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Itinerary - Too much driving/home base recommendation in the Connemara area

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Hello All!!

We are planning on 9 nights in Ireland in May 2018. I am trying to plan so that we don't move around too much, but it seems inevitable. Trying to balance seeing most major sights with not overdoing it is difficult! So far I am thinking the following would be best for my family (mom and dad in their early 60s and sister 22).

Day 1 - Fly into Dublin in AM. Use public transpiration to see highlights of Dublin. Spend night in Dublin.
Day 2 - Drive out of Dublin and catch earliest New Grange Tour on the way to Connemara area where we will spend 5 nights. This day has at least 4 hours of driving. Spend night in Connemara.
Day 3 - Connemara Area
Day 4 - Connemara Area
Day 5 - Connemara Area
Day 6 - Connemara Area
Day 7- Drive to Northern Ireland, night in Londonderry. At least 4 hours of driving
Day 8 - Visit Giant's Causeway spend night close by. At least 1 hour of driving.
Day 9 - Night in Dublin before flying out in the morning. At least 3 hours of driving

Does anyone have a recommendation for a town as a home base in Connemara? They all look wonderful! We need a location with plenty of local restaurants and shops as my mom seems most excited about those things (she has limited mobility so hiking around is out for her). My sister and I will probably take at least a day to let my parents walk around town on their own while we hike. We want to go down to County Clare for a day...should we break up the Connemara streak and spend 2 nights in Clare and 3 in Connemara?

Our no misses are Newgrange, Giant's Causeway, and the North -West coast of Ireland (the south-west is an excuse to return one day) We don't really care to spend much time in Dublin or other large cities such as Galway. Is there a better way to orient this itinerary?

Edit to add that I am the only one that has ever been to Ireland. I spent 7 days in Dublin last Spring as a part of a graduate class. We spent a day in the Wicklow Mountains and I saw Newgrange, Hill of Tara and Slane on my own. But that is as far from Dublin as I got.

Thank you for any advice!

Posted by
2988 posts

If you're not keen on staying in Galway then Clifden would be my suggestion. Pretty little town with lots of little restaurants, pubs, and craft shops, and central to some of the best scenery in Connemara. The Sky Road west of Clifden is a beautiful meander on a sunny day - some spectacular photo ops to be had. Doing a scenic loop drive from Clifden along the N59 will take you thru the National Park, which has some nice hikes, Kylemore Abbey which your parents may like, and continuing on to the village of Cong, which is where most of the 1953 movie "The Quiet Man" (John Wayne, Maureen O'hara) was filmed. The little village still looks like the movie set it was 65 years ago. Could also drive over to the ferry landing at Rossaveel for the trip out to Inishmore. Once there you can hire bikes, a jaunting car, or a van to give you the cook's tour of the prettiest of the Aran Islands. Could buy an Aran sweater from one of the ladies who knits them as a functional souvenir of the day trip. For something a little more off the beaten path there's also the island of Inishbofin - the ferry departs daily from Cleggan just a few miles from Clifden. There's a nice coastal walking circuit that will take you around the island, past working peat bogs and along the shoreline, returning eventually to the pier where you can rest your feet with a pint of Guinness while you wait for the return ferry.
Can google any of these to see what might best interest you.

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