Itinerary Review

AMiller · Newbie

Itinerary Review

tony2phones · Guru

Welcome to the forum. I apologise in advance for honesty.

Why take a bus tour to Powerscourt when you are driving past there day 3, Powerscourt and onwards.

Day 4 yes too much, too far, stay in Blarney, that way you can see the castle and grounds after 4 or before 10 avoiding much of the tour bus traffic

Day 6 is another long day and Doolin is well over rated for music and food. Cong wouldn't be my first choice as an over night, not much there except Ashford.

Day 7 you should be heading closer to SNN (Old Ground in Ennis?)

Day 8 You have to be at SNN for 6.15 so leave Cong @ 04.45? that makes sense like learning to plait fog especially if you are paying a ridiculous amount of money for your last night's bed.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Everyone likes to see Ireland at their own pace. If you like a fast pace and don't mind the "green blur" then that is fine. You know what you are choosing to do. See my suggestions below in blue:

Day 1 Fine.

-Arrive in Dublin. Trasfer to our hotel, The Westin.

-Site seeing and lunch

-Viking Splash Tour

-Dinner, early night

Day 2: I am with Tony on this one. Do Powerscourt and Glendalough tomorrow. Make this a Dublin day. Or depart Dublin a day early so you can fit the rest of the trip in better.

-Take bus to Powerscourt

-Back to hotel after lunch. Finish seeing what we can of Dublin.

Day 3: Powerscourt, then Glendalough and Avoca.

-Early start. Pick up Car. Drive to Glendalough, spend a couple of hours?

-On to Avoca. Lunch and touring the Mill. Spend some time in the town at Fitzgerald's, the church, etc. (I'm a Ballykissangel fan)

-Drive to Wexford. Spend the night at the Ferrycarrig Hotel.

Day 4: Yes, as you suspect it is too ambitious. You can easily spend half a day at Blarney as there are beautiful grounds, gardens, woods and walks besides the castle and Blarney stone. Take Tony's suggestion and stay in Blarney.

-Depart hotel. Pickup items for packed lunch?

-Drive to the Rock of Cashel

-On to Blarney Castle

-On to Killarney. Check into B&B

Is this itinerary too ambitious? Originally we were going to stop in Waterford and tour the crystal factory before heading on to Killarney but decided on these stops instead. We are very open to suggestions!

Day 5: Drive Blarney to Killarney and see what you can: Muckross House & Gardens, KNP, etc.

-Enjoy Killarney National Park

Day 6: You will not really have time to enjoy the Lodge at Ashford Castle, the estate or Cong. Perhaps re-think the plan?

-Depart Killarney for the Cliffs of Moher

-spend about 90 minutes at Cliffs of Moher?

-Lunch in Doolin

-Drive to The Lodge at Ashford Castle

Day 7: Spend the night closer to the airport.

-Daytime open. Grand finale dinner someplace nice?

Day 8

-depart hotel at 5:00 a.m., drive to Shannon airport, drop off rental, flight departs 9:15 a.m. Trust me on this one. You definitely want to be near Shannon Airport on night 7 so you don't have to get up and drive in the dark in the middle of the night. NOT RECOMMENDED!

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

If you are wanting a 'special' night stay in a Castle, rather than Ashford, maybe consider:

Dromoland: http://www.dromoland.ie/US_Welcome.html?gclid=CNDdpeihltQCFUpahgodXdsHVg

Or, the less-expensive Ballysede Castle, near Tralee: http://www.ballyseedecastle.com/ --- Which might even afford you time a 'fast paced' tour of Dingle. biggrin