Ireland East coast questions

tripper · Member

Ireland East coast questions

Michele Erdvig · Host

tripper,

Welcome to the forum! I hope you will feel right at home here. We have a lot of nice people here who are planning their trips too.

Are you looking for one base from which to see the Giant's Causeway, Antrim coast, the Burren and Cashel? That might be a tall order from the east coast (especially the Burren). How long will you have for your trip?

Kinsale can be very crowded in the summer and even more crowded on weekends. It is very close to Cork City so attracts the city dwellers on their days off.

Michele

tripper · Member

We will be there 2 weeks. We went to the Giant's Causeway for the first time last trip & really want to go again with maybe a stay over in Antrim. We are having a hard time because we know the west much better but we've done ROK, Cliffs, Connemara (my favorite!) so are looking for a different locale. The places we've missed are Burren and Cashsel which is why we would like to include them but its not a necessity. If not the east coast, then can you suggest another location for a base? I don't mind breaking it up into 2 places but we've done the absurd driving around the whole country staying in place after place & want a more relaxed trip this time. Last trip we stayed a week or so in Ballyconneely near Ennis (harrowing drive to anywhere from there, even the short trip to a pub) and it was nice to have a place to go back to each night. I would love to include a stay at the SeaShore Farm just from all the raves so maybe part of the trip toward that area. We will stay the first 2 and last night in Dublin. We are thinking County Cork (but not if its all very crowded), we are very open to suggestons. We're getting nervous as many places seem to be booked for our summer weeks.

Michele Erdvig · Host

tripper,

Let me try to put this info in an organized manner so I can understand it better.

2 weeks in July.

First 2 nights Dublin.

Last 2 nights Dublin.

1 week self-catering in either Co. Cork or east coast near water.

That leaves 3 night free. Perhaps for Northern Ireland?

From what you have told me I will assume that you are flying into and out of Dublin. Hence visiting the west coast on this trip will probably be a stretch and not advisable.

There is plenty of coastline to choose from. A bit north of Dublin are nice self-catering villages at Bettystown and Termonfeckin. South of Dublin you are looking at Wicklow and Wexford. If you look for places in Co. Cork you should be targeting west Cork.

Have you gone to my "Links" page to check out the self-catering links? That will allow you to search for good places in those areas.

Let me know if you have more info to share that would help in the search.

Michele

tripper · Member

How far is the drive from the Giant's Causeway to the glens of Antrim? We are thinking now of first 2 nights in Dublin, then head to the North for 2 days (Causeway & GLenariff Forest Park). Then to a self catering house for a week (somewhere??). I would rather not make the drive from Antrim to west Cork or where ever we decide to base. Are WIcklow and Wexford good place to base from? I guess the Burren is out this trip, any suggestions for day trips from these areas? Somehow it seemed easier when we just "winged it" on previous trips! And yes, we are in/out of Dublin. (other option is to do North at the end of the trip)

-- Edited by tripper at 20:55, 2006-04-02

Michele Erdvig · Host

tripper,

Without knowing your exact dates it is hard to make sense of it. For instance, self-catering rents for a week from Sat to Sat. What day of the week do you arrive on? How much time do you have before going to the self-catering rental? How much time do you have after the rental?

As for driving from the Giant's Causeway to the Glens of Antrim, you could do it in a couple of hours. But it is one of Ireland's most beautiful areas. Do you really want to speed through or take your time to explore along the way? Each of the Glens requires a detour into that particular glen. You could spend a whole long day or a couple of days. It just depends on what you want to do.

Both Wicklow and Wexford are south of Dublin on the east coast, thus meeting your requirements. How much you can see depends on what you choose, exactly where it is and whether it is isolated or near a major highway that you can easily hop on and get to other places from. Personally, I think Kilkenny would be ideal for seeing a lot of the southeast but it is inland and not on the ocean. It does have a nice river. Perhaps you can find self-catering on the river instead.

Michele

-- Edited by Michele Erdvig at 02:15, 2006-04-03