Four of us will be traveling to Cork the 12th of May. A wedding will keep us in Cork for 4 days. We'd then prefer to do a western drive, including the Ring of Fire, and up through the Cliffs og Mohr. We need to be back in Cork for a flight out on May 25.
Since this is our first trip, we'd be very grateful for any advice. We really dont have a desire to do Dublin, or the cities, prefering instead the towns and villages, and the natural wonders! We are, however, open to suggestions! We were thinking about booking B&B's as we go, will that be an issue at this time of year? Is it a better idea to purchase the vouchers, or wing it?
thanks!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
....and as a piggy-back to Regina, can you purchase vouchers without the car rental, and if so, how, and how much?
Posted by
OP
Hartstown, PA
3 posts
Ed, I do have a web address for purchasing the B&B vouchers only, www.irishtourism.com%252Findependent-vacations-ireland%252Fb-and-b-vouchers.htm.
They were 38euros per person per night.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I'm assuming you mean the Ring of Kerry, not the Ring of Fire? If you start at Kenmare and go that direction you'll want to head toward the Killimer-Tarbert ferry across the Shannon instead of going around through Limerick to get to the Cliffs. It's a 20-min. river crossing on a car ferry which will save you driving time and frustrations with Limerick's traffic.
I wouldn't worry too much about finding B&Bs - they are all over, and they will all be open at that time of year. You won't have a problem booking as you go. One problem with vouchers during the busier season is that B&B owners would rather take a cash-paying customer rather than wait for reimbursement from the voucher people. During slow times they take them readily, but when it's busier you might find few that want to deal with them. They won't tell you that they won't take them, they'll just be "full".
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
I would read up on Dingle, The Aran Islands, and The Connemmara area to get started. We enjoyed them all. One highlight for us was staying in Westport (north of the Connemmara area) and climbing Croagh Patrick. As for B&B's, we booked most of ours before leaving home. We traveled in September and it appeared many places were available in the more touristy areas. However, the one night we did not have a reservation was for a small town called Ballyshannon (we planned to visit the nearby Beleek factory)...and we had a hard time finding a place. All the B&B's said "no vacancy". We finally located one and the owner told us that September was late in the season and many owners just put up "no vacancy" rather than sit home and hope someone comes by and stays with them. You might keep that in mind if you plan to stay in smaller towns and villages. Not sure what May would be like, but I imagine it is considered shoulder season like September.
Posted by
OP
Hartstown, PA
3 posts
The more we read about the Dingle Pennisula, the more we think we may want to make that our second base.
Does anyone have suggestions on B&B's, cottages, etc?
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10601 posts
We liked the Milestone House in Dingle. If you plan to drive around the Dingle Peninsula they provide a fantastic hand drawn map with all the best places to stop. They also give you a hand drawn map of Dingle Town and all the pubs, restaurants, stores, etc. and will advise you on the best places for music, food, etc. In addition, they serve the best breakfast I have ever had at any B&B. Okay, I'll admit the lobster omelets we had in Maine were pretty darn good too. ;-)
Posted by
Spring, Texas
635 posts
I'm going over in late May and every B&B I contact to make reservations with has had opening. I would personally be a little concerned about going without reservations but it appears you're pretty safe in May. Somebody will have a room. Of course, standing there in the rain and dark asking may not get you the best rate.