Revising Ireland Itinerary

[artnbarb]

After some great ideas from @Eleanor , and some reading, I'm revising our itinerary, but I'm still not sure if I've gotten it right. Here's my revised itinerary, with my questions at the end:

Days 1-4 Arrive Dublin
Wed-Sat Sightseeing, Dublin Sleep in Dublin 4 nights

Days 5-6 Drive to Glendalough, then on to Kilkenny
Sun-Mon Walking tour of Kilkenny/Kells Priory/Jerpoint Abbey Sleep 2 nights in Kilkenny

Days 7-9 Drive to Cashel (or not?), then thru County Wexford, on the way to Kinsale
Tues-Thurs Walking tour of Kinsale, Charles Fort, Cobh Sleep 3 nights in Kinsale

Days 10-11 Drive to Muckross House/Farm on the way to Kenmare
Fri-Sat Drive Ring of Beara Sleep 2 nights in Kenmare

Days 12-15 Ring of Kerry
Sun-Wed Dingle Peninsula Loop
Blasket Island, Dingle town,
stone forts Sleep 4 nights in Dingle

Days 16-17 Ferry from Tarbert to Killimer, to Galway, Medieval banquet
Thurs-Fri Cliffs of Mohr, The Burren Sleep 2 nights in Galway

Day 18 Fly to England
Sat

I think this still needs some tweaking, but I'm really not sure what to change. I feel like I could cut one night in Kinsale and add it to Galway. Thoughts?

And what about Cashel? Is it really 'just a pile of rubble'? Worth a detour, or not?

While I realize our priorities and 'must-sees' might be different from others, and also realizing that we will never see everything in such a short time, I welcome any and all advice in fine-turning this itinerary. Thank you!

 

[Chris]

I'm definitely not an expert, but my first and only trip to Ireland followed your route from Dublin to Kilkenny to Kinsale to Kenmare (and then we went on to Shannon and home from there). Based on that tiny bit of experience, I would give Kilkenny another day and one less to Kinsale. I just loved Kilkenny. I think we were there 3 days and 4 nights. One day we visited the castle and gardens, and the other two days we took drives in the surrounding area, including a visit to the little town where the tv series Ballykissangel was filmed. I don't know if your accommodations are set, but we loved the Dunromin B&B. Nothing fancy, but the breakfast was wonderful and the owners Val and Tom were adorable. (And memorable -- that was more than 10 years ago and the thought of them still makes me smile.)

 

[artnbarb]

thanks @Chris , just the sort of feedback I was hoping for!

 

[Ian Sutton]

I hope you're listening to some Garth Brooks albums before heading out west. The do like their country music out there.

 

[artnbarb]

@Ian Sutton , we're not big country music fans, but I'll try to catch up before we go!

 

[Eleanor]

Cashel is wonderful and much much more than ‘a a pile of rubble’. Where did that description come from? Another description could be “One of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe.” Do a google image search as it will give an impression of just how good it is.

The first view of the ‘pile of rubble’ on top of a hill towering over the surrounding landscape is awe inspiring. There is a round tower, ruined cathedral and castle as well as Cormac’s chapel with the remains of C12th wall paintings. It is quite a complex site and it might be worth trying to join a Heritage Ireland guided tour.

Cashel town is also a very attractive small Irish town and it is worth trying to spend some time walking around it.

Personally I would remove a day from Kinsale and add it to Galway as that would give you chance to see something of Connemara - scenically this is very good and to be honest, I actually prefer County Galway to Kerry...

 

[artnbarb]

Cashel is wonderful and much much more than ‘a a pile of rubble’. Where did that description come from?

I read it on another site, and found it hard to believe, so thank you for that resounding recommendaation!

Now my only dilemma is do I drop one day from Dingle to add to Kilkenny, or keep it at 2 nights in Kilkenny and 4 in Dingle? Please vote now!

 

[Eleanor]

Work out what you want to see and do in Dingle and how much time you need to allow for this. Then do the same for Kilkenny and compare results...

 

[artnbarb]

Work out what you want to see and do in Dingle and how much time you need to allow for this. Then do the same for Lilkenny and compare results...

So hard to decide by just reading!

 

[Eleanor]

The Dingle peninsula and all its attractions (Gallarus Oratory, Kilmalkedar Church, Colaiste Ide Ogham Stones, Reask Cross Pillar, Fahan beehive huts, Famine cottage at Slea Head) can be done in a day. The Blasket Islands will take another day. This makes two days, three nights. However if the Blasket Islands are a top priority, you may want to build an extra day into the itinerary to allow for bad weather...

 

[artnbarb]

More reading is in my future!

 

[Tbk]

I just returned from my first trip to Ireland. I spent 3 days in Kinsale and can recommend the Old Presbytery B & B. I then did a hiking tour for a week based in Kenmare. I only traveled by public transport or tour arranged transport so can't offer much more info.

 

[Eleanor]

Welcome to the forum Tbk. Never having used public transport in Ireland, how easy did you find it to get around? Where did you go/do by public transport from Kemare?

 

[artnbarb]

I just returned from my first trip to Ireland. I spent 3 days in Kinsale and can recommend the Old Presbytery B & B. I then did a hiking tour for a week based in Kenmare. I only traveled by public transport or tour arranged transport so can't offer much more info.

thanks, I'll check it out!

 

[Steve R.]

Some questions: your itinerary, at various points, takes you thru or near Cork, Waterford and Killarney, all places that we've been told to see &/or use as a base. Are you stopping at any of these and, if not, are they just not of interest to you? Thanks.

 

[Eleanor]

all places that we've been told to see &/or use as a base

Are these places you actually want to see &/or use as a base? Friends can be very good at telling you where to go. What may be right for them, may not be right for you...

I was very disillusioned by Killarney which does get very busy with tourists, and much prefer Kenmare as a base.

I'm also not sure that I would want to use Cork as a base, although Cobh seems to be popular. Kinsale was very much on the tourist itinerary a few years ago when it marketed itself as a foodie town.

Waterford wouldn't be top of my list either.