Hi - My young adult daughter and I are arriving at Shannon Airport during the first week of August. We are staying 8 nights in Ireland and flying out of Dublin. We have a rental car booked (automatic) and plan to turn it in upon arrival to Dublin. I will be doing most of the driving and am starting to be a bit nervous despite my earlier bravado. I drive all the time here (in NYC suburbs), and grew up learning to drive in Manhattan, but have never driven on the other side of the road.
Thinking about some last minute changes to our itinerary - hoping for some feedback:
Currently we are booked 2 nights in Ennis, 2 nights in Killarney (have a private driver booked for Dingle Peninsula day and skipping ROK), 2 nights in Kilkenny, 2 nights in Dublin (turning in car on arrival to Dublin).
NOW thinking - 2 nights in Ennis, 3 nights in Killarney, (SKIP Kilkenny) 3 nights in Dublin. Thinking of perhaps turning in car in Killarney, and hiring a private driver to get us to Dublin, stopping off on the way to see Rock of Cashel/ Blarney or ?other point of interest. Kind of having 2nd thoughts about the 4 hour+ drive to Dublin, and just wanting to relax a bit more. (Want the car at the beginning so we have the flexibility to pick best day for Cliffs of Moher, etc). thinking we might prefer this 2nd itinerary since Killarney area seems like so much to do.....but either way, should we just drive on to Dublin ourselves? Would it be better to spend 3 nights in Killarney and 3 in Dublin? (REALLY don't want to do just 1 night somewhere - hate the idea of running from place to place more than we already are, and want to get a feel for where we stay).
TIA for any help - much appreciated!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
Driving back into Dublin is the easy part. You should get good driving instructions on Google Maps or have a GPS. The streets in Dublin change names every 8 blocks. Driving the back roads of Ireland requires hard concentration.
We were scheduled to stay in Dublin 1 night up on arrival and 2 nights before flying out. Probably our least favorite big city we have visited--and very expensive.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks David - do you think 3 nights in Killarney is better than 2? And I know Dublin not everyone's favorite city - was thinking maybe a day trip to Wicklow/ /Glendalough if we do the 3rd night there. Or should we do 3 nights in Killarney, keep it at 2 nights in Dublin at the end (which really means 1.5 days in the city itself - we have an early AM flight home) and stay 1 night in Kilkenny on the way to Dublin?
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
Good you are staying multiple nights in places...much calmer and more rewarding. But why Killarney ?Rick Steves lists it as one of EUROPE'S top ten tourist traps, it's clogged, tourist overrun and filled with leprechaun-y shops and Holiday Inns. It's main purpose to seperate you from your dollar. There are great things to see NEAR Killarney ....Gap of Dunloe, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall, Ross Castle, the Black Valley, Kissane Sheep Farm.....but Killarney itself .....UGGH. Kenmare, Kilorglin or Castlemaine are much nicer ....are right near lots of amazing stuff AND the great sights outside of Killarney. Plenty for 3 days. You can do the fantastic Dingle drive, the amazing south side of the ROK ...the Skellig Ring......or some of the nearby Beara peninsula, and all the ring forts, Abbey ruins, castles, pubs, restaurants and wonderful warm welcoming small towns. So much to see and do....So much magic in exploring these areas. So sure 3 days in the Killarney area (not Killarney itself) is a great option.
Also Wicklow/Glendalough is absolutely worth every effort to see. Rock of Cashel is wonderful....a couple hours there we'll worth it if you like history.. Blarney is another tourist trap to be avoided....it's also on Ricks top ten European tourist traps...So so many other things to see that have something to do with real Irish history and culture..
Don't worry about driving. It's fun very quickly. You get used to the flow faster than you think. Yes it requires concentration.....sightseeing while driving is not going to happen in a meaningful way but there are plenty of scenic pull offs and if you let the locals (and common sense) lead you'll be fine.
Kilkenny is excellent ! Why Ennis ? It's not bad but lots of options closer to many amazing things.
Hope you have a great trip !
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you, ewewoolknit! We picked Ennis for a few reasons - it is pretty close to Shannon and I don't want to drive a long distance to our first stop when we are jet lagged. And also because we are staying at the Old Ground, which came highly recommended. We will use it as a base for the Cliffs of Moher, Burren....and I didn't think about those other locations vs Killarney but will look into them as well. Thank you for being reassuring about the driving. Any suggestions for restaurants/ good pubs/ music? Thanks again!
