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Itinerary, Comments Appreciated

Posted by (Colorado, USA) on

We have a somewhat quirky itinerary, so I thought I would submit it here for comment. Tell me if anything is completely not possible – our dates are June 22-July 7.

Arrive Shannon Airport 6/22, bus to Galway. Staying at Jury’s Inn Hotel for 3 nights. One day Cliffs of Moher/Innisheer tour with Galway Tours, rental car to Ashford Castle for hawk walk, drive through Connemara (Doolough Pass), back to Galway. Train to Dublin on 6/25.

Dublin for 5 nights, staying at Morrissey Hotel (chosen because of free nights with Hilton Honors), one-day tour to Giant’s Causeway (Viator), one-day tour to Newgrange (Mary Gibbons), literary pub tour, other Dublin sights.

June 30, Pick up rental car at Dublin Airport, drive to Kilkenny – are Killbeggan and Tullamore worth stopping at on the way?
Kilkenny for 4 nights, staying at Bridge View B&B – this is where my family is from, that’s why the long stay. Kilkenny City, Kells, Rock of Cashel, countryside around Kilkenny – Anyone familiar with Cushendale Woolen Mill in Graignamanagh?

Drive to Kinsale on July 4, staying at Acton Hotel for one night.

Drive north along the coast back to Dublin, one night at Huntington Castle, one night at Powerscourt Hotel. Sights along the way: Avoca, Glendalough, Powerscourt Estate. Anything else?

Fly from Dublin to London evening of July 7 (Aer Lingus), London back to US morning of July 8. This weirdness is necessary in order to use mileage awards.

Regarding hotels/B&B selections – we prefer to be where we can walk to attractions, so our choices are closer to city centers. If any of the listed establishments are terrible, let me know, but they all seem to have excellent ratings on Trip Advisor. I know that we are leaving the west coast and Wild Atlantic Way largely unexplored – our main focus is Dublin and the southeast for this trip – there will be another someday!

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Posted by
635 posts

Why are you not renting a car at Shannon and turning it in at Dublin? You could skip the bus and the reliance on tours. Of course, you may be among the people that prefer going on tours. I think you'll find it cheaper to rent a car for nominal week rather than two shorter rentals. You also seem to be going back and forth across Ireland. You could start in Dublin and follow Rick's driving tour (leaving out what's not in your plans).

You are spending too much time in Kilkenny in my opinion unless you have genealogy activities planned. There just isn't 4 days of activities in and close to Kilkenny.

Posted by
25 posts

This past summer we visited many of the places on your itinerary. I to would recommend picking up your car in Shannon. It is so much easier getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road out of Shannon rather than Dublin. From Shannon you could drive directly to the Cliffs of Moher to stop for whatever length of time you want on your way to Galway. After your three nights in Galway I would recommend driving to Dingle and spend two or maybe three nights there. This area was the highlight of our trip. From Dingle you could then spend your night in Kinsale and see that area or drive directly to Kilkenny. Four nights is a long time for the area so if you could cut a night or two that would leave you time for Dingle. I am not sure what your plans concerning you exploring your family history. From Kilkenney we drove to Glendalough and Powerscourt. Both are worth a half a day and the drive is beautiful. Then on to Dublin to drop off your car. Five days in Dublin is a little much but obviously you have some free nights. If you could cut a night or two that would leave enough time for Dublin. We also went on the Mary Gibbons Newgrange tour and really enjoyed it. Whatever you do it sounds like you will have fun. Personally we cannot wait to return.

Posted by
40 posts

Thank you for your comments! At this point, we have chosen not to rent a car at Shannon because we have decided to utilize tours to maximize our time. I'm not a great fan of tours, but I think it makes sense for us this time. We are going to Dublin first so that I can do some research at the NLI before going to Kilkenny, and we definitely don't want a car in Dublin. Picking it up at the airport allows us to bypass the city on our drive to Kilkenny. Yes, quite a few days in Kilkenny, but we have some flexibility and if we find we're ready to move on, we have a car and can go. We saw Edinburgh and England on a tight schedule last summer, so I'm trying to set a more leisurely pace. I'm still fine tuning things, so your input is most helpful!

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