Graduation Trip Italy & Ireland

Hi pehbwh,

I'm going to give my best shot at a few comments here. Have you posted in the Ireland board as well?

Are you planning on using a tour group or private driver for the entire time in Ireland? We rented our own car and found it by far the best way to get around the countryside. It's my impression that there isn't a lot of public transportation, and if there is, it's slow.

Have you considered flying into Shannon? It would save you backtracking to Dublin. Unless, if you are taking a tour and it starts in Dublin so you need to be there first. I think your general time allotment in Ireland looks good. Though, Kenmare/Killarney area is PACKED with things to do and you may want another day there. I would highly recommend both the ROK and the Slea Head Drive.

Your Rome/Florence time looks a little short-changed to me. Especially considering that you'll possibly be recovering from some jet-lag. I would personally want 4 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Florence, especially for a first trip. Rome is FULL of historical things to see. Florence has lots of museums but you could take a day-trip tour out into the countryside if you wished. Never been to the AC so I have no comment for that leg of your travels.

Hope this helps!

I'd encourage you to reframe how you count days. Two nights in one location gives you 1 full day. You might have parts of days on either side of that but your itinerary has a lot of travel time in it so you probably won't have extra full days.

Florence has so much to see but if you are only going for 2 nights/1 full day, I would probably add that night to Rome where I feel you are shorting yourself some time. If you are planning to do your Vatican tour the AM of the day you go to Florence, I'm not sure you'll have time to do the tour, go by your hotel to pick up your bags, get to the train station, get from the train to the new hotel, check in, drop bags and then find your way to the Accademia before closing time. It could be done, just will feel rushed if you are unfamiliar with locations.

Your son might enjoy walking from the Circus Maximus up the Aventine Hill to the Aventine Keyhole. You look thru a keyhole in immense wooden doors to see a wonderful view of St Peters. The views on the way up are great and if the rose gardens are in bloom lovely to look at.

Just a few brief comments on Ireland. It's been 20 years, since I've been home. Dublin is small in comparison to NYC, but just doing a Guinness tour is fine for Dublin. And I agree, skip the ring of Kerry & visit Dingle. Go to the smallest bar you can find. There will surely be a sing song in one & good Irish as well as, great Guinness. That is the Ireland I fell in love with. Dingle is beautiful as well, but Dingle, is just, sigh....home. Cheers.

There is so much to see in Dublin it's a shame you are only planning to see Guinness (which isn't actually a tour of the brewing process). It's an expensive "free" pint and a lot of chances to buy the same souvenirs you can find all over Ireland. If it were me, I would want to see the city - maybe a tourist bus tour for an overview, Kilmainham Gaol, the national museums, Grafton St.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas! Based on feedback we have decided to switch up our trip, for Italy: Rome & Florence
not set in stone open for ideas... Hotel and restaurant recommendations as well as guides

Rome - we are looking for Hotel/B&B with A/C recommendations in a central but quiet local - 2 single beds or 2 double? It will be myself (mom) and 18 year old son. It is our first trip to Italy and we are history buffs not art lovers so we do not plan to go to museums...
1 day - colosseum, forum & pantheon
1 day - vatican & night walking tour of Rome
1 day - trip to pompeii (a friend recommended train or viator tour)
1 day - bourghese gardens and walking around (probably day we arrive)

Florence - we are looking for a nice hotel/B & B with A/C not too touristy - prefer layed back rather than stuffy feel. (Not set on 4 days here)
1 day - Academia,Duomo & Boboli gardens
1 day - Cinque Terre on a tour (friend recommended viators)
1 day - Car hire possible for RS heart of tuscany tour (Pienza & montepulciano)
1 day cooking class / wine tour / olive grove tour - would love something that has all 3!

We leave for Ireland after this so not sure of Flights from Florence.

Ireland: I was there 19 years ago (before my son) and spent 3 weeks. I drop a stick but it was a while ago and I was there with my brother (who did half the driving) and my mom. I loved the west coast. However I went May-June; this will be prime time so I am not sure how busy ROK or dingle get.

My son (18) and I (mom) are not art loves or museum people unless cool history artifacts... prefer hiking, natural outdoor sites etc. Looking for small hotels but prefer B & B (no castles) that let us come and go. we are looking forwards to local food and good music, with natural beauty. I don't want to drive after a pint so lodging in village with parking must.

Galway area is a must for me - aran isles, conamera
Killarney - park
Dingle and/or ROK - been to dingle loved it w/connor pass!
Kilkenny - need to go to urlingford to show my son where my dads family is from (dad was suppose to come on this graduation trip but he passed away from cancer 3 year ago; he helped me raise my son)
Dublin - trinity college, Guinness

I was told to rent a car (dooleys) and get CDW if I can... Love any more ideas!

Rome - Many travelers here recommend Ostia Antica as an alternative to Pompeii. It's another great site and it is much closer to Rome than Pompeii. We have yet to visit either - never enough time!

Florence - I don't think there are many here that would recommend the Cinque Terre as a day trip from Florence since it takes so long to get to. We spent three nights there on our honeymoon and I do feel that it is worth more than a day trip. I'd research your travel time involved and decide if it is worth it to you or not. If you're thinking of renting a car to do some exploring of Tuscany, I would change your CT day to an extra day in Tuscany so you have more time with your car to explore.

Other Italy Thoughts - You could consider Orvieto for a day trip from Rome, or possibly as a stop or a one night stay on the way to Florence. It has lots of great sights to see and you could even go to Civita di Bagnoregio from there. You could even pick up your rental car here but my understanding is that the Hertz in Orvieto can be a little unreliable. Perhaps others can weigh in more if you're interested in that.

Ireland - I would definitely get a car with full coverage. There are some super tight spots in Ireland and we saw many a car with damage! We rented with Avis and I had communication with them to make sure we were completely covered. Thankfully, we did not need it. We stayed at Friar's Glen in Killarney for a night (we had an uncomfortable bed at a B&B in Kenmare and decided to try something different). We wished we had stayed there for our entire time there - one of the absolute nicest B&Bs we've ever experienced. I would definitely plan to visit Muckross House as it's a fabulous tour and grounds. You can walk to the Torc Waterfall there via a lovely path as well. Ross Castle in Killarney is great as well.

Thanks for the info on CT... thought it was an exhausting day trip via viator.com but if it was worth while would do it. I was not thinking of renting a car however since we are now doing just Rome (4.5 days) and Florence (4 days) I may consider it however I was planning to do day trips with a guide (hopefully book via RS recommendations) for Heart of Tuscany tour and one other tour (prefer cooking class, wine tour or agriculture - really prefer all 3).

Thanks for the recommendations in Ireland - definitely will look at Friars Glen. I went to Killarney park but had not done my research and missed all that it has to offer - my son and I will definitely do it all!

I can recommend these B&B's in Ireland:
Kilkenny...Lawcus Farms
Dingle...Greenmount Guesthouse
Galway...The Seabreeze

We are going back in June and will be returning to both Dingle and Galway.

You seem to be overlooking, that for every hotel change, you lose about a half day.