Perfect.  

I just finished making the reservations at Great Southern ... and we're still shaking our heads in admiration at your quick and obvious knowledge about Ireland.  Cowboy, you're a wonder and you have our gratitude.  This (and the accommodation suggestions) is just what we needed to get our feet on the ground in Ireland.  Can't wait to get going!

Many many thanks for everything!

Best Regards, Bill

(Sure wish we had you on board when we went to Portugal!) 

 

CowboyCraic wrote:

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Bill,

As I see it , you have 16 days to cover three areas of the West of Ireland. I would suggest you break it up like this:

April 26 - May 1 Base out of Kinsale, which will have you in a B&B for 5 nights there or Cork itself, which will allow you to explore all of County Cork. Kinsale is known for its Gourmet delights. Mizenhead is the most Southernly point in Ireland. Cork City is Ireland's second largest city.

May 1 - May 5 Base out of Killarney, which will have you in a B&B there for 4 nights, allowing you to explore the Ring of Kerry, Killarney National Park, Gap of Dunloe and the Dingle peninsula.

On May 5, travel to Galway via Tarbert/Killimer Ferry  & take the Coast road into Galway, which will take you to the Cliffs of Moher and through the Burren

May 5 - May 10 Base out of Galway area, which will have you in a B&B for 5 nights. This will allow to explore the Connemaras, Galway City centre, Kylemore Abbey and up into Northwest Ireland.

May 10 - Stay at the Great Southern Hotel Shannon, which will allow you turn in your rental vehicle that afternoon, if you want.

May 11 walk across the parking lot and check in for departure.

Use this site for your route planning, http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/routes/ and it will give you an idea of how long you will be in the car on any given day.

Slan Agus Beannacht,

Bit Devine

Cowboy Craic

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Thanks for the heads-up, Michele -- we'll take that to heart, and we'll be checking out your Lodgings page, too.

Thanks for all the in-depth advice here -- I know we'll have questions galore between now and departure time (is April really THAT faraway?) and it's good to know we have somewhere to turn. 

Best to you (and the Cowboy), Bill

 

Michele Erdvig wrote:

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Bill,

Excellent advice from Coyboy Craic aka Bit. Just a note about Kinsale: it can be very crowded there on weekends and Bank Holidays so do keep that in mind. Take a look at your calendar to see when your dates fall. For nice places to stay see my "Lodgings" page or the descriptions in my book.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Michele

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Thanks again, Bit -- you're a treasure of information -- as is Michele's forum -- and I'm saving your travel, lodging, and food ideas as we go.  Very helpful.  We both look forward to seeing the Chorale Festival and will check out the walking tour.

A friend has suggested Ross Castle Lodge B&B in Killarney -- says he was treated royally there and would go back in a heartbeat.  The price is certainly right: they quoted us 34 euro pp/pn for a 5-night stay.  Any views on the place? 

Best Regards, Bill

PS  What does "Slan Agus Beannacht" mean?  How do you pronounce it?

-- Edited by baja at 06:59, 2006-11-01

Thanks for the input, Kevin -- unless I get a big thumbs-down from the pros here, we'll probably stay at Ross Castle.  I'll be sure and post a trip report when we get back. 

Regards, Bill

Thanks for the recommendation, bit -- and thanks for the translation!  We have found your info to be MORE than valuable!

From what we see of Ross Castle, we like its prospects for solitude and the proximity of the National Park.  Should be fun!

Regards, Bill

Baja, your style of travel is similar to ours...we also like to have "bases" and do day-trips from there. Although we usually stay 3 or 4 nights at our "base" instead of 5. It's nice to chat with somebody who likes bases and hates all that packing and unpacking.

Everybody has given you great advice. Michele's book is excellent, by the way...it has an honored place on my shelf of...well...I probably have a dozen Ireland travel books! I like her style. She finds lodgings which have frirendly hosts/hostesses, are quiet at night, and yet are located near great things to do.

One thing I would like to share about our experience of Ireland. We travelled from down in the SW of Ireland (Dingle Peninsula) and all the way up the west coast, and then up into Northern Ireland, where my Irish grandmother was born and raised. We travelled through some of the bigger cities like Galway and Belfast, and through mid-sized towns like Westport, County Mayo, and through lots of teeny tiny little towns.

I feel there is a different feel to the bigger towns in Ireland...they are great bustling places...and the people there are nice, but they are a little more cautious and stressed, like people who live and work in big cities anywhere. Whereas the people in the teeny tiny towns, who lived and worked nearby, were noticably more relaxed and had more curiosity about us and a relaxed friendliness. Of course I am generalizing and this is my very subjective experience. I'm not telling you to avoid the big towns...I loved Belfast, where my grandmother grew up...I'm just telling you don't count out those teeny tiny towns...what they lack for in size they make up for in heart!

That said, you might want to give a thought to making one of your bases a nice teeny tiny town or a mid-sized town, which is in driving distance to the sites you want to see. Those tiny villages have a special atmosphere I felt.

County Clare is full of a whole collection of little villages with great atmosphere, friendly people, and pubs with great music.

Westport in County Mayo is a mid-sized town with a great atmosphere, a nice walkable size.

