Castles from Shannon to Dublin

typo on #4 Kilkenney

And to add one more question. Where would be the point to spend the night between the two days? Thank you

Do you want to do the inside tour of all of those? depending on time of year, blarney can be crowded....and i always vote for the folk park at bunratty

Thank you for responding. Yes, we would like to tour the inside. Our plans are to fly into Shannon from London the morning of June 8, and then drive or bus to Dublin, spending 1 night in Bunratty or Limerick and then 3 nights in Dublin ( total 4 nights in in Ireland). My wife is afraid of heights so we're avoiding the coast line . Could use help with the navigation in Ireland for our 5 day stay. Thank you

I have little to no help on driving....hopefully others will chime in. I share yr wife's affliction ...but i am able to ride along the coastline. However, yr wife will NOT want to go to the top of blarney castle , it is high up and terrifying. Its a nice hike over to the castle (like 1/2 or 3\4 mile) and there is inside of the ground floor to enjoy

I dont know why no one else is responding...maybe repost w "help with driving itenary" in yr title...those seem to garner lots of advice

Cahir Castle, along with the Swiss Cottage is a great stop.

I'm wondering if you might consider going to Dromoland before Bunratty because it might save you time with a little less backtracking since Dromoland is to the west of Bunratty and it looks like your route is heading east.
I know you only have 2 days and you might not have time to add to your list, but I do hear that Rock of Cashel is great (I haven't been yet, so I don't know for sure, but I've been doing my research and this place seems to be highly recommended)
I am doing something similar, only I'm going the opposite direction. I'm staring in Dublin and going to Kilkenny, Cashel, Cahir(?), Blarney, Ross, and Bunratty.

You asked if there is a point to spend the night.......Dromoland would be the perfect place to stay overnight, as while it is a castle, its purpose nowadays is a hotel. It's not a place that you would tour room-to-room. If you do not stay as a guest in the hotel, I am guessing you could purchase lunch or dinner there and maybe able to tour the lovely walled garden, but best to call them ahead to ask. But, great place to spend the night.

Another fabulous place to stay is Ashford Castle, which was the home of the Guiness family. It was voted one of the top 5 hotels in the world last year. It is fabulous! If you are looking at a map, it is in Cong (which is roughly north of Galway).

Thank you for all the replies. However we had to change our plans that will now have us flying in and out of Dublin (6/8-6/12). We still want to visit castles above but think Kilkenney is out due to timing.

We are now thinking of staying the first two nights at the last at the hotel in Dublin, and use the third night (1.5 days) to see Blarney, Bunratty, Dromoland , maybe staying overnight at Dromoland.

Is this doable? Thank you

I'm not sure you would be able to do all of those in the time you have left. It's a three hour plus drive to Bunratty from Dublin, 3.5+ to Blarney from Dublin. Then it's a 2+ hour drive to Bunratty to Blarney. So, Dublin --> Blarney is 3.5, then another 2 on to Bunratty. Dublin--> Bunratty --> Blarney would be slightly less, but backtracking. Either way, you are spending six hours or better just in the car, and that doesn't allow for meals, photo ops or actually touring the places once you get there.

Okay, are plans are to travel by train from Dublin to Cork, and we definitely want to go to Blarney and would stay overnight in Cork. Any suggested tours that would be in addition to Blarney castle?

It's too bad you aren't driving, since you could see Rock of Cashel, Cahir (another castle), and Blarney all in one stretch of road (roughly 90 minutes apart all together). Blarney is more than the castle. There are beautiful grounds to explore, with a cave and a dolmen. Across the street is Blarney Woollen Mills, with great shopping, a restaurant and a pub. There are a number of B&Bs in Blarney, too, so you might consider staying at one of those.

We are looking at a full 1 day tour package that takes us by train to Blarney castle and tour the area with us staying overnight at Blarney Woollen Mills Hotel . We hope to some more before heading back to Dublin. Thank you again

Due to timing we have now narrowed down to Blarney Castle, and Bunratty castle allowing one day at each with departing from Dublin. Is this doable? And we're okay with staying overnight at one of the locations if that makes more sense. Also does it matter what order? Thank you

We're also being told we could take a 1 day tour by train from Dublin to Cork to see Blarney castle, and from there go to Limirick , then Bunratty to see the castle the next day and then return to Dublin. If that is doable, where should we stay over night on day one? Cork or Limirick ? Thank you

Sorry, I have no idea if that is doable, since I don't know the timing of the tours and whether they would fit together in your short time. You need to also allow time to get back to Dublin (and get to the airport 3 hours ahead of your flight). You have made so many changes to your plans that I have lost track of what time you have for the whole trip. In your original post, you were renting a car and going into Shannon and out of Dublin. That would have given you flexibility that two separate package tours don't (not to mention now having to backtrack to Dublin).

I know... we have been all over the map. We fly in and out of Dublin for 5 days. The trips to Blarney and Bunratty would be in between so no concerns with flights. The day 1 tour leaves Dublin by train at 7:00am. We were told we could go onto Limerick after the tour ends around 4:00PM that day or stay overnight and leave the next day to Limerick, then 20min bus to Bunratty, and then return to Dublin. Sounds doable but it's all on paper and going by other suggestions. Sorry for the confusion and still appreciate any suggestions. Thank you

We're looking at a similar itinerary and Ashford Castle sounded interesting - but at $1400 a night, probably not.

How do you plan to get from Blarney to Limerick? It's about a two hour drive (but you don't plan to have a car now). It would make more sense to stay in Blarney that night, then go to Limerick the next morning if you are taking the bus or something. Then you would have most of the day for Bunratty (and/or King John's castle in Limerick). The drive from Bunratty to Dublin is roughly a three hours. I'm assuming you don't plan to fly out until the next day?

like ive said before, i really like the folk park at bunratty. you could sign up for the medival banquet at the castle, and there is also a modern hotel on the grounds

One of the top ten castles to visit in the world is The Ashford Castle. It is the former summer home of the Guinness Family. Unfortunately, our TAUCK Tour only visited for two nights. We hope to go back to Ireland and spend at least five nights there. We were there four years ago. It has, since then, undergone a multi million dollar remodel. Look at their site. Many people comment that visiting and staying at the Ashford Castle, was their favorite stop in Ireland. Our TAUCK Tour arrived by boat, on the small river. A bag-piper met us, as we disembarked. He entertained all of us, as we walked across the bridge and into the hotel, for tea. It was quite the experience.