First time to Ireland. Will be traveling some time in late April early May. Will this work? Do you suggest any other sights along the way? Day 1 & 2: Arrive Ireland. Sleep in Dublin 2 nights. See sites. Day 3: Leave Dubling to Kilkenny: Powerscourt & Glendalough. Overnight Kilkenny. Smithwicks Brewery? Kilkenny Castle. Day 4: Leave Kilkenny for Cashel & Cahir. Overnight Kinsale. Day 5 & 6: Leave Kinsale for Dingle. Overnight Dingle 2 nights. Dingle Peninsuler. Day 7 & 8: Leave Kinsale for Galway, via Burren & Cliffs of Moher. Connemara (If Galway is to far, is there another town that you would recommend? Day 9: Leave early for Shannon fly home.
Also, there will be 6 adults. Has anyone rented a mini van from Budget Rental? They claim it fits 7 adults & 3 suitcase's and 2 small bags. Since we have 6 adults we can use the extra room for the bags. We will all be using carry on's and each of us will have on very small bag the size of a backpac. Or will we need to rent two cars?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
The first part, Days 1-6, looks good. I'm sure on Day 7 you mean to leave from Dingle to Galway, right? The drive to the Cliffs, via the Killimer-Tarbert ferry, will take about four hours. You'll probably spend a couple of hours, at least, seeing the Cliffs and driving through the Burren. From there, Galway is another 90 minutes or so. So it will be a longish day, but doable. What part of Connemara did you want to see? It's a region, not a town, so there are several directions you could go. What time is your flight from Shannon? Is it on Day 9, or is Day 9 your last full day in Ireland? If your flight is actually on Day 9, you might want to skip the Connemara region all together and see Galway on Day 8. You'll be arriving in the evening and won't have time to do anything there otherwise. Galway to Shannon is going to be a little less than two hours, but allow time to check in your rental car, get back to the airport, and allow the required two hours+ to get through check-in, security, and US Customs before you go to your gate.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I suggest you rent two cars. "we can use the extra room for the bags" - there won't be any. The seventh seat is the middle of the back bench seat. That means that the only two people who will be happy with the arrangement are the driver and the front seat passenger. Everyone else will have bags on, between, and around them the whole time, which won't be comfortable (or safe), considering the amount of time you will be in the car. It's not possible to fit six adults, six suitcases, and six daybags into a vehicle meant for three suitcases and two daybags. You can't really trust what the rental places say, as far as luggage capacity. My son and I once rented a car in Ireland which claimed to hold two suitcases in its trunk. We each had a 21" bag and a small daybag. One suitcase and both daybags would fit, but not both suitcases. But since we needed the daybags accessible as we drove, we ended up with one suitcase in the trunk and the other (and both daybags) in the back seat. A third passenger would not have been happy.
Posted by
OP
SP, NY
21 posts
Thanks Nancy, your right, Dingle to Galway. We have not made our reservations yet. We are planning on leaving on day 9 with a late afternoon flight. We are also thinking of saving Galway for another trip if it is to much and spend two day somewhere else. Thank for the car info. Budget claims we can fit in the 7 pass van.
Posted by
Gladstone, MO, USA
18 posts
We thoroughly enjoyed Powerscourt & Glendalough! They are beautiful places. We had to miss Cashel due to a travel delay that caused us to miss a day in Ireland! :( Dingle was probably my favorite location in Ireland. You do want to drive over Conner Pass if it is a clear day. We went from Dingle to Galway via the Burren and Cliffs of Moher, no problem. We went to Connamarra after Galway. If you have time, take the ferry to Inish Mor (Aran Island). We flew in and out from Dublin and spent 3 days there. I wish now that we had spent another night outside of Dublin. There are interesting sights in Dublin, but I enjoyed the countryside much more than the big city! We rented a car (only 2 of us) from Enterprise. They upgraded us and we then had a VW Passat. Very comfortable and easy to drive. I would recommend that you pack as lightly as you can!