Wife & I've tickets to dub for 1st IR visit. Unsure whether planned too much/little. Be most appreciative of any suggestions/feedback! Arr dublin 9am apr 8 to Boinne ctr & newgrange, B&B @Ardee. 9: to co down, ancestral home. Apr10 cath & prot cabtours belfast, UlsterFolkMus &Jackson home. 11: antrim coast/glens/causeway. 12: scenic route (maybe from coleraine via ringsend, dungiven, past moneyneany thru glenelly valley) thru sperrin mtns to Pres wilson homestead nr strabane then ulster american folk park nr Omagh. Sunday, Apr 13 need recommendations for scenic route to sligo (maybe along lough erne) & on to westport area for B&B. Again, sights needed to break up the latter drive. Apr 14 to connemara via louisburgh & clifden then lynch house in galway & would like to spend nite in doolin--too much for 1 day? Apr 15 cliffs of moher & maybe more thru the Burren, to lahinch, kilmer-tarbert ferry & on to Tralee for that night & next w apr 16 to dingletown then on to peninsula circle & back to Tralee. Or should we give up advantage of 2 nights in one place, tralee, & have at least one nite in dingletown? Apr 17 thru killarney natl park, taking which route? & on to kenmare/glengarriff or past but expect to forego ring of kerry. Apr 18 bypass cork but go to rock of cashel. Apr 19 bypass clonmel & waterford to kennedy homestead & dunbrody famine ship & maybe "National 1798 visitor centre"? Apr 20 wicklow mts via arklow, glendalough, sally gap & ?powercourt gardens? & circle around dub to B&B northeast of airport for 2 nites. Apr 21 catch some form of rapid transit into dub: book of kells, huguenot cemetery at st stephens green, & hop on/off bus tour---unsure of other hop-off points.
Posted by
westminster, md, usa
196 posts
WOW! I am worn out just thinking of your itinerary. I have not been to Coleraine, however, it would be a good stop for the night on the 11th. That way you can get up the next day to enjoy your treck thru the Sperrin Mts to Omagh. My recommedations from Omagh to Sligo to Westport whould be to take the A32 to Enniskilen then take the N16 toward Sligo w/a side trip to Glencar Water fall & Drumcliff(yeats country). Once in Sligo the road south is N17 to N5 to Westport. Silgo and Mayo have some of the best main roads in Ireland. What you have packed in for the 14th is rather alot. On the 14th I would do Kylemore, skip Clifden, but enjoy scenic trip from Westport to Galway City. I would spend the night in Galway and enjoy the town, by this time you will need some down time. In the morning you can go off to Clare: Burren, doolin & clifs. You mentioned 2 nights in Tralee, make the 2 nights in Dingle and only one in Tralee. You are smart to 'skip' the ring. Do Killarney national park
Posted by
westminster, md, usa
196 posts
and head to Kenmare, but be sure to stop on the N71 to see Torc Falls just south of Muckross house(that is what I ment by Killarny National park in my last note). Glengarriff is a nice little town and it is said that in the summer Maureen O'Hara lives there, though I've never seen her there. :)
have fun!
Posted by
OP
Alabama, USA
42 posts
claregirl, thanx so much for responses. Yes, we tend to plan too much & to push ourselves, but retired, we enjoy full 'vacations' & can rest when get home. Still too much is too much for us too. Coleraine vicinity is where we had in mind to find a B&B on nite of 11th. On our previous trip, alps & germany, we soon gave up locating recomended B&B & just looked for a zimmer frei sign. Was shoulder season & they seemed just as good & were reached easier than trying to find a difficult address across town. Thats another reason we prefer lodging in small towns or along/off hiway, also less $. We're just not city folks & r budget-oriented. I've located kylemore on map but unclear what is there? We hoped to spend nite in doolin for the music that eve. We r big on natural scenery, also historic places. We'd have only 2 nites for either dingletown or tralee, sorry if i made it sound like 3. Also appreciate the ideas on where/what to go/do in killarney park. Again, thank you!
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
It's natural you want to cram as much as you can into your trip, but unless you are the kind of travellers that pull your car into a sight, poke around for 10 minutes, snap a photo of the sign at the entrance and then head out, I think you are being over-ambitious on certain days.
Take into account how long it takes to drive from one point to the next. Going 50 miles along Irish roads takes a lot longer than 50 miles of American highway. Major roads in Ireland are often plagued by traffic jams or construction delays. My relatives live in Western Ireland and are regularly stopped by American drivers who are lost. Just last year while staying with them I had 4 cars pull up alongside me while walking down the back roads in a 3 day span full of lost Americans.
Posted by
OP
Alabama, USA
42 posts
Ceidleh, thank u for the reply. We aren't 10 min stop travelers; tend to stop at many scenic overlooks, historic sites, occasional museum or town stroll, etc. Our stops r probly typical length, some more. So sounds like we're trying to cover too much ground some days. Are there particular days in itinerary that u see as 'too much'? That info would be most helpful. Tho some days r more & some less, i think I've roughly figured us as averaging 100 'distance'/hiway miles/day, wo counting sidetrips to off-route locations, meals, lodging,etc. How realistic is that? Uneasy that we've not allowed enough time for days in west: 1: from omagh to westport 2: espec westport to doolin via connemara & galway's lynch house 3: from doolin thru burren, moher & ferry to tralee 4: tralee to dingle peninsula & back. Where do you all see some slack days (or cut out some locations/sites) where we could have more time for the 4 days just listed? Aditional responses & thots apreciated. again, thx ceidleh
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Just as you said, you are uneasy about your itinerary for Western IRE. I'd rethink how many sites you must see for those days, and also some of your Northern IRE days seem quite rushed. It's NOT that it can't be done, it just seems like you will be gulping down lunch in your car as you push on to the next sight and you haven't given yourself much down time when you arrive at your designated B&B towns.
Whatever the "suggested" driving time is between sites, I'd double that in my head to be more realistic (i.e., 1 hour can actually be closer to 2 hours).