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Post Info TOPIC: Ireland in May 2011
rlhesse


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Ireland in May 2011
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This will be my first trip to Ireland and I have used Michele's book to tentatively plan out our trip.  Below I have included a draft of our itinerary and I was hoping you could make comment on whether it looks reasonable and doable.  The challenge for me is the lengths of driving times (?) and the amount of time it takes to take in the local attractions....  I have tried to cover off your top 10 must sees in both southern and northern Ireland.

We plan on leaving Calgary on May 7th arriving in Dublin at 8:45 a.m. on May 8th.  Since I am assuming the flight will be wearisome I decided to stay close by the first night.  My first cut of our itinerary is as follows:

May 8th Stay one night at Malahide (Beechwood Country House)

Ĝ  Perhaps check out Dublin if we feel up to it.

May 9th Drive to Enniskellen and stay one night at (Glenrowan House)

Ĝ  Take in Slane , Newgrange and Drogheda along the way

Ĝ  See Castle Coole and Marble Arch Caves, take the Lough Navar Forest Park drive

May 10th 11th Drive to Newtowards and stay 2 nights ( Edenvale House)

Ĝ  See Mount Stewart House, Strangford and Castle Ward,

Ĝ  Drive through Downpatrick, Kilkeel and take in Hillsborough

May 12th- 13th Drive to Ballycastle and stay 2 nights at (Crockatinny Guesthouse)

Ĝ  Drive through Belfast; and see the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum; drive the Antrim Coast

Ĝ  Take in Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle and drive the Giants Causeway

May 14th 15th Drive to Letterkenny and stay 2 nights at (Glenrowan House)

Ĝ  Take scenic drives; Inishowen 100, Gap of Mamore, Malin Head, Horn Head

Ĝ  More drives: The Rosses, Bloody Foreland, Rosquill, Fanad Peninsula

May 16th Drive to Killybegs and stay one night at (Ocean View)

Ĝ  See Muckross Head and St. Johns Point

May 17th Drive to Achill Island and stay one night at (Bervie)

Ĝ  Sightsee Achill Island

May 18th Drive to Galway and stay one night at (Lawndale)

Ĝ  Drive through Connemara and Galway

May 19th Drive to Kilrush and stay one night at (Hillcrest View)

Ĝ  Cliffs of Moher, Burren and Loop Head drive; Doolin and Vally Vaughn

May 20th Drive to Castlegregory and stay one night at ( The Shores Country House)

Ĝ  Check out the Dingle peninsula

May 21st 22nd Drive to Kenmare and stay two nights at (The Lodge)

Ĝ  Sightsee the Killarney and Kenmare areas

May 23rd 24th Drive to Kinsale and stay two nights at (Rivermount House)

Ĝ  Drive via Skibbereen and Beara Peninsula and take West Cork Coast Drive

Ĝ  Waterford and the Blarney Stone

May25th Drive to Kilkenny and stay one night at (Alcantra)

Ĝ  Drive through Cashel and Tipperary and take in the sights of Kilkenny

May 26th Drive to Glendalough and stay one night at (Riversdale House)

Ĝ  Take in Glendalough and area

May 27th Drive to Dublin and stay one night at (Premier Inn)

Ĝ  Sightsee Dublin

May 28th Sadly fly back to Calgary

 Any feedback, comments or alternate suggestions you might have would be welcomed.



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Michele Erdvig


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rlhesse,

Welcome to my forum. Glad to see you posting your proposed itinerary here.

From looking over your plan I would suggest you cut out your plans for staying in Enniskillen entirely (Glenrowan House is not there either). The logistics are way off. First of all if you want to see everything at Newgrange (museum, Newgrange, Knowth) it will take about 4 hours on a good day. It could take even longer if you don't get in right away. You might want to consider just doing Newgrange on that day and then driving up to Newtownards. That will fill up your day.

If you decide to take my adivce it will give you another day for elsewhere and I would suggest adding it to Dingle or to Dublin (if you want to see the city).

Otherwise, your plan makes sense although on a couple of days you might not fit everything in. When in Letterkenny if you get good weather consider Glenveagh Catle & National Park. It is a gem.

Michele



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

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rlhesse


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Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions.  I will take them and add my extra day onto Dingle.  

By missing Enniskillen I would miss Castle Coole and the Marble Arch Caves or could I fit these in on a drive to Donegal from Ballycastle?

Also do you or any of your bloggers have a suggestion on which car rental company to use?  I have read about lots of issues.  Any feedback on Enterprise?

Thanks again for your response.

Happy New Year!

Linda

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tony2phones


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I use Enterprise for van hire, only because they let me cross to England and for no other reason. For car hire I usually opt for Budget but Dan Dooley get a fair amount of good press apart from people who use them as part of a package deal. I would assume from all the reviews I have read on this and other forums that package deal cars are usually the older stock. And lets face it when 20 or 30 people all get off the same plane and rush to a single desk simultaneously expecting the one clerk to deal with them all in 30seconds that's a bigger problem than fitting a comma into this sentence.

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Green Dragon


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I've used Enterprise both in Ireland and in England, and, while they've not been super easy to deal with, they've also not ripped me off. I'm trying Dan Dooley for the first time myself next trip. LOL on the comma :)

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Michele Erdvig


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I've been very happy with my Dan Dooley experience for the last few trips. I have sworn off of Budget because they "got me" last time I rented from them. Between the time I rented and picked up the car they changed the rules. They charged me thousands of euros to decline CDW. This was a royal pain in the butt as I had to pay my credit card bill halfway through the trip and then wait for a refund a month after my return home. I had to scramble to put money into my checking account to cover the amount. This was not the easiest thing to do while I was in Ireland. Till they change that rule I will no longer rent from Budget.

Michele





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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.
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