Hi!
Going to spend 6 nights in Western Ireland. My preliminary itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 - Land in Shannon and proceed to Dingle Peninsula. Ferry to Clare and overnight in Ennis.
Day 2 - The Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, and Galway. Overnight near Galway.
Day 3 - Aran Islands and make our way up to County Mayo. Overnight somewhere.
Day 4 - Up to Donegal. Overnight there.
Day 5 - Down to Newmarket-on-Fergus. Overnight there.
Day 6 - Depart Shannon.
Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.
Hello Blaise, greetings from Ireland. Derry today actually!
The itinerary is certainly doable, but it does cover a lot of ground and will mean you wont really see much in-depth of Dingle and Donegal (Not a lot of point in going the whole way up to Donegal for one night and then all the way back down to county Clare next day; you'd need two nights in somewhere like Donegal Town, so you could explore around a little on one full day) So maybe drop the night in Mayo.
In my humble opinion, Id overnight in Dingle and not Ennis. For 2 reasons.
Actually my heart ached for you a little when I read that you would be in Dingle and yet choose to overnight in Ennis.
But of course, its Ireland, you never know - you may have the best experiences of your trip on that night in Ennis.
Personally, I wouldnt take that chance.
Try for the overnight in Galway also, Its mostly a great town, though of the thousands of people I've brought there on Rick Steves tours over the years, only about 50% have thought that. Generally, but not always, it appeals to more of a younger age-profile traveller.
And the ferry into Clare from Tarbert on the awful bumpy roads, a travel myth. The easiest and most comfortable way is to go to Ennis/Clare/Shannon/The cliffs via Adare and Limerick city. I say that as an expert, I have taken both journeys almost 200 times.
Enjoy my beloved Island. Thanks for choosing Ireland as your holiday destination.
le meas/with respect
Stephen McPhilemy
Rick Steves Ireland tour-guide
Dingle & Derry
I can't speak with as much authority as Stephen, but as a visitor who's only made it to Ireland once (so far), we needed several days to enjoy Dingle town and its surroundings on the peninsula. If you just have 6 nights overall, even spending one of them in Dingle would be rewarding.
And we seemed to experience rain about every other day in June -- so even if you've planned a full day of activities (Cliffs of Moher, Burren, etc.) you might wind up spending some of your actual time drying out in a pub with a bowl of hot seafood chowder - not the worst way to while away some time, but you might not get EVERY thing done on your itinerary.
By the way -- are you departing Shannon early on Day 6, or will you have some time that day before your flight out? Do you really have 6 nights, or 5?
Thank you both for these great suggestions. I haven't been in Ireland since 1968 so this is very exciting. Added a night in Dingle and on Donegal. Cheers.
Blaise
Well done Blaise, Cyn and I are relieved for you that you'll get to enjoy an overnight in Dingle!
Ps be prepared for some big changes in Ireland since your last visit in 1968! :)
Slainte!
Stephen McPhilemy
Ireland
