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mikeja75
Registered User
Posts: 1
(8/7/03 8:30 pm)

Itinerary suggestions, please

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Michele,

First of all, your book is great. Also, thanks for providing this helpful site. It's been more use to me than other resources I found.

My boyfriend and I are planning to go to Ireland in late September. I put the following plan together and would love your input.

Generally, we don't mind car time ... we drive 9 hours 1 way to my parents' several times a year. But, in Ireland we don't want to spend more time in the car than at the sites.

Day 1 - Friday, September 26
Arrive in Shannon at 7:45 am. Visit Bunratty Castle. See Cliffs of Moher & The Burren. Drive to Doolin for supper and B&B.

Day 2 - Saturday
Drive from Doolin to Galway. Visit the Aran Islands. How long does this usually take? Stay in Galway for the night.

Day 3 - Sunday
Connemara area. Stop in Spiddal, Pearse’s Cottage and the National Park. Kylemore Abbey is a MUST. Either stay in Galway another night or start toward Dublin and stay in a B&B somewhere along the way. Can you recommend one?

Day 4 - Monday
Drive/finish driving to Dublin. Explore Dublin rest of day. Stay in Dublin overnight.

Day 5 - Tuesday
Another day in Dublin. Stay in Dublin.

Day 6 – Wednesday
Leave Dublin. Visit Powerscourt Gardens, St. Kevin’s in Glendalough. Drive to Kilkenny, stay for the night. What is a good route to take? There doesn’t seem to be a direct road.

Day 7 - Thursday
Drive to Cashel … see the Rock of Cashel. If time, see the Swiss Cottage in Cahir. Continue on toward Cork. Can you suggest a place to stay … Mallow or Mitchelstown maybe?

Day 8 - Friday
Get to Cork/Blarney. See the Blarney Stone only. Then, head to Killarney to see the sites. Spend the night in Killarney.

Day 9 - Saturday
Drive up to Shannon/Limerick area. Suggestions for last day activities?

Day 10 - Sunday
Leave Ireland. (Ugh.)

Thank you in advance!

Karmen

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 1689
(8/8/03 2:11 am)

Re: Itinerary suggestions, please

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Hi Karmen,

Thank your for your very kind coments about my book and forum. I'm glad you are finding both of them useful for planning your trip.

Since you are flying in and out of Shannon had you thought of skipping the east coast in favor the west? Is it at all possible to arrive in one city and depart from the other? This would certainly cut down on the driving. At the end of your trip you are speeding through some of the best areas in Ireland. Below are my comments on your proposed itinerary:

Day 1 - Friday, September 26
Arrive in Shannon at 7:45 am. Visit Bunratty Castle. See Cliffs of Moher & The Burren. Drive to Doolin for supper and B&B. ANSWER: Good.

Day 2 - Saturday
Drive from Doolin to Galway. Visit the Aran Islands. How long does this usually take? Stay in Galway for the night. ANSWER: Fine. Most people usually make a day of it on the Aran Islands. See this site for schedules: www.iol.ie/~island/schedule.htm

Day 3 - Sunday
Connemara area. Stop in Spiddal, Pearse’s Cottage and the National Park. Kylemore Abbey is a MUST. Either stay in Galway another night or start toward Dublin and stay in a B&B somewhere along the way. Can you recommend one? ANSWER: Connemara is a full day. I would suggest spending another night in Galway.

Day 4 - Monday
Drive/finish driving to Dublin. Explore Dublin rest of day. Stay in Dublin overnight. ANSWER: Probably 3-4 hours to Dublin.

Day 5 - Tuesday
Another day in Dublin. Stay in Dublin. ANSWER: Fine.

Day 6 – Wednesday
Leave Dublin. Visit Powerscourt Gardens, St. Kevin’s in Glendalough. Drive to Kilkenny, stay for the night. What is a good route to take? There doesn’t seem to be a direct road. ANSWER: Given the time of year you might consider skipping Kilkenny. Powerscourt and Glendalough can take up a full day if the weather is nice and you take your time seeing all they offer. Of course you can also speed through them. The choice is yours. The best way to Kilkenny is on as many main roads as you can: down through Enniscourthy and New Ross then the R700 into Kilkenny.

