14 Day Driving Itinerary - mid June

Mom’s Trip to Ireland

Helping my mom plan a trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland. She is visiting family in the Netherlands for two weeks but first is heading to Ireland for two weeks. She is recently divorced and travelling on her own. She’s 60. She can do short walks, but anything longer than a couple of miles/kms at a time is too much for her back/knees, so no major athletic endeavours for her. Castles, scenery, quaint towns and shops, pubs (or wineries) and music are all up her alley.

She’ll rent a car. This will be her first time driving on the other side so she’s concerned about starting in Dublin. She was thinking of bussing/training to somewhere smaller first….
• Is it easy to find rental cars outside of Dublin?
• Is it much more expensive to return cars to another city?

This is the itinerary I’ve somewhat set up for her?
What do you think – any suggestions or criticism is fine.

Day 1 – arrive at Dublin airport at 8pm – hotel (Sunday June 8th)
Day 2 – Dublin (sleep in as it’s a long journey from Vancouver)
Day 3 – Dublin
Some notes I’ve taken from other Thorn Tree posts for Dublin
• Leapcard for public transit – is it only available at the airport?
• St. Michan’s Church (check website for vault times)
• Chester Beatty Library
• Irish MOMA Kilmainham
• Butler’s Coffee & Chocolate
• Soup Dragon
• Vintage Kitchen – next door to Mulligan’s Pub
• Fallon & Byrne Wine Bar

Day 4 – Dublin to Cork (via Glendalough, Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle)
Day 5 – Cork via Beara Peninsula to Kenmare (with possible side trip to Eyeries for its reputed beauty)
Day 6 – Kenmare to Cahersiveen
Day 7 – Cahersiveen to Killarney (maybe stay at Earl’s Court House)
Day 8 – Killarney to Dingle
Day 9 – Dingle to Galway (Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher)
Day 10 – Galway
Day 11 –Galway to Sligo (via Connemarra and Westport)
Day 12 – Sligo to Derry (via Dungloe)
Day 13 – Derry to Bushmills (Distillery, Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge)
Day 14 – Bushmills to Belfast
Day 15 – Belfast to Dublin (via Newgrange) Fly Dublin to Eindhoven (12:40 flight) Sunday June 22nd

Flight to Holland isn’t booked yet. I know days 4 and 12 are big driving days.
• This might be the only trip to Ireland my mother ever makes is there something big she is missing?
• Would booking all of her accommodation just a night or two before be OK?
• Any suggestions for stops, sights hotels or B&Bs or restaurants along the way would be welcomed.

Thanks for any advice.

I wouldn't recommend booking a day or two ahead in June. June is a busy time of the year, she will get substantially worse accom for a higher rate than she would by booking ahead and in places like Dingle and Galway and Kenmare she may in fact struggle to find accom.

There is a lot of driving but it is mostly reasonably spaced out over the days and day 4, particularly as the first day of driving, might be challenging. Stopping in Newgrange will require an early start on that final day to ensure there are no problems or to deal with problems to get to the airport on time. I might suggest another day in Dublin, perhaps even as the last night.

Leapcards are widely available at convenience stores and such. They cost EUR5 plus any money you add onto them. If it is a very short trip within the city, tell the driver where you are going to and touch on at the driver's window. If it is a longer journey (I think ten stops, which she likely won't be doing) then touch on at the handrail near the door.

Adare and Cong are popular tourist towns but for that reason can get nuts with tourist buses and fat retired yank men wearing socks and sandals.. For live music in Dublin try O'Donoghues in Merrion Row and The Cobblestone in Smithfield. Doolin is also great for live music.

Ireland has one winery and that is Lusca Irish wine; google can give you detail. It is not great but she'd probably be one of the few Canadians who could say they have drunk it.

when I drove around Ireland by myself in June, I never booked ahead and the only two times I had some trouble finding a B&B was a Saturday night, one of which was in Doolin and one in some other town that had a festival on. I just used a B&B book I got at the tourist information office in Dublin, it might have been easier if I had a phone to book ahead on the day but I never knew exactly where I was going to end up due to the amount of stops for scenery and ruins. I also did a trip to the closest Aran island from Doolin and the best thing I did was a horse and cart ride with a young guide showing me the island. the coast line from Sligo to Belfast is very interesting

I don't think day 15 is doable, Belfast to the airport is a nice easy drive and you're on the right side of Dublin for it, but visiting Newgrange takes a few hours, because you have to wait for a bus to take you there and in case she has a bus load of people in front of her she will not get on the first one.

We staied overnight close to Newgrange and arrived in Dublin early afternoon, but she has to drop off the car and to be on the save side should be at the airport 1 1/2 to 2 hours before her flight, Newgrange opens at 9 am so I don't see her on a flight at 12:40, if everything works real smooth it might be done, but would she enjoy the visit with time a constant concerne?

This will be her first time driving on the other side so she’s concerned about starting in Dublin. She was thinking of bussing/training to somewhere smaller first…

The first 5 minutes of driving on the opposite side of the road is probably the most stressful so its good to be in a less busy area - you wouldn't want to be in central Dublin for that. But after that, the most dangerous places to be driving on the other side are empty single lane roads where there are no visual triggers or physical enforcements to keep you on the correct side. Busy urban roads have plenty of cars on them to give you that visual reminder of where you should be, and central reservations etc. to prevent you from messing up.

If it were me, I'd aim to rent the car from Dublin airport - airport road networks are really well designed for drivers who don't know where they're going. She'd have easy transport options to get there for the initial pick-up on Day 4, relatively uncomplicated road network for the first part of the drive, clearly signposted for her route, nice straight wide highways all the way through to Cork, and it will be cheaper to have the single location pick-up / drop-off.

Well. She's off in less than a week and I'm done helping. Thanks for all the advice. She is renting her car in Dublin and is adjusting the 1st driving day and the last day for sure. The rest she will figure out as she goes. Thorn Tree forum has the best people as always!