I fell in love with the whole Dingle Peninsula. We didn't get to Killarney area, not enough time, but we had 3 nights at Heaton's guesthouse in Dingle (wonderful) and we wished we had 5 nights there instead of 3, so much to do nearby!

Enjoy! I fell in love with Ireland even before I stepped foot on her soil...

Bill,

I am always ready to return to Ireland. You will find it is the same for you after you have made this first trip. If your wife would like to get a head start on her genealogy, she can visit the Clare County Library site or the Ireland Genealogical Project. Both are great sites and will help you both in your treasure hunt. Big cities are not my style but there is an allure to Waterford. While in that area, you should try to see the Hook's Head Light house. It is thought to be one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world. Hook lighthouse is situated on the R734, 29 km from Waterford via the Passage East Car Ferry.

Slan Agus Beannacht,

Bit Devine

Cowboy Craic

Bill,

I found Hook's Head by accident or maybe fate. My traveling partner on my first trip insisted on going to Waterford Crystal. We headed out from Wexford along the south coast and, as we meandered along, saw a sign for the Lighthouse. We both agreed that it seemed like something worth checking out so we headed in that direction. After touring the lighthouse, stopping to take photos of Ruins for a book I am compiling and waiting for the car ferry, we arrived in Waterford too late to make the tour and shop at the crystal showroom, darn the luck!

I hope that you enjoy both the Waterford tour and the lighthouse. Co. Wexford has some very interesting things that are worth seeing. I have a trip in the planning stages which will have me within her boundaries for two weeks.

Slan Go Foill,

Bit Devine

Cowboy Craic

baja, ah, County Clare is a great place to be descended from...the mysterious Burren, the inspiring Cliffs of Moher, and the little villages with musical pubs... For more info see several trip reports on County Clare in the trip reports section of this web-site...I have a chapter on County Clare, and so do several other travellers.

Tell your wife we figured out a bit late in Belfast that there was an office where we could stop by and do some in-person research to get important geneological records like birth and marriage certificates...however we stopped by at the end of the day, and found out, oopsie, you have to have a reseravation or something, this is a popular office! So if the Boss has any interest in checking out records in County Clare, try to check in there ahead of time, in case they tell you to come back later. (We couldn't come back later as we only had one day in Belfast... But you can be sure I'll be back someday!) I have no idea if there is a similar office in County Clare but surely there might be since there was one in Belfast.

Sometimes locals who run b&bs can be very helpful with suggestions for geneology research.

Happy Irish dreams...

Great tip, Melissa (and that one from Bit, too -- thanks for the good links, Bit!) on the genealogical search. 

Unfortunately, we have precious little to go on beyond first/last names and County Clare and approximate marriage/emigration years -- everyone who could tell us is gone.  We'll do what we can, tho.  I have learned over 43 years of marriage that an Irish lady is not easily dissuaded or detoured.  Best to go along and help all one can.  Hey, maybe that's why it's been 43 years!    

Melissa5 wrote:

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baja, ah, County Clare is a great place to be descended from...the mysterious Burren, the inspiring Cliffs of Moher, and the little villages with musical pubs... For more info see several trip reports on County Clare in the trip reports section of this web-site...I have a chapter on County Clare, and so do several other travellers.

Tell your wife we figured out a bit late in Belfast that there was an office where we could stop by and do some in-person research to get important geneological records like birth and marriage certificates...however we stopped by at the end of the day, and found out, oopsie, you have to have a reseravation or something, this is a popular office! So if the Boss has any interest in checking out records in County Clare, try to check in there ahead of time, in case they tell you to come back later. (We couldn't come back later as we only had one day in Belfast... But you can be sure I'll be back someday!) I have no idea if there is a similar office in County Clare but surely there might be since there was one in Belfast.

Sometimes locals who run b&bs can be very helpful with suggestions for geneology research.

Happy Irish dreams...

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baja, we Irish descendants do carry on with the determined spirits and the Irish sense of humor of our beloved ancestors! Yes, it's a wise man who decides to be on her side rather than in her way...it's much more romantic that way as well! Enjoy Ireland together!

I had a year's subscription to ancestry.com where you can delve into all kinds of records. To start with, you do need a couple of solid facts...such as the correct names, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, of anybody in that geneological line, including recent generation...then you work backwards from there...

I had fun finding the ship's passenger lists for my grandmother and several of her sisters! I had enough info to be able to locate their names on the ship's passenger lists...originals available to be seen on ancestry.com if you pay your dues. Not everyone came to America through Ellis island...my ancestors came to Philadelphia on the Haverford ship, which I believe actually sailed from England with many Irish immigrants aboard...

You might ask your wife if she has any cousins, even ones she's never met...I looked up a family of cousins in the USA whom I've never met, and one was kind enough to lend me a most fascinating document which I didn't even know she had...my great-grandmother's passport! I must return it soon. I made a copy of it.

Anyway even if your wife doesn't turn up with any facts, it is fascinating to hear the music, meet the people, hear their accents, chat with them about theier lives...and then when you get home, if she likes Irish music, buy her some of the Chieftains CDs, or even their DVDs of their concerts. Famous Irish music...they have played together for over 40 years! Very Irish, they are...

Anyway the tea is great in Ireland, and so is the dark beer. Irish breakfast, nothing beats it. Irish brown bread, yum.