Need help with Ireland itinerary, part 1

Richard Leeds · Veteran Member

Need help with Ireland itinerary, part 1

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

First and foremost -- may you find that the two of you have MANY opportunities to RE-visit my favorite destination...

The following will get you started. I'll try to add more info later.

Presuming an arrival in Dublin after an overnight flight, I'm not sure I understand the 3 days, four nights -- are you INCLUDING the flight in those figures?

3) I would think that staying in Cashel or returning to Kilkenney would be better than 'Pushing On' to Cohb, but it would depend upon your stamina.
Your #4) would still be do-able from EITHER Cashel or Kilkenney, but you might want to add Fota Wildlife Park, given your list ...

4) Would think you need to ADD one, and possibly two nights to this stretch to do your list any justice at all. Drombeg, Mizen, Castletownsend, Baltimore and Sheep's Head are all DETOURS off the main road -- some of them (Mizen and Sheep's Head, in specific) are potentially LONG detours, vis-a-vis time.

6) You have to pass THROUGH Bantry to get to the Caha Pass area -- much better to check out Bantry House at the start of the day, rather than back-tracking to see it later.

7) The ROK tour buses run ANTI-clockwise, and usually start leaving Killarney about 9-10 AM and up. If you don't mind "squeezing past" them, the clock-wise route makes sense, but there will be a LOT of them, that time of year. I suppose it DOES beat following them around ...

9) Definitely Dingle (or, for a splurge, The Shores in Castlegregory)

10) - 14) Seem do-able, but a BIT busy. Again, available Stamina would be my only concern.

Try using the Route Planner function at www.aaroadwatch.ie
Plug in each day's plan (starting point, destinations and all vias). Convert it to miles and then divide THAT number by 35 to get a FAIR approximation (I actually use 30 -- see below) of 'Windshield Time'. Then factor in meal breaks, touring stops and add in a few spontaneous, 'Oh, My God! Look at THAT!' breaks.

Good luck,

Bob

Laoghaire · Senior Member

Hi Robert,

Good advice from Bob, as usual. Husband and I were in Ireland for a month in the spring, with the exact same dates as you have for next year. It was a wonderful and full journey, and it looks as though yours will be the same. I understand the need to "see as much as we can", as our daughter-in-law is going thru the same recovery process as your wife. My prayers and thoughts are with you two.

The itinerary you are planning is certainly "doable", you will have the time for it. I had DH really moving during our trip, he was pretty exhausted and tired of driving by the time we arrived back in Dublin. But then, he is 68 yrs. old!! I had to pare down our day's activities, what with Irish roads being unpredictable, and slow going at times. I had too many ancient sites I wanted to see!

To give you an idea of our trip--2 nights, Dublin; 2 nights Glendalough, 1 night Cashel; 4 nights, Killarney; 2 nights Dingle (THE SHORES, of course!!); 1 night Kilrush; 2 nights, Ballyvaughn; 2 nights Cong; 3 nights Clifden; 3 nights Achill Island; 1 night Boyle; 2 nights Athlone; 1 night Trim, 2 nights Dublin.

You will be driving more, but then you are young!! I have a BandB report on Michele's Trip Report site, if you are interested.

Keep us informed..

Helen

Michele Erdvig · Host

Richard,

Welcome to my forum and thanks for your kind words about my book and website. I am wishing your wife well and hope this is just the first of many trips to Ireland for you both. Since she has had chemo, do you need to take her stamina into consideration while traveling?

You have a good long time to explore Ireland but like everyone else you want to see it all. Some days are more realistic than others in your plan. Take into consideration that the roads of Ireland require intense concentration. Because of that and driving conditions a lot of driving can wear out the driver and passengers quickly.

Bob and Helen have started you out with good advice. Do run your trip through the planner that Bob suggested. Each sightseeing stop takes time too. Then there is lunch and many, many photo stops.

I will answer you day-by-day itinerary below.

1) via Enniskerry village to Powerscourt Gardens, to Glendalough Valley to see ruins, to Russborough House to see Alfred Beits collection (De Beers Founder), drive to Kilkenny for the night or stay night in Glendalough area? * This is more than a full day of sightseeing. Staying in Co. Wicklow makes most sense.

2) Kilkenny castle and cathedral, afternoon to Jerpoint Abbey, village of Inistioge, Kells village, time permitting to Waterford to tour Crystal Factory. * This is two days worth of activities. Pare down your list or add another day.

3) visit Kells Priory outside Callan, visit Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle, drive to Cobh or Kinsale for the night? * Quite a lot to fit in. Skip Kells or do it on another day.

4) Visit Cobh cathedral, Cobh migration museum, lunch and afternoon for Kinsale. * Fine.

