First (7-day) trip: Dublin-Cork-County Clare-Galway-Dublin: Advice?

Dan · Member

First (7-day) trip: Dublin-Cork-County Clare-Galway-Dublin: Advice?

CowboyCraic · Guru

Ceid Mile Failte, Dan,

First off welcome to the Forum. I am sure that you will receive much good information from Michele and her cast of Irish Irregulars.

Secondly, there is a reason that the folks you work with are from Cork. I try to avoid it at all costs. There are some lovely things to see there, to be sure. That being said, the navigating of its streets makes it very frustrating, indeed.

I would suggest the following, as you seem to have a west coast focus:

Day 1 - Dublin (I would suggest two nights instead of the one)
Day 2 - Grab the Hop-on/off Open Top Bus Tour which will give you a better over all perspective of what there is to do and see in Dublin. You can get off and on at whatever attractions suit your tastes.

Day 3 - Pick up the rental car and head to Galway (two nights)
You can visit the Distillery enroute to Galway)
Day 4 - Explore the Connemara region during the day. Grab some great Pub music in the evening

Day 5 - Head to Killarney via the coast route, taking in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher, grab the Killimer/Tarbert Ferry to save time and then on to Killarney (Two nights)
Day 6 - Explore Killarney National Park or the Gap of Dunloe

Day 7 - head to Dublin - you can even stop in Cork enroute for lunch and a stroll, if you must biggrin biggrin (Turn In your rental car & book in to an airport hotel) I think Bewley's Dublin Airport is still running a special and they have an airport shuttle.

This will give you a taste of Ireland. With seven days, a taste is the temptation which will bring you back again for a longer trip. Day 5 & Day 7 will be your longest days of driving but well worth it. Make sure you stop often along the way to take in the ever changing scenery.

Killarney and Galway are large enough that you will have some sort of Pub life in the late evenings. Late is the operative word, as the music doesn't usually kick off until 10:30 at night at best. I would suggest that you call St. Martins B&B in Galway, 091-568286, straight away and see if they might have rooms. They are within strolling distance to the city centre and some great Pubs.

I hope you have a grand time! Come back and let us know how it all works out.

Slan Beo (Take Care), Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dan,

Bit has given you a good plan. I'm afraid both of us are not enamored of Cork City. Most tourists try to avoid it. As for Co. Cork, that is a different kettle of fish. There are some lovely areas and coastline. Kinsale is the place that most would choose to stay in Co. Cork. As for

Bit's plan, it will give you a nice rounded taste of Ireland. And you really do need more than one night in each place if you want to actually see things and not just be driving through.

As you travel around be sure to stop at the tourist office in every city you stay. They will be able to tell you the best to see and do in the area. If you are saying at B&Bs your hosts will be a fount of knowledge too.

For accommodations go to my Lodgings page. It will give you a good list to work with.

Let us know if you have any other questions before departure. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Michele

-- Edited by Michele Erdvig on Wednesday 3rd of June 2009 04:39:30 PM

Dan · Member

Thanks both for your help!

My buddy and I talked about it, and we decided we'll go with most of Bit's plan... but we're thinking of skipping Killarney mostly because it appears to be a pure tourist town with almost exclusively nature stuff to see. Like I said, nature stuff is important but we're both more interested in common cities, towns, and other places where there's more architecture and local culture.

Would replacing Killarney with Kinsale make sense, possibly going into Cork for a few hours on one day? Or something in Co. Claire? It's important to us to have good pubs to go to pretty much every night that aren't there just for tourists. Divey/seedy places included of course.

Thanks again!

-- Edited by Dan on Thursday 4th of June 2009 06:28:37 AM

Dan · Member

Would Ennis be a viable alternative for Killarney? I suppose that leaves a lot of driving on the way back to Dublin if we were to see all the stuff between Ennis and Killarney, but could this be accomplished on day trips with the final drive (almost) directly from Ennis to Dublin?

CowboyCraic · Guru

Dan,

Killarney is just as much a tourist town as are Dublin & Galway. Because it is larger than Kinsale, it will have more of a nightlife. There are 40 pubs just at town centre. I think I have been in most of them. biggrin

If you want to mingle with the locals, you could try the Purple Heather or the Coachmen's Inn. Muckross house is a fabulous historic building in the Killarney area. It was built & Designed by the Scot architect William Burns. The gardens were redesigned in 1861 for Queen Victoria's visit there. As for local culture, you will find that no matter where you roost. There is Ross Castle on Lough Leane, as well.

Ennis would be a good choice only as far as touring Co. Clare. I don't think that it would be the best place from which to launch daytrips to either Killarney or Dingle. The distances you would need to travel, back & forth, in one day would make it all a blur.

Slan Beo, Bit

Dan · Member

Thanks again, Bit! And yup, you've convinced me after all. :)

In terms of a place to stay in Galway, St. Martin's looks great, but it doesn't look like it has wifi (?). It would be very useful to have internet so we can check emails, make (free) international calls, etc. And I already booked a hotel in Dublin that doesn't have free internet (stupid me!). Do you know of some good places in Galway that have internet and are also within walking distance of the city center?

CowboyCraic · Guru

Dan,

The one I can think of off the top of my head is the Eyre Square Hotel, which is in the heart of Galway. They are running a lodging special right now, as well. Going through my files, I found the Imperial Hotel Galway , which offers free wi-fi, as well.

Perhaps Michele might have some recommendations for you, as well.

Slan Beo, Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dan,

Achill Lodge and Rose Villa in Salthill (suburb of Galway) have WiFi. The McDonald's restaurants in Ireland have free WiFi. There are also many Internet cafes all over the place. Have you looked at my list of them?

Michele

Dan · Member

Thanks again, Michele and Bit!

I looked at the list, but we would need in-room internet so we could hook up the room phone to my computer to make calls. The problem with some of the places with internet (like Eyre Sq. Hotel), also, is that they have it only in "public spaces" which again isn't what we were looking for. Anyway, I ended up giving up at some point last night (I'm on CET, 6 hours ahead of EST) and booked the Westwood since it has in-room internet, great reviews, good parking, and full Irish breakfast included. We'll just minimize our travel between the hotel and the city, and then the 20+-minute walk shouldn't be too bad.

As for after Galway, I'm thinking we'll just wing it... see if we feel like going to Killarney or going to a small village. I didn't have time to look into it enough after spending too much time on Galway. A shame, but from what I've read here, it seems that it should be far from impossible to find lodging at a local tourism office midweek in this economy.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dan,

You are better off in a hotel or guesthouse then. Many B&Bs don't have in-room phones. Have fun on your trip and let us know how it goes.

Michele