Hi, my husband and I, and two children ages 16 and 13 will travel to Ireland this summer. We land in Shannon and stay the first night in Dingle, followed by 2 nights in Killarney, 3 nights in Kinsale, 2 nights in Kilkenny and 1 night in Dublin. Hotels and car are all taken care of. My big question is what to do first and see as much as possible without back tracking too much. I would appreciate any help at all with an "itinerary" or adjustments to the following plans. I thought that right after landing we would head to the Cliffs of Moher and tour and cruise. Drive down to Dingle for our first overnight. I am very interested in the coach tours offered by Deros that has a 1 and 2 day bus package to see...Ring of Kerry & Dingle/Slea Head for a reasonable price. Is it feasible to also see Kenmare and Molls Gap. On the way to and during our time in Kinsale knock out Bantry Bay Beara Peninsula, Bantry House, Blarney Stone, and Rock of Cashel during the 3 days in that area? We also need to hit Guinness, Jameson, and anything else we can possibly see and do. We have great kids that love to travel and live to eat and experience everything. I am so thankful for any tips or advice. My husband will do most driving except for the occasional tours by bus.
Thanks and happy travels
Mary Ann
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
With your own car, I can't imagine a need to switch to a bus tour. Rick highly recommends the Dingle peninsula over the Ring of Kerry, so that helps you cut something from the list. His favorite Ireland destinations are well fleshed out in the guidebook, including tips on driving times, to help you pencil the options onto a calendar. See also www.viamichelin.com to help with drive planning.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
We biked down the West Coast in 2011 and had seafood chowder in many pubs - each was different, depending on what was fresh that day, and peas and/or carrots started appearing as we moved farther south. I doubt that anything came out of a can. We were really pleased by the quality and variety of food, although blood pudding is still an acquired taste.
Posted by
24 posts
If you are going to see Guinness, I would go there first thing in the morning. It will get very busy during the day.
Might I suggest visiting Kilmainham Gaol while in Dublin. The tour does an excellent job of explaining the sometimes complex and tragic Irish history.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2449 posts
On Slea Head drive on Dingle we stopped at a lovely beach for some R&R. Boys might like that, sorry can't remember name but one of the locals will. Also stop in Annascul (spelling?) to see artifacts from Tom Creen (again spelling) who went to Antartic with Sir Ernest Shakleton whose story is fascinating. With the boys, even without them, would skip Guinness brewery, thought boring, expensive. When in Kinsale, since you have a car, head east and take the ferry to Cobh, ferry only takes about five minutes to cross the river and you can go to Cobh and see where Titanic departed and the harbor where Luisitania was sunk. There is a statue dedicated to the passengers on the harbor. The view from the Cathedral, St. Colmans is great. You can walk along the banks and see a statue of Annie Moore with her brothers, she was first one to land at Ellis Island. We did go to the Titanic museum and were more than disappointed, did not see one artifact. As someone else mentioned, Kilmainhaim Gaol is a must in Dublin, our favorite, been there three times and keep going back. Also, don't see any need to take a bus tour. To me the great thing about driving ourselves is being able to stop whenever we wanted. Enjoy whatever you do.