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June 2018 Itinerary Help

Posted by (Lockport, IL) on

Our group of 5 (3 adults + 2 teens) will be flying in and out of Dublin in June (airfare already purchased). We had our itinerary, but when I was looking at it this week, I can see some red flags - too much driving! We are set on the first section (Dublin - Kinsale - Dingle), but I think we need to revisit/change the second part.
Itinerary: Dublin 3 nights, Kinsale 2 nights, Dingle 3 nights, Westport 1 night, Portrush 2 nights, Dublin airport hotel 1 night (all BnBs and hotels booked but can be cancelled & our car is already rented)

We all want to go to the Cliffs of Moher. However, I think Dingle to the Cliffs to Westport is too much driving for one day, especially followed by another long travel day the next day moving from Westport to Portrush. Westport was just a stop somewhere to move us from Dingle to Portrush - we can change that if we need to. We all want to see Northern Ireland, but I don't see it happening. What are your thoughts? Or, should we take one night from Dingle and move it somewhere else?

If we skip Northern Ireland, do you have any ideas for other 3 nights? Should we spend them all in the western area?

(I know we are skipping the Ring of Kerry. It was a group decision - we already have lots of driving on the trip with a few motion sensitive people in our group.)

I appreciate any help you can offer!

Kristen

Posted by
72 posts

This is obviously just from my personal experience, but I don’t think you need 3 nights in Dingle. In fact, you might consider spending those nights in Killarney as your base and seeing Dingle on a day trip.

You could use Galway as your next base and leave off Westport and Portrush for another trip. From Galway you can visit the Burren one day and Connemara another. Galway is a vibrant city with many pubs and music and lots of little shops. The drive from Galway back to Dublin is fairly easy.

Posted by
269 posts

Dingle to Westport is just over 4 hours on Google Maps; for all trips add at least 30 – 60 minutes actual driving time to what Google shows; so that is a long drive.

Westport to Portrush is just over 4 hours on Google, so another long drive.

Depending on your reasons for visiting Northern Ireland, you could go to Londonderry instead of Portrush; it’s about 3:20 from Westport on Google, which saves about an hour of driving. It has interesting medieval walls and murals about the conflicts in the 1970’s., plus scenic river walks, and good museums. If you’re interested in Giant’s Causeway, etc., then Portrush is closer to that than Londonderry, but I found Londonderry more interesting than Portrush. I enjoyed Northern Ireland, but had more time, so I didn't have to make a long one day drive to get there.

If you really want to see the Cliffs of Mohr, then consider staying in Doolin that night after leaving Dingle. Or you could continue to Galway and explore that area, including the Arran Islands, but then you would have to give up Northern Ireland.

Westport is a scenic town, and I enjoyed Matt Malloy's pub for the music while there; it does make a good stop on the way up North, but if you decide not to go to Northern Ireland, you may want to explore the Connemara area north of Galway (including Maam Cross). You could then spend the night in Galway or drive on to Westport.

There are so many beautiful villages and so much spectacular scenery , it's hard to cross anything off the list, but part of the fun is taking the time to slow down and enjoy a few places well, walking around, a leisurely meal, listening to music and talking with local residents (I had a nice chat with a farmer who happened to drive by on his tractor while I was taking photos walking down a little traveled road). The coast of Northern Ireland is spectacular, but so are the Cliffs of Mohr and the drives around Dingle, so depending on your interests, you may enjoy focusing on just a few areas.

Have fun planning and on your trip.

Posted by
119 posts

Our group talked and decided to skip Northern Ireland on this trip. So now we will head from Dingle to the Cliffs area and stay a night in either Ennis or Doolin. Any preferences or other suggestions? We'll either go to the Cliffs that evening or the next morning to try and avoid the largest crowds.

Then we will stay somewhere else for two nights a bit north of there (still in the west). We plan on doing the Hawk Walk (but not staying at Ashford Castle), and I'm not sure what else yet. None of us seem interested in staying in Galway. Earlier in the trip we are staying in Dublin for 3 nights - that's enough city time for us. We love spending time in nature. We're not big museum fans. We could really use some help here.

Kristen

Posted by
91 posts

My 2 cents: Dingle is lovely, you should definitely plan at least 2 nights there ( 3 may be one too many). Use the one full day for a Slea Head tour, and the evening for the pub :).

Posted by
72 posts

Since you are going to be in Clare, you could look into the Birds of Prey Center at Ailwee Caves as they offer a hawk walk.

If you decide to stick with Ashford Castle for the walk, you could stay in Clifden and visit some other Connemara sites, including some of the small towns on the coast, including Roundstone, where Malachy Kearns makes bodhrans. There is a little pottery shop nearby where I always stop in and buy a small piece while in the area. (A downside to Clifden would be the time added to your drive back to Dublin.)

Posted by
119 posts

Thanks for the help! We decided on one night in Doolin and two nights in Clifden.

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