We will be spending two nights in Kilkenny. I am trying to decide if we should just drive straight to Kilkenny and see the sights there or go to powerscourt gardens and wAterfall and make our way to Waterford and then Kilkenny. The next day we are doing rock of cashel, cahir and kinsale
Any thoughts
Powerscourt is DEFINITELY worth the visit (been several times) and allow an hour or two to walk through the gardens. The Powerscourt Hotel & Resort (formally Ritz Carlton Powerscourt), just "next" to the Powerscourt Estate & Gardens, is a lovely stop for high tea or lunch. I took my mother and aunt there when they visited me when I was living in Ireland for a year.
I've spent time in Waterford and Kilkenny. I found Waterford, like other people I know that visited, was a bit underwhelming. Also, I think they stopped doing tours of the Waterford crystal factory too...I'm not 100% sure. I know it wasn't offered when I went and I THINK I remember the staff saying they don't offer it anymore. Really, there wasn't much to see. We were there for a day and had to make an effort to fill up our time there. Spend more time in Kilkenny.
Kinsale is one of my favorite places in Ireland to visit. Charming fishing village...great seafood! If you like seafood, try Fishy Fishy Cafe.
We are stopping in Glendalough en route to Kilkenny. You could also do Powerscourt.
We also stopped in Glendalough, en route from Dublin to Kilkenny. I would highly recommend it. It has a very pleasant walk to the small lake above.
We enjoyed both Powerscourt and Glendalough on our way to spending the night in Kilkenny. We were able to check in and make a late dinner in Kilkenny. With two nights in Kilkenny, you'll have a full day to explore the city.
It kind of depends when you are going. Gardens aren't very garden-y at some points in the year. It might not be worth the extra driving to get to it.
We were at the gardens exactly a year ago, and had lovely views and weather (clear if a bit chilly). We drove to Glendalough afterwards, but since it was a gorgeous October Saturday afternoon, the cars overflowed the parking lot onto the road leading up to the site. Since we were already planning on going to Clonmacnoise two days later, we decided to drive back to our B&B in Enniskerry, just up the road from the gardens.
The next day, we stopped at Avoca Weavers (both the main store and then when we realized we wanted to go to the original factory site instead, we drove there as well--great little tour!) before driving to Kilkenny. Word of advice if using GPS: make sure you have it programmed to take you a route using bigger roads! We ended up driving on the narrowest road I have ever seen. It had grass growing in the middle!! We were only on in about ten minutes and didn't encounter anyone else, thank goodness, because one of us would have had to drive backwards since there were NO places to pull over. I just had to laugh while driving on it.
We also visited Powerscourt in October and it is definitely worth it--roses were gorgeous. The Avoca Mill may be off your plan but we enjoyed it. If you love horses and can work it into your trip I can recommend National Stud Farm near Kildare. We found Waterford underwhelming--sort of gritty. Near Cahir Castle is a footpath that will take you to Swiss Cottage which is worth a visit and the walk is nice.
We traveled the other way in September and stayed in Cashel. Kilkenny would have been a much better choice. On the way to Dublin we stopped at Glendalough and Powerscourt. In Glendalough we experienced a mini-monsoon, but really enjoyed the area. Would have spent more time except for the rain. Powerscourt is also worth a several hours. Also on your way to Kilkenney be sure to budget some time as you travel via Sally Gap. The drive is beautiful. Have fun.
