jmsj,

Welcome to the forum. We will try to help you fine-tune your itinerary here. May I ask you a few questions?
 
1. What time of year you will be in Ireland?
 
2. Will you arrive off a transatlantic flight after flying all night?
 
3. How many hours do you anticipate spending driving in the car each day?
 
4. Do you want an extremely fast-paced whirlwind trip or something more sane?

5. Have you run your trip through a distance calculator yet? http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/routes/ Get the mileage and divide by 35 for actual time.

6. How many people are traveling together?

7. Will their ages have an impact on the trip?

8. What is the goal of your trip? To see absolutely everything and be exhausted or to have a good time?

Once you answer those things I will know what sort of a trip to Ireland you are interested in.

Michele

jimsj,

Below are my comments about your proposed itinerary:

DAY 1  ARRIVE 615AM -RING KERRY,  B&B IN KILLARNEY * The ROK is an all day drive from Killarney. Given that you will arrive jet-lagged and then have a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive, I suggest you do the ROK on another day if at all.

DAY 2  DINGLE, GAP DUNLOE-KATE KEARNEY  B&B KILLARNEY * The Gap of Dunloe tour takes an entire day. Choose that or Dingle, not both.

DAY 3  BLARNEY CASTLE,MIDDLETON DISTILLERY, B&B YOUGHAL * Doable. I hope you plan on taking the main road?

DAY 4  WATERFORD, CASHEL, B&B KILKENNY * Full day.

DAY 5  GLENLOUGH, KILDARE,CLONMOISE, B&B ATHLONE * I think you will find yourself not doing some of your sightseeing on this day.

DAY 6  STOCKSTOWN, KNOCK, CASTLEBAR, BELLEEK CASTLE B&B * I assume you mean Strokestown Park House & Famine Museum? Another very full day.

DAY 7  CEIDE FIELDS, COUGH PATRICK, WESTPORT, BALLYNAHINCH B&B * I assume you will just take a few photos of Croagh Patrick and not attempt to climb it? You would have no time for than anyway. Another full day.  

DAY 8  CONG, CLIFFS MOHER/BURRAN,MEDIEVAL BANQUET, ENNIS B&B * It's a pity you wont get to see much of Connemara. You are also backtracking be doing a medieval banquet and then returning to Ennis. After your marathon trip you might want to relax and stay closer to Bunratty.

My opinion of your itinerary is that you will be totally exhausted at the end of your trip and will need a vacation from your vacation. You couldn't pay me to do what you have proposed. When I was in my 20s I did trips like that but learned from my mistakes. I hope you have allowed yourselves time to recover before returning to work. This is not a negative comment, just a reality check.

B&Bs generally serve breakfast between 8:30 to 9:30 so be sure to tell your hosts you want an early breakfast. Some will comply, while others have their own schedules.

Reservations for lodgings expire at 6pm sharp. Since you will probably arrive later because of extensive driving days, you should call ahead and let them know you will be arriving late.

Driving on Irish roads is completely different from in other countries. You don't just relax with your arm on the window, lean back and cruise. You must concentrate intensely the whole time. You never know when there will be a sheep around the next bend or another car in the middle of the road. You will find that after a few hours you will be mentally exhausted.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do such an itinerary, just that you are covering a vast amount of area and sightseeing in a short period of time. If that is the sort of trip you prefer, more power to you!

Michele

P.S. I had a client who wanted to do something similar. I refunded his money and refused to plan a bad trip for him.

jimsj,

It all boils down to this:

Can you do it? Yes.

Should you do it? That is your choice.

In Ireland less is more. See less, enjoy more.

Michele

Thanks for the information;
Let me give my trip details, so I can see if I'm thinking wrong,
Any suggestions would b appreciated.
(We have 4 boys, and I work lots 0f 12-16hr days, so we don't tire easy)

Day 1  arrive Shnnon 615, leave airport by 8am, Drive to Adare by 830- eat breakfast and sightsee till about 10, arrive Ring of Kerry by 1130. Drive Ring of Kerry 1130-6pm. 6pm B&B Killarney 730-11pm sitesee, eat and pub

Day 2 leave B&B by 9am. Drive to Dingle, sightsee, lunch. Arrive by 4pm at B&B at Gap of Dunloe, 5pm walk to Kate Kearneys - 530-630 1hr pony trap ride to Gap. 7pm dinner reservations at Kate for Folk show till 11pm

Day 3 leave B&B by 9am arrive Blarney Castle by 11am, 1 pm drive to Cohb and lunch, 3pm leave for Middleton Distillery arrive 4pm tour -1hr, 530pm leave for Youghal arrive 630, B&B Youghal,  730-11pm sightsee, dinner and pub.