5) Coastal Road to Timoleague (abby), Courtmacsherry, Clonakitty, Dromberg Stone Circle, Castletownshend, Skibbereen, Baltimore, Mizen Head, Sheeps Head, time permitting boat to Garnisch Gardens, evening Bantry. * Again, you have enough on this day for 2 or three days. This route is scenic and slow-going.

6) Drive to Caha Mountains and lakes, visit Derren Gardens, return to see Bantry House and Gardens, drive to Killarney. * I agree with Bob that Bantry House should be first then proceed on to Beara.

7) Drive Ring of Kerry (clockwise), visit Derrynane House, drive Skelling Ring, Caragh Lake, McKeen Forest, evening Killarney. * Fine. A very full day so get an early start.

8) Take a lake district tour or self-drive and visit Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey & castle, Torc waterfall, walk around Killarney, evening Killarney. * Fine.

9) Killarney to Tralee by route 559 or to Castlemaine by route 561 to Dingle Peninsula, spend night in Dingle or Bunratty? * Dingle is a very special place. It deserves a day for itself. Two if you have them.

10) Drive from Dingle or Bunratty to Adare village, then Adare Manor for lunch or afternoon tea, visit grounds, then to Limerick to photograph King John's castle and visit Foynes Flying Boat Museum, evening in Bunratty. * Again, the order of your day is wrong. You would be better off visiting Foynes, Adare, Limerick and Bunratty.

11) Bunratty Castle/Folk Park, lunch Bunratty Village Mills, then to Quinn Abbey (6 mi. east of Ennis), then Knappogue Castle and Ennis Friary, drive to Doolin or Ballyvaughan for evening. * Okay.

12) Loop Head Drive and return to Cliffs of Moher for dusk visit, Doolin or Ballyvaughan for evening. * Fine.

13) The Burren, late afternoon drive to Galway or Salthill for evening. * Fine.

14) walk medieval Galway, visit Irish Crystal Heritage Center, river tour at 2:30 or 4:30. * Galway Crystal has closed its tour and now only the shop and cafe is open.

15) drive to Roundstone, Inagh Valley, Recess, Leenane, Letterfrack, Clifden, Sky Road, Kylemore Abbey, evening in Clifden or Maam Cross. * Clifden has much more to offer than Maam Cross, which is just a crossroads with a hotel complex. Suggest an early start to fit in most of it.

16) drive from Clifden or Maam Cross to Westford to Ashford Castle for lunch, visit grounds, return to Maam Cross or Westport for evening. * Unless you are really big fans of the movie The Quiet Man (filmed in Cong) it really doesn't make any sense to go from Clifden to Westport to Cong and back again.

17) drive to Clonmacnoise, afternoon visit to Strokestown Park House and Famine Museum, stay in area for evening? * This day just doesn't seem to fit especially between Westport and Sligo.

18) drive to Sligo area to Carrowmore, then Bundoran to see Belleek Factory, then to Enniskillen to visit Florence Court National Trust house/grounds (open 1-6, evening in Enniskiillen area. * Full day. You may not get to everything.

19) scenic d4rive of Lower Lough Erne, Denish Island, Boa Island, Castle Coole National Trust house/gardens (open 1-6), evening Enniskillen area. * Okay.

20) visit Crom Estate National Trust property (open 10:00), then Omagh area to Ulster American Folk Park, then to Dungannon area for evening. * That is a bit of backtracking for Dungannon.

21) in Dungannon area visit Tyrone Crystal, then north to Portrush to Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle ruin, Cushendun village, evening in Belfast. * A full day and very short time to see one of the most scenic parts of Ireland.

22) visit City Hall, Castle and Ulster Museum, evening in Belfast. * Okay.

23) visit Belfast Botanic Garden, Black Cab tour, evening to Newtownards. * Fine.

24) Ards Peninsula and village of Kearney, afternoon Mount Stewart National Trust house/gardens, evening in Newtownards. * Make Mount Stewart your priority and if it is sunny in the morning, do it then.

25) Newtownards to Newgrange Tumulus and Knowth, evening outside Dublin for flight home next morning. * I don't know what day this puts you at but if it is a weekend Newgrange will be very crowded. Try to get there as early as possible. You could even do it from Dublin at the start of your trip.

You may want to consider a bit of refining. You have plenty of time for tinkering with your itinerary.

Michele

Richard Leeds · Veteran Member

Bob,

Thank you for your comments on the first two weeks of my four week itinerary.
I am going to try and implement the wonderful comments and suggestions that both you and Michele have given to me. I hope you will have a few comments to offer on the last 1/2 of my itineary. I am sure running around Ireland for a month will wear out my wife, so I have to be careful about adding additional time.

The site you directed me to, AA Road Watch was very good in terms of times for driving and mileage. Your suggestion to travel at 30-35 mph will also be implemented. Thanks.

I have 4 nights and 3 days for Dublin because we will arrive late in the day in Dublin.

