Ireland Itinerary - May 2011 - 9 nights

KCausey · Newbie

Ireland Itinerary - May 2011 - 9 nights

Wellsley · Guru

KC,

Welcome, day 6 you could go to Ross Castle and see Killarney national park. Not far from Kenmare.

Frank

Michele Erdvig · Host

KC,

Welcome to my forum. You might want to switch Day 5 & 6. Instead of Beara on Day 5, spend the day in and around Kenmare and relax. The next day do another all day driving trip. Some things to do in Kenmare:

Shopping
Druid's Circle (in back of town)
Reenagross Park
Seafari Boat Cruise
Kenmare Heritage Center & Lace Museum

Day 7: I would go via Killarney, see the sights in Killarney and proceed to Dingle in the afternoon.j

Day 9: Since you need to be at the airport at 8 am next morning, Bunratty is a good place to overnight. You could see Bunratty Castle & Folk Park (if you have any time remaining) or you could do the castle banquet or Irish Night in the corn barn.

Castles along your route:

Dromoland
Ballyseede

See my Castle Hotel page for castles.
See my Lodgings page for where to stay.

Michele

KCausey · Newbie

Thanks for the tips. I have made the suggested changes by swapping Day 5 & 6. Adding Bunratty on Day 9.

Perhaps one of my biggest concerns is Day 9. The drive from Dingle to the Cliffs of Moher seems rather long. I am assuming the drive, is in large part, the activity. Do you think that this is too much for one day? It would be hard to leave Ireland without seeing the Cliffs. Would it be better to stay in Dingle only 1 night and move northward? As I said earlier, we are resisting the urge to stay only 1 night in one area.

Melissa5 · Guru

KCausey: I think Dingle and the Dingle peninsula is definitely worth at least 2 nights. (We spent 3 or 4 nights there, and every single one of us, even our teens, wished we had an extra night...we didn't have time to get out to the Blasket Islands!) aww

You are doing the right thing in my opinion by resisting the urge to squeeze in too much...1 night stays aren't long enough to savor an area in greater depth.

I have only been to Ireland once, and am now planning our second trip to Ireland. So others are more experienced. Michele has great advice.

But I will put in my 2 cents worth of advice. biggrin You might want to consider choosing either the Dingle peninsula, OR the Iveragh peninsula (with Ring of Kerry) & Beara peninsula...instead of trying to do all 3...that might free up time to do the Cliffs of Moher. OR you could skip the Cliffs of Moher on this trip.

On our first trip to Ireland we chose to see the Dingle peninsula (and Cliffs of Moher) among other places. Now on our second trip to Ireland we will see the Iveragh peninsula (including Ring of Kerry) & the Beara peninsula.

I find it helpful to keep the aa web-site for driving times in Ireland in my toolbar. That way when I'm dreaming about what sites in Ireland I want to see, I can continuously check drive times.

Enjoy Ireland!

Michele Erdvig · Host

KC,

You can do the drive from Dingle to the Cliffs of Moher via the Shannon Ferry, go up the coast of Clare and end the day in Bunratty. It will be an all day sightseeing trip but it is doable. Instead of going farther north of the cliffs I would backtrack slightly to Liscannor and cut over to Ennis and down to Bunratty.

Michele