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Ireland Itinerary

Me and my fiance are going to Ireland for our honeymoon. We are from South Africa and would like to get some advice regarding our itinerary. We are going to be there 6 days and do a self drive. We will be arriving in Dublin 07:00 on the 14th of March 2017.

14th March 2017: Arrive in Dublin, pick up car at airport, spend the whole day in Dublin (Heritage Pass) by doing the Hop on/Hop off bus which will include: Dublin Zoo, Guinness Warehouse, Trinity College, St Patrick's/Christ Church Cathedral. After the whole day, we will book in at our cottage and maybe go to a local pub the evening for a bite and some nice music.

15th March 2017: Eat breakfast at cottage and go south to Powerscourt Gardens and Glendalough through the Wicklow mountains and check in early at our hotel in Kilkenny. From there we will go to Waterford crystal factory and spend some time there and go back to Kilkenny where we will spend our evening.

16th March 2017: Eat breakfast and visit the Kilkenny castle for a quick tour and from there we will go to Rock of Cashel. After Rock of Cashel, we will be heading south to Cork and Cobh where we will spend the afternoon and from there we will go to our hotel in Clonakilty. Spend the evening in a nice local pub for supper and traditional music.

17th March 2017: (St Patrick's Day) Eat breakfast at our hotel and then head west to Kenmare where we will start our tour through the Ring of Kerry (Clockwise). We will also do the Skillig Ring (No buses luckily) and go over the bridge at Portmagee (Maybe go to Puffin Island if there is time). After this we will be heading to our hotel in Killarney where we will spend the evening in local pub and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the locals.

18th March 2017: Eat breakfast and go to Killarney National Park, after that we will be heading northwest to Dingle where we will visit the Aquarium and do the Slea head drive. After that, we will head east through Tralee to Limerick and go to our hotel in Bunratty. We will spend the evening in Bunratty or Limerick watching the rugby game Ireland vs England in a local sports pub.

19th March 2017: Eat breakfast at hotel, visit the Bunratty castle, go to Cliffs of Moher, visit the Aillwee Caves and from there drive to Galway where we will spend the afternoon and get lunch. After we walked around, we will be heading east to Dublin where we will spend our last night. Go out the evening to relax.

20th March 2017: Get up, have breakfast and catch a plane back to South Africa.

Feel free to suggest any extra activities that we could do or skip. Will really appreciate any tips as well...

Posted by
3123 posts

Others will know more about the various places in Ireland, but I have a bit of a concern about your first day. Arriving at 7 AM you're going to be at least a little sleep deprived (not to mention tired from your wedding festivities?) so it seems exhausting to pick up your rental car, find a place to park it, spend the day on the HoHo bus tour, and then check into your cottage.

How far outside of Dublin is the cottage? Would you consider shifting your itinerary to check in early and relax on the afternoon of your first day, and allow more time to see Dublin on the 19th?

Posted by
933 posts

I would also agree that your on your first day you don't need the car in Dublin, and you are going to be tired. It will take some time to get out of the airport, into the city, checked into your hotel etc. You may end up with only half a day in Dublin. It's not a lot of time in Dublin where there is so much to see. At the end of your trip you are stopping in Galway just for lunch and to walk around. As much as I loved Galway this may be a waste of time for you. Your time might be better spent returning to Dublin and dropping off the car and spending a bit more time there.

Posted by
1172 posts

Do not bother with a car while in Dublin. Pick it up at the airport on day 2 on your way out of Dublin

Posted by
2 posts

@Epltd: Our cottage is situated in Swords but we will only be booking in after our day in Dublin. Our luggage can stay in the car.

@Anita: Thank you very much. We will take the Galway stop in consideration and see how much time we have left after the cliffs of moher and the rest of our day.

@Sharon: We unfortunately booked the car but thank you very much.

Just a quick question, where is the best place in Dublin to park the car for the day? I checked out a few spots and saw that you can park at a shopping mall.

Posted by
346 posts

I don't think there is a Waterford factory anymore -- their crystal is made in other countries now, sadly.

Posted by
13 posts

I am all for you going to Galway. That is my favorite city in Ireland. For what it lacks in old relics, it makes up with amazing people and an overall great university town atmosphere. Eating fish and chips while listening to young people busking in the streets. It would be a great way to end your trip.

Posted by
1529 posts

Re bunratty.....i would promote doing the folk park portion and just viewing thee castle from the outside......park has cottages and live stock and gypsy wagons and you can stroll at yr own pace.....i took some great photos there

Posted by
25 posts

I commend your planning but personally think you are over-scheduled. 15 March, for example; Glendalough and Powerscourt are lovely, and by the time you get to Kilkenny you may be tired from a day of walking/hiking/driving. Checking into your hotel there and then driving again to Waterford (and arriving before the last tour ends) seems unrealistic. Btw, we did the Waterford Crystal tour in November, it was good but not worth a separate trip there imho. Kilkenny is a lovely little town and you'll find enough things to see there.

Also, 19 March is quite ambitious--Bunratty, Moher, Aillwee, and Galway, all before lunch! Slow down and enjoy the beauty!