pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 6
(3/1/04 6:20 pm)

first time questions

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Hi Michelle,
I can't tell you how much I enjoy this forum. It's been so helpful in our planning. We're planning our first trip the first two weeks of September. We're two couples who really want to see the West and Southwest. We're planning to fly in and out of Shannon and our only big 'wanna do' is go to the Clarenbridge Oyster festival which will be underway when we arrive Saturday morning. Here's what you can help me with -

Is Salthill a reasonable expectation for the first night? Or would we be better off heading for Doolin, hitting Clarenbridge on the way to Salthill on Sunday?

Is Salthill a good base for a few days to do Galway City and the Aran Islands or are we better off staying in Galway City?

We really don't want to plan the whole trip out ahead of time. I understand we'll want to book our first few nights and perhaps our last night but we'd like to poke along and enjoy the country at our own pace. What is the best plan for phoning for reservations? I have read that it's good to have the B&B you're at call ahead but I'm thinking we won't necessarily know where we want to stay at that time. Is using a local phone booth the way to go? Or should we be figuring out cell phone use over there.

That's all for now. Thanks for your help!

Pam

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2210
(3/2/04 5:11 pm)

Re: first time questions

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Hi Pam,

Glad you are enjoying my forum! For your first day in Ireland if you think you might be jet-lagged and not up to a festival, then your idea of Doolin might be good. If, on the other hand, you will be raring to go, Salthill is definitely a good location for your first night in Ireland. It will also make a good base for doing Connemara, Aran Islands and Galway City. Salthill is just a couple of miles from Galway and overlooks the bay.

For calling ahead to B&Bs I suggest buying a phone card (available at the airport shops and most shops in any town). I prefer the one with a toll-free number and a PIN number since you can use it from any phone anywhere. There is another type with a chip on it that can be used from public phones that accept calling cards.

The first two weeks of September are still pretty busy and you might want to consider reservations in popular places (especially on weekends). Some very popular places are Killarneny, Dingle, Galway, Kilkenny, Kenmare, Kinsale, Blarney, Doolin and the major cities.

Michele

pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 7
(3/2/04 5:28 pm)

Re: first time questions

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Thanks Michelle. We're looking forward to our trip!

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2230
(3/4/04 12:44 am)

Re: first time questions

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Pam,

Enjoy your trip and be sure to let us know how it goes.

Michele