Re: Feedback from 1st Trip to Ireland

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: : : I am just back from 10 wonderful days in Ireland – first trip there. This site – especially the forum – and Daytrips helped make the trip. I have never been so informed about a destination as I was this time thanks to these excellent resources. I wanted to share my first timer comments/opinions so that others can learn from my experiences. : : : Driving Times: We had a planned itinerary (2 nights in Dublin, 1 night in Youghal, 2 nights in Kenmare, 1 night in Ballyvaughan, 2 nights in Cong/The West, 1 night at Dublin Airport) so we printed off driving directions from www.aaireland.ie (see route planning). We found the estimated driving times to be quite accurate. I’ve driven many places including Rome and Paris, but the narrow roads of Ireland were quite an adventure. As Pat indicates, it takes longer to get from place to place than one can imagine. Be careful with planning too an aggressive itinerary (ours was tiring enough!!!) as you will want to stop off along the route and breakfast typically isn’t served prior to 8 a.m. : : : Rented from Dan Dooley (the map they provide is all you need mapwise) : : : Pint of Guinness (or Murphy’s) for Lunch: The way life is supposed to be! : : : The people are incredible. We had some lovely experiences with the Irish people. : : : Dublin: We had 1.5 days in the city and found that to be enough to do what we wanted to do. Stayed at Harrington Hall, quite nice and an unbeatable location, found hop-on, hop-off bus to be quite effective (hit each stop every 15 minutes). Their notebook of restaurant recommendations included a print out from Irelandexpert.com! Took the historical walking tour of Dublin (quite informative). In my opinion, Temple Bar is a tourist trap – nothing like Greenwich Village. Writer’s Museum was cool (you get an audio tour with price of admission). View of city from Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar (where you get your free pint after being subjected to Guinness propaganda) is outstanding. Two restaurant tips: Browne’s Brasserie next to Shelbourne was an excellent fine dining selection. O’Neil’s pub across from the Tourist Info. Office just off Grafton has an excellent carvery which can make lunch your meal for the day for 9.50 euros. : : : Kilkenny: The castle is spectacular. Good tour. Found the shopping at Kilkenny Design Centre to be good, but generally everything was pricey. Found the town to be pretty congested. We decided not to linger. : : : Youghal: We ended up here our first night on the road. Moby Dick was filmed herein the 50s. It’s half-way between Waterford and Cork. We loved this town! Quite small on an estuary. Neat clock tower in the center of town. We overnighted at Aherne’s. Great accommodations – huge rooms. Ate at the restaurant there which was outstanding. Not a tourist town which was a big plus for us. : : : Blarney Woollen Mills/Blarney: Shopping extravaganza (they have an adjoining pub if you need a break!). Found some excellent bargains here. You could spend two hours here without blinking (and I don’t like to shop). Took the “backway” to County Kerry through the River Lee valley – quite pretty. : : : County Kerry: We based in Kenmare. Our first splurge was to stay at the Park Hotel Kenmare. It’s a country house hotel overlooking the water. Exceptional staff and a superb experience. Grounds are adjacent to town. Kenmare was a very attractive town, but must get pretty busy in the prime tourist season. The drive from Kenmare to Killarney is the best part of the Ring of Kerry. We drove the ring, which frankly was quite tiring although beautiful. We were advised by the hotel staff to plan to tour Muckross House first (grounds there were beautiful) and leave Killarney by 11 or so to avoid all the buses which leave Killarney from 9-10. This worked well. I think we ran into only one bus. Lunched at The Tower in Glenbeigh (world’s best seafood chowder). We had Fodor’s, another guide book and Daytrips with us. Only Daytrips recommended we stop at Aghadoe Hill above Killarney (signs point to Aghadoe Heights hotel). The panorama was sensational. : : : County Clare: took Tarbert Ferry (it fits about 50 cars). We got there 10 mins before and just made it on. Clare certainly is quite different than Kerry. I found County Clare to be exactly what I expected Ireland to be (must be the capital of Irish red heads too!). Stayed in Ballyvaughan at the Hyland’s Burren Hotel. We stopped in Doolin and we were quite glad we stayed in Ballyvaughan. Doolin doesn’t have a town feel as it is so spread out and there’s not much too it in the aggregate. Doolin Crafts Gallery (mostly woollen goods) was great (no particular bargains but quality merchandise). They have a café which has a patio which has a spectacular view of the Clare countryside. Would be a great lunch spot. Best thing about Ballyvaughan is that you are in the Burren and on Galway Bay. Drive a few miles on the road to Ennis (past entrance to Aillwee Cave), pull over, and walk on the Burren (at your own peril!). I climbed a hill and saw the sun set over Galway Bay. Nobody around for miles! Make sure to have a pint at Monk’s Pub in Ballyvaughan. You sit outside on Galway Bay. : : : Galway: Boom town where seemingly everyone is under 25. Great shopping on Shop St. Took walk suggested in Daytrips which was great. Fresh oysters (if you like) are a must here (preferably with a pint of the good stuff)! Very different from Dublin. We were only here 4 hours, but got a good flavor for the city. : : : The West/County Mayo/Connemara: We elected to base in Cong. Splurge number two was to stay at Ashford Castle. The setting on Lough Corrib is unbeatable. If you are planning to stay here, one note: they have two dining rooms. The smaller (only 7 tables!) is a la carte and obviously books up early. The other is a fixed price menu to the tune of 85 Euros per person plus drinks. That’s probably why the rooms were so affordable relatively speaking! We were lucky to get into the a la carte dining room and it was wonderful. Some guests were offended at being forced to spend so much at the other restaurants. Village of Cong was adorable (everyone was fishing). Had a good, low-priced dinner at Denagher’s hotel restaurant. Did the Connemara drive to Clifen, Kylemore Abbey etc. We loved Roundstone! It’s right on the water, quite small and cute as pie. Great seafood lunch at O’Dowds. Excellent ladies sweater values at Wit’s End (which is really a B&B which has sweaters for sale in the front room). We also found great shopping at Joyce’s Craft Shop in Recess (right on the N59 before turn off to Roundstone..15 kms from Clifden). Sweaters, wool blazers, linen. Adjoining the shop is a marble shop which displays some of the beautiful polished Connemara green marble (worth a stop for this alone). Found Clifden to be too touristy for us which was a disappointment. Good value woollen’s at Millar’s. Kylemore Abbey is beautifully situationed..Victorian walled garden lovely! Drive from here to Killary was gorgeous. We considered the Killary fjord cruise. Lovely setting. : : : That’s all folks! Hope this helps. : : Thanks for your detailed report! It is much appreciated. Some of your suggestions were part of my "penciled-in" itinerary, but now are sure things. : : One question about the fresh oysters. I am thrilled to learn you could get them, but I thought the laws in Ireland were the same as the US; oysters only being available fresh in the months with an r in the name - Sept. through April. Can you or Pat shed any light on this? I'd love to enjoy 1/2 doz oysters with a pint! : : Thanks, : : Maureen : Dear Maureen, : Ireland also observes the "R months" rule for taking fresh oysters from Irish waters. : The oysters Jim would have had in May or June would be farmed. Many of the better seafood restaurants or pubs (that are famous for oysters, such as Morans Oyster Cottage at Kilcolgan) farm their own oysters or get them from private oyster farms. And they are very good, too, although not quite as briny as the September - April specimens. "Wild" is always best, as with the salmon, too. : Enjoy! : PAT

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