Honeymoon Planning 10 nights/ 12 days Ireland
Replies: 11 - Last Post: Jan 20, 2012 3:04 PM Last Post By: Eim28
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Honeymoon Planning 10 nights/ 12 days Ireland
Hello!My fiance and I are very excited for our Ireland Honeymoon. We have a car rented and coming in and out of Dublin. (June 12 AM- June 22 AM) Places to see and stay are still up in the air. We definitely dont want to make the mistake of planning too much, but it'll be hard to make cuts because its all so awesome!
What we are thinking is... Day 1: We get in at 9:15 in the morning, Just attack some coffee and go see the Guinness Storehouse, just to get through with that must- see. Stay around Temple Bar and have a relaxing evening just walking the waterways and centre... and pubs.
Day 2: Some morning market time in Dublin (buy some fresh food for lunch to take with us) maybe and head south to Kilkenny and eat lunch by the castle. Walk around and explore. Then head further south to Waterford for the night? Why Waterford... really like small town feel places and would love to experiece markets in the morning... if there is another suggestion we're all for it.
Day 3: Have a good morning run or hike in Waterford (or whereever) Eat some breakfast. Check out a castle near? Do more walking on either grounds and have some lunch. Head further to via Dungarvan, to Cork for 2 nights. (or one) Any dinner suggestions for cork?... and authentic, stone floor, music playing pubs?
Day 4: Wake up and attack Blarney Castle, (heard its best in the morning). Explore a bit and have some lunch. That day is free for exploring Cork and other surroundings... any suggestions?
Day 5: Go to the market and get some fresh cheese and breads for the road. any ideas for mid morning activities? We would love to try archery would make my fiance very happy to attempt :) Wrap up Cork and head to Dingle.
Day 6: We have heard Dingle is a quiant town and thats what we're looking for. Just spend 2 nights there exploring and driving Connor Pass. (Also, we hear that drive from dingle to connor pass is less narrow of a street?) Any more suggestions of how to truly appreciat a city like Dingle and how it operates we're all for them!
Day 7: Head n.orth to Galway. Go see the Cliffs of Moher. Any tips on those? We heard security has beefed up and its more diificult to get close. Stay in Galway, experience there pubs and culture.
Day 8: Free day for Galway adventures... any suggestions?
... Thats all we've got so far. We have a toral of 10 nights (2 of which will be spent in Dublin, 1st and last) Inbetween Dingle and Galway we can spend 1 night somewhere in county clare? Any suggestions on where?
What we want out of the trip is experiencing rustic Ireland, learn as much as we can about the real Ireland, its culture and history. Not too big into the touristy scene, but know we can escape it all :) Most of all this is our honeymoon, and we would love to just have aimless adventures!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks you,
The Reads
1
A couple of points.IMO Blarney Castle is a commercial over-rated Disneyland that you can skip without regretting it.
Lots of people consider Bewley's Cafe in Grafton St as the pinnacle of coffee in Dublin but Butler's cafe can be good and there are chains of them around. Do try and escape Temple Bar, it is a bit of a trap. IN good weather St Stephens Green and Merrion Square are great places to chill.
The security at the Cliffs of Moher is not too bad (on my last anyway I can't recall any) but there is a charge of EUR6 or whatever it is. Near Galway, The Burren is a great representation of cultural/historical Ireland. Check out Newgrange and see if you can fit it in as part of an extra day in Dublin as a day trip or such. Also check out the website for St Michan's Church in Dublin and do a tour of the vaults.
O'Donoghues is an authentic stone floor music pub in Dublin. It was where the Dubliners were formed.
That bit between Dingle and Galway, maybe try Doolin.
2
I would consider dropping Waterford and use the day to potter through Tipperary and the Galtee Mountains as an alternative. There are plenty of smaller towns and villages that are not particularly "touristy".On leaving Dublin consider driving through the Wicklow Mountains via the Sally Gap (Wild high moorland) and perhaps having your butties at Glendalough instead. Yes it is a tourist spot but the footpaths are good and you soon miss the crowds and then onto Kilkenny.
Dingle is a good village but be aware its population does double in size during the main summer season.
Do leave time to travel aimlessly at least with a decent road map. There is much to see that you will not find in your Ireland lp or Rough Guide!
R
3
Good idea NOT to drive after an overnight flight (assuming you are coming from North America, which is suggested by your terminology)Good time of year, too - maximum daylight, good weather and tourist season not at its height.
4
FWIW the Guinness Storehouse is one of the most disappointing "must-sees" I've ever visited - if it weren't for the free pint of Guinness it would be in the same league as the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen or Manneken Pis in Brussels.If I'd have to name one must-see in Dublin it would rather be Trinity College and the Book of Kells. The National Museum was good too, and of course the pubs too.
My personal favourites outside Dublin include Glendalough, Rock of Cashel and the Connemara region outside Galway. Dingle town was nice but didn't impress me that much, the peninsula is very beautiful though.
5
hii know its hard to prioritise what to see in a short trip, i would suggest if you have an extra day or two in dublin you could do day trips to Newgrange and Glendalough. it always surprises me that people generally on TT never mention Newgrange.....if you into history its a must see.....neolithic tombs that older than the Pyramids..aligned to catch sunrise on the winter & summer solstices. hopw this hepls a bit
ger
6
Completely agree with markfawkner about Blarney Castle, especially as you said you're not really into the touristy scene. (Perhaps, instead of Waterford, head to Cashel. IMO, the rock would be a better use of your time than Blarney.)I made a point of visiting Kilmainham Gaol on my last trip home. Really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it as a place to see if you're into history. Also, the Literary Pub Crawl was a fun night out.
I don't know what you mean by security is beefed up at the Cliffs as there isn't any security per se. They have revamped the whole area so there are now walled paved walkways (as opposed to roped off muddy-when-wet trails) which prevent you from getting too close to the cliff edge but the overall views remain much as they did before. It's both for your own preservation and for that of the Cliff top that they changed the access.
Connemara is one of my favourite parts of Ireland and if you're in Galway then I think it's worth a toddle up that way for a day drive. (I think there's a castle in Mayo which does old school archery and falconry but I could just be making that up.) If you do head up that way, make sure to hit up both the inland areas and some of the coast.
Not to be a downer on your itinerary, but it looks like you're basing your driving on "leave 'a' and go directly to 'b' at this time" when half the joy of Ireland is all those little things between points 'a' and 'b'. Yes, you can drive from Cork to Dingle in three hours after a morning in Cork, but why not take the whole day and go by the coast (maybe stay in Killarney a night instead so it's a bit shorter). You'll see more of the country and will have the opportunity to stop in smaller communities for snack or stretch breaks. I'd take an after-lunch walk on the beach near Rosscarbery over a morning in Cork any day of the week.
7
Thank you for all the great advice! We’re new to forum-posting, so this is better than we had hoped for. We have taken into consideration all the advice given to us and have revised our previous itinerary. Once again, open to suggestions!Day 1: Fly into Dublin (we now wish we could fly out of Shannon, or vice-versa, but we’ve already purchased tickets), acquire the car from the airport and leave at chosen hotel for the remainder of our Dublin adventures. We’ve been warned many times of the traffic so we hope just leaving it at the hotel while we explore will workout. This day would then consist of open-Dublin exploration highlighting Trinity College and the Book of Kells.
Day 2: A hearty breakfast followed by the beginnings of our trek to Dingle, while taking-in small towns/villages along the way, the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, and nearby caves. We know we won’t make it to Dingle, but we hope to enjoy ourselves while getting there by stumbling upon what best suits us for a night’s stay. That would mean skipping most of the recommended coastal towns along the way, but we’ve really tried to limit our ambitions. This could only mean that we’ll be back some day to see the coast!
Day 3: Wake-up somewhere between Cashel and Dingle. Then continue our journey to Dingle while exploring Killarney and other interesting sites.
Day 4 and 5: We’re trying to determine a three night stay in either Dingle or the Galway area. Slea drive, Connor pass, and Dingle peninsula are among the highlights.
Day 6 and 7: Drive from Dingle to either Ennis, Kilkee, or any other town on the way for a two-night’s stay. See the Cliffs of Moher and any other relevant sites.
Day 8 and 9: Make it to Galway. We’d like our last two days in this area to be a bit on the relaxing side. Enjoy the nearby areas, and take-in a hike or nice day-trip, possibly to Connemara.
Day 10: Drive to Dublin and enjoy our last night in Ireland.
Again, we decided to make serious cuts realizing with your advice that we definitely won’t be able to see everything. The point of this trip is to enjoy each other and this beautiful country, so we don’t want to feel like we’re rushing through. With that being said, we’re leaving some things open-ended between Cashel and Dingle, and also the Galway area. Please feel free to suggest accommodations!
Thanks again for all your help!
The Reads
8
Unfortunately, although I've travelled most of Ireland I can't recommend accom in the places mentioned.However, in terms of Dublin, if you have an interest in the Book of Kells then you will very likely be interested in the Chester Beatty Library which has the second oldest bible parchment in the world and a fantastic range of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and etc historical texts.
9
I would neither visit the Guiness Storehouse, nor Waterford, nor Blarney Castle. I would add Trim (one hour from Dublin) for half a day trip and Glendalough (two/three hours from Dublin) on the Wycklow Mountains.I would then go to Cork via Cashel to see the Rock on the 4th day. See Cork and a costal town as Baltimore and go up to the Dingle Peninsula (two days), Galway (with Cliffs and Burren) on the 7th and 8th and visit north Mayo (Killala and Downpatrick head) on the 9th, then head back to Dub.
10
You seem to like markets.. I'm not sure which of your day 1 etc is which day ie fri/sat etc but for the best market in the country and a lovely experience I'd suggest Limerick's Milk Market on a Saturday morning. I know to a lot of Irish that will sound odd, Limerick? but honestly its fantastic - its covered bustling market (the venue now doubles as a covered outdoor concert venue taking 2000 punters), the food produce is fantastic, the outer area with the bric-a-brack stalls are really eclectic, there's always live music and loads of quality coffee shops and stalls to just sit back and people watch for the morning. You could easily do the market in the morning before heading north to Galway, or the Burren, Cliffs of Moher etc, or south to Kerry and so on. You seem sporty - near Limerick is also the Ballyhoura mountains which has the best mountain biking trial in the country. If staying overnight in Limerick, go to Dolan's on teh dock road - trad music session 7 nights a week, plus a bigger venue at the back for touring bands, an acoustic venue upstairs and great food too.As for Dublin - the store house isnt that great but its ok. Id say just go to the free museums as suggested, the national museum has all the celtic gold work, the natural history museum is tiny but fascinating - its a museum of a musuem lol - not updated since the Victorian age i think. Book of Kells is worth a look if just for the building but walking through Trinity alone is lovely.
11
I would recommend skipping Kilkee (its a faded seaside resort from the 80's) and stay in Doolin instead where there are lots lovely pubs and walks and a chance to visit the Burren, Burren Smokehouse...(skip the Aillewee Cave if you see the signs) and the Dooline Staligmite.If you are in Cork a visit to the English Market is a must and you could venture to Cobh to visit the Titanic Museum (last stop before it set sail) if you are interested, lots going on as its 100 years since the disaster.
After leaving Dublin you could also check you Glendalough and then head across country towards Cashel. Just a suggestion!
Enjoy your trip!
