I'm finally back to conclude my trip report. I left off with Dingle in Part 1 of my report, which incidentally capped what we consider to have been the "better half" of our trip. After leaving Dingle, we jaunted up to Doolin for a night (via the Tarbert ferry), and then on to Leenaun for three nights, Westport for two (a change from our original itinerary - more on that, later), and then Athlone and Dublin at one night apiece.

The drive from Dingle to Doolin became tedious shortly after the ferry ride. The weather wasn't cooperating on that particular morning. We stopped in Lahinch which was a bit disappointing, as all of the quaint and pretty photos of it that we'd seen seemed to have been misleading. It was actually a fairly dirty town. We were glad to get back in the car and drive up the road to Doolin, to say the least.

Doolin, itself, is a very strange little town. We stayed at Cullinan's Guesthouse which is located on the main stretch of road that sits opposite a luxury hotel and a very ritzy tourist center. It didn't seem to fit the town at all. And the town is actually very scattered, because the best bars are about a mile up the road and across a little stone bridge. To the other side of town lies the picturesque "Main Street" with pink and orange buildings and which attracts every tour bus within a thirty mile radius I'm sure. We visited Doolin pier which boasts a nice view of the Cliffs of Moher and the Arans, and has a very unique stoney coastline. Late that afternoon we traveled to the Cliffs (throwing down a bunch of cash for parking, in the process), and they were spectacular. We didn't get to walk the whole thing because my father was getting weary, but we saw plenty. The wind just about beat us to death.

That night we opted out of eating at Cullinan's Restaurant (very pricey), so we ate pub grub and listened to some traditional music sessions instead. It was a Friday night, and folks were flooding into town from every direction just to hear the music. And it did not disappoint.

A word about Cullinan's: this was our first accommodation that actually disappointed us. I think the problem is that the B&B is practically an afterthought to Carol and James, and they really focus most of their attention on the restaurant. We saw James for about 2 minutes when we checked in; he was very clearly in a rush and barely spoke five words to us. Then we didn't see either of them until check-out the next morning; Carol checked us out and also appeared to be in a huge hurry, and virtually shooed us out the door. Our room was not particularly clean, there were rips in the bedsheets, and the water in the bathtub came out sort of a rusty color. And we found the walls to be unpleasantly thin, as we could hear everything our neighbors did. The one plus was that the breakfast was predictably tasty. Still, we weren't received very warmly... a first for our trip.

From Dingle we drove up to Leenaun, another long hike like the day before. Galway was unpleasantly congested, but it was very nice to drive through the Burren region on the way up. Once we entered Connemara, the scenery was awe-inspiring. It truly has to be seen to be believed. We'd drive for ten or fifteen mile stretches without seeing even the slightest indication of human inhabitation. This fact, of course, should've served as a warning of what was to come...

Our accommodation for our stay in Connemara was at the Delphi Lodge for three nights, which proved to be about two nights too long. Its address is curiously listed as Leenaun, but Leenaun is a good thirty minute drive away. Don't get me wrong: the scenery was beautiful and I'll never forget the landscapes of Connemara, but one night would have sufficed. We began running out of things to do after the first day, simply because the drives to and from the nearest attractions were so long. And let me warn you all about Delphi Lodge: it's not so great. It's in a beautiful spot, but it's completely catered to fishermen. We got a very cold-shoulder from all the staff there. They put us in a boathouse cottage, even though it wasn't what we had reservations for; they'd overbooked the rooms for the estate itself, and since we were the last to arrive, they threw us in the "boathouse cottage" which is well behind the manor house and a lot less nice than the house itself. And then they had the nerve to charge us for utilities(!?) and firewood for the cottage, plus the exhorbitant cottage rate of 450 EUR for three nights. We're still fighting them on this one.

We did take a few day trips while in Connemara. We drove up to Louisburgh which is due north of Leenaun; not much there. The town was quaint but there wasn't much to see or do. The next day we drove to Letterfrack and Clifden, stopping at Kylemore Abbey along the way (which was a nice treat). Clifden wasn't so great, though. We only spent an hour or two there, and then trekked the 45 minute drive back to Leenaun. And Leenaun itself is undergoing some major work right now, as the bridge apparently recently collapsed. They've erected a temporary bridge, but there's construction equipment and heaps of rubble scattered all about the town, which is a shame.

