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Post Info TOPIC: planned trip
Anonymous

Date:
planned trip


Ireland in Feb.06.. land in shannon..rent car.. go Rock Cashel area & b&b... 2nd day head Dingle. 3rd day head and tour Beara pen.  stay Castletownbera? Wife ancestors from this area.. 4th stay Kensale   5th ???  6th somewhere outside Dublin  7&8th stay Dublin....


Only place have reservations is in Dublin at Skylon Hotel... this is weekend of Ireland-Wales rugby match so be lots of people...


I have been seriously thinking of just get reservation around Rock of Cashel 1st night and just wing it the rest of the way...  question...   CAN WE WALK INTO PUBS and get rooms and would they be decent???  other options are b&bs cause hotels more expensive


Other big question.. will b&bs make breakfast early so can hit road by 8am... Feb light only from 8 to about 6pm so need to get early starts... any ideas folks


thanks in advance for any thoughts...  Ken



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Host

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Date:

Ken,


You may be trying to cram a bit too much into your trip. Remember it is a vacation not a marathon. Avoiding the "green blur tour" will add greatly to your enjoyment of Ireland. The country does look tiny on the map but when you consider averaging 35 mph on the roads you will understand that it takes a lot of time to drive from place to place. You must also add time for seeing things, photo ops, lunch, finding B&Bs, etc. However, if you only want to zip through the countryside and that is your preferred style of travel, more power to you.


As for your itinerary, currently you are zig zagging all over the place. Try for a smooth route that circles through the various places you want to see, rather than darting here and there. You might also consider a base for the southwest where you can spend a couple of days and do day trips from there. Killarney and Kenmare are good towns for that.


Many B&Bs are closed in February. Sometimes even if it says in the various books that they are open they will close down at will in the off-season. Consequently, it will be just a bit more difficult to find B&Bs in Feb. Pubs with rooms are a mixed bag. Some are fine and others are not. Take a look at my "Lodging" page for a list of great places to stay in Ireland. You can just knock on the door of B&Bs and find lodgings but that takes time. I suggest you start looking before dark if you want to wing it.


As for early breakfast, generally B&Bs serve between 8 - 9:30.  You might get it earlier if you ask and it fits into your hosts schedule. Otherwise, your hosts will leave you something to snack on by yourself before your quick departure. If you will be leaving before breakfast or extremely early, be sure to pay for your B&B the night before.


Planning a good itinerary takes time and practice. People rarely get it right on the first try. I suggest sitting down with a map, your "must see" list and your calendar to see what you can come up with on your next try. Keep at it and you will get one that works out perfectly for you.


Michele



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.

Anonymous

Date:

Thanks very much Michele... One of reasons we considering staying loose on places to stay is times between places.. we figure that if we are planning too much or find need to slow down we can just adjust cause no reservations... Will reserve 1st night.at Cashel.
Thanks again ... Ken

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Guru

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Date:

Hi Ken:


I agree that your plan does some zig-zagging but it wouldn't be hard to correct. Her's an alternate that gets you to the same places and slows the pace just a bit.


Dingle,  Kemare (2 nights), Kinsale, Cashel, Kilkenny, Dublin (2 nights).


You could switch the early two night stay in Kenmare for any of the other places. Dingle would be my first choice just because you'll be arriving there early. I like it from Kenmare because there is so much to see from there. From Kenmare you could easily see Beara and it's a big enough town with a number of good restaurants to handle you in the off season. It may be difficult to find many choices that are open on Beara, especially on the fly.


Bill



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Host

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Date:

Ken,


Bill has given you some good advice. You should be certain to have reservations for Dublin. Then you can fill in the blanks as you go. Enjoy your trip and do let us know how it goes when you return.


Michele



__________________

"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.

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