Michele seems to encourage travellers not to jump around to another place each night and to try and stop for two nights if possible. I guess I will have to vary that in order to work in some of your suggestions.

Michele says I need another day in Kilkenny if I want to see the castle and town, the villages of Kells, Inistroge, Jerpoint Abbey and the Waterford Glass Factory.

So, my question is should I stay a night in Cashel, going from Kilkenny to Cahir and then into Cashel, or should I go from Kilkenny to Cashel to Cahir, then leave Cahir in the late afternoon and drive to Kinsale, so I have two evenings in Kinsale vs. one night in Cashel and one night in Kinsale, then going to Bantry for one night. I am trying to avoid all one night stays. (When I leave Dublin, I have decided to stay a night in Glendalough then come to Kilkenny (so I will probably add a night to my itinerary here which will give me a 2 night stop).

I am sure the Wildlife Park is wonderful, but we visit the one here in San Diego every year and we made it to East Africa, so this first trip to Ireland will be priorities. Just tell me when I have too many castles, abbeys, ruins, farms, etc.. I tend to only stay at castles-abbey ruins for an hour or two because they are so similar.

You suggested I add another day in order to cover Kinsale to Dromberg, Mizen, Baltimore, Sheeps Head and Mizen Head, etc. If I need to add another day for Kilkenny, Jerpoint, Waterford, Kells, Kells Priory, instead of trying to do it all in two days, that extra day might be better for that location than for the Mizen, Sheep Head, Timoleague, Castletownshend area (because I have many days for the west coast).

So, I will have to cut some things out on my day trip from Kinsale to Bantry. Should I eliminate the drive out to Mizen Head and just go from Kinsale to Timoleague, Courmacsherry, Clonakitty, Dromberg Stone Circle to Baltimore to Durrus out to Sheeps Head, then to Bantry for the evening?

Both you and Michele have indicated I need time in Dingle, just not a drive around the Peninsula with a brief stop and returning to Bunratty for the night. So, I intend to modify my plan. If I leave Killarney early in the morning and have lunch in Dingle, should I stay in Dingle for the night or continue on around the peninsula to stay at The Shores, which looks just beautiful? Thak you for bringing this place to my attention.

Thanks for your help,

Richard
Irvine, California

Michele Erdvig · Host

Richard,

Sometimes it is best to start with a blank slate and re-think things. Look for places where you can stay for two or three nights and make day trips from. Packing up and moving on a lot is tiring. Staying put makes for a more relaxing trip.

Some things you might cut and add elsewhere:

Day 7: Ring of Kerry. You might be perfectly happy with Dingle instead.

Day 10: These are all fine things to do but you will be seeing other similar things on other days - with the exception of the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, which is unique to Ireland. However you could pop over to Foynes on your way to the ferry across the Shannon.

Day 13: The Burren. You don't really need a whole day for that unless you plan on doing one of those walking tours. As you drive through the area you will see the Burren.

Day 17: You will see other monastic sites and museums that are similar.

Cutting those out will give you extra days for elsewhere.

Michele

Richard Leeds · Veteran Member

Michele, thanks for the many comments.

1) I will stay in Glendalough for the night rather than driving to Kilkenny. This will give me time to see Powerscourt and Russborough, then spend the late afternoon in the Glendalough area.

2) I want to see Kilkenny castle, the town, the villages of Kells and Inistioge, Jerpoint Abbey and maybe Waterford Crystal, so I intend to add another day to Kilkenny and stay here two nights as you suggest.

Tom suggested I visit Kells Priory and Cashel, staying the night in Cashel. This then puts me one night in Cashel and one night in Kinsale. If I moved the Kells Priory to my second day in Kilkenny, could I see Cashel, Cahir, a short visit to the village of Lismore and then go to Kinsale by dinner time? I am really trying to create two nights in the same accommodation. I could skip Lismore and go Kilkenny-Cashel-Cahir, then drive to Kinsale? I understand Cashel is a beautiful spot at night, but that vs. 1 night stops?

3) I will go to Bantry House and Garden in the morning which opens at 10. So afternoon till dinner will be Caha Mountains, lakes, and evening to Killarney.

4) Per your advice I will stay out on the Dingle Peninsula for the night rather than return to Bunratty. Bob suggested The Shores in Castlegregory and it does look very nice. Did you want me to stay in Dingle itself?

5) My order for places around Bunratty will be in the order you suggested.

6) Michelle, I was not sure how to work in Clonmacnoise and Strokestown Park and Garden. You were right, it did not fit at all.

So the day I do The Burren in the late afternoon I will not head for Galway. Instead I will drive to Clonmacnoise to see the ruins, then stay in Athlone at the Stone Lodge. The next morning I will drive to Strokestown to see the park, house and museum, then go to Galway in the late afternoon.

