First draft Itinerary

dbeavers · Member

First draft Itinerary

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dennis,

Everyone likes to travel at their own speed. You will get a quick "glimpse" of Ireland on your trip. Since you mention you might return, you probably want to check out different areas to see where you might like to linger in the future.

What you propose can be accomplished. Most seasoned travelers to Ireland wouldn't recommend it but if that is what you and your wife prefer then it will suit you. We often refer to it as a "Green Blur Tour of Ireland" - because you see Ireland mostly from a moving car. But from what you said that is your preference.

I will mention that the Waterford Crystal Factory is closed if that is your goal for Waterford. Their shop and cafe are open but you can no longer see the crystal-making process there. They are in bankruptcy.

I hope you and your wife have a wonderful trip. And Happy Anniversary!

We would enjoy hearing how you liked Ireland when you return.

Michele

dbeavers · Member

Waterford Crystal wasn't on our agenda. Just a quick tour of the city and coast before heading inland to Kilkenny.

The green blur will be our taste of Ireland tour. On a return visit, we'll likely use one or two of our favorite B & Bs as home base for 2 to 3 days in a couple areas, making day trips to cover specific regions.

This "green blur" will be at slower speeds than the 7 states, 2000 miles in 9 days we did touring New England in 2007. And far fewer miles per day. But both tours allow for lots of stops and photo ops.

Thanks again for your suggestions and advice.

Dennis

stewh · Guru

Hi Dennis,
We have very different touring styles. When my wife and I toured the Burren we spent a full week in Corofin. You might consider skipping your quick visit to Waterford city and spend that time in Kilkenny, in my opinion a much more interesting (and fun) town. Have a great time!!
Stewart

dbeavers · Member

I'll take your advice and skip Waterford, and have more time in Co Kilkenny.

Thanks,

Dennis

CowboyCraic · Guru

Dennis,

A favorite B&B of mine is Lawcus Farms Guesthouse. They are outside of the Kilkenny but well worth it, in my opinion. If you want something in the heart of Kilkenny, then I would suggest Butler Court.

I will have to say that I was worn out just reading over your itinerary. I can't imagine actually living it. You've not left yourself much time for meeting friendly locals. I have stopped into a Petrol station for a quick soda and ended up in a conversation for a half hour or more. With eight nights, I would probably have broken it down to Dublin (2), Belfast (2), Galway (2) and Kilkenny (2). That would provide ample opportunities for meeting the locals and getting to know a place.

I just did an elven day tour of Ireland. All of my stays were two nights a piece. I did a lot of driving, a little over two thousand miles. That doesn't sound like a lot when you break it down per day. Just remember that their roads are not like ours here. I am a seasoned driver and was hard pressed to drive at 35 mph much of the time. The roads are narrower and the road hazards range from livestock to pedestrians, from farm machinery to bicyclists and everything in between.

As you said though, this is meant to be tasty morsel to entice you back for a longer, less hurried stay. Enjoy your journey for to be in Ireland, no matter the pace set, is grand indeed!

Slan Beo (Take Care), Bit

dbeavers · Member

Hello Cowboy,

One rule I'll apply to this trip is to use the national highways as much as possible, anc keep the side trips down the one lane roads to a minimum. I know I've set a hectic pace, but do want to see some of the many faces of Ireland as well as the many shades of green.

I may kick myself when it's over, but from my calculations, circling Ireland on the major roads should be far less than 1600 miles by my estimate.

Stateside I'd use RandMcNally.com and have a better track of the miles. I used the estimated milage/time chart shown in "Ireland for Dummies", which shows Dublin to Belfast as 110 miles, Belfast to Donegal as 125, Donegal to Galway as 165, Galway to Limerick (by way of Doolin) as 95, Limerick to Kilkenny (by way of Waterford and the main highways 183, and Kilkenny back to Dublin as 100. That's roughly 100 miles on main highways, with only limited sidetrips on the one-lane roads. I will be taking advantage of the Motorway when possible from Armagh to Belfast and the final leg back up to Dublin.

Once there, I'll probably look for a good alternate route to Kilkenny from Limerick without going all the way to Waterford. Possibly up the N8 through Cashel to Urlingford and crossing over R693 through Freshford and the Slievardagh Hills. Provided that secondary road is American-driver friendly.

I am still considering uploading the UK and Ireland map for my Garmin, but haven't decided on that $100 expense yet.

