Insider advice sought - September trip

My wife and I will be flying into Dublin in last last half of September and will be on the island for ten nights. I would love some inside advice on setting our itinerary. I do plan to rent a car but we are also prepared and prefer to get out of the car and do some day hiking as need be to really see the country. It makes sense to stay a couple days at the beginning and maybe one at the end in Dublin and I would prefer to stay a couple days each in fewer places and explore an area more fully than to change towns each day, but don't see the need to stay in an area two days if it can be seen in a day. We chose Ireland for many reasons, one of them castles so of course we re interested in exploring any we can, preferring authentic over restored. We definitely want to see Blarney Castle and , the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren etc... but would prefer off the beaten path over lines of tourist, places that require a bit of a drive or hike versus things we can see from car, and picturesque over popular.

We expect to fill our days with activity, then would like to find an authentic dinner and let our hair down with some nightlife as the day comes to an end, hopefully in easy reach of our room. Would welcome recommendations on great places to eat, drink and stay. We are not four or five star people but are not really hostel friendly either. (hostle hostile?, lol). Clean and Homey is preferred over concierge service. As for nightlife we prefer a bit rowdy over quiet and more raunchy than buttoned down.

We would also welcome offers from hiking . travel partners.

Try http://www.airbnb.com for accom. Don't hire a car for the days when you're in Dublin, you don't need it. Consider throwing in the rock of Cashel into the mix if you like your castles and Mitzin point if you fancy dramatic seascapes.

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There won't be lines of tourists around at the end of September.
Trim Castle is worth a visit. Blarney is a tourist trap. What exactly do you expect in a castle? The original Norman Keeps that are open to visitors all have had restoration work done on them. Malahide Castle is more a stately(ish)home than my idea of a castle.
Stay around Dublin and go hiking in the Wicklow mountains Glendalough or further south on part of the Wicklow way.

Thanks - Yeah i was pretty sue that blarney is a tourist trap and yet i still must visit. I should clarify as far as castles we do not expect only ruins, and restoration is great, what we would like to avoid if those that have been converted to 4 and five star hotels, not really our crowd. I had not heard of Malahide Castle so thanks much for that. Also we do not only want to hike and to see as much of the countryside as possible in the days we have. Thanks again.

For your first couple of days you should base your visit around Dublin. Lots of castles and historic places to visit and see. I agree with the earlier poster, there is no need for a car in Dublin as you can use public transport to visit most things of interest. If you do hire a car there's a beautiful drive out of Dublin through Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey and Killiney and out into Wicklow and Roundwood, Avoca, Glendalough the Wicklow Hills and back via the coast and the beautiful beaches at Brittas Bay. West Cork and Kerry are worth spending time in and if you are in Kerry you should stay in Dingle. Then head north via the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren and into Galway. Connemara is worth visiting for it's unique landscape. Some of the castles can be tourist traps and you are right in thinking that a lot of the restored one are now 5 star hotels. Newgrange is not far from Dublin and is well worth visiting. The site pre dates Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. In terms of nightlife Dublin is great fun with a thriving social scene. Temple Bar is very toutisty but probably worth a visit. The bars and clubs around Grafton Street are also full of life. If you need any more information just let me know.

Hi there,

If you are interested in history there are good walking tours. Also Howth is beautiful on a sunny day. Bars, restuarants, sea, cliff walks etc etc

Stiofan111 - thanks a bunch. We were not planning to get our car until we leave Dublin on Sunday, but maybe the drive is worth getting it early to make the drive? would it be better to hire a driver and car for that part, although I assume that might be a bit of a high expense? Still, would be nice to have someone who knows which beaches to hit and where the best photos can be taken. Maybe you can just ride along with us and be our tour guide? JK of course; unless you are interested in which case let's talk.

I cannot believe I had never even heard of Newgrange, what a treasure. We have added that as a must visit sight after looking it up on the Internet.

Bahoo - Thank as well, the walking tours sound fun although i tend to keep a bit different pace than the tours since i temd to take a whole bunch of pictures and have been known to stop for a bit of refreshment , so I might have to find out the best spots and make my own tour. Probably better to go along and hear all the history of the guide though huh? Same as i said in the last post, would be cool to have a person a guide to the city along.