Day 3 leave B&B by 9am for Waterford arrive by 11am, sitesee till 2pm, leave  for Cashel arrive around 3pm, sightsee till 5pm, leave for Kilkenny arrive around 6pm. Walk around town, sitesee, dinner, folk pub.

Day 4  leave by 9am for Glenlough arrive by 10am, leave by 1230 for Kidare arrive around 2pm, sightsee  Kidare till 5pm, Drive to Clonmacoise arrive around 6pm, sightsee till 7, leave for B&B in Athlone with home cooked meal 730. Quiet night

Day 5 leave B&B by 9am to Stockstown by 10m, 1hr vist, 1130 leave for Knock arrive about 1pm, 3 pm leave for Castlebar, arrive by 4pm and sight see till 6pm, Drive to Belleek Castle arrive about 630pm, tour grounds and late dinner.

Day 6 leave Belleek Castle by 9am, drive to Ceide Fields arrive arrive 10am, sightsee till 12, Drive to Cough Patrick arrive about 1pm, hike till 3pm, drive to Westport sightsee 4-6pm, drive to Ballynahinich arrive around 7pm, walk grounds, late dinner.

Day 7 leave Ballynahinich by 9am for Connemere to Cong, after lunch drive to cliffs Moher and Burrans for sightseeing. Arrive Ennis B&B by 6pm, 8pm leave for Burnatty Banquet till 11pm( 20 minute drive) Folk pub till ???

Day 8 leave Ennis  B&B by 9am for last drive and arrive at airport by 11am

jmsj,

Driving while jet-lagged is driving while impared. It is like drunk driving. That is why I usually don't recommend driving more than 2 or 3 hours on arrival after an all night-flight. You will also be driving on the left side of the road in an unfamiliar car and in an unfamiliar country. To propose the dawn to dusk driving plan for the first day is dangerous in my opinion.
 
Example 1: The Gap of Dunloe Tour takes all day to complete. You either hike, ride horseback or take a horse-drawn cart for about seven miles. You continue the journey across the Lakes of Killarney by boat. The tour goes from about 10 am to 4 pm. If you arrived at the gap at 5:30 you could maybe get a ride for half an hour partway and then half hour back. That would take up your scheduled hour. However, you would not really see the Gap of Dunloe. Just a very small portion of a mile or two. You might find that the guys with carts are packing in in for the day at 5:30 and going home for dinner. 

Example 2: "leave by 9am for Glenlough arrive by 10am" * This drive will take 2 hours or more, provided you don't get lost. "Drive to Clonmacoise arrive around 6pm, sightsee till 7" * You need more than an hour to see Clonmacnoise, view the a/v, visit the museum and wander through the ruins. Although they may be open till 7 in June, if you arrive just a tiny bit late, last admission is 45 minutes prior to closing time. You will find that many sites around Ireland have last admissions well before official closing times.
 
Example 3: "drive to Ceide Fields arrive arrive 10am, sightsee till 12, Drive to Cough Patrick arrive about 1pm" * The drive will not take one hour. It will take at least 1 hour and 50 minutes, if not more.

As you see, driving in Ireland is not expressway driving in the US. You will be on a lot of small, winding, narrow roads that you will share with sheep, cattle, pedestrians, bicycles, tractors and roadworks. Much as you would like to zip right around the island the reality is different.

If you do not want to take my advice, listen to the advice of all the other Ireland veterans who have also posted here. Better yet, go to some other travel forums and post your itinerary for review. Perhaps more opinions will help with your trip.

I sincerely hope that you will rethink your plans. We would really like you to have a lovely trip to Ireland.

Michele

Jmsj,

Ultimately the choice of how you experience Ireland is entirely up to you. I mean no offense, but as I read your itinerary, I have scenes from the Griswold's European Vacation movie flipping through my head. I go on vacation to get off of the treadmill and the micro-managed schedule.

