First self-guided, self driving, Ireland trip, do we have time? where do we stay?

iris · Member

First self-guided, self driving, Ireland trip, do we have time? where do we stay?

tony2phones · Guru

If you Fly into Shannon and out of Dublin you will save some traveling. You will probably arive early morning with jet lag waiting to pounce. I would say the Cliffs tour and Ennis is a good 1st day. The Rowantree is a good choise of Hostel, possibly nip into Brogans (bar) for your evening meal there may be music on from 9.30 but you might be too tired for that.

Its a long Drive Ennis to Kenmare, I would go via the Shannon ferry rather than Limerick it is a touch longer but more scenic and you should do the trip direct in about 3 hours + a stop in Listowel for some lunch and posibly a short stop in the National Park/Mucross House to fill the day.

The Ring of Beara and posibly the Sheeps Head would be my choice of route to Blarney taking about 4 hours with lots of stops adding to a full day (please dont park in the Passing places when you go for a wander).

Staying overnight in Blarney will let you get into the castle before the tour bus's. Snog the rock if you must but the castle grounds are worth spending some time over and for an exta E5 you can look round the house now (cant coment, havn't done it).

Waterford Crystal has opened a new Visitor centre in town which i am told is as good as the old factory tour but I would say that Waterford and Cashel/Cahir might be an ether or choice on route to Kilkenny and Dublin

CowboyCraic · Guru

Welcome to the Forum,

Fair warning, there is no cure for Irelan-itis, once you are smitten by it, you are done for.

Now, on to your questions:

If you are leaving Cali on Sept 10, That puts you into Ireland on Sept 11 - I would recommend that you fly into Shannon & out of Dublin given your desired stop-overs

That leaves you 7 days "on-the-ground" in Ireland proper, as September 18th will be your departure day. With that in mind, you have more places to see than you have time....

Day 1 - arrive Shannon and head to Ennis - you shold be able to pick up the Cliffs of Moher tour from either the hostel or the Tourist Information Centre. Rowantree is a great Hostel, well situated for exploring the town once you are back from the tour

Day 2- Head to Kenmare (two nights here) - The Rivermount is a great B&B but it is in Kinsale. In Kenmare, I would recommend Annagry House. Dave & Fionnuala are fabulous hosts!

This will give you the time that you will need to explore Kenmare on the day you arrive and do the Ring of Beara or explore the environs of Killarney on your full day

Day 3 - Ring of Beara or Killarney National Park ( If you do the Beara, the Dursey Island Cable Car is an experience in and of itself)

Day 4 - The West Cork Festival of Food is actually in Skibbereen (two nights), Sept 13 - 20 - if this is what you are aiming for, then I would advise booking lodgings soon..I would recommend checking with Russagh Mill Hostel in Skibbereen. Fair warning though, you might not want to leave. The West Cork Hostel in Skibbereen has free wi-fi but I found it to be a little more spartan than Russagh Mill.

Day 5 - Day trip

Day 6 - Head to Dublin - (two nights here) - you can turn in your rental car prior to going in to Dublin proper. Having a car is more of a bother than you really need in Dublin. The ground transportation is excellent so no need for the added stress.

Perhaps someone can offer up a good hostel for Dublin.

Day 7 - I would suggest that you take the NewGrange tour offered up by Mary Gibbons

Day 8 - Depart for home

Dan Dooley seems to be offering up the best rates with no hidden costs...but still, read all the fine print. If you aren't used to driving on the left, I usually suggest paying the extra for an automatic. It is one less thing for you to manage that way. Also, make sure you read through Michele's car rental information here on the website.

Remember as you plan your trip that you will average 30-35 mph, no matter what the speed limit signs say.

I hope this is of some help in your planning. September is still high season, so don't delay booking your lodgings too much longer.

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit

WCOMALLEY · Veteran Member

Reiteration------If at all possible, fly into Shannon. That airport is a Godsend to newbies, and every trip that has emphasis on the West and Southwest is vastly improved by its use. WC

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

Welcome to my forum. Everyone has already shared some very good advice. Yes, fly into Shannon if at all possible. Since you will have a car why not just drive to visit the Cliffs of Moher rather than take a tour? You could spend the night in Doolin instead of Ennis. Or if you really want to stay in Ennis, backtrack a little to that city.

