Help needed choosing iinerary!

jakeconmag · Member

Help needed choosing iinerary!

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

I think that Day 2 is probably a bad idea. Even a MINIMAL tour of Dublin will take 2-3 hours (MORE, if you actually get off the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus to SEE the sites) and THEN try to drive to Kilkenney. It takes about 45 minutes to get To (or From) the Airport into City Center

I would pick up the car at the airport and head STRAIGHT to Kilkenney --

Once there, if jet lag is NOT overwhelming, you can see some of the attractions there and save Glendalough, et al, for the NEXT day, when rested.

After that, either itinerary would work ... BUT ...

It SOUNDS as if you have NO firm reservations, yet ... confuse

It being St Patrick's Day, I would be VERY concerned about finding accommodations on the 16th-18th. ashamed

Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 11:17:23 AM

jakeconmag · Member

I have reservations for Itinerary 1. I just keep changing my mind as to where to go. I am not sure what you mean by Day 2 being a bad idea??? We wouldn't tour Dublin on Day 2 - on any of the itinerary possibilities.

CowboyCraic · Guru

MAureen, Mo Chara,

I would say that Itinerary 1 seems less harried. Bob is correct in that if you don't have solid lodging plans by now, you may be hard pressed to get in to either of your two choices in Kilkenny. T'were I you, I would be making my lodging plans by days end tomorrow.

As to Newgrange and such, I would recommend that you take Mary Gibbons tour, as she has a time slot set aside for her tour group to enter the chambers. Her tour will take you to both Newgrange and Tara. It is not always guaranteed that you will gain entry to the chambers by just showing up on your own.

Slan Beo,

Bit

jakeconmag · Member

Itinerary 1 would be the easiest but I am torn because everyone talks about how beautiful the Connemara area and the West Cork areas are. I already have reservations at Abbeylodge in Kilkenny and Grand Hotel in Malahide. I just found Blanchville House and it looked very nice so I have emailed them but haven't heard back yet.

Thanks for the tip about the Mary Gibbons tour. I just looked on the website for info. How many people are on her tour?

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Perhaps I misunderstood??? confuse

You said:

"Itinerary 2

Day 1 Arrive in Dublin at 8:20 after a direct flight from Orlando,

Tour Dublin, rent car and maybe stay in Glendalough?"

I THINK what Bit was saying was that #1 was LESS hectic due to NOT including the Cross-Country drive. In that, I agree, but I can and have done even MORE driving than that. I've spent more time in Connemara than in Wicklow/Wexfors/Waterford, so I'm not a fair judge of which is prettier. I am of the Firm opinion that there is NO place in Ireland that ISN'T worth seeing! biggrin biggrin

I LIVE for my time in West Cork, but my wife has family there, so it REALLY seems like Home.

It probably should come down to Which area is more important to YOU??? confuse confuse

I usually fly out of Orlando, as well. It's a LONG flight, but NOT a particularly tough one. biggrin

Bob

CowboyCraic · Guru

With the short amount of time that you have on the ground in Ireland and the fact that it is a major Holiday week, I would stick to the East Coast.

Since you already have your reservations set, I wouldn't try tweaking any of it this close in to the trip.

After rereading you Kilkenny days, I might suggest tweaking it so that your first full day would be spent visiting the far reaching places. This would mean less backtracking

Day two:

drive to Waterford, stop there for a while, then on to Passage East, take the little ferry over to Ballyhack, then down to Hook and back to Kilkenny via New Ross and Inistioge.

Day Three: Do the walking tour of Kilkenny, explore Jerpoint Abbey and things closer in

That way, on Day four, you can meander towards Malahide, perhaps stopping at Glendalough and Powerscourt or Avoca.

I believe that Mary keeps her tours down to around 16 with a maximum of 22.

jakeconmag · Member

Bob - Both West Cork and Connemara sound wonderful. I guess I will just have to make another trip to Ireland. I got a great deal on airfare (and it's direct!) which is why I am flying in and out of Dublin and going in March. Last time I went we flew in and out of Shannon and I swore then I would fly in to one and out of the other if I ever came back but a deal is a deal! All of my grandparents were born and raised in Ireland (Youghal, Cobh, Fermoy and Donegal) and I keep feeling pulled to visit so I am sure I will come back again at some point.

Bit - Those are good suggestions on tweaking those days in Kilkenny. In my itinerary I was really just making an outline of what we could do. I was going to play it by ear - taking in account the weather and maybe how many pints I had the night before :) This is a trip to celebrate our anniversary so I don't want to rush around too much.

Both of you have been very helpful and are confirming what I probably already knew - that I should let go of West Cork and Connemara and enjoy the southeast (and plan another trip back

at some point)

Michele Erdvig · Host

Maureen,

Don't second guess yourself. Stick to itinerary #1 and your firm reservations. You can never see it all on one trip to Ireland. Even if you have a month there you still have to cut things out. Don't agonize over it. Just enjoy what you do get to see. It is all about having a proper mind-set. Once your trip is over you won't even miss what you did not see.

Have a great time. Do let us know how it goes when you get back. We would enjoy hearing about it.

Michele

jakeconmag · Member

Thanks Michele! I will do that and come back and let you know how everything went. I appreciate all the help.
Maureen

Michele Erdvig · Host

Maureen,

We are always happy to help everyone have a good trip to Ireland. Hope you get some great weather!

Michele