Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Planning for next July


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 44
Date:
Planning for next July


Hi there, I'm new to the forum but have spent a week or so reading through posts on here. Love all the great info!

We are trying to plan a trip for next July (after the 4th sometime), hoping anyways! It will be my husband and I, plus our three kids ages 17, 8 and 5 years old. I was looking at flights on Aerlingus and it keeps telling me there is none for Shannon at that time. Is this normal or is it just too early to look at them? We wanted to fly into Dublin and out of Shannon. No biggie if we have to do Dublin for both. I am a bit shocked on flight prices and hoping they will go down later... for the 5 of us to fly from the west coast area it's looking like it will be $7000- $8000! yikes!!! Is this normal?

So far we are planning to be there for about 14 days. Renting a car on our way out of Dublin. We don't have an actual itinerary yet but I am doing lots of research and have lots of time. We want to see castles, Cathedrals and ruins as well as some of the other fun sites the little ones would also enjoy. I'm thinking something like this;

Dublin 2-3 days maybe -Phoenix park/zoo, trinity college, Christ church and St Patrick's cathedrals and the Guinness storehouse tour

Kilkenny - Castle, St. Canice's and St. Mary's Cathedrals, Black Abby, - if we have time -kells priory, Rothe houseSt. Kieran's college and the design center

Blarney and Kinsale/Cobn area (maybe Cork?)- Blarney castle, Charles Fort, Desmond Castle, Church or Ireland

Limerick area -Bunratty, King Johns castle, St Mary's, St John's and I really want to see Lough Gur/stone circle

Killarney and Dingle - St. Marys, Friary and Muckross house,

Places we want to see if we have time- Cliffs of Moher, ROC, Craggaunowen,

Galway if we have time would be nice to see

I was thinking once we leave Dublin it would be best to stay in a couple self catering houses and have base points to do day trips from. The kids want to stay in a castle one night if we can. I'm not sure on the locations that would be best for them though.

I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks :)

 



__________________


Host

Status: Offline
Posts: 10692
Date:

Welcome to the forum. You are starting out right by gathering info, planning well in advance and asking for advice. You can see quite a bit in 2 weeks.

I think it may be too early to find the Shannon flights. You should sign up for email alerts at your airline of choice. Depending on where you are traveling from prices will probably be in the $1,000 + range per person. Keep in mind high season also. 

Renting a self-catering cottage or house should be done well in advance for July as that is prime season. Generally Sat to Sat at that time of year. Read my Self-catering page for more info: http://www.irelandyes.com/irelandselfcatering.html  If you spend a week in two different areas you may not get to everything on your list. If you opt to stay at B&Bs instead you can do a little more moving around and cover more territory. 

For castle hotels: http://www.irelandyes.com/castles.html You might be in for some sticker shock there.

Let us know how we can help as your research and planning proceeds.

 

 

 



__________________

"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.



Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 298
Date:

While most on this forum hope the Shannon routes reopen like days gone by, it remains doubtful at this time.  What that means is that if you have Shannon as even part of your route, you are usually going to pay much more than simply doing a round trip in and out of Dublin.  I think almost anyone on here would rather fly in and out of Shannon, but the airlines are choking off that wonderful little airport.  Even Aer Lingus.  Before they would let you off at Shannon first (since it is on the west coast -- makes sense), and then continue onto Dublin.  Now if you fly Shannon on that airline, they fly over Shannon, land in Dublin first, make you sit there for about 3-4 hours and then you reboard a plan and fly back to Shannon, where then they let you off.  Makes no sense.

When we were in Doolin last year, were talking to someone who is in the know regarding the airport authority in Shannon, and they are fighting and clawing their way back into some route plans, as this is costing that region millions each year from lost tourism dollars. Really quite a downer, as the airport is wonderful.

Geno



__________________


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 44
Date:

Thanks for your replies. Good to know about the flights and prices. We will probably just count on In and out of Dublin then.
I did consider staying at B&B's but I just wasn't sure how that would work with the five of us. I'm thinking we could do two rooms -one with two beds so the younger two could be in our room. Then our 17 yr old could have his own room. That is if there's B&B's that do family rooms like that.
We will probably skip staying in a castle since it would cost a fortune for two or three rooms there!
I look forward to researching more and planning :) thanks for your help.

