Help In Planning!

Marianne · Member

Help In Planning!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marianne,

A new visitor's center is being built at the Cliffs of Moher. Though there is a lot of construction the cliffs are still accessible.

I am trying to understand your itinerary. Is the total amount of time you have in Ireland 7 days? Or do you have 7 days after Dublin? Please clarify so I can make some suggestions.

Michele

Marianne · Member

Michele,We are leaving for Dublin this Friday evening (January 13th)and arriving in Dublin around 7:30am Saturday morning. We will be returning to the states the evening of January 25th. We will be spending Saturday through Monday at a private home in Dublin and hope to see Dublin thoses few days. We have a small car at our disposal and we plan to take off Tuesday morning (the 17th)around 9am and head toward Waterford. My traveling companion would like to tour Waterford Crystal. After that we would like to head toward Cobh, Kinsale, Cork, and the Dingle Penninsula. I am not sure how much time we should spend in each town. Our main goal is to relax, see the scenery, interact with the locals. Eating at top restaurants is not a priority although, if there is one that is a standout that wouldn't bring us to our knees when the check arrives, we would love to try it! I have an interest in textiles, yarn, and wool and would love to find a nice yarn shop on the way. We should be returning to Dublin, Sunday, January 22 in the evening but if we need an extra day, returning to Dublin on the 23rd would be fine also. We would like to stay at the reasonably priced bed and breakfasts with private baths. Any suggestions you could give us would be so greatly appreciated. We realize that some things are closed during the winter months along the coast. I am sitting here knee deep in papers, maps, driving directions, and books on Ireland completely confused!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marianne,

You should have plenty of time to see Waterford, Cobh, Kinsale and Dingle. Since you are traveling off-season there is really no need for reservations (except for Dublin if you are not staying with your friend's relatives). I suggest you just see how far you can go for each day. Winging it in the off-season can be a delightful way to travel. I recommend maybe spending a couple of nights in Kinsale and Dingle. Killarney and Kenmare are other towns along the way you may be interested in. You should start looking for a B&B by 4 pm at the latest. You don't want to be driving around at night searching! Also, take the Town & Country Book with you as that will give you more options if some in my book are closed. The tourist office in any town will also book you a B&B for a small fee.

Since you have my book you will have some good places to choose from. Also take a look at my "Lodgings" page for more new ones. If you know in the morning where you want to end the day your B&B hosts will most likely make reservations for you at your next B&B.

You can also choose sightseeing and day trips from you bases from my book. The tourist offices and your B&B hosts will give you good info about their particular area.

If you want to write out an itinerary I will be happy to take a look at it and make suggestions. Otherwise, just wing it and have fun. We would enjoy hearing how it goes when you return.

Michele

Marianne · Member

Michele, Where do I get the Town and Country book? I can remember you mentioning it in one of you forums threads but can't seem to find it again. I feel we may do a stop off in Waterford and head directly down to Kinsale for the night. Is that too far for the first day? From what I have been reading, Kinsale and West Cork would be the areas to go instead of Cork proper. I have been having trouble with the B&Bs I have e-mailed being closed for the season (The Shores, The Captians House) and that has thrown me a little. If we were to make one town our headquarters for two days, would you suggest Kinsale or Cobh or another? Is there a highway around Cork that is easier to take in order to get to Kinsale? Many of the travelers on you forum seem to talk about the nightmare of driving in Cork.

We are thinking of stopping in Kilkenny either on our way down or back because so many travelers on this forum sing its praises. Any suggestions in that regard would help.

As you can see, we are confused and seem to be all over the map so our itinerary is up for grabs. The places we would like to visit would be WAterford (for a few hours) Cobh, Kinsale, Dingle, Kilkenny, and anything else you feel would be a not to miss place . We have 6 traveling days to do this before returning to Dublin. Any direction you could give us would be greatly appreciated.

Marianne · Member

Michele, There was one more thing I forgot to ask in my last post. Someone who had been on a tour of Ireland two years ago told us to take plenty of cash beside our credit card. Do you feel this is necessary? If so, should I have it converted to Euros soon after I arrive?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marianne,

Look at the back of your ATM card to see if it accesses either Plus or Cirrus. You should be able to use it at Irish Bank ATMs to get any cash (in euros) that you need. Not a good idea to take lots of cash to Ireland. It is too easy to loose. If you belong to AAA or sometimes your bank will give free traveler's checks. I always take some just in case of an emergency. Look at pages 26 & 37 in my 2005 book for much more info.

You can get the Town & Country Book on arrival at the airport. There is a tourist office in the airport that sells them. A pity you didn't get it in advance as Tourism Ireland sends them out free.

I think that the Waterford Crystal Factory Tour and shop will take up a good chunk of your day (plus a couple of hours drive time there). Maybe you should think about staying nearby in either Tramore or Dunmore East (both a bit south of Waterford).

Kinsale has a lot more B&Bs available than Cobh. It may be your best bet for this time of year. There is a ferry that goes from Cobh over to the Kinsale area that will avoid Cork City traffic: http://www.scottcobh.ie/ferry.php

Kilkenny is a very nice city. Go to my Lodgings page for B&B recommendations: http://www.irelandyes.com/lodgings.html In fact please look at that page for more B&B recommendations (along with my book). And don't forget to look at the "Quick Picks" section of my book too. This is the Town & Country site: http://www.townandcountry.ie You can find B&Bs there as well as Family Homes: http://www.family-homes.ie/ All of these are on my "Links" page under "Accommodation". My site really does provide a lot of info for travelers to Ireland who take a bit of time to explore it.

If you stayed south of Waterford for one night you could easily spend a couple of nights in Kinsale and Dingle, with a night leftover in between.

Have fun!

Michele

P.S. For those who really need help I do have a trip planning & itinerary service: http://www.irelandyes.com/itinerary.html The Budget Plan is very good value.

Marianne · Member

Michele, Only One more day to go! Thank you for all of your suggestions and insight. I will let you know how everything went. Still can't believe how may B&B's are closed. Is the weather that bad in January? I wanted to ask you if you know of any yarn shops in the East, South, and West in Ireland. Also, do know of any high end clothing resale shops in Dublin? Thank you again for your the generosity of sharing your knowledge.

Dude · Guru

Marianne, if you are traveling in the east, through the Wicklow Mountains, look in on the Avoca Handweavers, oldest hand-weaving mill in Ireland, in operation since 1723. You can watch them at their weaving and buy the finished product. I don't remember yarn being sold but that was almost 13 years ago and the brain ain't getting any younger.

Marianne · Member

Thank you! I will be sure to make a point of stopping there. Do you know of any clothing resale shops in Dublin or anywhere else in Ireland?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marianne,

There are very few yarn shops in Ireland. Mostly you will find yarn in shops that sell knitware, linens, etc. I suggest you ask at the tourist office when you are in each area.

For clothing resale shops:

Enable Ireland charity shops: http://www.enableireland.ie/contacts/shops.html

Mrs. Quin's: http://www.mrsquins.ie/locations.php

Oxfam: http://www.oxfamireland.org/html/shopsNew/wicklow_recycling.htm

Have fun!

Michele