I found 4 lovely B & Bs, Ardeevin at Lake Eske (Co Donegal), Auburn House in Galway, Kells Country House (castle-style but modern) at Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, and yet to be confirmed Bridgecourt Guesthouse in Kilkenny.

On a future trip, we'll likely do the 2 to 3 days based in the areas we loved and want more time for in-depth visits.

We'll certainly get a better picture than just watching 3 hours of Rick Steves' video tours of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

I'll also be able to advised friends back here in Louisiana about any mistakes I made in driving too many miles on specific legs of our whirlwind journey.

Maybe instead of a green blur tour, mine will be closer to a screaming Banshee tour, but I hope not.

I guess I didn't learn my lesson from 2000 miles in 10 days in New England in 2007. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks as they say.

Hope I can said I had great craic on my first trip over to Ireland.

Dennis

P.S. How do you say naive in Gaelic?

stewh · Guru

A couple of useful mapping sites.

http://www.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Driving_directions#

Stewart

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:28:05 AM

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:29:47 AM

dbeavers · Member

Thanks Stew,

Just what I needed. Now, why didn't I think of Michelin?

Too much to do before leaving home 11 August, enroute to Houston trade show (Promotional Advertising with over 200 suppliers displaying), then off to Ireland on the 13th.

Dennis

youngka · Guru

Hi Dennis! I have always thought of doing a "screaming Banshee tour" then going back to the "good/favorite" places we found. Since travelling to Germany and Ireland, I have changed my mind. Going at a slower pace and gathering in all the beauty of Ireland, the wonderful people, food, etc., then make a similar trip another time and see what you may want to return to, or explore new areas and people. I found it was really nice to do self catering and branch out, using the place as a base. We really enjoyed this type of travel and did it for a couple of our trips to Ireland. It is nice not having to unpack so much, sleep in the same bed, cook at "home" if you don't want to venture out at night, etc. We also have done B&B's and really like them also; however, it is less expensive to stay in the self catering places, depending on ones budget. Know you will love your trip, be safe and watch out for those Irish drivers!
youngka

-- Edited by youngka on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 01:45:47 PM

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Bear in mind, that there are National roads and there are NATIONAL ROADS ... biggrin

The M1 from Dublin to Belfast is mostly like a typical US Interstate. The "A" Roads throughout Northern Ireland are fairly consistantly decent, though definitely NOT 'Limited Access'.

The "N" Roads in the Republic are a MIXED lot -- sometimes even along the same route. In MANY areas, an "N" Road will shrink down to two lanes (typically, about the equivilent of a 1 1/2 lane US roadway -- with NO shoulders) and then, periodically 'Open Up' to a four-lane, dual cairrageway.

SOME "R" roads are as large (or Larger) than SOME "N" Roads, but more often than not, they are MUCH smaller.

We won't even DISCUSS the "L" Roads!! biggrin biggrin

What you propose IS doable, but it is a LOT of 'Windshield' time. Dublin-Belfast is 2-2.5 hours. Beyond that, it's NOT the MILES that will 'Trip You Up' -- its the STOPS, along the way.... biggrin

DO be sure to 'drop back in' and let us know how it all turns out.

Bob

dbeavers · Member

I can handle windshield time on a short-term basis, just not the 3 hours non-stop. So, we count on stopping at least every 60 to 90 minutes to stretch our legs, take pictures, fuel up the car or our bellies, etc.

I drive to Houston and back on an overnight sales trip and rack up 300+ miles every time, while making sales calls there 7 to 8 times every year.

I may have to bring some of my Big Band and Swing music to keep me alert at times - Nothing like Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Fletcher Henderson, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Ella FItzgerald, Will Bradley, Cab Callaway, and Django Reinhardt to keep my toes tapping.

Now I'm off to Michelin to see about my route.

I'll definitely post an update here, possibly even a daily blog on the nights I have internet access. I have to get online to check on my business while I'm gone, and handle some customer orders even while traveling.

Dennis
"Native-born Texan"

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dennis,

I am glad you are skipping Waterford. Kilkenny is much more interesting. There is a good walking tour you can download free from my Discounts page (courtesy of Corey at IrishFireside.com).

Driving in Ireland can never be equated with driving in the US. It is completely different. But you will figure that out yourself. Good idea to make frequent stops along the way.

