First Trip to Ireland

cvalen · Member

First Trip to Ireland

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Congrats on your 25th -- AND your decision to spend it in Ireland. My wife and I have celebrated our 30th AND 35th there, so OBVIOUSLY, it seems like a wise decision to me! biggrin biggrin

Do you have some ties to Waterford? The MAIN draw there is the Crystal Factory Tour, which has been discontinued. Waterford Crystal has closed manufacturing and is in Bankruptcy, though they are still operating the Showroom, selling off remaining stock. hmm

If you want to stay close to SNN on arrival day, you will want to pre-arrainge an early check-in. Ennis is a great town, in my opinion, but Bunratty would offer the walk-able diversions of the Folk Park and Castle, Durty Nellies and the Woolen Mills shopping. Also, since many stay at Bunratty theirLAST night (and have early morning flights out), the early check-in might be less of a problem.

Check Michele's Lodgings page.

Other town options would be Doolin and/or Adare, depending on whether or not the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren are priorities.

We have family in and around Cork, but I would recommend NOT staying in the city. There are NUMEROUS B&B options in Kinsale or Blarney that would be less frentic, yet close enough to 'Commute'.

What are your interests? What do you most want to see? Do you fly out of Shannon?

Bob

cvalen · Member

Itallian Chauffeur, Thanks for the reply,

Yes, we fly into Shannon early morning on the 6th of June and fly out of Shannon at 11:30am on the 16th of June. We have a car rented and plan on following your advice on focusing on a quadrant, we chose the Southwest. We purchased Michele's book and have looked at the B&B's she suggests. We just wasn't sure what town/area to start in. The first day or two, we would like to be able to walk about, take in the culture relax from the jet lag and get used to the left lane driving! yawn

Our plan was From Shannon, follow the coast down to Waterford and then go inland back up to Shannon. But since Waterford is no longer in business, this plan may change. Do you suggest making reservations for all of the B&B stays before we leave, or can we just reserve the first couple and the last night, then find the others as we andventure along. Never visiting ireland before, we may find an area we just want to spend more time in before we move along.
Is there too much risk in not finding a nice B&B by not reserving them in advance? confuse

Corby & Sharon

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Generally, if you have a specific, MUST STAY AT B&B, it IS best to pre-book, in order to avoid disappointment.

That said, we often leave stretches unbooked, to allow for serendipitous 'Adventures' biggrin biggrin

Being relatively cautious, however, we usually try to book our night's lodging by 1 or 2 PM each day. You can do this, by going to any local Tourist Information office, for a small fee (2 or 3 Euro), plus a 10% deposit. They will search out a place, on-line, using your criteria as to location and ammenaties and then confirm the booking via telephone. This keeps the stress to a minimum, yet still allows great latitude for wandering, semi-aimessly about. biggrin

Since you mentioned Killarney, be sure to check out the special offer that Michele has secured at Loch Lein House: http://www.irelandyes.com/irelandspecials.html

Generally, it's MUCH more relaxing to try for 2 or 3 night stays in each location and then day-trip from there.

Bob

CowboyCraic · Guru

Good Morning Corby & Shannon,

First off congratulations of 25 years of marriage! That is quite an accomplishment in this day and age.

If you are focusing on the Southwest, Waterford will be quite out of your way, as it is toward the southeast coast. With ten days on the ground, you should have an easy trip. Driving out of the Shannon airport, you should adjust to left-hand driving easily.

Do you have a desire to see the Cliffsof Moher? If yes, then basing out of Ennis the first two days would make sense, as you would have the better part of that first day to explore Ennis on foot and then the second day to traverse the Clare coast to the Cliffs or take in the Loop Head peninsula. If the Cliffs aren't high on your priority list, then Adare would be a great starting point.

For ten days on the ground, I would suggest, Adare (two nights), Dingle (two Nights), Killarney (three nights), Cashel (One Night) and Bunratty (two nights). This would give you a nicely relaxed trip whilst allowing you to enjoy the culture and warmth of these areas.

I would suggest booking your lodgings ahead of time. In Killarney, I suggest you take advantage of the special offer for Michele's forum members and stay at Loch Lein. It would be a perfect treat for your anniversary. In Dingle, I would suggest the Blooming Wildflower Cottage. In Bunratty, Mary Browne's Bunratty Lodge cannot be beat!

Slan Beo (Take Care), Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Corby & Sharon,

Welcome to my forum. Congratulations on visiting Ireland for your anniversary. I know you want it to be very special.

This has been a pretty slow year so far in Ireland. You will probably want reservations on Fri & Sat nights. I would also book the last night in Bunratty. As Bit says Bunratty Lodge is tops.

You might also consider Kenmare in place of Killarney if you like smaller towns. Either would suit you actually. But I do love doing the Beara Peninsula in place of Ring of Kerry and Kenmare is perfect for that.

I like Bit's idea of Cashel just before Bunratty. It will allow you to see some of the interior of Ireland along with very interesting sites.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Michele