Waterford & Kilkenny or Kilkenny and Rock of Cashel

My vote would to the Rock of Cashel first, then Kilkenny. I'm a sucker for castles and ancient history, though, so it's an easy choice. Kilkenny also has a nice castle and some other interesting places. St. Canices has a tower you can climb and get a great view of the town (weather permitting).

I agree with Anita. Not much to see in Waterford, really. I would definitely recommend Rock of Cashel.

I would also recommend Rock of Cashel over Waterford.

From talking to the locals they all advised Waterford is nice but really not worth the trip.
If your in the area of Kilkenny I would suggest you stop by Jerpoint Glass studio, you can watch them blow glass and probably have a great time and not have to bother going to Waterford.

We enjoyed Kilkenny and Rock of Cashel. We didn't include Waterford in our travels because it wasn't very highly recommended.

So it seems Waterford is a must for my sister (who knew!) Is it possible if we start out early to go from Tyrellsspass - Rock of Cashel - Waterford (really only going for the crystal museum and probably a bite to eat) to Kilkenny back to Tyrellspass? I know it's a lot, but I've heard such great things about the Rock of Cashel and I really want to see Kilkenny castle as well as walk around the main part of town. Thoughts?

I was not enchanted with Kilkenny. We had difficulty finding parking anywhere near the "castle". which is less of a castle and more of a mansion. I really wouldn't skip Rock of Cashel, if I were you. You might look at the driving times listed for the separate legs of your proposed day at www.viamichelin.com. Add about 25% to get a truer picture of how long it will take to get from place to place, and keep in mind that their times do not include ANY stops. Maybe after you look at how long it takes, you can make better judgements about your priorities. You are going to want at least an hour or two at Rock of Cashel once you get there. Not sure about how much time you will need in Waterford, since I haven't been there since before the factory closed. The tour now is not at all the same, but I have no idea of the timing.

We didn't stop at Waterford, so I can't contribute on that city, but we really liked both the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny. If you decide to stay in Kilkenny for the night, I can recommend the Pembroke Hotel (if you book on their website, you can get a discount, and if the site doesn't want to take your info, try calling--I did that and got another 5€ off!). It had the best wifi of our entire trip, terrific bathroom and wonderful beds, is right around the corner from the castle, has an excellent restaurant right across the street called Zuni, next door to a decent pub with fireplace, and best of all, has off the street parking. When we asked if we could leave our car there even after we checked out while we shopped at the artisans store in the castle's old stable block, they had no problem with that at all.

Kilkenny was just very charming to me--when we stopped for an after-shopping pot of tea at the teashop on the corner near the hotel before hitting the road for Clonmacnoise, we had a lovely chat with a young mother whom we met when her toddler spilled his milk all over and I helped her mop him up. Turns out she and her husband were dairy farmers, which is what my mom's dad did, so Mom and she had lots to talk about. I ended up learning all about the details of Irish dairy farming, which was just fascinating to me!

As for the Rock, it was rainy when we were there (first time on day 12 of our trip!), but luckily, most of the downpour happened before and after we were walking around. I did get lots of great photos, and the guide's talk was very informative.

If your sister wants to stop at Waterford Crystal Factory it can be a quick stop. We stopped at the Waterford Showroom on our last visit. Since we had taken the tour on a previous trip we just looked at all the beautiful items in the very upscale showroom, had tea in the cafe, and bought a few gifts. I think it is an interesting place to visit if you like Waterford Crystal. All the Waterford Crystal in one place, they make it easy for you to purchase and will ship it home (for a fee of course).

There is a tour offered. I think there is a small fee for the ticket. The tour shows artists working on larger specialized pieces (some one of a kind) and takes you through the process of how Waterford Crystal is made. Some of the detailed work is now automated and you will see that too. It is not the same tour given at the factory years ago, however we found it interesting. We particularly liked seeing the specialized pierces found at the end of the tour to include a beautiful piece honoring the rescue workers on 9/11.

Many Waterford crystal pierces are no longer made in Ireland. If you see a piece you like make sure to check the bottom to determine where it is made. The employees will not generally tell you where the crystal pieces are made so you need to do that yourself if this matters to you. Also, tour buses line up to drop off their passengers at the showroom/factory. Try to get there early or in the late afternoon to avoid the crowds.

We drove to Jerpoint Abbey after Waterford but did not stop in Kilkenny. We thought Jerpoint Abbey was one of the highlights of our trip. In 2011 we had the place to ourselves as there were very few people at this site. We visited Kilkenny on another trip to Ireland along with visiting the Rock of Cashel. Enjoyed Kilkenny and the ROC. If I had to pick a place due to time restrictions it would be the ROC.
Barbara