Travelling with my toddler-Plz advice itineary

puneet · Member

Travelling with my toddler-Plz advice itineary

Michele Erdvig · Host

Puneet Jain,

Welcome to my forum! Since you are traveling with a 9 month old toddler you may want to consider less time driving in the car. I would also suggest some two-night stays instead of a different night for your whole trip. Packing, unpacking, finding your new accommodations and moving on every day can get tiring for anyone and with a small child even more so.

Even though Ireland is a small country you will not get anywhere fast. The small winding roads, photo stops, sightseeing all conspire to slow you down. Generally you average 35 mph.

I would suggest you cut out some areas and try to avoid seeing everything. With your limited time it just can't be done. You will have a much nicer trip if you concentrate on an area or two instead of such a broad sweep through Ireland.

What area is most important to you? Once you know that you can plan the rest of your trip.

Don't get discouraged. It takes many tries before an itinerary turns out right for a trip. Keep at it and yours will too. We are here to help.

Michele

youngka · Guru

Puneet Jain, Nice you found this site, it is really a good one, as you mentioned. Since I have not been as many places as most others, I am just going to suggest Clifden. The Buttermilk Lodge: www.buttermilklodge.com is very very nice and great service! Owners are very helpful, nice and make a really good breakfast with losts of choices. A good place to eat lunch is Off The Square: Tele.: 095-22281 very nice people and really good food. We also ate a really nice dinner at the hotel across from the big grocery store -- and I am sorry, but forgot the name of the restaurant downstairs. (my husband thinks: Ab**** & Brown) The service and food were excellent.
Clifden is one of our favorite towns. There is a lot to do, many shops & restaurants, and beautiful area surrounding it -- also not very far from the ocean
Have a WONDERFUL trip! Youngka

puneet · Member

Hi Michele

You got me thinking........ Plz suggest what parts needs editing and what parts are a must see for 1st timers, as have planned 2days in killarney/dingle, would adding another day to Ennis help in keeping the same itineary(as can add a couple of days to my vacation)?
Moreover from the point of view of the toddler what kinda weather shd i expect in mid june + ur suggestions abt budget accomodations n things to do would be priceless.
Thx for the encouragement, working towards a g8 holiday wid your help n inputs

puneet · Member

Thx youngka for your kind inputs abt clifden, that gives me a lot of confidence in atleast one of the places as per my planned itineary.
Wd certainly chk out the places suggested, wd appreciate any further suggestions like things to do etc

Keep Holidaying! Puneet

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Just a couple of quick notes:

With stops, the drive from Dublin to Sligo will make a full day. There is NO way to 'Add' Donegal. We spent three nights there, last summer -- when we had about 20 hours of daylight!) and only BARELY scratched the surface of what there is to see and do in Donegal. If Donegal is THAT important to see, add a couple of days.

Sligo to Clifden in one day is do-able if you don't detour or dawdle along the way -- but that will be VERY hard to do. Clifden deserves AT LEAST one more night.

Spend the night on Dingle. Otherwise you'll not have time to actually see / experience it.

If you leave Dingle early, you COULD drive to Kilorglin and 'DO' the Ring of Kerry, ending in Killarney. Recommend you arrive Kilorglin at or before 10 AM, in order to put you ahead of most of the Tour Buses, rather than behind them the whole way. I would add another night here, as well, if you can. LOTS to see and do -- Gap of Dunloe, Ross Castle, Muckross House, Gaqrdens and Traditional Farms, etc., etc.

Forget Cork. Drive Killarney to Mallow to Waterford. Cashel is worth a visit if you have yet ANOTHER day to add.

Bob

youngka · Guru

Puneet Jain, If you make it to Clifden (http://www.clifdenchamber.ie/) try and go to Kylemore Abby for sure - NorthEast of Clifden. Also, Westport - further North East -- is a bit of a drive from Clifden and if you don't make it that far, you can see it on your next trip. The Connemara Region is an interesting area. Or, drive to Roundstone, SW of Clifden. A neat place to see is the shop where the Bodran (http://www.roundstone.ie/musical.htm) is made. Check this site out for Clifden info, also. http://www.roundstone.ie/index.php -- good map on this site of the Connemara Region. Youngka

Michele Erdvig · Host

Puneet Jain,

My best advice would be to do Dublin your first two days and then choose two places to visit and then spend your last night near Waterford for your ferry in the morning.