My overall impression of Connemara was this: beautiful, and definately worth a drive through. But probably not an overnighter, at least not for me. If I had to do it over again, I'd have driven from Doolin up to Westport, and simply navigated the scenic route through the eastern Connemara region without stopping over for a night. But if you're a writer or artist looking for some peace and natural inspiration... Connemara might just be the ticket.

It was in Connemara where we also hit another snag in our trip. For some reason, the wind and waters of Galway Bay and the Atlantic were churning pretty wildly, thus ending our hopes of spending two nights on Inishmore (a big disappointment!). The ferry from Rossaveal was canceled, so now we had two nights to assign to another destination. We knew we couldn't possibly handle another two nights at Delphi Lodge. Fortunately, I remembered someone from this forum (maybe Bit) saying that Westport was a lovely spot, and knowing that it was just up the road a ways, we figured to give it a try.

What a great turn of luck! Westport quickly became one of our favorite towns on the planet. We were very fortunate to stumble upon the Boulevard Guesthouse, and they happened to have availability for two nights. This was a deluxe accommodation at a very reasonable rate: 40 EUR per person per night. It is located right on the South Mall, overlooking the river and the victorian homes and shops that stretch along it. The little town was bustling, too, because the wife of Matt Molloy (owner of the famous Matt Molloy's Pub and the fluteist for the Chieftains) had died and her funeral was the first day of our visit. Because of this, the town was overflowing with celebrities. I met Van Morrison, Colm Meaney, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, and Bono (from U2). The pub and music scene was also thriving.

In Westport, we certainly never felt like we were in a tourist town. We found ourselves in the midst of "life as usual," with children walking home from school, trucks delivering goods to local businesses, and men stopping off at the hardware store on the way home from work. It was refreshing. One regret I have about our stay in Westport was that we never made it to the Westport House, which I've heard is a must-see. Oh well.

After two outstanding days in Westport, we began our journey back toward Dublin. We spent a night in Athlone halfway from Westport, which in retrospect we probably didn't need to do. Athlone was the most modernized stop on our trip, and probably had the least to offer in terms of sightseeing. One bonus, though, was that we were very near to Clonmacnoise, and we spent a whole afternoon wandering around it. One of the more enchanting and peaceful places in all the world, I'd imagine. The backdrop of the serpentine Shannon River and the marshes that surround it was utterly breathtaking, too.

Our B&B in Athlone was the Cornamagh House. Simply put: avoid it. The website is very misleading, as it makes the house appear to be somewhat akin to a Georgian manor house. Not so. It's very suburban, and not unlike somehing you'd see in a cookie-cutter outskirt neighborhood of Atlanta. Furthermore, the paint was peeling off the stucco, there were displeasing heaps of trash in the yard, and the interior was generally unkept. I'm still amazing that they are certified by the Irish tourist board. The rooms were very cold, the shower trickled instead of flowed, and the breakfast was poorly cooked. It was cheap, and that was good. Plus, I can probably tolerate just about anything if it's for only one night. Still, I'd tell everybody to bypass it.

On our final day in Ireland, we left Athlone early and drove up to Trim, which was a very quick and easy trip. We toured the castle and found it to be a nice two hour diversion. Then, we drove further up to Newgrange, which was rather difficult to find. We took several wrong turns in Navan and had to ask numerous people for directions. It was well worth it, though. Newgrange was a great "final attraction" for our trip. The tour guide was charming, and to stand inside something as ancient and storied as Newgrange gave me goosebumps. Afterward, we hopped right down to our hotel at Dublin Airport (Bewley's). This was a perfect suggestion from Michele, as we really wanted to avoid the city and have an easy access to the airport for our rather early flight. Bewley's was really deluxe, with nice and comfortable rooms and a great restaurant at which I had a really good steak. We'd had a very long and eventful day between Athlone, Trim, Navan, and Newgrange; thus, we opted to stay at the hotel and have an early bedtime, instead  of trekking over to Malahide as originally planned.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

-Having never traveled outside the US before, this was a real eye-opening experience for me. It took me a couple of days to become really comfortable with the differences (roads, grocery stores, weather) but it was a very welcome change.

