Hello,
I'm planning a trip to Ireland with my mother at the end of the month. I'd love some input on the things I've planned. We want to do as much as possible without getting too worn out. We are both in fine shape for what I've listed below, but aren't planning any hikes or such. Everything will be by bus/train/day tours (and the occasional taxi if necessary, but that can get more expensive, I'm sure). We won't be renting a car or driving.
Four nights in Dublin:
Day one:
Flying USA to Dublin, arrive Dublin 5am.
Find airport shuttle, drop luggage at hotel
Kilmainham Gaol 11:45am (public transportation or taxi). Tickets are purchased.
The rest of the day will be very low key. See the area, have dinner somewhere and early to bed as we will be tired.
Day two:
Day trip with tour company to Kilkenny, Wicklow, Gledalough, and a Sheep dog demonstration/farm visit
Day three:
Going to make silver rings at a silversmith shop.
Day four:
Dublin (Connolly station) to Belfast train for the day to have a look around and do the Black Cab tour (seems they have a 3 hour option for £275 or a 90 minute for £80. I'm leaning toward the £80 option.
Three nights in Galway:
Day one:
Dublin (Heuston station) to Galway (Ceannt) train (on a side note, I have been doing lots of mock bookings, and I thought sure that the fare was around €65 round trip for two, but today it's half that. I'm not sure why that would be, or what I'm doing wrong.
Day two:
Day trip Galway to Cliffs (I'm leaning toward one from the Galway tour company that has includes a ferry to Inis Oirr then also goes past the cliffs, and a stop at the cliffs on land). I was considering a tour with a different company, but this one is considerably less costly and seems lovely).
Day three:
Thinking about a day trip from Galway to Ennis. Haven't looked into it very closely yet, but I've read that it's a nice place to go.
Day four:
Galway to Dublin train, then shuttle to airport (shuttle option offered as an add on on Irish Rail website, so that's convenient). Thinking about a 7:35am train that arrives in Dublin at 10:15am to catch a 1:45pm flight (to Scotland, not back to the US).
Then in Scotland for a few days before returning to Dublin for our flight home.
How does this sound? I've done literally hours and hours of research for this trip, and still need to do more. My kitchen table looks like I'm planning to take over the world, not trying to organize a fun trip, lol!
Also, I'm sorry about the format. It looks fine in the area when I type it, but not the same in the preview.
Thanks very much!