You didn't mention your ages but check with the car rental companies if you are under 24 as some place restrictions on the very young and those over 70 or 75.

During your approximately one week in Ireland you will have a pretty speedy "taste" of Ireland. You will be hitting some of the high points on the tourist radar. Don't be disappointed if you don't have time to do all you have outlined. For instance going from Ennis to Kenmare and doing the Ring of Kerry along with KNP is too much for one day. So skip the ROK and see local things once you reach the SW in the Killarney/Kenmare area.

Waterford Crystal is open again! There is a food festival in Skibbereen, Co. Cork during Sept 2010.

Once you have your dates you can fine-tune your trip better, but Bit has certainly offered a good plan for your "taste" of Ireland. Hopefully, you will return again for another trip. Ireland has many riches to offer.

Michele

iris · Member

I have to throw a fork in the road....Thanks for all the help all, but we booked our trip to fly in and leave our of Dublin the 10-17th of September.

I do not know if anyone wants to help me revise this....

tony2phones · Guru

No great changes needed.

10th Get to Galway for the Sleepzone Hostel. They have 3 Hostels Galway, Connamara and Lisdoonvarna near by the Cliffs.

11th Lisdoonvarna/Doolin near by the Cliffs. Explore the Burren or Posibly a day trip to the Aran Isles

12th Dingle This Peninsular is a must see acording to most people

13th/14th Kenmare for Killarney National park/ Muckross House/Ring of Kerry

15th Blarney and Cashel posibly as far as Kilkenny.

16th Dublin.

This is a rough idea of how I would plan it but you could just skip Galway and put Cork in as an overnight after Kenmare.

http://www.sleepzone.ie/

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

Tony has provided an outline for your trip with Dublin as the starting and ending point. Enjoy your Ireland "appetizer".

Michele

iris · Member

Do we have to take a boat or ferry or is this all assessable by car?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

The Aran Islands are accessible by ferry or plane. The rest can be seen by driving.

Michele

iris · Member

Where could I find a map of Ireland we could use when traveling?

(By car..)

More to come, I want to double check our insurance we have on rental car and travel plans. smile

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

Generally Tourism Ireland will send you a free map. However, I just called them the other day and they are fresh out of maps. There is one online that you can access at for a general overview: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/ireland.jpg

At any bookstore or Amazon you can get a Michelin map of Ireland. It is a good general map. However, it tends to be very large in the car. I suggest you fold it to the correct area for the day before you get in the car. Another of my readers took the Michelin map to a copy center and had sections of it enlarged by 150%. They said it worked perfectly for their trip as they had a page for each day.

Michele

tony2phones · Guru

Not the cheapest but one of the best is the ordanance Survey Atlas which you can buy on line at about $27 including postage to the USA.

http://www.irishmaps.ie/product/display.cfm?ProductID=7

My personal, keep in the car map is the AA 1:300,000 IR 1 (I dont think these are sill available but will have to check up) this is a bit too detailed for general touring but you can get the AA road atlas off Amazon. My Wall map for route planing was the Michelin 712 again you can get this from Amazon.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

I like the Ordnance Atlas as well. There are some maps that actually have too much detail unless you are someone looking for every nook and cranny, stone circle and ruin. Many times I don't want that much detail and use something called a Handy Map. It is an accordian folded small laminated map. Works great in the car because of its size.

You can also get a map on arrival. The airports have shops, newsagents or tourist offices where they are available.

Michele

iris · Member

I am torn where to stay

Saturday - Arrive and stay in dublin BOOKED

Sunday leave to Galway stay at Oceancrest Guesthouse

Monday Travel to Cliffs, Burren, , Dunguaire castle....where do we stay here?? Looking to spend less than 100US, either in Ennis or could we make it down to Killarney? I would prefer Killarney

Tuesday travel around dingle, clare county, national park,ring of kerry WHERE TO STAY?

Wednesday maybe check out food festival? WHERE TO STAY

Thursday travel back up to Dublin at night,drop off car and stay in dublin

friday have to leave!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Iris,

Both Tony and Bit have given you some possible itineraries and places to stay. If you go to my Lodgings page you will have many more choices. Take a look. I'm sure you will find exactly what you are looking for within your budget.

Michele