First trip to Ireland - traveling with Senior Citizens

Date: 10:14 PM, 04/26/11

First trip to Ireland - traveling with Senior Citizens

yesiree · Guru

I'd suggest building your itinerary around the places you listed as your must sees. Once you are in Ireland, you won't miss what you don't see, and with the line up you've got planned, you won't be disappointed. I promise.

Melissa5 · Guru

I think you have chosen some great places to visit in Ireland. aww Thats plenty for a 10-day trip. If I were you, BEFORE you buy your airline tickets, I would take the following steps:

--Check driving times between destinations on the aa web-site for Ireland.

--Consult with the senior citizens about the longest drive you want to do in a day. (That will influence your itinerary.)

--Browse through photos of the places you wish to visit. (Browse in a bookstore; or on-line.)

--Figure out whether its more convenient to fly into or out of Shannon or Dublin. (For example you can fly into Shannon and out of Dublin.)

Enjoy planning your trip!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Very good tips from Corey and Melissa. That will give you a head start. My tip is to take it easy for the first two days. Plan on staying in one place and if the jet-lag affects the older members of the family they will be able to go back to their lodgings for a nap while the others continue with some sightseeing. Dublin might be a good place for the first two days. Stay at a central hotel right downtown and use public transportation while there.

For the rest of the trip sit down with a map, a blank calendar and "connect the dots". Try to stay in a few places for two nights at a time with a few one-nighters sprinkled in to get you from place to place.

Michele

tony2phones · Guru

I have answered a similar (possibly the same question on another forum)

My suggestion would be to spend 3 nights in Dublin and include a tour to Wicklow and Glendalough. Then head down to Kilkenny to Cashel and spend the night at Cahir. That leaves 5 nights with the last night spoken for somewhere near the departure airport. So 2 nights in Killarney or Kenmare then drive round Dingle on the way to Bunratty (I would prefer Ennis as there is more to do) possibly having time to look around the Folk park and maybe the Banquet and the 2 penultimate nights near or in Galway giving 1 day for the Burren and Cliffs and the other for the Connamara or Aran Isles. Call at Clonmacnoise on the way back to Dublin.

-- Edited by tony2phones on Wednesday 27th of April 2011 10:05:44 AM

CowboyCraic · Guru

As I sit here thinking of my 76 year-old father and 84 year-old mother and the abundance of energy they still have, I had to smile at your "senior citizen" description. biggrin biggrin biggrin I wish I had half their energy!

You will have nine nights. I wouldn't take time out for Waterford and Blarney. As Corey said, you won't miss what you don't see.

I would most likely do a trip like this, assuming a Dublin in/out:

Day 1, 2 - Dublin

Day 3 - Kilkenny

Day 4,5, 6 - Killarney

Day 7,8 - Galway

Day 9 - Dublin

That gives you a full day to explore Dubin. An early morning out from Dublin would allow you to visit Glendalough and the Wicklows on the way to Kilkenny. On the way to Killarney from Kilkenny, you would be able to visit Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. Both are grand sites and perfect for a good stretch of the limbs. Using Killarney as a base for three nights gives you two full days. Use one for a Gap of Dunloe tour and the other to tour the Dingle peninsula. Being in Killarney means that there is plenty of "walk-around" to be done should there be a rest period needed in the afternoons. On the way to Galway, you can take the coast route, stopping at the Cliffs of Moher. Then on your full day in the Galway area, you can do a Connemara loop. On the way to a Dublin Airport based last night stay, you could vist Clonmacnoise.

Plenty of stopping points along the way throughout the trip for the "elders".

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bit,

I know what you mean. My mother is like the energizer bunny. But when she went to Ireland the jet lag really got her. You just never know how it will affect people. The first two days in Dublin will give the opportunity to see.

Michele

EngagingKate · Senior Member

We took my 70-year-old mom to Ireland a couple of years ago for 24 days, and she was a real trooper! She did really, really well right from the start. But Michele's right - different people travel differently... so taking it easy the first couple of days in Dublin seems like a very reasonable suggestion. That way you can be sure that no one is going to be too worn down from hitting the road right away!

murphy · Guru

We took my parents in 2006, at the age of 74 (Mom) and 77(Dad). It did surprise us how much Mom had slowed down since 1994 when we lived near them. After 1994 we lived 1600 miles away from them, and wasn't really aware of her declining level of activity). We did about a 1300 K driving circuit of the south 1/2 of the Island, over 11 days. Would we do it different if we had to do it over? yes! We would slow it down, do fewer cities/towns and do more 2 or 3 night stays and no 1 night stays. We thought then that we would never go back, and tried to see it all....do to much. We did spend 2 1/2 days in London which helped get rid of jet lag, before arriving in Dublin.

My Dad is much more active so he hit the ground running and never slowed down! So a lot depends on how active your parents are. I would try to be flexible....if possible....more doable in the shoulder seasons (We went late Sept/early Oct) We booked the first and last night B&B, and then pretty much decided to "wing-it" the other nights. We had a rough idea of which towns we wanted to reach, and limited each day to about 3 main tourist attractions, which was about right for them. A few times Mom elected just to stay in the car and rest...which is another option you might consider.

Dan