We are a family of 4 - My husband, my son (23 yrs old), my daughter (22 years old) and myself. We are active and enjoy traveling. My husband loves history, I love music,landscapes, architecture, hiking, food and culture. My daughter loves everything and is active. My son has not done as much traveling as my daughter and this will be his first trip to Europe so I think he will enjoy anything. We all enjoy meeting the locals and enjoying a pint in a fun place with live music. We all are animal lovers and hoping to possibly see working dog trials at some location along the way. Any local festivals would be fun as well. I don't want to be constantly running, I want to enjoy leisurely days occasionally, where as my husband would push us each day to see as much as possible which can be stressing and draining. I have to remind him it is a vacation and is supposed to be rejuvenating and stress free!
Basics so far. We are flying into Glasgow, Scotland on the 22nd of May and arrive at around 3 p.m. We are planning on spending the evening in Glasgow and flying to Dublin the next morning on the 23rd. We will be picking up a rental car in Dublin and leaving for Galway - thinking about stopping at Locke Distillery and Clanmacnoise on the way. Explore Galway when we arrive. Spend the night on the 23rd and explore Connemara Natl Park and Kylemore Abbey area then back to Galway. Spend the 24th in Galway and head to the Cliffs of Moher the following day and explore that area. Considering taking the shannon ferry route or going to Limerick?? Not sure which route to take. Need to find somewhere to stay on the 25th of May in that area. Then we will head to Killarney for a nights stay on the 26th of May and then Ring of Kerry area. Would like to spend 2 to 3 days in the Dingle area (27th-29th) then move on to spend a night on the way back to Dublin, In either Cork, Waterford, or somewhere of interest (29th or 30th). Then we will end out time in Ireland with a few nights in Dublin, to explore the area, architecture and pubs. We will fly back to Edinburgh on the 1st or 2nd of June and explore Scotland until our flight leaves Glasgow on the 7th of June at around noon I think. Not sure how much to try and see in Scotland during that time period. Interested in Loch Lomand, Inverness, Isle of Skye, Edinburgh, Glasgow,.... Would appreciate any suggestions or ideas on time frame required to see, drive and do things.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
Peg: We're planning the same approximate trip but a little earlier next Spring.
We're on Tripmasters.com mailing list, and have found their trips to extremely reasonable in cost. And they also get great ratings. We found we could get flights from our home airport, 6 days rental car and 7 nights hotels including breakfast for $1179. And they can custom craft any itinerary/city you want to see too.
Unless there's some specific reason to fly into and out of Scotland, I suggest flying directly into Dublin and out of Scotland--open jaw. We found out a long time ago that back tracking is expensive.
Posted by
OP
Iowa
2 posts
Our flights are booked through Iceland Air and they do not fly into Dublin from the Minneapolis route we are taking so those flights are set in stone can't change that. We are actually using their lay over feature on the way home and spending a couple nights in Iceland.
Posted by
RIchmond, BC,Canada
933 posts
I did not have a car when I was in Ireland, but I think your first day, the 23rd, when you pick up the car will be too much. You don't say what time you land, but it will take you some time to get out of the airport. Are you picking up your car at the airport? I spent about an hour at Clonmacnoise, could have stayed longer but the weather was nasty. By the time you get to Galway you may not have much time left in the day. I did a whole day trip to do the Connemara and Kylemore Abbey area so I'm not sure you can do it with what you will have left of your day. I can't comment a whole lot on the rest of your plans as without a car I did not have some of the options you will have. I did spend four nights in Killarney, though, as there's a lot to see in the area. My personal opinion would be to skip staying in Cork or Waterford for more interesting stops such as Kinsale or Kilkenny. As for Scotland, I'm guessing you are planning to rent a car for there was well? I had a car in Scotland and did the drive from Edinburgh to Inverness via St. Andrews and one other stop along the way. It is a long drive, and to get to Skye as well you may want to have more than four or five days. There is a lot to see in Edinburgh (I spent six nights) and you can get guided day tours to Loch Lomand and several other places which would save you from having to rent a car again. Hopefully Pamela will weigh in on this as she is far more experienced with Scotland than I am.
Posted by
3123 posts
Scotland advice: you only have a few days so it will be important to choose your priorities and limit your geographic range. Distances are deceptive because most roads are narrow and winding, therefore slower than they look on a map.
Edinburgh itself has plenty to see for at least 2 full days, but if you're determined to get out into the countryside you could spend one full day and then head for a smaller destination such as Stirling. From there you can take the scenic A811 to Loch Lomond. In Edinburgh I'd recommend the castle and Royal Mile, and/or the National Museum (which has the Tower Restaurant on top). On Loch Lomond, near the southwestern end is Duck Bay, a hotel and restaurant with commanding view of the loch. Further up the western shore is the quaint village of Luss, where small boat tours of the loch go out. Cruise Loch Lomond was the boat operator we went with and they were wonderful (and we were extremely lucky with the weather). The very southern tip of Loch Lomond at Balloch is full of boat tours and even a seaplane; I can't comment on the quality but expect the atmosphere to be rather crowded & touristy in that location.
Driving from Loch Lomond to Glasgow Airport takes only about 1 to 1.5 hours. You'll take the A82 south through Dumbarton, then follow signs to the Erskine Bridge, then the M8 toward Glasgow to the airport exit. The rental car dropoff is literally a stone's throw from the Holiday Inn Express and the regular Holiday Inn (have stayed at both; both are OK but the Holiday Inn especially nice) and easy walking distance along a covered, paved sidewalk to the terminal.