Critique my Ireland itinerary, please!

[Deleted]

I found an amazing air fare deal last week, so we are officially booked for Ireland for nine days in late summer. So, I'm in full planning mode for a road trip. I'm looking for critique on my working itinerary:

2 nights in Dublin (3 full days, meeting up with friends, so this is set)
1 night in Kilkenny (via Glendalough, see Cashel)
1 night in Kinsale
2 nights in Dingle (via stop in Killarney and Killarney National Park)
2 nights in Galway (via Cliffs of Moher along the way)
1 night back in Dublin (early flight out the next morning)

Our travel style is not rushed, but energetic. We typically do early mornings and busy days and relaxing evenings. Rick Steve recommends leaving out Blarney and Ring of Kerry, so I have not included those here. I hope to see the Aran Islands and Connemara during our stay in Galway. I'm envisioning fun times in Dublin with our friends, then a more relaxing/romantic time focusing on beautiful scenery. We don't need to see every famous castle or ruin, but we both enjoy history and architecture. Help me with my itinerary, then I'll be back for lodging recs!

[sporky]

Personally, I felt that Kinsale was overrated. I would skip Kinsale in favor of spending an extra night in Kilkenny. That was one of my favorite towns that we visited! The rest is definitely doable and looks good!

[hz80408]

I just blogged about our 7 night trip we took in Oct if you're interestedhttp://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/2012/10/ireland-day-1.html

We saw the majority of what you're interested in, minus Galway (eta: here's a recent CNN article on how it's an under-rated cultural spot: www.cnn.com/2012/11/15/travel/under-the-radar-destinations/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10) Kilkenny was one of our favorite towns as well. However, I disagree with pp in that driving from Kilkenny to Dingle would take close to 4 hours; I think you need one overnight stop along the way.

If you stay in Kilkenny, leaving there you could see Cashel (which we liked) and you could event hit up Blarney (you'd probably want an hour here, maybe more 2 if you want to eat) on your way to Kinsale. (Look at Day 2 of our trip)

Dingle was cute, but I don't know if I'd want 2 nights there. We spent one afternoon there and that was plenty for us. I would maybe do 2 nights in Kilkenny, one night in Kinsale followed by one night in Dingle.

We skipped Ring of Kerry too. Although we did drive to Ladies View, which isn't far from Killarney at all. Cliffs of Moher were amazing.

3 full days in Dublin is plenty.

[osumelissa]

Kilkenny was a great town. I would also do an overnight stop between Kilkenny and Dingle - we did Blarney and actually we had a great time there. Dingle was our favorite place though. We did two nights there and it was perfect. For us it was the right amount of time since we rented bikes and did a day long bike ride around the peninsula. For us that was the preferable way to see the area.

After we left Kilkenny we stopped at the Rock of Cashel which I would recommend.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replies! This is very helpful. My reasoning for two nights in Dingle is because we can see both Killarney and Dingle from one base without unnecessarily changing hotels, and I think my husband would love to have a little relaxation time by the sea. It sounds like I have more research to do on whether to spend two nights in Kilkenny, or break it up with a night in Kinsale. We are somewhat foodies so that was the draw to Kinsale.

I may do a separate post for this - but those of you who have replied, do you have any lodging recs for any of these cities? I tend to steer toward boutique hotels or b&bs, and it seems b&b is the way to go for the most part in Ireland. I wouldn't mind staying in a castle for a night or two, either. I'm a big tripadvsor researcher, but personal recs are always best.

[hz80408]

I think you'd want som one night to break up Kilkenny to Dingle; if you do the Rock of Cashel and drive to Dingle, thats the majority of your day. I think it'd be great to stay in Kinsale or Blarney for one night in btwn. We were in Kinsale on a Sunday and found that most stores closed by 6pm. I'd keep that in mind. We ate at Fishy Fishy in Kinsale and it was probably the best meal of the trip (and not too expensive; maybe $75EU for 2 of us with wine).

We stayed in Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin (http://www.ballsbridgehotel.com/). It's a decent 20 minute walk from Steve's Square. They have older and newer rooms, because we booked at a package, we got an old room, which was fine for sleeping, but I probably wouldn't recommend. The newer rooms looked really nice.

We stayed at Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny (http://www.flynnhotels.com/Newpark_Hotel_Kilkenny). The facility was nice (and included a great buffet breakfast), our room was moderate to slightly outdated, but comfortable. It was a 10 minute walk to downtown. We walked in Langton House, which looked really nice www.langtons.ie/

[Susie]

Nov 19, 2012 8:37:34 GMT -5 sporky said:

Personally, I felt that Kinsale was overrated. I would skip Kinsale in favor of spending an extra night in Kilkenny. That was one of my favorite towns that we visited! The rest is definitely doable and looks good!

I agree re: Kinsale.

One town that I loooooved is Doolin, very near the Cliffs of Moher. If you could fit a night in there, maybe instead of Kinsale, I found it worth it.

I also really liked Dingle. Have fun!

[hz80408]

Nov 20, 2012 11:29:21 GMT -5 Susie said:

Nov 19, 2012 8:37:34 GMT -5 sporky said:

Personally, I felt that Kinsale was overrated. I would skip Kinsale in favor of spending an extra night in Kilkenny. That was one of my favorite towns that we visited! The rest is definitely doable and looks good!

I agree re: Kinsale.

One town that I loooooved is Doolin, very near the Cliffs of Moher. If you could fit a night in there, maybe instead of Kinsale, I found it worth it.

I also really liked Dingle. Have fun!

Lol, we found Doolin to be very the middle of nowhere, but it was cute (and had a good fudge shop). Maybe do one night in Dingle and one night in Doolin?

[Deleted]

My new thought - 2 nights in Kilkenny, drive to Dingle in one day but leave early morning and stop in Killarney for the better part of the day before continuing on to Dingle for 2 nights? We'd do Cashel the day before while staying in Kilkenny rather than en route to Dingle. Looks like a pretty straight shot, 3 hours from Kilkenny to Killarney, spend a few hours there, and then drive another hour or so on to Dingle.

So it would look like:
2 nights Dublin
2 nights Kilkenny
2 nights Dingle
2 nights Galway
1 night Dublin

[hz80408]

I think that's a good plan, but I would also incorporate Rock of Cashel (its on the way, allow for an hour or so there).

I think Dingle and Kinsale are pretty comparable in terms of size/stores/"cuteness", so I don't think it's a huge pitty to pass on Kinsale