__________________


Moderator

Status: Offline
Posts: 2167
Date:

Lots of B&Bs offer Family rooms -- some offer two doubles and a Single.  Self-Catering can sometimes be arraigned for shorter periods, as well.

I've done 3 or 4 night rentals in Killarney, even in late June / Early July.  Even if you have to pay for a Full week, doing so and only staying 3-5 nights can still be a money saver.

This past summer, my wife and I were joined for part of the trip by our son and grandson.  Two rooms in a B&B ran between 140 and 180 Euro per night.  We rented a two bedroom apartment in Killarney for 4 nights (but only styed there 3) for 308 Euro.  Three nights, B&B would have cost us a minimum of 420 Euro -- a savings of nearly 120 Euro -- and the actual savings would have closer to 250, if we hadn't had to leave a day early, so that the boys could catch their flight home.

Shannon Airport used to be controlled by the Dublin Airport Authority, which badly affected their viability.  Now that they are more Self-Directed, hopefully some vitality may gradually return.  It really is a terrific, little airport, but living in Florida, decent connecting flights to SNN are few and far between.  Our son had NO problems, though connecting there from Denver.



__________________

Bob

Help Us to Help You.  The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!



Host

Status: Offline
Posts: 10692
Date:

United flies to Shannon from Newark.

__________________

"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.



Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 275
Date:

Looks like this year the only direct flights to and from Shannon on Aer Lingus are from JFK and Boston. From the west coast the only direct flight is SF to Dublin. If you are flying from other than SF you will probably need a connecting flight anyway. You can still go into Dublin and out of Shannon connecting on the east coast. I wouldn't discount your original plan. It would be a better use of your travel time in Ireland.

Start looking for sales on flights around January or February for summer travel. Keep a close watch on airline web sites and as Michele suggested sign up for alerts.

Your idea of staying in self catering houses is a good idea, especially with children. To add to what Bob said, we rented a 4 bedroom house for a week, but only used the house 5 days which was less expensive than 2 rooms at a B&B for 5 days. That will give you something to think about as you do your planning for accommodations.



__________________


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 44
Date:

Thanks for all the good info!!! I'm loving it :) I will definitely be looking into both selfcatering and B&B"s to see what I can come up with. I hadn't thought of booking one for a week and checking out early but if it saves money that's definitely an option. Then maybe a B&B for a night or two if need be.
When I had looked at Aerlingus a day or so ago it said there were no flights from Shannon during the summer months at all, but I will keep looking and check other airlines as well this winter and see how it plays out.
I wont actually be able to book anything until after February anyway - when I see how things are going with the hubby's Storm work (He's a power lineman). So if all goes well then I can really get serious about next summer. If not we will have to put it off a bit longer, but it will be nice to have it all planned out for the most part no matter when we can go.
My oldest son is going to Germany for 3 weeks next June as part of an exchange program through his school. We get the German student next month! I'm very excited about that too and happy he is going to get to do some traveling :)

Anyway my hubby doesn't want to be in a rush while we are in Ireland, which means I will have to be flexible with my itinerary lol. I want to see it all of course! But I know its not possible so I'll have to pick and choose what to do first and what can wait for the second visit!
How many days do you think would be best for Dublin area for the things I listed above? 2 or 3?


__________________


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 275
Date:

Another source for flights to/from Shannon would be the Shannon airport web site.

http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/Passengers/flights/where-when-which-airline/summer.aspx

In addition to Aer Lingus, United, Delta and US Airways have direct flights from the US for summer travel to/from Shannon.



__________________


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 298
Date:

Good to see more routes in there during the summer months -- I have always gone in the off seasons.  The issue will be, however, what the price is.  Hopefully they can get some routes with competitive rates compared to going into Dublin.  It's just so expensive to get to Shannon these days.



__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard