Help me plan a trip to Ireland!

[Jeannie]

We're going to Ireland this summer, but the only thing booked so far is 3 nights in Ennis for a family reunion. I'm 99% sure we want to fly in and out of Shannon, and that we'll rent a car. After that, I'm stuck!

Ennis can be at the start or end of the trip. We're thinking 7-12 days total vacation. We've been to Dublin once before, so it doesn't have to be included this time, as we plan on a return trip in a few years. We've also been to the Cliffs of Moher, but wouldn't mind going back. I think it would be nice to stay at a B&B or a small rental to be able to walk to local pubs/shops... but we certainly like hotels as well! We're open to driving an hour or two for day trips or taking private tours.

Where would you go? What would you want to see?

 

[kanerf]

Keep in mind that most of the rental cars will have a standard transmission and you will be shifting with the left hand rather than the right. Takes some getting used to. You can request an automatic transmission, but it will cost more.

 

[Jeannie]

Keep in mind that most of the rental cars will have a standard transmission and you will be shifting with the left hand rather than the right. Takes some getting used to. You can request an automatic transmission, but it will cost more.

Oh, yes! I've already priced ONLY automatics!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I did a study abroad program in Ireland for a couple of months in college and did some travelling across the country. I found Kilkenny, Galway, Donegal, the Aran Islands and Skellig Michael to be quite beautiful and worth visiting. Skellig Michael was where parts of Star Wars The Force Awakens was filmed if anyone in your group is a Star Wars fan.

I also did a weekend in Blarney/Cork and stayed in a bed and breakfast. The Blarney stone is very touristy but the actual park the stone is in is very peaceful to walk through. I have never rented a car and only used Irish Rail, so I don't have any advice about driving in Ireland.

 

[pompetti]

Killarney National Park, drive the Dingle Pennisula and stay over near Dingle. I would also visit Galway. Perhaps a ferry out to the Aran Islands.

 

[Moliphino]

The Rock of Cashel is definitely worth seeing.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Galway is my favorite place in Ireland. I’ve especially enjoyed driving around Connemara and the Burren and Killarney NP and Kinsale are exceptionally pretty.

 

[kanne323]

It has been a few years since I've been there, my favorites are Killarney National Park (and really, the entire Ring of Kerry), Dingle Peninsula, Galway, and the donkey rescue in Co. Cork. We flew in and out of Shannon and stayed in AirBnBs in Lahinch and Killarney. The house in Lahinch was walking distance from the little village and the beach, which was great, and heading to Galway from there for a day took us through the Burren. We also stayed in Killarney, right on the edge of the national park.

For something a little bit different, if you like animals, the Donkey Sanctuary is a fun stop for an hour or two (or longer!)

 

[FQLover]

And to the north, you can throw in the Giant's Causeway, the Slieve Teague Mountains, and the Carrick-a-Redi Rope Bridge. All stunning.

Ireland is a magnificently beautiful country, including all the places mentioned up thread.

 

[Buzz Rules]

We're going to Ireland this summer, but the only thing booked so far is 3 nights in Ennis for a family reunion. I'm 99% sure we want to fly in and out of Shannon, and that we'll rent a car. After that, I'm stuck!

Ennis can be at the start or end of the trip. We're thinking 7-12 days total vacation. We've been to Dublin once before, so it doesn't have to be included this time, as we plan on a return trip in a few years. We've also been to the Cliffs of Moher, but wouldn't mind going back. I think it would be nice to stay at a B&B or a small rental to be able to walk to local pubs/shops... but we certainly like hotels as well! We're open to driving an hour or two for day trips or taking private tours.

Where would you go? What would you want to see?

I’m 1% Irish (still don’t know how but probably from one of my English ancestors), but it’s definitely on my bucket list to visit post Covid-19. You could also check out their national stadium if their national soccer/rugby teams are playing.

https://www.fai.ie/ireland/tickets-membership/upcoming-fixtures

 

[shoegal9]

I used to work in Derry/Londonderry. It’s a lovely city and a nice drive to Giant’s Causeway (and Bushmills). I think Northern Ireland is so underrated!

 

[badiggio]

Two places that were special for me were,Cobh{queenstown}in relation to "Titanic",as well as the Titanic museum next to the shipyards where it was built,in Belfast.

 

[Colleen27]

Shannon Airport is wonderful. So small and convenient and delightfully well organized, and you can even clear US customs before departure when returning home from there which is so much nicer than doing it later in a long travel day!

We only had a week and didn't try to see the whole country while we were there, so my advice is limited to the northern half of the island. Galway is a really fun town, great pubs and music, way too much good shopping. Check out Charlie Byrne's Bookshop if you're a reader, and it is worth knowing but dangerous to the wallet that the sweater shops will ship larger purchases home at no charge even for overseas customers. Connemara is stunning and there are some nice, easy to moderate trails in the national park perfect for stretching the legs on a day of driving. We spent a few nights in Donegal town, which made a nice home base for the sea cliffs at Slieve Liag and otherwise hiking and exploring the coast, which is less touristy than Cliffs of Moher and the parts of the coast further south but no less beautiful. And I agree with @shoegal9 about Northern Ireland being underrated. The museum and walking tour in Derry and the black cab tour of Belfast were fascinating, and Derry was the second-best pub/music town we visited with lots going on even during the week. But mostly what I loved in Ireland was just the countryside. We stumbled on a church associated with St. Patrick, not far from the pilgrimage route to Croagh Patrick, and a famine museum in the far north, and so many short hikes to ruins of old abbeys or megalithic sites or waterfalls.

 

[Jeannie]

I did a study abroad program in Ireland for a couple of months in college and did some travelling across the country. I found Kilkenny, Galway, Donegal, the Aran Islands and Skellig Michael to be quite beautiful and worth visiting. Skellig Michael was where parts of Star Wars The Force Awakens was filmed if anyone in your group is a Star Wars fan.

I also did a weekend in Blarney/Cork and stayed in a bed and breakfast. The Blarney stone is very touristy but the actual park the stone is in is very peaceful to walk through. I have never rented a car and only used Irish Rail, so I don't have any advice about driving in Ireland.

I hadn't even thought about using the Irish Rail. I just took a quick look at their website. Did you find it easy and reliable to use?

 

[Jeannie]

Killarney National Park, drive the Dingle Pennisula and stay over near Dingle. I would also visit Galway. Perhaps a ferry out to the Aran Islands.

Galway is my favorite place in Ireland. I’ve especially enjoyed driving around Connemara and the Burren and Killarney NP and Kinsale are exceptionally pretty.

It has been a few years since I've been there, my favorites are Killarney National Park (and really, the entire Ring of Kerry), Dingle Peninsula, Galway, and the donkey rescue in Co. Cork. We flew in and out of Shannon and stayed in AirBnBs in Lahinch and Killarney. The house in Lahinch was walking distance from the little village and the beach, which was great, and heading to Galway from there for a day took us through the Burren. We also stayed in Killarney, right on the edge of the national park.

For something a little bit different, if you like animals, the Donkey Sanctuary is a fun stop for an hour or two (or longer!)

Galway is actually one place we were considering! Would you recommend staying there for a night or two, just going there as a day trip, or staying there longer and doing day trips from there?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Galway is actually one place we were considering! Would you recommend staying there for a night or two, just going there as a day trip, or staying there longer and doing day trips from there?

I’ve stayed 4-5 nights at a time because we were always there for festival weekends. I’d think a day or two for exploring the city itself, pubs, music, shopping, general culture, etc. would be good, then add on whatever time you need for any day trips for which you’ll be using Galway as a home base (like Connemara). If you fly into Shannon, you can hit the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren on your way north to Galway, or do it in reverse, stopping at those sights as you leave heading south if you come in from the Dublin side.

 

[BayouQueen]

We really loved the Kenmare and Killarney area. We've done a couple of driving tours through Ireland, and avoided that area until the end thinking it was too touristy. It is touristy for a reason -- beautiful, wonderful food, friendly people. That is true of all of Ireland, but even more so in that region.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I hadn't even thought about using the Irish Rail. I just took a quick look at their website. Did you find it easy and reliable to use?

Yes, Irish Rail (along with most rail systems in Europe) are very easy to use. You can buy tickets online or at the station. At least when I was there, trains were almost always late. It was rare for a train to be on time. That was the case in other countries like England and Germany too, so it's not an Irish Rail specific problem.

 

[kanne323]

Galway is actually one place we were considering! Would you recommend staying there for a night or two, just going there as a day trip, or staying there longer and doing day trips from there?

We only did a day trip to Galway from Lahinch. I would have loved more time there, so I would recommend at least a night or two.

 

[Micca]

We've also been to the Cliffs of Moher, but wouldn't mind going back

Famous, of course, for their sweaters!