Where to Start?

Yankeesmama · Member

Where to Start?

tony2phones · Guru

#1. Car hire is only a problem when people expect to get a great deal at a bargain basement price. Go direct, with the exception of a couple of agencies renting through 3rd parties causes 99% of the problems reported. Get full insurance cover it might double the price but will save the heavy excess and the "hold" on your credit card.

#2 There are fly drive deals that include accommodation at Adare Manor which is not an altogether bad place as a central base and some good trip reports have been placed on the forums. Fly into Shannon, driving Dublin to Adare after a redeye and arriving on the school run is not wise, Adare is a bottle neck at peak times. If you can make it a 10 day trip then fit in the Connemara it is my favorite place on the Island but whilst Cong and the Quiet man would not enthrawl me getting west into the Benns and to the coastal runs makes up for the forced introduction. (That is probably an argument brought about by familliarity,and not being able to remember a week spent near Cong some years ago).

#3 lots of options for golf but not being a ball and stick man will leave that advice to others.

#4 see #1

Judy · Guru

Since your list of attractions are mostly in the west and southwest and with only a 7-8 nights stay, I would skip Dublin and stay in the areas of interest to your family. You could then fly into and out of Shannon and split your time between Kerry and Galway. That way you wont feel rushed and will see most of what is on your list. Killarney would be a place with many golf options and shopping or day bus tours for the non golfer. Galway would place you in good proximity for Connemara, Cong (The Quite Man) and The Cliffs of Moher.

You mentioned Blarney which is very doable on a day trip from Killarney adding Cobh (my thought) on that day also. Bunratty and Adare are on the way from Shannon if you are starting out going south on day one.

With a package tour you will be limited on places you want to visit and probably no time for golf. Even the fly drive with hotel packages, there are limits on accommodations.

I agree with Tony on the car rental. It is not a problem if you rent from a reputable company, bite the bullet and pay for full insurance. You will have peace of mind during your trip which is what you will want on what may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, I am guessing once you experience Ireland you will want to return again. We have always rented from Dan Dooley with full insurance without any problems and would recommend them for car rental in Ireland. They also have an American office which is most convenient.

Planning should not be overwhelming; you have plenty of time to plan this trip. First, before thinking about car and hotels/B&Bs etc. work out an itinerary, for example (with Dublin added), 3 nights Killarney, 2 nights Galway and 2 nights Dublin. Your plan could look like; Arrive Shannon, head south, stops at Bunratty and Adare on your way to Killarney. Day 2 Golf and shopping, Day 3 Full day ROK, Day 4 Full day Blarney and Cobh, Day 5 Drive to Galway area, see the Cliff of Moher of the way. Day 6 Full day Connemara with possibly Cong (Quite Man) on that day. Day 7 Drive to Dublin for remainder of trip.

If you decide to skip Dublin I would add the time to Killarney, doing a day trip to Dingle and a day trip through The Gap of Dunloe from your Killarney base. Or you could head south and do the Berra Peninsula. I would say to do the Berra instead of the ROK on day 3 anyway.

If you are staying multiple nights at a hotel or B&B you may ask for a discount for multiple nights. Staying at Adare for the full time would mean at lot of driving time between the southwest and west areas of interest. I dont think that is a good idea with your list of attractions.

Maggie117 · Guru

Aerlingus.com has some great air/land deals. You may want to consider checking them out. http://www.aerlingus.com/en-US/home/index.jsp

CIE is a great option for tour packages as well. http://cietours.com/

If anything else, CIE can show you routes they use for their tours which can give you an idea of the country, and some major tourist sites...

Andi · Senior Member

Moving every day is hard--especially with a group. Staying in only one place limits you and requires driving at least partially the same route over and over. With 8 nights, you could include a couple 2 or 3 night stays, and also some daily touring. I like this option because while seeing something different every day is exciting, it's also quickly exhausting.
Judy offers some good ideas for this. I also think it might be worthwhile, with your list of attractions, to consider leaving Dublin out, unless you simply must see it. Don't worry, just remember that while traveling, most everything takes much longer than you think it will, and plan accordingly.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Kathy,

If you plan well in advance there is no problem getting 3 rooms in each place you stay. Since you are concerned about moving on every night, you can consider a week in a rental cottage too. Adare is not conducive to all on your list. Although I have done a week in a cottage in Adare before, I chose different sightseeing to do from there because of the location.

It seems your interests go from Clare to Galway to the SW, which is too large an area for one strategic location. If you want to whittle it down to one area you can do a house rental. However, if that is not in the cards consider at a minimum two-night stays in various places.

Let us know how we can help as you proceed with planning.

Michele

tony2phones · Guru

If it helps Cashel, Birr or Athlone are about half way between Shannon and Dublin Airports.

Not everyone can be in agreement I must warn you that whilst a CIE route might be fine for a profesional driver used to set routes the operation sell the same packages self drive to people unfamiliar with Irish roads and will push accommodation where they have deals.. Nothing wrong with the locations but you might want more time to actually see something between points other than a set feature or gift shop.

-- Edited by tony2phones on Tuesday 6th of November 2012 06:03:54 PM

Yankeesmama · Member

I am just getting a chance to read all of your posts, and the info is wonderful... thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your expertise and will take it into account as I plan our trip. At the very least, I am going to forget about Adare Manor, so that is helpful. I am going to look into CIE tonight and also the airlines. Once I know whether my flights will be into Shannon or Dublin, I can then figure out where I'll be staying! Since our family members are flying in from different cities, Shannon isn't the most convenient for some, even though that would be my preference. More to come...

murphy · Guru

I agree with Michele that it is much better (in Ireland) to do a self-planned, self-drive tour. This is mentioned numerous times on various forums on the internet. Ireland is a country with some great major highways (motorways) which are ok for the tour busses. In 4 trips to Ireland, we have experienced dozens of attractions that tour busses just can't get to. We try to do the wee roads when practical just so we won't have to deal with the tour busses, and the mobs of people at the various places tour busses stop. The only exception would be for those unable to drive on the left side, or those who are too young (25) or too old to qualify to rent a car.

No need to worry about the "planning" part if you decide to do a self drive. You have come to the right place for all kinds of great advice and help!

Dan

-- Edited by murphy on Wednesday 7th of November 2012 07:34:06 PM

Yankeesmama · Member

You make a good point. I have actually gotten quotes from both CIE and Aer Lingus, and I was disappointed in both. I think they sell the same pre-packaged self/drive to everyone. One of them even put in the quote a compact car... and we have 5 adults! I'm wondering if I'm better off booking everything individually rather than trying to get a package ... get my airfare first, then really think about what I want to see and plan my hotels/B&B accordingly. I can also reach out directly to Dan Dooley. Not sure if you get a better rate if you package it all together, but I'd rather get the trip that I want at the expense of saving a few dollars. Does that make sense?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Kathy,

The majority of the forum members take a "do it yourself" approach. They put the pieces together themselves. It does take more time and thought but you will be doing the trip on your own terms, not someone elses. You are right that the tour companies sell cookie cutter self-drive packages.

Have you looked at my article How to Plan Your Trip to Ireland in Ten Easy Steps? It might help.

Since you have people flying in from different places Dublin might be the best arrival point since that airport is the one most major airlines seem to favor now. Shannon is a dream for tourists but since Dublin is the capital that is where the airlines focus.

Michele