We have a 10 day 30th wedding anniversary trip planned, leaving April 13th and returning April 24th. Our itinerary is mostly set except for the last 2 nights. We fly into Dublin and fly out of Shannon. We plan to make our way from Dublin down along the Wild Atlantic Way.
- 2 nights = Dublin
- 1 night (actual 30th anniversary) = Kilkenny
- 3 nights in Killarney (cannot change this reservation; plan to take day trips to Cork/Kinsale etc.)
- 2 nights in Dingle
- Last 2 nights?? Stay in 1 city for 2 nights or stay in 2 different cities??
We can't decide where to stay those last 2 nights.
We definitely want to visit the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin sounds like a neat town to most people on this sight so we thought about staying here for 2 nights and skipping Galway. We are an hour from the Shannon airport which is a bit far. Ideally we would like to be somewhat close to the Shannon airport the morning we fly out.
We are not sure if we want to skip Galway all together and stay in Doolin or stay near Galway (be far from the airport) or stay in Ennis or another town (close to the airport but fairly close to Cliffs of Moher). Is Galway a must see?? Has anyone had any experiences in Kinvarra? It is very important to us to stay in a memorable town and B&B versus spending our last 2 nights/days versus doing lots of driving on our last full day. The drive from Dingle will be a minimum of 3 hours to any of the above places and that does not include stops along the way like Adare.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
Doolin is a wonderful place to stay.....with great scenery nearby, plenty of great trad music, pubs and restaurants. You can go on a quick boat tour of the Cliffs of Moher which is a fun way to see them as well. The Burren is gorgeous. Plus you could take, from Doolin, a wonderful day trip out to the Aran Islands. Inishsheer and Inishmor are wonderful with cliff views at Dun Anghosa FAR nicer in my view than the Cliffs of Moher.
Galway is a really nice city. But it is a city....with LOADS of tourists. If you are into city life, lots of people and a fun but hectic city pace it's a good option....and its a nice base. Really depends on what you like. For me it's Doolin hands down every time between the two.
Kinvara has a beautiful castle ruin there, I forget it's name. Seemed like a nice place, we didn't stay there but it seemed good but didn't stand out during our brief stop there. Ennis is closer to Shannon and is a well situated base but doesn't, for us at least, hold a great deal of unique appeal in its own right.
Of your options I'd vote Doolin. Visit the Arans. And I know Moher is on every must see list - and it is pretty - but it is VERY touristy. The cliffs at Dun Anghosa or the wonderful Cliffs of Kilkee are far more wild and better, calmer...more wild Ireland experiences.
Have a great time. It's hard to go wrong in that beautiful area !