Well I know a bit about The 1916 Rising, studied it a bit and I don't think that part of history has changed since I studied :) . So if I bump into you on the street, i'll tell you all about it over a pint! Don't laugh, Dublin is that small it could well happen! LOL

Bahoo - great except of course we would have no idea if we did bump into each other. Here in America we have lot's of folks who like to revise history. good to know that may not be the case there. Would love to have a pint with you (although my wife does not drink beer at all so she might need some other libation).

lol well there is no shortage of libation in this country!!
Well let me know what your pans are and if I am free around the time I'd gladly join you for a drink and impart any little bit of knowledge I have with you both :)

Careful what you offer we just might take you up on your offer to tell me some great Irish history while i buy you a pint or two, so long as you don't mind me bringing the wife. Probably best not to post exact plans etc ... her on this public forums though. is it aright that i try to contact you some other way?

we'll sort something out closer to date. Got a busy few weeks ahead but will drop back to you.

Hi Shannahan. Hiring a car and driver would be very expensive. Would be happy to meet up with you in Dublin and give you some pointers. Cost you a pint though!!

Your on. how do I best contact you so we can discuss details of our trip and figurre out a great place / time to meet up.

Have you booked your hotel in Dublin yet, I'd be happy to make some recommendations. I don't know if you can pm on this site - do you?

I dont know about Pming but let me look. We have booked a motel but our reservation can be cancelled if there is a better place. We are at a best western Sheldon house i think it is called ?

That's in an area between an industrial estate and a housing estate. It's quite a distance from the city in the suburbs, and not the nicest suburb you could find. At a similar budget you could try Bewleys Hotel in Ballsbridge or the Tara Tower a little further out

Wow thanks for the heads up. Sounds like i need to change our reservation. Now I definitely owe you a pint .

Hiya,
I agree with stiofan. Although the Sheldon is a nice hotel its not the best of areas. Also the hotels he has mentioned is closer to city and musch nicer areas. I'll have a look at some others around for you.

Thanks again for the heads up. We were able to change our reservations. they were a little more but seems to be well worth the difference, especially given a sea view.

Oh great where did you get?

Did you book the Tara Tower?

Yes that is the one. Looks like a decent place. We spent some time looking at Newgrange which led us to several other such places. trying to map out which ones we will be able to see.

That's a lot better area. 45mins walk approx to St stephens green. Actually maybe more, but nice walk if the weather is nice. I know the area well. Might join you for the walk!

Agree that a rental car in Dublin is more of a hassle than it is worth. Lots to do/see around there...you can even take a bus to Newgrange or when you pick up your rental car, head out there for a tour. Well worth it. Galway, of course, is always magical as is Connemarra. If you are heading down to Cork and want to go to a cool out of the way town try Kinsale.,,a lot like Sausalito in the bay area. Also, Killarney is really a touristy town...I prefer Killkenny. And, skip the Ring of Kerry, instead head out to Dingle Peninsula...very similar without the hordes of tourist. And brace yourself, either drive is a bit challenging. Dingle has LOTS of great pubs, etc w/music...a day to visit the Blasket Island is also fun.

September is when the matchmaking festival occurs in Lisdovarna...great craic, usually lots of people, but mostly Irish. Lots of music too.

Cliffs of Moher are definitely high on my list, but don't go there on a rainy or drizzly day..just not as much fun. If you can take a day or two and go over to Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands) that's always fun, unless they are having an "event' there, then it is much too crowded.

Blarney...you've received good advise. Don't even go out of your way. If you do want to have an experience of a restored castle try Bunratty for the medival dinner...it really is fun, albeit touristy, the folk park has many cottages etc that used to be present (not that long ago...before the Celtic tiger) in Ireland. I remember visiting relatives who lived in similar cottages.

The Guinness brewery has amazing views from the top floor...where the tasting occurs.

Wow! Bresmamo that is a whole lot of great sounding advice! Don't know how can thank you for all that?

We had heard that Dingle Peninsula was great and the cliffs, first time i have heard advice to avoid the Ring of Kerry. Seems i should heed the locals advice and avoid the Blarney castle in favor of others. We live in a heavily touristed area and there are definitely some things we would tell people to avoid so i will defer t the locals on that point.

Would love to know a bit more about the challenging drives, particularity why you call them challenging? Although I will have a car and am a very experienced driver, having driven for 35 years on all kinds of roads, I do not want to be cocky and assume I can handle it when everything is on the opposite side; I especially do not need to spend any of my time dealing with an accident. is this something where an experienced driver can handle a long as he is careful or is hiring a local car and driver more advisable? I wonder how much that would cost?

