My wife and I are planning our first visit to Ireland in June and after reading many other posts with proposed itineraries, my head is spinning. I cant seem to tie down the best plan for us. So, Im hoping you can help.
The Basics
7 Nights once we arrive
Airports Flexible So as to take in more sights, we thought we would fly into one airport (Shannon or Dublin) and fly out of the other.
Just the two of us.
Willing to rent a car
Things we like to do (and stuff were not crazy about)
In a nutshell, we want to see the important sites and great scenery. Thats a given. Heres my choices as of now -- Dublin, Cork, One of the Rings (Beara, Dingle, Kerry), Cliffs of Moher, Burren, Castles, Music
However, we want to breathe a little and keep the pace a little slow. What we enjoy the most about visiting any country is being able to wonder around interesting neighborhoods in cities and towns and getting a feel for how the people live and shop and eat. So, we would rather not just limit ourselves to tourist sites the entire time. We dont need to always be on the go! And if we miss something, so be it!
Museums Were more interested in history than we are in art. Of course, we always make a point to visit the biggies The Louvre, The Prado, The Vatican, etc. But with limited time, we would want to keep art museums to a minimum. However, history is important to us as a way to understand the culture. So, we enjoy historic sites, (castles, etc.) as well as important churches, (even though were not Christian).
So, with that being said, here are my initial thoughts as to where to stay as a base for day trips
Dublin 2-3 nights
As city people, we are looking forward to Dublin and are trying to figure out how many nights to stay there.
Not sure whether to start our trip there or get there at the end
Cork one night
Kenmare 2-3 nights (instead of Killarney)
Ennis/Galway 1-2 nights
Galway has me up in the air it seems that a lot of sites are south of Shannon, so Galway would be out of the way Correct? Therefore, would Ennis be more practical?
OK thats what I have so far. Thanks in advance.
-- Edited by Class Act on Wednesday 14th of January 2015 09:21:11 PM
Even though Shannon is an easier airport to start your trip, logistics and time constraints probably make Dublin the better starting point. Since you don't know how jet lag will affect you, the safer bet would be to spend the first day touring Dublin and availing of public transport, rather than dashing about back roads in the country side in an unfamiliar vehicle. Once you've had a couple of days on the ground and are 'up to speed', you can pick up the rental car and head off, into the Wild West.
To get you started --- In no particular order:
DUBLIN: A common saying goes, "There is Dublin, then there is Ireland". Since you only have 7 days, with your parameters, you probably need to limit Dublin to two nights. It's worth more, but ONLY if you have the time to spare.
CASTLES: Between Dublin and Cork are the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, Rock of Dunamase and Blarney. Killarney has the wonderfully restored Ross Castle and Barryscourt Castle sits just outside of Cork (should the repairs be finished). In addition, there are numerous ruins that can be sighted along the way, even though most are not open to visitors.
CORK: Other than Blarney, what other Cork area sites have peaked your interest? Kinsale? Cohb?
GALWAY: For tourists, Galway is about 1 1/2 hour drive North of Shannon Airport. While it is an interesting Big Town / Small City, with much charm, most of the reasons that you hear SO much about it is that it provides easy access to the Aran Islands, Connemara and NW Ireland (Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. While I REALLY enjoy the area (and the City!), with your wish list, it is probably wise to pass it by -- THIS trip.
KENMARE: Kenmare offers ready access to Beara and the Ring of Kerry. Killarney offers opportunities for the Ring of Kerry and Dingle. There are Kenmare people and there are Killarney people and very little will convince one to change their mind.
LET THE GREAT DEBATE BEGIN!
ENNIS: Located between 30 and 45 minutes from Shannon Airport, Ennis is a working town with a VERY strong Musical tradition. It's a reasonable drive from Killarney OOPS! --I meant Kenmare -- and it is a convenient location to visit West Clare (Cliffs of Moher -- or, the less crowded, Loop Head / Bridges of Ross) AND the under-visited East Clare, such as Lough Derg. Along the way to Ennis (from WHICHEVER K-town) is Adare, Limerick and Bunratty -- OR Loop Head, Bridges and the Cliffs -- depending upon the route you choose to take.
__________________
Bob
Help Us to Help You. The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
Thanks for your thoughts. To answer your question - Why Cork? Beats me! I guess I need a place to stay between Dublin and Kenmare/Killarney. Any suggestions for an alternative town for the night?
Actually, it is quite possible to make the drive in one day. Drive time, Dublin to Killarney is about 5-6 hours and can be nicely broken up. Add an hour for Kenmare (if you go to by way of Killarney first). Even if you included a visit to Blarney and the Rock of Cashel into the mix, you could still arrive in Kenmare before supper time.
THAT said, an overnight in the Cork area would NOT be a bad thing. It all depends upon your interests.
We have friends and family in and around Cork, so it pains me to say that I seldom recommend it as a tourist destination. It's REALLY a shame because it has a very lively and vibrant music scene! However, it's a city that crosses and re-crosses the River Lee and that makes driving through and in it rather difficult.
Most tourists prefer to stay in Blarney, Kinsale, or Cohb. While they each have their charms, opportunities for music is NOT one of them.
Cohb offers The Queenstown Experience museum, a Titanic Exhibition (Cohb was her last Port of Call), an enormous and beautiful Cathedral and proximity to Barryscourt Castle and Fota Wildlife Park. Blarney has her infamous (though the grounds are terrific ) Castle and Stone, of course, and the Blarney Woolen Mills shops are world famous. Kinsale lays claim to being the Gourmet Capital of Ireland (which seems to have ushered in an era of high prices and mediocre service -- in MY opinion), but the Fort and Castle and sailboats gliding over the harbor DO create a pleasing vista.
Driving from any/either of those locations to Kenmare offers the choice of two routes -- The N22 and R569 (which is quicker -- 2-3 hours) -- Or, the N71 'Coastal' drive that will take longer (possibly, all day), but is more scenic. Both routes offer up a plethora of sight-seeing opportunities, but the N71 has more. There is actually a third option, as well, that 'splits the distance' (call it 4-5 hours)-- the N71 to Bandon, the R586 to the N71, just outside of Bantry. It's probably more scenic than the N22, but not as much as taking the N71 the whole way.
Choices! Which route to take might best be decided on the day, based upon the weather.
-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Wednesday 14th of January 2015 10:10:50 PM
__________________
Bob
Help Us to Help You. The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
"Galway has me up in the air it seems that a lot of sites are south of Shannon, so Galway would be out of the way Correct? Therefore, would Ennis be more practical?"
Between the Shannon estuary and the Ulster Province
OOPS! --I meant Kenmare 
