IRELAND IN 14 DAYS! Oh Boy!

The best three towns for doing day trips from if you don't have a car would be Dublin, Killarney, and Galway. Stopping in Kilkenny for a night or two, and even Kinsale would be a great way to break up the pace a bit. I would skip Cork. Four nights in Dublin would give you time to see the local sights, and do one or two day trips to Newgrange, and one other place. Four nights in Killarney and you can do day trips to the Gap of Dunloe, Ring of Kerry, and Dingle Peninsula. Four nights in Galway and you can do day trips to the Cliffs of Moher/Burren, the Connemara region, and the Aran Islands. All of these towns are easily accessible by train (or bus to Kinsale). Kilkenny is a neat little town to spend a day or two just wandering, see the castle, climb the tower at St. Canice's. Kinsale is also a quaint little town where you can get great fish and chips, and walk around the harbor and out to Charles Fort. The train/bus pass is a great value, but just be aware that you have to plan your travel days carefully so as to not lose a lot of time getting to your next destination only to find all of the day trips have already left for the day. Always try to get the earliest train or bus on the day you are travelling.

Rick's book on Ireland is very strong, highly recommend picking that up. My wife and I traveled to Ireland in 2002, spent five nights in Dublin, could not resist a side trip to Edinburgh on an Aer Lingus flight (not a good practice tacking things on, but Edinburgh was great), then six days in the smaller towns and countryside in Ireland. I have been researching Ireland again as that may be our next trip. Kenmare is a good location to spend 2-3 days. Very quaint little town and well positioned for Ring of Kerry, Killarney National Park, south to Bantry House and Glengarriff. Cahir is well situated for Rock of Cashel, plus they have a highly rated castle in town and the Swiss Cottage to visit nearby (also about an hour from Kilkenney). Ennis in County Clare is also one to consider. Kinsale can be a base to visit Cobh, I stayed in Cork on the tail end of a business trip and though it's a nice enough town I would not stay there on vacation. I am looking forward to Trim and that area - Newgrange, Trim Castle, Monasterboice. We will probably spend two nights there on our next trip. Galway could also be a base for County Clare and Connemara. Be aware that car rental is very expensive in Ireland, my plan is to land in Shannon and take the bus to Galway (2 nights), followed by bus or train to Dublin (3 nights) to minimize the days of car rental.

Anita and VS! Thank you both so much for this information! Between the two of you, I have come up with a tentative itinerary but I'm sure I left something out and it may be because I'm not sure which town to do the side trip from! This is what I have so far:

DUBLIN (6 nights)
Day trip to Cliffs of Moher
Day trip to Blarney Castle and Cork
Day trip to Kilkenny City and Glendalough
We're thinking of getting the Dublin Pass--gets you in to a lot of sightseeing places (including Guinness Extreme and a free pass from the airport to central district

KILARNEY (3 nights)
Day trip to Ring of Kerry
Torc Waterfall
Muckross House and Gardens
Lakes of Kilarney Cruise

GALWAY (3 nights)
Quay Street
Galway's Latin Quarter
Kilary Fjord

If you think I should add more nights or another town, please let me know. The plan is to get the rail pass to travel to each city. Do either of you know how far the air is from Dublin (the central district area)? And, also when we return from Galway to Dublin, should we spend another night there before leaving on our plane?
Thanks for your help!
Sandra

I would give careful consideration to whether you can get the places that you are going without a rental car. Train is probably o.k. for Galway to Dublin, but it does not look like that's the order for you. The bus network in Ireland is pretty good as I understand it. I took the bus from Cork to Kinsale when I stayed over on a business trip in 2010 and it worked like a charm. (Actually on our next trip I am considering flying into Shannon, train to Galway, then train to Dublin.) Day trips out of Dublin is an expensive strategy, if cost matters to you, because you will pay a significant premium to stay in Dublin vs. smaller towns. (On the other hand, rental car will run you $80-100 per day). Might not be the most practical base for day trips either, based upon logistics. When we spent five nights there, it was one day too many (it was out point of arrival so the first day was a throwaway. Even our B&B host said "you're still here?" at breakfast on day five). You can probably get a bus tour out of Dublin to Cliffs of Mohers and other points west in Ireland, but would spend a lot of time on the bus for too short of a time at the site. The cliffs are clear across the country - not trying to sound snarky, but definitely look at Google maps on this. Ireland is really more conducive to a blitzy travel style and a rental car, rather than a day trip strategy. Based upon my research, I respectfully tend to differ from Anita on recommending Killarney as a place to stay; it has a reputation for excessively pandering to tourists, but this is not from personal experience so I could be wrong. Outside of Dublin and Galway, I think the interesting parts of Ireland are the very small towns, and for that a rental car is necessary.

Sandra, I'd do some careful research to make sure that you can really be well served by public transport. I am not an expert by any means, but from what I recall when I was researching our trip, I think there are few trains and mostly buses. I would highly recommend that you consider renting a car, for the freedom of moving around as you choose. If the idea of driving a car gives you the shivers, why don't you consider finding a tour group that takes you all over Ireland. I'm concerned that you won't have much accessibility to some of the sights by foot, but maybe I'm wrong.