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
Smart about Ennis after the flight ! Makes sense. Ennis itself is a nice place, we enjoyed it...Not the most scenic in itself but pleasant and near nice things. The Burren is beautiful and well worth touring. Check McGanns pub in Doolin next to the Cliffs of Moher for great trad music and excellent food including their Guinness Stew....Just make sure it is a trad night. Also just a hundred feet or so down the road is a little bakery, I forget the name with REALLY good offerings...their scones were fantastic. My wife loved their tea brack.
The Cliffs of Moher are gorgeous but tourist overrun with loads of tour buses and a small strip mall of pretty hokey souvenirs shops at its base. To maximize them try and go early in the morning....before 9:30....or in the afternoon after 4:30 to avoid the crowds. They are beautiful. The walks beyond the parks danger signs are safe and beautiful if you are smart and don't run near the edge as some do !!
If after visiting them you prefer a taste for real wild beautiful Irish Cliffs without any tourist crunch just 30-40 minutes away are the stunning and beautiful Cliffs of Kilkee. Wonderful ! For that matter if when you are in or near Killarney and do the Skellig Ring the spectacular Cliffs of Kerry are right there which are for us easily the most enjoyable cliffs in Ireland.
Also near Ennis from Doolin a day trip out to the Aran islands is a great day. The ancient fort at Dun Anghosa is awesome and the Cliffs there are better than Moher as well. Incredible soups at The Bar right in town...you'll see it as you get off the boats. Also wonderful hand knit materials from the Aran islands right at the base of Dun Anghosa. The big ARAN WOOLS shop in town has stuff made elsewhere and is pricey. Anyway a great day outing if you decide to visit those wonderful islands.
As far as pub restaurant recommendations in Killarney others will have to help. Have had good food there but the pervasive plastic leprechaun-y hypervtouristy feel to the area made it less than a great memory for us. In the town's around.....
Castlemaine has the Anvil with fantastic daily specials and delicious Irish Stew and Prawn and Crab Cakes. It has good trad music on weekends. Knightlys Pub was super welcoming with excellent food .....a great real local place.
Kilorglin had the Bunker which we loved ....besides excellent seafood and Stews what was fun there the couple times we were there was great local folks "holding court" telling amazing stories from local history and folklore. It was nothing formal and when we showed interest in the incredible way of the Irish we were made to feel totally welcome and a part of things...and we aren't outgoing people.... great memories though I'm sure that was just somewhat luck.
Kenmare has a fantastic group of restaurants and pubs....you can't go wrong. One of our favorites was P.F. MCCarthy. They had great food ....I loved their brown breads with dinner and the nights we went tremendous live music. Seriously good and diverse food throughout town.
If you do the south side of the Ring of Kerry there are a number of great stops. I could list a ton....but our favorites....in Sneem for lunch is Kelly's Bakery. She lovingly makes some fantastic foods. Her cheese pie is amazing but even her Toasties are somehow special. Talk to her and you'll end up with a real friend and Probably a sample box to go ! She and her food are treasures.
In Waterville ....I could go into real depth but The Lobster has the best sea food chowder in Ireland according to all my fish eating family (I'm not a seafood guy). They made me requested off menu items without the slightest problem.....and their Guinness stew was excellent. Our favorite pure restaurant is An Corcorans.....Grilled Plaice my wife LOVED and I had some steak which was wonderful. It's a small cozy place with top notch food and great folks.
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
Near Caherdaniel is O'Carroll's cove restaurant which is a very nice upscale pub alternative in a beautiful setting. In Caherdaniel is the Blind Piper......very good food and soups, great Trad music and super friendly workers and patrons.
In the Glen is Skellig chocolates.with amazing chocolates and great baked goods and hot chocolate !!!!
Anyway just a few ideas. If you do go to Kilkenny let the forum know there are ally fun spots near there and excellent pubs and restaurants !!!! Hope you have a great trip.
Posted by
42 posts
If you like Irish music, then I would definitely work Dingle into your itinerary. The drive around the peninsula is very nice but it's the pub scene in Dingle that you will have finding anywhere else in the world. Dingle is a very small town but has about 5-6 pubs which will have music just about every night. Wonderful experience, plus the beer helps!