I will be going to Ireland with DH and his parents and brothers/SIL. It's for his Dad's retirement/birthday. We'll be there for 10 days and the guys will golf for 4-5 of the days which leaves the women free. We will have a driver so we could do day trips. We have 2 days in Kinsale, 4 days in Killarney and 3 just outside Shannon. It looks like there are lots of walks we could do which would be good for a few days but one of the group is not really a nature, outdoorsy type person.
Any suggestions on activities? Shopping, pubs, museums, castles? I'm open to all recommendations.
Can you get to Doolin? We had such a great time there. There are a few bars within walking distance and they actually play trad, not American music. Also, you can catch the boat to the Aran Islands. We stayed in Ireland for two weeks and had a fantastic time. Our favorite thing was the Aran Islands. Once you get there, you can rent a bike and it's a lot of fun. Don't count on the hiking because weather may be an issue. We also enjoyed walking around Galway.
Ideas: - Ring of Kerry road trip - Dingle Peninsula road trip - Drive up to Doolin, near Cliffs of Moher, and take a ferry to one of the Aran Islands for the day - Drive up to see the Burren - See the Cliffs of Moher (aka the Cliffs of Insanity from the Princess Bride)
Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher, no question. So much great music and stunning scenery! The Dingle peninsula drive is also lovely, and the town has tons of cute shops for browsing.
We must have timed it wrong, but when we drove to Doolin we found absolutely nothing. I mean, zero. I was so disappointed after seeing all the comments here.
The Dingle Peninsula drive is lovely. Definitely visit the cliffs. We also walked around the Burren a bit and found it interesting.
Great recommendations already. We went to western Ireland in March. We started in Galway, spent a few days there, including a day drive around Connemara, including a stop at Kylemore Abbey. We did both the ring of Kerry and Ring of Dingle, and spent a night in Kenmare and Dingle, both had good pubs. If you do the ring of Kerry, stop at Skellig chocolates - they are amazing!
We stayed in Killarney but hated the village - it's very touristy. We did enjoy Muckross while there and a light bit of hiking.
Blarney castle is also cool and worth a visit. The grounds are pretty and we wish had spent just a bit more time there, but we went late in the day.
We're going next month. All good suggestions so far.
Our itinerary includes day trips to Cobh, Dingle, and Doolin to catch a ferry out to one of the Aran Islands. DH hasn't seen the Cliffs of Moher, so that's a must this time. We're hoping to stick around for some traditional session music at one of their pubs. We also plan to explore Killarney National park and the sights there.
I'm a weirdo who actually likes Killarney, we're getting an apartment there for the week.
Adare is cute, and a million years ago I did a side trip from there to Askeaton. We got a locals' tour of the castle and abbey ruins.
Whatever you do, if you're going to see ruins, avoid Staigue Fort on the Ring of Kerry. It was one of those single lane roads where I feared death at every turn. I much preferred the forts and castle at Cahersiveen, followed by lunch at Fertha.