Hello. We are flying into Shannon in June and headed to Kinsale. We would like to get opinions of maybe a good place to spend the night on our first evening (we arrive at 11:00AM). Is there a town or something off the beaten path that would be a nice stop? We intend to head south and then head west on our journey from Kinsale. We are skipping blarney and cork intentionally. Please let me know.
Best
Lisa
Posted by
3123 posts
Have you considered Limerick? It's a short distance from Shannon and there's frequent bus service. You could check into your hotel, relax and gauge how much energy (or not) you have to go sightseeing. There are several car rental companies in Limerick, so you wouldn't have to backtrack to the airport to get a rental car the next day to head off toward Kinsale.
See, for example, https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/ireland/10-great-reasons-to-visit-limerick-31147541.html
Here's another informative site https://www.triphobo.com/places/limerick-ireland
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
It’s only a 2 hour jaunt from Shannon to Kinsale. Could easily be there by mid day to enjoy Kinsale.
Curious why you want to stay elsewhere or did you mean your plane lands at 11PM not AM.
If you did drive straight through and after checking in you should take the 20 minute coastline stroll to the Bulman Pub for an outstanding dinner.
Posted by
OP
87 posts
Thank you for the feedback. After an over night flight I wasn't sure if we could manage the drive to Kinsale, but given what you share, it's sounds like a drive to kinsale is perfectly doable. And thanks for the pub recommendation. Anything you suggest we do that first day in kinsale, given that we will have about a half day there?
Posted by
58 posts
Hello, Lisa-- Before you decide to drive to Kinsale from Shannon the day you arrive:
1) Given that you're landing on a redeye at 11AM, how long will your flight be in total? Will it be long enough for you to get a decent night's sleep?
2) And, are you already comfortable driving on the left?
3) There is no reasonable route from Shannon Airport to Kinsale that will completely avoid Cork city traffic, which is pretty horrid. If you land on a weekday, will you be comfortable dealing with heavy traffic on your first day?
If you're going to get enough sleep, and you've driven on the left in the past, and you're comfortable with city commuter traffic, you'll probably be fine. Most of your route will be on the N20, which has 4 lanes at its widest (2 in each direction) and 2 lanes at its narrowest. It has multiple, unavoidable roundabouts. It also takes you through the city. If you opt for a bypass route, map it ahead of time and look at it using Google street view-- some of the routes that might look good on a map will take you on very narrow roads.
If the answer to any of the three questions is "no," then you may want to err on the side of caution. Limerick is fine for a one-night stay-- an attractive college town, with an interesting castle & some good pubs. Adare is also convenient to SNN, and may be a more attractive option, depending on what you want. I've never been to Desmond Castle but hear it's beautiful to tour, & Adare is lovely.
By the way, both locations are near the Limerick Race Course. Even if horse racing isn't your thing, it's special in Ireland & if they happen to have races that day, you might have fun checking it out.