The Irish weather is very unpredictable. Go to my Weather page for more info. You can click on any of the boxes around the map for weather history. Generally Ireland's SE is the sunniest part of the island. You could easily spend a few days in Co. Wicklow and Co. Wexford or Kilkenny. By cutting out long cross-country drives you will have a better trip.

Michele

puneet · Member

Dear Bob / Dear Michele

Thx for your kind notes.
I was hoping dublin-sligo with a stop over in shannon shdn't b more than 4hrs as its ard 135miles, any to do's on the way to sligo.
Moreover i'll like to play with the idea of maybe doin :
2nts dublin
2nts sligo - do u suggest donegal as must c
2nts clifden - which route shd b taken fm sligo-clifden, shd i take via bangor erris or shd i follow via claremorris ?
1nt ennis
2nts dingle (is it ok if i don't stay at killarney, wd i miss out much or shd i do 1day each in dingle and killarney)
1nt waterford - doin mallow enroute
What do you think abt dis itinerary, do u think dis wd be more do able

youngka · Guru

Puneet Jain, When in Dingle you may want to try John Benny's Bar & Restaurant. Have had both lunch and dinner and the food is really good and good price.....youngka

Michele Erdvig · Host

Puneet Jain,

I see you have added another day to Ireland. You can, of course, do anything you want. We were just concerned about too much driving with a small child. From Dublin to Sligo is about 4 hours. If you stopped in Shannon on the way to Sligo it would take about 8 hours. That is just driving time and does not take into account sightseeing, lunch, etc.

I was hoping dublin-sligo with a stop over in shannon shdn't b more than 4hrs as its ard 135miles, any to do's on the way to sligo. * You could stop off at Belvedere Gardens or Boyle Abbey on the way.

Moreover i'll like to play with the idea of maybe doin :

2nts dublin * Fine.
2nts sligo - do u suggest donegal as must c * Since it will take most of the day to get there I suggest just seeing the Sligo area.

2nts clifden - which route shd b taken fm sligo-clifden, shd i take via bangor erris or shd i follow via claremorris ? * Main Road through Castlebar and Westport.

1nt ennis * Okay.

2nts dingle (is it ok if i don't stay at killarney, wd i miss out much or shd i do 1day each in dingle and killarney) * It is fine if you don't do Killarney. Dingle is lovely.

1nt waterford - doin mallow enroute

You will have to let us know how you liked Ireland and your itinerary when you return.

Michele

puneet · Member

Thx Youngka, Hv taken note abt kylemore abbey + we would be travelling from sligo to clifden via westport, thx for the links.

puneet · Member

Dear Michele
I know ur concerned abt too much driving and even im also very nervous but at the same time wanna xplore as much comfortably possible and thus keep coming bak to u for ur kind advice

* Sligo-Clifden-there are two main roads N17 or N26 which wd u advice
* Which route wd u advice for reachn westport
* Seldom people suggest Northern part, Sligo in my case - does it make sense to do it, - is d route as scenic as other parts of ireland or shd i consider doin dublin to clifden (my impression is that it'll be a longer route)

Im sorry i tend to be repetitive, but its just that dere are so many options and so many things coming to mind, hope u'll understand

Puneet
India

youngka · Guru

Puneet, never worry about asking too many questions. I once felt, and still do, that some of my questions sounded pretty stupid and not necessary; however, this site is for questions. So use it a LOT to get your plan in place. It does seem like a lot of driving with a small infant, but you will know after the first few days. You sure don't want to be too tired and miss what you are planning on seeing. Youngka

puneet · Member

Thx4 d encouragement youngka..... puneet

Michele Erdvig · Host

Puneet Jain,

I suggest the main road the N4 south of Sligo to the N17 to the N5 & west to Castlebar & Westport. N59 to Clifden.

Most of Ireland is very scenic. You can pretty much throw a dart at a map of Ireland and find scenic drives in the vicinity of where it lands.

You are right that there are lots of options in Ireland. That is why people return again and again. So they can see what they missed on their last trip. Narrowing down your focus can be difficult.

Dublin to Clifden and Dublin to Sligo take approximately the same amount of driving time but can depend on traffic, roadworks and your driving style.

Michele