First Trip to Ireland in May

Brays04 · Member

First Trip to Ireland in May

Judy · Guru

Shannon,
Looks like you have done your homework on your trip to Ireland. I have just a few suggestions. When you are in Waterford City, don't miss a tour of the Waterford Crystal factory. We were able to make reservations before we left the U.S.A.

www.waterfordvistorcentre.com

Also, when in Cork, Cobh has a great museum which is better than the one in Skibbereen.

www.cork-guide.ie/cobh.htm

Killarney is our favorite place with so much to see there. The Gap of Dunloe is awesome and the Ross Castle has the best tour of any castle we've seen.
Ladies View will be included if you tour the Ring of Kerry.
Dingle is a full day if you do the circle. Bus tour from Killarney to Dingle is a good way to view the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula. However, the bus will not go over Connor Pass. You need to drive over the pass if you want to experience its majesty.
Have a great trip!!!
Judy M

Michele Erdvig · Host

Shannon,

Welcome to my forum. Downtown Dublin hotels do not have airport shuttles. If you stay at a hotel near the airport, many do have complimentary shuttles. With 4 of you a taxi would probably be best.

Have you looked at my Lodgings page for places to stay? I have a nice selection there. There are many more in my book.

Your itinerary will work pretty well. You will have a long drive back to Dublin from Kerry. Some things on your list may not get done. I suggest doing the most important ones first. Some items are listed on the wrong days, such as on May 31 you list Dungarvan. You would actually see it on your drive to Cork the next day.

Have fun and let us know if you have more questions.

Michele

Brays04 · Member

Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like we should consider staying in Killarney for a night, which is probably a great starting point for the Ring of Kerry. Is it feasible to complete the ROK in one full day? We were thinking that we would start early in the morning and start our drive. If that's the case, maybe we should consider spending one night in Killarney and then the next night we'll stay in Dingle. Any thoughts on this?

Michele - can you estimate how long the drive will be from Kerry to Dublin?

youngka · Guru

Shannon, We loved Kinsale but preferred Skibbereen as far as a good place to stay; however, we stayed in self catering so stayed in Bantry instead. For Dingle, www.castlewooddingle.com looked good and correspondence was good from Brian; however we choose:
https://www.selfcatering-ireland.com/sitedetail.cfm? Property name: An Struathan Bheag
Won't be staying, however, till March 1-8th, so can't give you feed back, but you might want to check it out on the Net. We have returned to Lady's View more than once -- it is beautiful-Ring of Kerry, as Mary stated.. May should be beautiful, have a good trip! Youngka

Brays04 · Member

Youngka, thanks for the suggestions! We are trying to spend 2 nights in as many places as we can. We only want to spend one night in Waterford, hence the reason we are staying in the castle for that night. We thought it would be good to stay in Cork for 2 nights, but now that I think through this, I'm not sure it's a good idea. The ROK will probably take all day, and Dingle will take another full day. We want to make sure we have time to relax and do not want to spend every day in a car driving. Based on the tentative itinerary above, does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? Airfare has already been purchased and we used skymiles so we have to fly in and out of Dublin.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Shannon,

Since you are seeing Dingle you may want to skip the ROK. The portion between Kenmare and Killarney is really scenic and you will most likely see that on your way to Dingle. There is a lot to see in Killarney such as Muckross House, Gardens & Traditional Farms, Ross Castle, Killarney National Park. By cutting out the ROK you will give yourselves more time for those things.

As for Cork, it is a large city and not particularly attractive. Most people opt to stay in the more scenic Kinsale or in Blarney Village. Blarney Castle itself is a ruin and the stone is at the very top of the tower. The grounds are lovely but the castle is considered to be a tourist trap by many. Most first-timers to Ireland must kiss the stone and I can understand needing to do some famous things.

The drive from Dingle to Dublin will probably take about 6 hours. An alternative would be the train from Killarney to Dublin, after dropping the car in Killarney.

Michele

CowboyCraic · Guru

Shannon,

My first thought when I read over your itinerary was that you had done your research well. Then it set in that you are planning to spend two nights in Cork city. I would opt for staying in Kinsale, as Michele has suggested, instead. Cork is a very confusing City to drive in with its one-way streets and confusing directory signs. I am well traveled in Ireland and I dread driving in Cork! In Kinsale, one of my favorite B&Bs has been Waterlands. One of my favorite places in Dingle town is Blooming Wildflower Cottage. It sets right on the harbour and is right in town centre.