We wish you a good trip and a safe journey.

Michele

dbeavers · Member

stewh wrote:

A couple of useful mapping sites.

http://www.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Driving_directions#

Stewart

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:28:05 AM

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:29:47 AM

Stewart,

I visited both sites and tried to enter my route, but both seem limited to plotting only one or two segments of my route. With RandMcNally.com , I could have 18 stops between start and finish. Can I put 8 or more stops in my itinerary to plot driving from hotel to B & B, and back to Dublin?

Only 5 days to "D" Day - departure from home.

Thanks,

Dennis

Sidz · Guru

Another nod for Kilkenny over Waterford -- no comparison on things to see and do. smile

stewh · Guru

Dennis
I have never found it necessary to have so many 'vias'. The AA website seems to allow seven. I didn't check Michelin.
Stewart

dbeavers · Member

I'll try it again stewh. I couldn't find a way to add any. We have 8 nights in 4 different hotels and 4 B&Bs in 6 cities (Dublin at both ends.) Just trying to connect the dots as we circle Ireland counterclockwise.

Dennis

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

I could only get the 'Beta' site to allow SIX "VIA'S" -- and then, the TRICK seemed to be that I had to FIRST enter an origin and a destination. Once I did THAT, 'clicking' on the 'VIA' opened a field that then had to be filled, before 'clicking' on 'VIA' would open the NEXT field box ....

Personally, I prefer the AA 'CLASSIC', but I tend to RESIST change ... biggrin

DUB TO DUB, via Belfast, Londonderry, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenney and Cashel equals 959.33 kilometers (just under 600 miles) and AA 'Beta' says that it can be done in 13 hours and 59 minutes (but it does NOT include passing through Ennis or Limmerick along the way).

They LIE ! biggrin disbelief biggrin

By Michele's figure of 35 MPH, it would take more like 18 -- calculator says 17.145267. MY 'Rule Of Thirty For First-Timers' makes it 20 hours.

Bear in mind, that all of THOSE numbers reflect DRIVING TIME ONLY!

Personally, I prefer to route out EACH day as a seperate routing so as to allow for 'Tweaking', on a day-to-day basis. It also allows you to have MORE than enough 'VIA'S', since you are concentrating upon a MUCH narrower area.

Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Thursday 6th of August 2009 08:48:50 PM

dbeavers · Member

Twenty hours spread over 6 days, with lots of breaks doesn't seem all that hard. I do 4 or more hours behind the wheel in a single day of sales calls, usually 2 to 3 times per month.

Thanks for the tip on the map routing. I'll try again this weekend, and break it down in one and two day segments.

Dennis

youngka · Guru

Dennis, I am very interested in seeing your posting when you return. Hope you have a good time. Also, take a journal and write down what it is/was exactly what you want to return on another trip. It will be hard to remember at the speed you will be going. So easy to forget. You will understand what everyone seems to be saying when you get over there. My husband has speeded so fast past places I wanted to stop for pictures, and we still haven't gotten back to take them. We have made trips of 2 weeks each, 3 weeks and 1 month, and still have not see places the people on this forum have mentioned in their postings biggrin

There are places that Bob, Bit, Michele and many others mention --- I check them out and put a lot of them into my favorites folder. Then very soon I will start pulling them up and start creating our trip for next June. I want to stay for 5-6 months, but my husband is not too much for it.

And if we did, still would have so much more to see..... You second/third & ??? trips you will be able to really see Ireland. Anyway, have fun!!!! And, hope the weather is beautiful while you are there. youngka

-- Edited by youngka on Saturday 8th of August 2009 12:03:06 PM

dbeavers · Member

stewh wrote:

A couple of useful mapping sites.

http://www.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Driving_directions#

Stewart

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:28:05 AM

-- Edited by stewh on Wednesday 5th of August 2009 10:29:47 AM

stewh,
I discovered that Dooley car rentals has similar software on his site, that seemed to be more user-friendly. It's linked right on his home page.

Dennis

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dennis,

You are about to depart for Ireland. I hope you have a wonderful trip and good weather. Do let us know how everything goes.

Bon voyage and safe travels.

Michele

dbeavers · Member

Good morning Michele,

Yes, we fly out on Thursday a.m. I'll have internet access almost every night, so will post a short list each day of travel when I can.

Thanks for all the help from you and the other members of this community.

Dennis