You will not see or experience any of the true Ireland and her beauty at this break neck pace. You have to be prepared for a maximum speed of 35 mph on most of Ireland's roads. There will be slowings for sheep, cows, large farm equipment, tour buses, missed turns, etc. Ireland is really about slowing down and absorbing. I have done the break neck tour, having been bit by the "Irish Fever" bug and not having found this forum, on my first trip. I hit the wall and then the brakes at about the half way point and enjoyed the second half of the trip much more than the first half. It took driving from Wexford to Hook Head to Waterford and then Galway in one day to change my way of thinking. You really don't have to see it all in one trip. If you try, you will find your memories fuzzy at best.

T'were it me, I would leave the east coast for another visit and focus on the West Coast. Something like this:

Arrive Shannon - Head to Dingle (2 nights)- take the Killmer/Tarbert Ferry 
Day two explore the Dingle Peninsula
Day three - Head to Killarney (3 nights) detour to rock of Cashel enroute to Killarney, Killarney National Park
Day Four - Gap of Dunloe
Day Five Ring of Kerry
Day Six - Head to Galway (2 nights)- Take the Killimer/Tarbert Ferry and then the coast road to the Cliffs, lunch in Doolin, through the Burren and in to Galway
Day Seven - Explore Connemara Region, Cong, etc
Day eight - Bunratty - have lunch in Ennis, should you like but staying in Bunratty will give you time to enjoy the banquet and the pubs

Yes, this doesn't include Glendalough, Clonmacnoise, Athlone, Blarney Castle, Waterford, etc. However, you only have 8 days on the ground. That only really allows for exploring one area. Ireland may appear to be compact but it can't all be seen in under ten days and seen properly.

All said, it is your trip and your choice. I hope you stand it well.

Slan Agus Beannacht,

Bit Devine

You wrote:

"Day 1 arrive Shnnon 615, leave airport by 8am, Drive to Adare by 830- eat breakfast and sightsee till about 10, arrive Ring of Kerry by 1130. Drive Ring of Kerry 1130-6pm. 6pm B&B Killarney 730-11pm sitesee, eat and pub"

If you depart the airport at 8, I can't see you arriving in Adare by 8:30. Ignoring initial confusion / jet-lag / driving unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads through busy, small city (Limmerick) -- on the "WRONG" side of the road.

 http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/  says that it is only 28 miles, but THEY say that the drive takes 42 minutes, and their times are NOTORIOUSLY optomistic!  I would think that you would be doing VERY well to make in to Adare in an hour.  Depending on how daunting you find the roundabouts and how bad the traffic is, it COULD just as easily take you an hour and a half.


The ROK takes about 6 hours to drive, depending on how often/how long you stop, as long as you don't 'catch up' to the tour buses.  It's pretty hard to get around/past them, and they slow to a CRAWL negotiating some of those turns.

The Slea Head Drive (if you only stop briefly at 3 or 4 places -- the promontory fort, Louis Mulcahy's Pottery Shop, Gallarus, behive huts, Blasket Center, etc.) CAN be done in as little as 2.5 hours -- FROM DINGLE.  The drive from Killarney to Dingle will take about 1.5-2 hours (depending on stops, like Inch, the Three Sisters).  Neither of those times account for spending any time in Dingle Town, itself.  Bunratty is about 10 minutes drive, South of the airport.  Ennis is about 20 minutes North of the airport.  Again, DEPENDING ON TRAFFIC.

Never been to Belleek.

Your Gap 'trip' plus time at Kate's DOES make sense, but if you are staying nearby, why not do THAT one day one, then set out early (AHEAD of the buses) , or LATE (after the buses) to do the ROK on day 2?  Since it WILL be light out until at or after 10PM, you COULD ADD-in Dingle at the begining or end and then, IF YOU FEEL UP TO IT, continue on, to do some or all of the other.

Personally, I think you get more "BANG" from Dingle, per mile driven AND time spent.  For me, the BEST part of ROK is the drive from Kenmare to Killarney (Ladies View, Moll's Gap).  You could drive THAT on the morning of Day 3 and then take the R589 to intersect the N22, enroute to Blarney, OR, ADD IT IN to your Day 1 afternoon/ evening, if time and energy allows.

Just some alternative ideas....

Bob