Several of your proposed day trips from Dublin will involve a lot of backtracking. A circular route around the southern portion of Ireland would be more efficient (Dublin to Dublin). It all boils down to your method of transport though and what is more efficient for your chosen method.

I would visit the Cliffs of Moher as a day-trip from Galway, not Dublin (it's on the opposite side of the country from Dublin). You may want to consider Ross Castle as one of your Killarney stops, it's very lovely. Kilkenny would make a great stop, dropping a few nights from Dublin. You could drive south, spend most of the day in Glendalough, and then drive over to Kilkenny for the night. Spend the next day seeing the castle in Kilkenny and exploring Kilkenny. Or other options, Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle for the day.

We've stayed in Kenmare and Killarney. Our favorite B&B, Friar's Glen is located in Killarney. We didn't really spend much time in the actual town, just visited the tourist sites around, so I can't speak to the atmosphere of the town, but we absolutely loved the B&B and highly recommend it.

www.irishdaytours.ie
www.paddywagontours.com
www.vagabondirishtoursofireland.ie/vagabond/

These may give you ideas for day tours.

I"m an American living on the Ring of Kerry. I read your post and thought "Oh, no!!"

Let me be frank - if you're planning a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher when you're in Dublin, you're not utilizing time or money, wisely. The Cliffs of Moher are on the West Coast. Dublin is on the East Coast. Just because there is a tour OFFERED from Dublin doesn't mean that's the way to do it! I don't want to sound harsh but you need to re-look at the map!!

Answer me a few questions and I'll give you more guidance!
How old are you? Are you in good shape for walks/hikes? Or will you get out of the car/bus, take photos, and get right back in?
Would you prefer to look out a bus window and say "how pretty that is!" or would you look out the bus window and say "wait a minute! why aren't we stopping THERE?!"
Do you prefer nature or museums? Four star hotels or hostels? is your budget 10 euros per meal or 25?
Have you priced the buses and trains? The trains are pretty for the views. The buses don't go often (from my house in Waterville to Killarney it only goes ONCE a day at 7:00 a.m. God help me!)

Let me know how I can make your trip better suited to YOU!!

Enjoy!

Oh, everyone, you are so helpful! Thank you for all the great advice!
TODAY IN IRELAND, in response to you personally, thank you for wanting to know more! Some things have changed which I'm sure you'll be happy about! We are renting car--there are four of us ladies in our 60s--all physically in very good shape. We are movers and shakers and intend to enjoy Ireland to the fullest in the two weeks (actually, 12 days, excluding the flight time). We like nature, some museums, churches, pubs. I would rather stay in a 3-starr hotel because we will not be in our room except to sleep. I prefer B&Bs and would love to stay in one castle (any recommendations for the castle would be great!). We have reserved our hotel for the first two nights in Dublin and the last night in Dublin. For the rest of the trip, we are planning to wing it--driving and sightseeing, stopping when we want to see something and then finding a hotel when we're ready stop for the night--hope this works but your response to that might change that part. If you think we should definitely reserve hotels along the way instead of waiting to get one when we're ready to stop, please tell me! I am looking forward to this trip! And, then to Greece in September! Thanks, again! Sandra

Sandra,

I'm 55 and fit, so I think I know what you can be looking forward to! Bring waterproof pants and jackets, so a rain shower doesn't deter you from a good walk!

Some friends came to visit and stayed in Ballyseede Castle Hotel (http://www.ballyseedecastle.com/) (pronounced Bally Seedie) outside of Tralee. I met them for dinner - wow! It was fantastic. Check it out! There, you can base and see the Dingle Peninsula, Killarney National Park, and then stay somewhere on the Iveragh Peninsula (Ring of Kerry) as you move on... I'd reserve that one, but truthfully you can wing it as you travel and get B&B's when you're ready to land for the night. If you call the B&B's directly, instead of using booking .com or something like that, it saves them the fee. I always recommend it!

NOTE: If someone reading this is planning a trip during another month, like August, B&B's may be more filled up. I'm suggesting Sandra "wing it" as she's traveling in April!

I'm rushing off now, but will post another few ideas. If you do the Ring of Kerry, maybe we can say hello! I live in a converted water tower from the 1880's original trans-atlantic cable station in Waterville. It's a treat to show it off to travelers!

Enjoy!

Oh, Today in Ireland, that would be really wonderful! How far is Waterville from the Ring of Kerry? I could look it up but, coming from the source, is better! And, do you look at this site often--so I can get in touch with you? You've been so helpful! I'm hoping to stay in Waterville overnight so I can do the walk. Thank you!
Sandra

Sandra -

Waterville is on the Ring of Kerry! I can see the road from my bedroom window! It's the "halfway point" on the Ring of Kerry if you start in Killarney (which most people do).

The famous Charlie Chaplin statue is right down the street!

Enjoy!

Hey TodayinIreland!
I will be in touch by e-mail soon!
Thanks!
Sandra