After leaving Galway I will stay the night in Clifden for the night rather than Maam Cross, per your suggestion. I originally selected Maam Cross because it seemed to be a location where I could see Connemara and stay at one spot for two nights, then on the second day go and see a little more of the area and go to Cong (not because I am a fan of the Quiet Man, but I thought Ashford Castle might be nice for a lunch stop or tea, and a look at the grounds, then I would return to Maam for the second night). Since we are not inclined to spend $500 for a night at Ashford Castle or Dromoland Castle, I thought we would take in the atmosphere at one of them for lunch or afternoon tea, then walk around the grounds.

Advice you seem to give out so often is that your readers tend to jump around from a different place on consecutive nights and it is better to stay two nights in one place. I wanted to avoid packing and unpacking and taking luggage to the car everyday per your advice. I put my itinerary together with the goal of trying to stay two nights in most places. I understand sometimes to see a special spot you have to modify the plan and be flexible.

Michele, if we stay 1 night in Clifden would it be best to spend the next night in Westport or should we continue NE a little in order to be better positioned for the next day to visit Carrowmore, Beeleek, Florence court? A particular village?

You said going from Ulster Folk Park to Dungannon for evening and then up to Giant's Causeway was going out of the way. You are so right. I thought that too. I wanted to see the Irish Crystal making at Tyrone Crystal. I am trying to fit in too much I know. I felt Waterford's would be so touristy and you said the Galway factory is closed, so this was probably the best place to see the artistry in action.

I will go from Enniskillen to Omagh and head north to the Londonderry area in order to have the full day in the northeast. Any town I should spend the night in before driving up to the Giant's Causeway.

Neither you, nor Tom commented about staying in Doolin or Ballyvaughan for the two nights in that area of the coast???? Any comments of one village over the other?

Thanks so much for the help. The book, your website and you have been just invaluable. Please take a look at my accommodation list for a couple of minutes and let me know if I am missing something I should consider.

best wishes,
Richard

Richard Leeds · Veteran Member

Michele,

I wrote to you before I saw your messages on the itinerary and not jumping around. Also, your few comments on figuring out accommodations.

Your latest comment is most appropriate. I may be jumping around too much.

Let me think about cutting out a little farm land, a little coast, a castle, another abby ruin.

Where are the better central location. It might be better to drive a little bit more and stay put an extra night. What location or area would justify the extra nights?

Richard

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Richard:

As Michele has stated, a car is a DETRIMENT to enjoying a stay in Dublin. On that note: Have you looked into THAT process?? Credit Card coverage of the Insurance is spotty, at best AND, most Cards limit you to a 15 day rental period. If you are buying the Insurance cover, it is QUITE pricey and requires extra coverage above and beyond basic. I would STRONGLY urge you investigate THAT aspect of the trip -- ASAP.

It is very tempting to presume that Ireland is a small country and therefor, infinitly easy to cover in depth, with a month at your disposal, but the truth is, that She is SO jam-packed full of scenic wonders, ancient ruins and interesting people, that you could easily spend that much time in just Cork and Kerry and STILL not see it all. We've been nine times -- each trip either 9, or 16 days -- and haven't visited several of the items on your list -- and, NOT for lack of interest.

ALL one-night stays CAN be an exhausting pace, but sprinkling in a few between multi-night stops isn't too bad and it can save you a LOT of 'back-tracking'. I always pack a cheap, 'collapsable' duffle to use as an 'overnight bag' during our one night stops. It saves 'shlepping' the big bags in-and-out all the time. You can also cut down on the overall luggage by planning to drop off your dirty clothes at a laundromat during any of your two night stops.

As to ways to save time / consolidate, here's some suggestions:
Do a day tour of Newgrange/Knowth, etc. while in Dublin. It will "cut" a day from the city, but ...

Eliminate the Ring of Kerry. You will cover SOME of the best bits, driving from Kenmare to Killorglin, AND save HOURS in the process. The ROK is QUITE pretty, but if you do Slea Head, and Sheep's Head AND some of either Mizen or Bearra, it MIGHT be 'overload'.

During that time of year, daylight begins about 4 or 5 AM and lasts until after 10 PM. You CAN cover a LOT of road without driving in the dark, but, do you really WANT to?

If you can arrainge an early breakfast in Bantry (or, forgo it) and hit the road about 8 AM, you could "DO" the Sheeps Head and then return to Bantry to catch the Bantry House, AND then procede. That would at least take SOME of the load off of the preceding day. Even then, I would doubt that you would still have time to do the FULL Mizen Head loop AND all the others listed, enroute to Bantry ... I would choose either Castletownsend and Baltimore OR Mizen Head.

As to Dingle -- if you are departing from Killarney, you can easily have lunch in Dingle Town, drive the Slea Head Loop (with stops) and then stay in either Dingle Town, or at the Shores. There's more night-life in Dingle, but the Shores IS meant to be quite special.

More, later -

Bob