First Draft

Dude · Guru

First Draft

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

When first reading through your proposed itinerary I was struck that you have very speedy one-night stays for most of the first half of the trip and for the second half you are slowing down a bit and have some two-night stays. I think there may be ways to strike a happy compromise. I generally like to intersperse the one-nighters in between two-night stays. I think it makes for better pacing...if you can work it out.

I also thought that since you will be driving through Gort on your way from Ennis to Oughterard or Maam (more B&Bs in Oughterard BTW) you should probably do Coole Park & Thoor Ballylee on the way. They are both not too far off the main route. That may give you some time to add somewhere else.

Keep working on it. You will be surprised with what you come up with if you do it forward, backwards and upside down!

Perhaps some of the other community members will add their 2 cents worth.

Michele

Dude · Guru

Okay, Michele, I took your advice and drove the route backwards. Now that I have the crick out of my neck and have gotten over the unfortunate incident with the sheep, here is what I have. I was able to get those 2-night stays and some less-long driving days. I did have to put the ceili on the last night but I think that will be okay. On day one if we feel up to Thoor Ballylee and Coole Park we could do them then and spend the time later on exploring the Burren.

Sunday: Drive to Oughterard or Cong; stay there and recover from jet lag

Monday: Connemara and Joyce Country; stay in Leenane area

Tuesday: Connemara and Joyce Country; stay at Thatch Cottage in Spiddal

Wednesday: Shopping at Standuns and in Galway, Dunguaire Castle; stay in Kinvarra

Thursday: Coole Park, Thoor Ballylee, The Burren; stay in Kinvarra

Friday: The Burren, head down the coast road; stay somewhere along the coast (Lahinch,Milltown Malbay, Doonbeg, Kilkee, or even Kilrush)

Saturday: Loop Head, ferry to Tarbert, on to Tralee; stay Ballyseede Castle, Tralee

Sunday: Over Conor Pass, explore Dingle Peninsula; stay in Killarney area

Monday: Gap of Dunloe Tour; stay in Killarney area

Tuesday: Beara Peninsula; stay PK Lodge, Skibbereen or Kilkaw House, Kinsale (this is a long driving day but there was next to no driving yesterday, and we are NOT hiking the Gap Tour)

Wednesday: Vee Drive, Cahir Castle, Rock of Cashel if we get there in time; stay Rockside House, Cashel

Thursday: Rock of Cashel, Celtic Plantarum, Ceili in Bunratty; stay Bunratty or
Cahergal Farmhouse, Newmarket-on-Fergus

Friday: Home through our tears

-- Edited by Dude at 23:41, 2006-05-09

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

I'm not sure which one I like better. Why don't you run it by everyone else who is traveling with you to see what they think? You have plenty of time to play around with it. The perfect plan may just pop into your mind while you are sleeping (or counting sheep!).

Michele

Dude · Guru

I'll be counting the ones I didn't run over backwards.

I guess I could ask the people who are going to bewith me on this trip, but it seems like it would be more fun to surprise them! If you don't see any obvious flaws, I'll run it by them and see what happens.

Did realize that I could eliminate the ceili and go to the Dunguaire Castle banquet since we'll be in Kinvarra for 2 nights.

Thanks for the input, and I'll be back.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

If you do the second itinerary you might consider spending two of the Connemara overnights in one place. That is unless you wanted to really take your time and go hiking or something.

Michele

Dude · Guru

Good idea, Michele. Now I'm thinking about doing one with the southwest and the southeast, and up the coast toward, but not as far as, Dublin. I'll make my sisters earn this trip!

Last time we drove heck-bent-for-leather from Waterford to Ratoath so missed all the beauty of the east coast, Glendalough, the Military Road, Avoca, etc. so maybe we should concentrate on that this time. We could even fly into Shannon and out of Dublin, although I would rather not deal with Dublin at all. Guess we could end up with the Vee Drive to Cahir to Cashel to Shannon couple of days.

Getting the pencil out and starting another route!

Dude · Guru

Here's another option. Got the Kilkenny Walking Tour in this one.
Sunday: Arrive, stay in Tipperary

Monday: Celtic Plantarum (Dundrum), Rock of Cashel; stay Cashel or Kilkenny

Tuesday: Walking tour of Kilenny, Dunmore Cave; stay Kilkenny

Wednesday: Drive to Arklow; stay Arklow

Thursday: Glendalough,Meeting of the Waters, Vale of Avoca; stay Arklow

Friday: Drive to Waterford via Wexford; stay Waterford

Saturday: Lismore, Vee Drive to Cahir, see Castle; stay Mallow

Sunday: Mallow to Kenmare

Monday: Beara Peninsula; stay Killarney area

Tuesday: Gap of Dunloe Tour; stay Killarney area

Wednesday: Dingle Peninsula over Conor Pass on the wrong side (!); stay Ballyseede Castle, Tralee

Thursday: Ferry from Tarbert, Loop Head Drive, Ceili or Banquet; stay Bunratty or Newmarket-on-Fergus

Friday: Fly away

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

I kind of like the current plan but there has to be a better way to fit in Cahir when you are in Cashel instead of the Mallow overnight. Then you could do the coast of west Cork. Just a thought.

Michele

Dude · Guru

Cahir could certainly be done on the first day, or beginning of the second day, since we are so close there in Cashel. But that loses the Vee Drive, unless we loop back up to Kilkenny, which we could do if we eliminate Dunmore Cave.
I'll stare at the map some more and see what comes to me. Just off the top, it seems like Tipperary-->Dundrum-->Cashel-->overnight in Cahir. Get up next morning, check out castle, take Vee Drive and then loop back up to Kilkenny, do the walking tour late afternoon as Corey suggests anyway. Or just eliminate the Vee drive and go straight from Cahir to Kilkenny. Then we could take the coast roads from Waterford to the Beara Peninsula. A night in Mallow wasn't appealing to me but it was in the right place!

We have been to most of the places to the north of Shannonside, so heading southeast appeals to me. We'll see what the rest of the rovers think.

Do you ever have to get out the map, or do you just have it imprinted on your brain so that you know exactly what we are referring to automatically?

Thanks for the input, and the good ideas.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

Keep thinking about it. A good plan will eventually come to you. Actually I do have Ireland engraved on my brain circuits! I do have to break out the map or atlas on occasion when someone mentions a really obscure village or a townland that is not on the map. Generally it is when they are doing genealogy.

Michele