-After spending a couple days in Ireland, I had to laugh to myself about the thread I'd read on this forum entitled "Traveling to Ireland on a shoestring budget" or something along those lines. After our trip, I'd say it's utterly impossible to do so, although we probably could've cut more corners and found more ways to save than we actually did. Gas prices didn't hurt us too much; what really did it was the food. Wow. A very mediocre hamburger at a pub often ran as high as 13 EUR, which translates to about $19. Luckily for us, we stayed at B&B's all throughout our trip (exept for Delphi Lodge), and we usually were able to go without lunch. Still, I'd probably cringe if I went back and tallied up our meal expenses. Ouch. Also, the attraction admission costs really add up more than you might anticipate. We probably would've been well advised to get a Heritage Pass for each of us at a flat rate.

-A rental car, despite the hassles, is the way to go. Part of the charm for us was stopping off at random villages for an hour simply to explore. Many times we pulled off of roads to scope out a smaller road that wasn't on the map, or to simply stand on the side of the main road and take pictures. We are also glad that we declined a GPS in the car. It would've cost us 10 EUR per day, which for 17 days would've been a bit ridiculous I think. We never got LOST; of course we took wrong turns and we missed some turns, but it's very easy in Ireland to find your way again. I really enjoyed stopping at pubs, farms, and gas stations and asking folks where to go. It turns out it's a great way to meet some interesting characters. I really enhanced my map-reading skills, too.

-Another note on rental cars: the rental companies will flat out screw you over. Our "quote" ended up being several hundred euro less than what was actually billed to us when all was said and done. Fuel charges, service charges, processing charges, cleaning charges, convenience charges... they all add up!

-If I could go back and do the trip over again, I'd keep the first half (up through Dingle) virtually untouched. Stoneyford, Kinsale, Kenmare, and Dingle were all very different from one another, but I believe they are all hallmarks of the southern touring loop and should not be missed. I'd add a third night for our stay in Dingle. Doolin was nice, and I'm glad I visited. But on my next trip to Ireland, I'll likely omit it from the itinerary. I'll definately omit an overnight stay in Connemara, but I'll take a drive through on the way to or from Westport. I'd also omit Athlone, because it simply doesn't have that much to offer.

-Next time I visit Ireland, it'll be the Shannon Airport for me. Dublin Airport, as advertised by Michele and others, was completely horrible. For a major international airport, I was very underwhelmed by it. And it's also under major reconstruction, which only added to the trouble.

-I wish there were a cruise ship that sailed to and from Ireland, because I'd be on it in a heartbeat. Air travel has gotten so tedious. Security, customs, ticketing, and baggage check-in accounted for several hours out of my trip, and I loathe that.

-Kilkenny county is really an underrated gem, especially the area just south of the city that comprises Stoneyford, Kells, Knocktopher, Thomastown, and Inistioge. What a collection of outstanding little towns! I felt like I got my best taste of traditional Ireland in these places, because towns like Kinsale and Dingle, while wonderful, are innundated with a tourist mindset that sort of skews things just a little. I can imagine living in Stoneyford or Inistioge and I think it'd be delightful.

-Favorite town: Eyeries.
-Favorite B&B: a tie between Lawcus Farm and Heaton's Guesthouse.
-Best scenery: the Beara.
-Best dining town: Kinsale.
-Best music town: Dingle (surprisingly, b/c I'd always heard Doolin).
-Most dreadful town: Newport.
-Biggest surprise: a tie between the wonderful beach at Allihies and Healy's Pass.
-Biggest disappointment: either Killarney town (but we loved the park) or Cork City.
-Favorite county: Kilkenny.
-Favorite attraction: Charles Fort in Kinsale.
-Best fish 'n' chips: Dino's in Kinsale (and only 10 EUR per plate!)
-Biggest regret: Omitting Inishmore.



-- Edited by jsarcher at 18:24, 2008-10-15

-- Edited by jsarcher at 18:36, 2008-10-15