Day 7 - Thursday
Drive to Cashel … see the Rock of Cashel. If time, see the Swiss Cottage in Cahir. Continue on toward Cork. Can you suggest a place to stay … Mallow or Mitchelstown maybe? ANSWER: You may as well go directly to Blarney for the night.

Day 8 - Friday
Get to Cork/Blarney. See the Blarney Stone only. Then, head to Killarney to see the sites. Spend the night in Killarney.

Day 9 - Saturday
Drive up to Shannon/Limerick area. Suggestions for last day activities? ANSWER:  I would see more in the Killarney area and then drive to Shannon (about 2 hours).

On the whole you will be doing a lot less driving by concentrating on the west instead of both coasts.

Michele

garyvol
Unregistered User
(8/8/03 5:49 am)

parking in Dublin

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Days 4 and 5 puts you in Dublin. Where will you park the car.??? It will cost $$$ to garage it.
-gary

mikeja75
Registered User
Posts: 2
(8/8/03 7:10 pm)

Itinerary suggestions, please

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Thanks for your comments. They lead me to a couple other questions...

1. Has anyone been to the Galway Oyster Festival? It will be happening in Galway while we're there. I like fun, but don't want to worry about massive crowds and confusion. If necessary, I can do a switch-a-roo and head south first.

2. Also, when you e-mail a B&B about a reservation, how long does it usually take to get a reply? Do they let you know if they're already booked?

3. Lastly, in Dublin, I thought I'd be able to find a B&B where I could leave the car and go into Dublin by bus or something. (Instead of staying right downtown.) What do you all think? How expensive is it to park in the garages? If it's not bad, we can stay downtown. I know I found one B&B that said they had parking, and were close to downtown, but don't remember where it was. Ideas?


Thank you, everyone!

Dude
Unregistered User
(8/8/03 11:36 pm)

Into Dublin

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Mike, on two occasions we stayed outside of Dublin and took the bus in--from Naas (we actually stayed in Prosperous) and from Laughlinstown. And the third trip we stayed in Dunshauglin and drove down to a large shopping area in Blanchardstown, north of Dublin, left the car and took the bus in from there. That's the only way I want to go to Dublin, especially if I'm the driver!
Can give you the names of the B&B's if you like.

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 1699
(8/9/03 2:02 am)
 
Re: Itinerary suggestions, please

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Hi Karmen,

The Galway Oyster Festival is a big deal and there will be a lot of crowds. It might be impossible to get reservations there at this point but you could check.

When you email a B&B and don't hear back within a few days, re-send the message and say you are re-sending in the subject line. You might also put something like "Reservation Inquiry for September 23" in the subject line. Many B&Bs only look at their email once or twice a week. Be patient. They should let you know that they are booked. NOTE: Do not use numbers as Europeans reverse the month and day. For instance (9-10-03) would be interpreted as October 9, 2003!!

It is very expensive to park in Dublin--over 20 euro for 24 hours. When booking a B&B in the Dublin suburbs ask questions about the parking. You want private off-street, secure parking. The parking could be public parking on the street.

You can definitely stay in the Dublin suburbs and get a bus or DART into the city. Glenogra is a good guesthouse in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin with private off-street parking.

Michele

steveh
Unregistered User
(8/9/03 8:12 am)

kilkenny

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michele -

in the email trail I noticed your comment "considering the time of year you might want to skip Kilkenny". Can you expand on that. My wife and I will be in Ireland the exact same time and were planning on spending a couple of days in the Kilkenny area and surround towns between our stays in Kinsale and Dublin

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 1700
(8/10/03 12:07 am)

Kilkenny: My Favorite Irish City

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Hi Steve,

I just meant that with Karmen's schedule and depending on how long is spent at Powerscourt and Glendalough it might be a stretch to get all the way to Kilkenny at the end of September before nightfall. And it is best not to try to find a place after dark. It is hard enough to navigate around Ireland in the day time.

So don't get me wrong. I love Kilkenny. It is my favorite Irish city and is a bustling place, not too big, not too small, with a lot of history in a beautiful setting on the Nore River. I think you will enjoy your stay in Kilkenny. Just don't try to do lots of sightseeing and driving on one day at the end of Spetember since sunset is around 7.

I hope that clarifies matters. I was speaking of only Karmen's particular schedule.

Michele