Mcval 
Registered User
Posts: 16
(4/20/05 10:03 am)

7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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We bought our tickets yesterday!!!!

We're going in June. How does this look so far for an itinerary. And I will need more ideas for some of the days... I've got a husband that wants every day planned, so our trip may turn into a blur, but I hope not. He also doesn't want to spend any time this trip at a water park(although the kids really enjoyed it). "We're there to see Ireland and not do something we could always do at home." So... that being said... here goes...

Day 1 (Monday): 6:30am our flight comes in... After spending all night in the plane, we don't want to do a lot of driving, but rather walking. I'm thinking of visiting Limerick City and going on some walks around the city. Does anyone know the areas of Limerick where Angelas Ashes were written about? That might be interesting. Possibly John's Castle.
Then drive to our cottage in Bruree that we'll have for the week and walk around the town. THEN bed early!

Day 2: Go explore the Rock of Cashel. On the way back I believe Drombeg stone circle is close by Croom and Bruree as well.

Day 3: Big Daytrip: Do a revisit of Cliffs of Moher, drive thru the Burren. Find Father Ted's house and take in the views. Doesn't the Burren have some stone circles or something like that up there? We missed that last time. Maybe drive down past Carrigaholt and check out the peninsula that we missed last time. (Can you believe we spent a whole week in Carrigaholt last time and never drove past it?) Then back to Bruree.

Day 4: Another Daytrip: Explore Cork City. Maybe revisit Blarney grounds & kiss the stone! Ideas in Cork City??

Day 5: (Friday): Explore Bunratty castle and village and go to their traditional Ceili night.

Day 6: Move out of our Bruree cottage and drive down somewhere near Killarney. Explore the Ring of Kerry. B&B that night somewhere close to the ring.

Day 7: Explore Killarney or Tralee then head back toward Limerick for the night. Anyone know of any concerts, events or activities to do in Tralee in June?

Day 8: Packup and head home.

It would be great to find a festival or traditional music somewhere. Is anyone familiar with Bruree or Croom? Do they have traditional music going on? Or any activities or sites that I shouldn't miss? All the festivals in Ireland that I've found are at times when we're not there. I'll have to check on activities in Tralee.

There is so much I want to do, but unfortunately I can't go to day 29 this trip! There will be lots of things we'll just stop and enjoy that can't be micromanaged... so I'm looking forward to those things too.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Val

edited to add city to Cork. We don't want to explore all of County Cork, that would take more than a day!


yesiree100
Registered User
Posts: 25
(4/20/05 2:11 pm)

Re: 7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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Bruree is a cute little village. I've only made a brief stop there, but I thought the DeValera museum interesting (there is a place to check your email attached to the museum). I saw the exterior of DeValera cottage, but it was not open for touring.

Mitchelstown Caves are near there and offer a very nice cave tour that might please both the kids and the husband. I like their tour better than Aillwee Cave (Burren) and Dunmore Cave (Kilkenny)...note: the stairs to the cave are narrow and steep.

If you are near Cashel on a Sunday, you might want to stop in Fethard for their Boot Sale (flea market). It's large and the merchandise runs the gamut from new to rummage to rubbish. I'm not sure of the hours, but it ends in early afternoon. Most of the vendors are willing to negotiate prices.

Maybe you and the hubby can compromise...every day has one or two major destinations on the itinerary and everything on the way there and on the way home is left for serendipity. Good luck.

Mcval 
Registered User
Posts: 17
(4/21/05 9:42 am)

Re: 7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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Yesiree,
Thanks so much for your advice! We did love the Aillwee Caves, so we WILL fit in the Mitcheltown caves as well now. The flea market and other things sounded great too. That's good to know about the email access at De Valera.

I just called a US 800 # and it was piped directly to Ireland. Got to talk to someone who had just returned from lunch. Yes and it was 6:30am our time! It was great to hear an accent again!

Hopefully lots of little stops will be left to chance! We stopped once in the Burren for my son to go to the bathroom at the side of the road. There was a castle ruin on a nearby hill, so I snapped a picture of it. Found it by chance later in one of my Ireland books at home. Apparently it was a famous one that had tours! Had I but known... or talked the family into exploring a little!!!

Thanks again!
Val

Michele Erdvig
Administrator
Posts: 3117
(4/22/05 9:52 am)

Re: 7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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Val,

You may like shopping at Arthur's Quay and the Hunt Museum in Limerick. Pop into the tourist office for Angela's Ashes walking tour.

Drombeg stone circle is in west Cork. You probably mean the largest circle in Ireland near Lough Gur.

Father Ted's house does not exist but there is a B&B called Craggy Island!

In Cork try the Cork City Gaol & double decker bus tour of the city.

Croom is a very small town not too far from Adare. The mill is intersting there.

Michele

Mcval 
Registered User
Posts: 18
(4/22/05 1:43 pm)

Re: 7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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Hi Michelle,

Thanks for the heads up on Drombeg! That would've been out of the way!

We had been thinking of the Gaol in Cork, but had some reservations about it being a little creepy. What do you think? I've got two adventuresome kids and 1 wimp (said in the most loving manner possible!). The double decker bus sounds cool!

I hope we can at least drive through Adare. That sounds beautiful!

The Father Ted house is near the Burren and is owned by a private family in Kilnaboy, Co. Clare.
"The main locations are Kilfenora, Ennistymon and Kilnaboy in Co.Clare. The Parochial House is McCormack's at Glenquin, on the Boston road from Kilnaboy. The island itself is Inisheer."
The web site that I found it on actually has the directions to the house! As long as we're there, we might try to find it. Since the Magic Road is clear on the other side of Ireland! (Dundalk) We'll save that for the next trip!

We're also looking at the Blennerville Shipyards near Tralee. Do you know of it and have any opinion?
We're also talking about a cruise around the Skellig Islands. It sounds like heaven!

A bed and breakfast that we're booked at in Kilgobnet in Killarney has musicians in the family. I hope we get a performance! It will be on a Saturday night, so maybe??

Well... thanks to you and your book, we're booked for the flight, accomodations & some entertainment. I just want to go now!

Thanks!
Val

Michele Erdvig
Administrator
Posts: 3144
(5/14/05 1:41 pm)

Re: 7 Day Itinerary... Any suggestions appreciated!

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Val,

The Cork City Gaol wasn't creepy at all. It was very interesting. Also see the Radio Museum there. Thanks for the additional info about Father Ted. You must have done lots of searching for it. Too bad there will be no more episodes of the series since the actor playing Fr. Ted died. It was a very funny show.

There is a windmill and railroad at Blenerville. The Jeanie Johnston was built at the shipyards but is no longer there since it is sailing around.

Michele