Good touring base for 4-6 day stay?

jpenix · Newbie

Good touring base for 4-6 day stay?

Michele Erdvig · Host

jpenix,

Welcome to my forum. What time do you arrive in Ireland? What is your port of entry? That will determine whether you do Dublin at the beginning or end of your trip. And I assume that since you arrive by ferry no jet lag will be involved and you will be ready to go.

Although Drogheda is nearby Newgrange I would not recommend it as a good place from which to see Dublin. If you want to see Dublin City, stay in the city. You could even take a tour from Dublin to Newgrange. Although with a toddler you might be better off going by car.

With only 5 or 6 nights elsewhere you most likely don't want to spend long days just driving to your destinations. Think of staying closer to the east instead. I would recommend Co. Wicklow, just south of Dublin and Kilkenny. There is plenty to see and do from each base. On your way to Kilkenny you could stop by the Irish National Stud in Kildare. There is a good castle in Kilkenny and on a day trip you could also see Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel.

Michele

jpenix · Newbie

Hi Michele, thanks for your reply. I've spent hours over the last couple days browsing through your forum and am suffering from a bit of information overload! It's quite an amazing resource you have here!

We'll be arriving in Dublin Port from the UK (Stena Line ferry) around 5PM on Friday the 14th. The return ferry leaves Dun Laoghaire around 1PM on Friday the 21st. I was thinking to put Dublin at the end so that we're very near the departing ferry and can be sure we're on it with plenty of time to spare. However, that means that our destination on the 14th has to be within 1-2 hours of Dublin due to our late start. Does that sound sensible?

Jet lag shouldn't be too bad of a problem... we are visiting from the US (West Coast), but will be spending a couple days in the UK prior to ferrying to Ireland, so hopefully the worst of the lag will be behind us.

Thanks for the suggestion of Co. Wicklow... any suggested location within the county, or should I imply the "city" of Wicklow (on the coast) itself? (Or am I just tripping over wording at this point?)

Would going a bit further and actually staying in Kilkenny or Glendalough be worth considering as well?

Michele Erdvig · Host

jpenix,

If Newgrange is high on your "must see" list then I would suggest you go to Drogheda for your first night. The next day you can see it and it will take about 4 hours for everything.

Suggest a few days in Kilkenny next, then on to Glendalough for a couple of days, then back to Dublin. I don't like Glendalough on weekends. It is too crowded to enjoy. I much prefer Glendalough over Wicklow town.

Michele

Green Dragon · Guru

I agree with Michele - Kilkenny has lots to do and see, both in the city itself (which is a great medieval city) and the surrounding areas. Glendalough Abbey is fabulous, but yes, try to get there when the tourists aren't in force. Powerscourt Gardens is on the way back to Dublin, as is Powerscourt Waterfall, a great picnic spot.

diamond · Newbie

Ireland is the dream of mine

jpenix · Newbie

Thanks for all the input so far. I spent some more time discussing ideas with my wife and we've modified things a little bit...

Newgrange is not that high on our "must see" list, so we've decided to skip it this time around. Instead, the plan now is to head straight for Kilkenny upon arrival and then stay for three nights so that we can better enjoy all the things in the area.

From there, my wife has requested some time near the coast, so we're thinking of replacing Glendalough with Kinsale. Michele, I've seen you say in other posts that Kinsale should be avoided on weekends, but we'll be looking at a two night weekday stay so I hope we'll be okay.

And then after Kinsale we'll head back to Dublin and spend the rest of our time there.

So, from a driving standpoint:

Friday, May 14 - Arrive ferry 5PM, head straight for Kilkennny
Saturday - Kilkenny
Sunday - Kilkenny
Monday - Leave Kilkenny, drive south to Kinsale
Tuesday - Kinsale
Wednesday - Drive from Kinsale to Dublin
Thursday - Dublin
Friday, May 21 - Depart ferry from Dun Laoghaire

Does that all seem reasonable?

Michele Erdvig · Host

jpenix,

Sounds good. But make your Kilkenny lodging reservations soon. It is popular on weekends. You will also need dinner reservations for Fri & Sat nights in Kilkenny.

Kinsale is fine on weekdays.

Michele