Perhaps you could overnight in Kilkenny, enroute from Dingle to Dublin, which would break up the drive. If you overnight in Kilkenny, you might want to look at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse.

In Co. Wexford, the JFK arboretum will be lovely at that time of year.One of my most favorite places in Co. Wexford is Hookhead Lighthouse. It has an amazing history. Looking at your Wexford schedule, I am not sure that you would have the time for it. In Wexford Town, I have enjoyed staying at The Blue Door B&B, which is in the thick of it at City Centre.

You are off to a good start! A relaxed pace is the best way to experience Ireland.

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit Devine

Brays04 · Member

This is such helpful feedback...I can't thank you enough. Let's try the itinerary again:

May 28th - arrive in Dublin at 9:25 am.
- We are renting a car and will drive to Wicklow
- we would like to see the following places:
- Wicklow Nat'l Park
- St. Kevin's
- Avoca handweavers
- Plan on staying at Hotel Esplanade (any feedback on this hotel?)

May 29th and 30th - Wexford
- We would like to see the following places:
- Kilmore Quay
- Wexford Town
- Selskar Abbey
- Dunbrody Abbey
- John F. Kennedy Arboretum
- Ballylane Farm
- Westgate Tower
- We are planning on staying at McMenamin's Townhouse or The Blue Door

May 31st - Waterford
- We are planning on staying at Waterford Castle
- We would like to see the following places:
- Waterford City
- Dunmore East
- St. Patrick's Catholic Church and Christ Church Cathedral

June 1st and 2nd - Kinsale
- We need suggestions on where to stay (possibly Waterlands)
- We would like to see the following:
- Cork City (English Market and Blarney Castle)
- Clonakilty
- Ballymaloe
- Sheep's Head

June 3rd and 4th - Kerry/Dingle
- I need help in determining if we stay 1 night in Kerry, and one in Dingle, or both in Dingle
- Will probably stay at the Blooming Wildfire Cottage in Dingle
- Any suggestions on this part of the itinerary would be VERY helpful!

On the 5th, do we drive from Dingle to Killarney to drop the car off and take a train to Dublin? How far of a drive is that, and how do I get information on this train? I love the idea of taking a train into Dublin instead of driving. It will be a new experience and cut down on cost, which is always nice! That just means we can drink more...right?

June 5th and 6th - Dublin
- We need suggestions on where to stay (looking for somewhere w/in walking
distance of what we are doing).
- Would like to see the following:
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- Guiness Brewery
- Old Jameson Distillery
- we plan on taking a city tour via bus
- Temple Bar
- Ha'Penny Bridge

June 7th - depart from Dublin Airport (at 9 am) back to KY

Thanks again for all the help everyone has provided. I'm so glad I found this website and forum!

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Try this link for train info:
http://www.irishrail.ie/home/

Dunno where the rental car drop off point is in Killarney, but the train station is located at the top of College Street.

Bob

Brays04 · Member

Bob, thanks for providing this link. This is a huge help!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Shannon,

Are you staying in Bray because your last name is Bray? You are actually backtracking if you plan on seeing Glendalough and Avoca then overnighting in Bray. It would make more sense to see Bray and then continue on to Glendalough and Avoca. If Bray is not a "must see" skip it. If jet lag permits I would not miss Powerscourt Gardens. Very mixed reviews on the Hotel Esplanade.

For where to stay check my Lodgings page. Near the top of the page click on IrelandYes Index and then on Lodgings.

I know you want two-night stays but one night in Kerry and one in Dingle makes more sense. Unless you can pull a day from somewhere else to add to the SW.

Dingle to Killarney 1-1/2 hours.

Michele

YaYa · Guru

Shannon,

Do check out Michele's lodging site. My last two trips I followed her recommendations and had better trips for it.

Have a great trip, Joan

Brays04 · Member

Thanks Michele. Now that I look at this, you are correct that we would definitely be back tracking to go back to Bray to spend the night. If we arrive in Dublin at 9 am, pick up our rental car, and then visit the items that we have listed in Wicklow, would it make more sense to stay in Wexford the first night? I'm not sure how close Avoca is from Wexford. If it's pretty close, we could stay in Wexford the first night and then that would give us an extra night in Dingle or another area. Any thoughts on this? Thanks for everyone's help!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Shannon,

Since it will be your first day in Ireland you will be jet-lagged. I think it is pushing it to do you sightseeing and then try to make it to Wexford. I recommend the Woodenbridge Hotel & Lodge not far from Avoca. Or you could stay near Glendalough.

Michele