blarney castle. Overnight in Kilkenny

Day 5. Drive to Kenmare; see Dingle area. Overnight in Kenmare

Day 6. Ring of Kerry. Overnight in Kenmare.

Day 7. Drive to Cliffs of Moher, the Buren. Better to stay in Ballyvaughan, Ennis or Bunratty?

Day. 8. Off to Cong and Clonmacnoise. Overnight wherever we stayed night 7

Day 9. Extra day to see the sights

Day 10. Drop off car and leave from Shannon.

Welcome to Ireland, you WILL become addicted, especially as a photographer. Please feel free to peruse my site (www.greendragonartist.com) for the trip reports and the photos I've taken. I've got them here, as well, sans photos.

You've got a good basic plan, especially open jaw from Dublin to Shannon. It's not so hard to rent a car in Dublin airport, go AROUND the city and south to Kilkenny. In fact, I would recommend it. Why? Because then you can go to Glendalough and/or Powerscourt Falls and Garden on the way down - a long day, but SO worth it!

Kilkenny is a lovely medieval city. At www.irishfireside.com, I believe they have a podcast for a Walk for Kilkenny. We had great trad Irish music at Dame Kyteler's Inn, just south of the castle about a block. Jerpoint Abbey is lovely to explore, as well.

From Kilkenny, you can see Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle and The Swiss Cottage on the way out to Kenmare. I'd spend the time in the city exploring it. I wouldn't recommend Blarney, many have told me it's not worth it, and I've listened Also, it's a long bit out of your way.

Kenmare is a lovely place - we're staying ourselves 3 nights in May. Ring of Kerry is lovely, it's popular for good reason, but it is a FULL day. Ring of Beara is also lovely, from what I've heard, and much less traveled. No busses on Beara, the roads are too small Dingle is lovelier than Kerry, IMHO.

I would probably go Kilkenny to Kenmare, one of the rings, and then explore Dingle on the way to your next stop. Ballyvaughan is another place on our itinerary to stay, it's cute and charming, but very small. Ennis is a bigger city, and a great place to stay (been there 4 nights), but it is a city.

Don't miss the Cliffs or the Burren - both are spectacular in their own way.

Day 8 is going to be near impossible. Pick one, and it is still a rather long day. I'm a fan of both ruined abbeys (and Clonmacnoise is one of the great ones) and The Quiet Man, so it would be a tough choice for me - I'm visiting both on separate days in May. Perhaps one on day 8, one on day 9?

You did well, fairly fast paced but not ridiculous. I know you will have a fantastic time and enjoy it greatly. Be sure to stop by the pubs and interact with the folks... that's the best part of Ireland!

I agree with what Green Dragon said. She is a very experienced traveler in Ireland. Here are some thoughts to continue on her theme. You may have looked at mileages and it seemed like things are pretty close. The roads tend to be very small in may of the places you are headed and with the exception of the motorways, move very slow. You are trying to see a lot in 9 days especially by putting two in Dublin at the start.

So, Kilkenny. Take your time here and see the area. Adare is way too far out of the way and only moderately interesting. I know the thatched cottages look cool but you can find that elsewhere. If you wanted to make what I would say is a full day, head south out of Kilkenny, see Jerpoint Abbey as mentioned and if you want to see some cute thatched cottages, visit the area around Dunmore East. It's a cute little village. The ones in Adare (a small row of about 8 houses) looks more like they were desined for a hollywood set.

Yes, visit Cahir and Cashel on the way to Kenmare if you go there. Going to Dingle and then back to Kenmare doesn't make much sense. I wouldn't do the entire RoK with the time you have. The drive over Molls Gap is quite nice and instead of coming back to Kenmare, I would move on to Dingle and spend a night there so you can actually get to see it.

I haven't stayed in Bunratty for quite a while. It is more of a B&B village than anything else but there are certainly some nice B&Bs.

I like the city center of Ennis as it has a couple of nice music pubs and feels a bit like Kilkenny in it's old cobbled streets.

Ballyvaughan is too much of a ride for my tastes to the airport especially if you have a morning flight.

Hope this is helpful.

Bill

Thanks, Green Dragon! Your photos and journal are lovely. Good to know that someone who has been there can verify we're not doing too much. AS many here have said, you want to see as much as you can in one trip, but not simply as it goes by your car window!

We're rethinking driving from Dublin instead of the train and our last two days.

Thanks again!

You're most welcome, ktstel! I like what Bill added. Though I don't know that three trips to Ireland make me 'very experienced', except in the fact that I am incredibly AR about doing LOTS of research, so have come across others' information.

There is more than enough to keep you delighted in just the Killarney National Park area, with Muckross House, Torc Waterfall, Gap of Dunloe (my favorite), Ross Castle.

In Bunratty, if you do go there, the folk park is fun. Not a must, but a lovely afternoon.

I usually use www.viamichelin.com to get distances from one spot to another, and use 35mph to figure time. Then I double it. Yes, double it! Because we stop for bathroom breaks, meal breaks, photography ops, sheep in the road, tractors, the need for a pint after the tractor almost hits you coming the other way, etc.

Surely you've been more than 3 times. You know it too well.

Bill

We were advised by the hotel owner in Enniskerry on our first trip to arrive in Dublin in the morning and get out of Dodge pronto! The traffic coming into Dublin in the morning is horrific. We were going south along the coast, so avoided most of the bad stuff.

We spent a couple of days in Kinsale and three in Killarney as our base to see the southwest coast. Took an all-day trip out to the Skelligs which were spectacular to see. I don't think you have the time for that.

Nope, just threesofar. First trip was just 3 days around Dublin area. Nextwas a week of day trips from Kilkenny. Third was 16 days all over the south.

Bill,

Your input does help, particularly about skipping Adare and the advice about the Ring of K and Dingle. I'll make those adjustments.

GreenDragon,

I've been using viamichelin.com and using the 35mph estimate, but, I'll double that...let's see, that means we're averaging 17.5 mph? Now that's what I call a vacation!

Thanks to all again. This forum is awesome.

The 35mph is assuming no stops for anything, no delays, no getting lost (on purpose or by accident). I really think that bringing it down to 17.5 mph is reasonable, considering all the above. But then again, I'm a photographer, and will stop frequently for great shots. You mentioned you are also a photographer, so you will likely want to stop LOTS!