Kerry in Late September - Itinerary help

bk43 · Newbie

Kerry in Late September - Itinerary help

yesiree · Guru

Not sure of your flight times, but it's probably safe to say that you really have two free days for real touring...planning major site seeing on your arrival and departure days will likely need to be kept small scale and local.

I take it Blarney makes the must-see list...does the same hold true for the Cliffs? Because with a quick trip like yours, I'd be apt to stay in Kerry. You have several choices in that vicinity...a day trip for the Ring of Kerry (OR Dingle), Blarney with Cork or Cobh for a day, or Killarney National Park/Muckross House and the Killarney sites. Those ideas right there would fill your trip without sending all the way to Counties Clare or Kilkenny.

Doolin is fine, but you will probably find Kenmare or Killarney have much of the pub culture you seek (Doolin is small with just a few pubs) and both are close to Blarney. The Cliffs are a wonder, but so are the other parts of the coast, so don't worry if you miss them this trip.

I love Kilkenny, but I think that's extending too far out for such a short trip. I hope this gives you some ideas. I've found that less time in the car makes for a much better experience. Plus, Counties Kerry and Cork have loads to do and see, so look there first...then consider destinations further afield.

Michele Erdvig · Host

bk43,

Welcome to my forum. I agree with Corey that you are trying to do too much on such a short trip. Stick to Cork and Kerry for your very short trip. Let us know what you think.

Michele

bk43 · Newbie

Thanks for the replies!

We arrive in Kerry at 1 PM on the 4th. We were planning on going to Blarney from there. It appears that it is about 80 KM, so we are planning somewhere around 2+ hours drive. From there, we were hoping maybe to find a nice town/village with a decent pub and B&B to stay for the night.

We were then hoping the spend the second night in Doolin, and the last night somewhere near the airport such as Killarney.

It appears from comments, that Cork may not be so interesting to see. That said, it seems that he trip to Blarney is putting our trip out of whack.

Would you suggest to skip Blarney and stay west? I think that the Cliffs are a must, but if there were something comparable to see, I could try to convince my travel mates to bypass those as well.

Is it true that the ride form Kenmare to Killarney is the best part of the ring of Kerry?

I agree that less windshield time would be better, but this is most likely the only time most if us will ever get to Ireland at all, so I don't want to miss out on some must-sees.

Thanks again!

Sidz · Guru

Blarney is normally thought of as a tourist trap and can easilly be missed, especially since it is not in the region you will be in the most. Skip it and you can do alot more. Many feel there is really nothing special about that area compared to other places in Ireland.

yesiree · Guru

Cork is a big county, so before you let an online review sway you, you'll need to find out where in Cork they were. There is loads to do and see. Cork city, Cobh, Kinsale, Bantry are among the notables...plus loads of small coastal and inland towns.

The route between Killarney and Kenmare probably packs the most views per km, but one thing it doesn't have is the coastal views found on the rest of the route. If I had a short visit and had the choice of spending most of the day in the car on the Ring of Kerry or in the car driving TO the Cliffs...I surely pick ROK. Many would consider ROK a must-see. Most of the tourists will have headed out by the end of Sept, so it'll be pretty nice.

I don't consider Blarney a must-see. The Cliffs are on my list of must-sees, but so is the Giants Causeway and that's waaaay up there, so you can't rely on that kind of thinking.

I'll stick to my original advice...stick to Killarney or Kenmare and venture out from there (which ever you choose, you can still head over to the other for an evening...it's a hilly, curvy, but relatively short drive on a wide-enough road). You will enjoy the sites you DO see much more than if you tried packing in a trip to the Cliffs...on that note, I also know how tough it can be to get consensus, so best of luck.