The drive around the peninsula is on a narrow winding road, just don't do it while tired or jet lagged. By the time you get there you should be comfortable enough driving on the "other side"...tho' my husband never is so I do all the driving there. Although it is more expensive, rent a car with an automatic transmission then you won't have to think about shifting with your opposite hand. The Ring of Kerry road and the Dingle Peninsula road are similar....but much less tourist traffic on the Dingle road.

If you would like a splurge, try one night in the Dromoland Castle, near Shannon airport. It is cool, but pricey. In Dublin I like staying at the Radisson St Helens and taking the bus into the main part of town. Also, staying at the Clarence (owned by Bono) near the center of action is fun....it is always amazing who one might run into in the Octagon Bar.

Enjoy...I go there every other year (born in Galway)...so quite partial to certain areas. If you have some time, doing a self drive boat on the Shannon is tons of fun. Le Boat is a good rental company

Thanks again - I found some pictures of the road arounf dingle. We live near Going to the Sun road in Glacier Park and i have driven that a dozen or so times. Nothng i saw in the pics seemed qute as narrow as GTTS so I think I wi be fine. Will loo into Dromoland ccastle thanks.

Hi there, shannahan - it sounds like you and we are planning a very similar type of trip, same time of year, and are similar types of travelers. We're also looking at walking some of the Dingle Way - 5 +/- days, and my question for your advisers here is if we're out there in mid- to late- September, can we take a chance with not booking ahead for rooms? I don't want to be locked into a daily itinerary, in case we decide to stay somewhere like Dingle and explore for a couple days.

Interesting post mtnmama and great question - I have been told by more than one person local to me - who have visited Ireland before, that I should book only my first nights in the country and wing it from there. Although I have some comfort level with living on the wing, an we also do not like to be locked to an itinerary, we are thinking in this case of picking a few places in the country to stay in each a few days and make excursions from there. Perhaps those answering her may be able to straighten me out on that as well since we have not yet booked any but our first nights.

From your username it sounds as if we may be from the same part of the country? We are Northwest ourselves. when will you be going to Ireland ?

Having been there a number of times in September I wouldn't worry about making reservations beforehand...the Irish are very accommodating and will help you out in a pinch (as are most people throughout the world). When I'm touring I generally don't make reservations except for the arrival and if I have a specific need. The simplicity of having a tour company (assuming it is reasonable priced) set up your B&Bs is that they provide luggage transport (which I found out was pricey and a little hassle when I put together a self guided hike in France), but if that's not important to you I wouldn't worry. We factored staying an extra couple days in Dingle into our walk...and were glad we did. First, even though I had been to Dingle multiple times, it is a fun place. And it was nice to take a day and take the ferry to the Blaskets.

My only thought as to not booking ahead is that we do not want to end up in dormitories. No offense to those who stay in dorms and were we younger and less amorous they would b a great option. We are also not B and B folks but we would consider one or two nights in a B and B if we had to, but overall we prefer the privacy and comfort of motels even at a higher cost. This trip is the splurge of our lives and the one of the first real vacations we have had in our marriage (the first away from our kids) no point in tightening up so much as to not have accommodations where we will be comfortable. I should add that we have a pretty low bar as far as the motels we stay at only asking that they have a bed, a shower with hot water (preferably one for two people who ordinarily shower together ) and are clean. Wi-fi would be nice and stumbling distance from pubs would be awesome. We will have a car and do not pack heavily (a few hiking skirts, a few mini skirts and a few FM shoes for her, shorts and t's for me ,and of course rain gear) so luggage transport will not be something we worry about. So the question after all this ramble is this: is it likely that we would be be to find motels as we go if we did not book ahead beyond our arrival ?

Motels are few and far between in this area. B and Bs are not like US where there is a lack of privacy. More like small hotels.

mtnmama I had thought i had replied to you but do not see it in the thread. When are yo going to be in the country? perhaps we could share a pint , part of the walk etc...

hi shannahan - the only plans we have so far (my job) is the flights in to Shannon and out of Dublin. my hub said he'd plan the route but hasn't got anything sorted out. we're still planning on walking Dingle Way, and rent a car and explore the rest, but we don't know which we'll do first. I'll post here when (if) I get any idea. We arrive on 9/12 and depart on 9/30. I think you asked - we're from N Calif, Chico area.