Kilkenny, Cashel, Cahir - Skip?

Posted by janinet1202 on 01/14/16 11:12 PM

Hello Forum Friends!

Need your expert help. This will be our first trip to Ireland and we'll have 9 nights. We already have flights booked. We'll be flying from South Africa, through Heathrow, so will be quite pooped by the time we get to Dublin (although I'm sure the rush of being in Ireland will help) and flying out of Cork. It will be my dad (no spring chicken), my husband and myself (early-mid 30's). We really enjoy the outdoors/nature along with a city feel (love Barcelona, Florence and Paris!) and, of course, are foodies. First time my hubby or myself will be driving on left side and understand much of exploring Ireland means getting lost driving, but thought part of the trip would be nice via train. Pretty open though to whatever is best. We are facing the same challenge as many visiting this forum - we don't want to pack in too much, move around to many hotels and exhaust ourselves but still admit what we want to see is quite ambitious. Would be nice to do 3 nights in 3 places but not doable.

Do you all feel Cashel is worth a stop? Trying to decide if we should take the train from Dublin to Cork and then rent a car for the remainder of the trip or rent a car when leaving Dublin and do overnight in Cashel (or somewhere close). Advice on itinerary appreciated as well (stops, # of nights, etc.).

Thurs, March 31: Land Dublin airport 1:20pm
Thurs, March 31 - Sat, April 2: Dublin (2 nights)
Sat, April 2: Drive to Kilkenny or somewhere else? (1 night) - heard this area is nice, but also heard Glendalough is nice too?
Sun, April 3: Cashel, Cahir, drive to Dingle (long day but doable or skip it?)

---- OR skip Kilkenny, Cashel, Cahir and take train from Dublin to Cork and either spend extra night in Dublin or extra night Kenmare? -----

Sun, April 3 - Tues, April 5: Dingle (2 nights)
Tues, April 5-Thurs, April 7:Kenmare (2 nights) - ring of beara, torc waterfall
Thurs, April 7-Sat, April 9: Kinsale (2 nights) - day trip to cobh, cork?
Sat, April 9: Drop rental car at Cork airport, fly out Sat, April 9 at 11:40am

Would be nice to stay somewhere in between Kinsale and Kenmare where we can do all sights and not move around every 2 nights but don't think there's really a good in between...

On a budget so would like to stay at B&B's, not hotels (also to get that Irish hospitality experience).Thank you so much!

Posted by TC

Atlanta

01/15/16 03:19 PM

5196 posts

To me Rock of Cashel is worth a stop. Kilkenny is not that far away, but is not as impressive. I might drop Kilkenny, but not Cashel. Just my opinion.

Posted by Craig

Chicago

01/15/16 04:10 PM

555 posts

Janinet1202: Hello. And hello to beautiful South Africa. (I want to visit South Africa some day!)

I have visited Ireland five times. Where you decide to go depends on what you want to do.

My strongest opinion is to visit the Dingle Peninsula on the West Coast. You mention that you enjoy the outdoors and nature. Dingle is ideal for that. It's green, sweet, wet and beautiful. There is a 100-mile-long walking trail called the Dingle Way (http://www.dingleway.com/trail-maps/index.php). I walked its entire length in 2010. The views of the Atlantic Ocean and Dingle Bay are stunning. The main city is Dingle Town, which is pleasant. Two gorgeous, very small villages that do not draw a lot of overnight stays are Cloghane on the north coast and Dunquin on the very western tip of the peninsula. On Dingle, there are tons of antiquities (beehive huts, Gallarus Oratory, cracked Minard Castle, Brendan's Hut, Kilmakeder Church). If you don't want to walk, rent bicycles. Dingle is great for bicycling. I'd spend two days on Dingle. Try to book a tour from Dingle Town to the Blasket Islands, where there are more antiquities. A boat takes you out to the islands.

You asked if Cashel is worth a stop. I think it is, if your schedule allows it. In fact, I've seen Cashel twice, though the second time was to show it to my sister. I like Cashel because I love antiquities. It's a magnificent ruin. I've seen close to a 100 antiquities in Ireland. I hesitate to rank them. Cashel is definitely near the top, though it draws crowds.

As for Dublin, here is another idea. Ten miles south of Dublin, and you're out of the city and in the Wicklow hills. Like Dingle, Wicklow is green, sweet, wet and beautiful and good for walking or bicycling. There is a 100-mile-long walking trail called the Wicklow Way (http://www.wicklowway.com/). In 1999 I walked that trail, too. So if you spend an extra day and night in Dublin or near it, you can spend a day or part of it walking the trail (or bicycling) and seeing sites. You'll see incredible antiquities in Glendalough, which I've visited three times. It's the site of a 1,000-year-old-plus monastery founded by St. Kevin. You'll also see a couple glacial trenches and stunning scenery in Wicklow. You can either stay in Dublin to see Glendalough or spend the night in Laragh, the nearest town to the Glendalough site. (I'd go with Laragh.) If you decide to spend an extra day & night in the east to see Glendalough, then I would recommend skipping Cashel to accommodate your schedule.

While in Dublin, try to see a play at the Abbey Theater or Gate Theater. The acting is better at the Gate; the plays are better at the Abbey. Take a literary pub crawl. Visit the Dublin Writer's Museum. Kilmainham Jail is a fascinating site. The National Gallery and National Museums of Ireland are fascinating. If you have time for only one, I'd see the Irish art in the gallery. I like the Old Jameson Distillery tour, though I'm not a hard liquor drinker. If a hurling match is going on at Croke Park, see that. (And look for the house across from the main entrance of Croke. I spent a night in there like 15 years ago). There's a new stadium in Dublin, Aviva, but I've never seen it. Drink lots of beer!

Despite all my visits to Ireland, I've never been to Kinsale or Kenmare.

Let me know if you have questions.

Posted by Nancy

Bloomington, IL, USA

01/15/16 06:05 PM

9371 posts

I'm with TC - I would drop Kilkenny before I skipped the Rock of Cashel. It is one of the iconic sites in Ireland (and Cahir is only maybe 30 minutes away).

Posted by Archimedes

Fairfax, Virginia

01/15/16 09:46 PM

348 posts

I'm not sure you need to drop anything. With a reasonably early start you can stop at Glendalough and still get to Kilkenny in the late afternoon. But if you are going to skip one, then I'd also suggest seeing Cashel. Good call on Kenmare instead of Killarney.

Posted by janinet1202 OP

01/17/16 06:04 AM

9 posts

Thanks all for the great feedback! I wasn't so much trying to figure out if we should skip Cashel to include Kilkenny, but more if we should skip doing Cashel completely to take the train from Dublin to Cork so we had more time at Dingle, Kenmare, etc. But after reading the responses, I feel we definitely shouldn't skip Cashel :) Thanks all!

So the rest of the itinerary looks good? Enough time in each spot? I've heard Gendalough is nice :) Are there any other suggestions of where to stay half way between Dublin and Dingle?