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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Nov 9, 2014 12:47:14 GMT
DS (7) is helping me plan our next few vacations. I plan to take him on one major trip per year. This year was Hawaii. Nice summer we are going in a cruise to Alaska. He has already done the Orlando thing 5 times and we are both over it.
He just got his passport photos taken yesterday and he is so excited. He really wants to go to Ireland and Scotland. We've looked at maps and guidebooks and pics on the Internet of everything there is possible to do in the UK and we will break it up into 2 or 3 trips (years).
We plan to go to Ireland in 2016. Couple of questions -
1. Is it really lame if we don't tour the country at all? All DS wants to do is stay at a castle and fish, bike, canoe/kayak, archery, halk walk, etc. on the castle grounds. We were looking at either Dromoland or Ashford castle and we both want to stay
at Ashford. This would be for a whole week. Neither one of us are all that excited about Dublin or other sites. They all seem kind of touristy. I would like to see the Cliffs of Moher, but I'll get over it. Staying in one place seems kind of ideal to me. However, is there anything that is "do-not-miss" for kids in Ireland?
2. What is the best way to get from Shannon airport to Ashford Caslte? It's about 90 minutes one-way. Drive ourselves? I'm nervous about that because I can't drive a manual transmission, plus there's the whole driving on the left thing. I could probably reserve an automatic, but what if they don't have any when we arrive? LOL. And then we just park the car and don't use it all week? Seems wasteful. I also looked at a train/bus combination, but the train only departs from the airport once a day.
So should we look into taking a cab or car service instead? Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance.
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Post by lesley on Nov 9, 2014 13:01:56 GMT
Wow, I thought I was a forward planner, but you beat me! You're worrying about driving in two years' time?!
I'm sure the rental company you use will have automatics - they'll be used to catering to Americans who don't know how to drive properly. (Joke, honestly!)
Why don't you just hire a car for a couple of days? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
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wellway
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Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Nov 9, 2014 13:05:38 GMT
The road from Shannon Airport to Galway, at least, is dual carriage/motorway most of the way so sixty miles of easy driving. Not sure about the rest of the route. The bus services in Ireland are all pretty good check out Bus Eireann www.buseireann.ie/ ETA - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Ireland Distance will be in kms and Yield signs mean stop / give way. |
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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Nov 9, 2014 13:13:16 GMT
Wow, I thought I was a forward planner, but you beat me! You're worrying about driving in two years' time?! . DS is doing most of the planning and yes, he likes to plan ahead. He's actually got it all figured out (mostly the basic foundation, like what countries) through the year 2021. (I'm sure he will change his mind 100 times though). I have to deal with the fine details in order to make his overall vision come to fruition, lol. |
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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Nov 9, 2014 13:17:17 GMT
]Why don't you just hire a car for a couple of days? It doesn't have to be all or nothing. actually I think it is all or nothing. There aren't any rental car locations where we can just return the car and pick it up again later near where we want to stay. I think it's going to be a pick-up-and-return-at-airport kind of deal. |
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Post by Karene on Nov 9, 2014 13:46:15 GMT
My husband and I went to Scotland and Ireland for a month in 2011. The first time we were overseas in 2006 we were in England and renting a car that was manual transmission. His car at home has always been manual. But he did find it stressful to have to change gears and drive on the opposite side of the road. So in 2011 we rented automatics.
We flew into Glasgow and then took the train to Edinburgh. You don't need a car in the city so we didn't pick up the rental until we were leaving the city to explore the countryside. We spent 11 days in Scotland, then went down to Hadrian's Wall and spent the night in northern England near Carlisle. Then we drove to Wales and spent a couple of nights inside the walled town of Conwy a few minutes from the castle. We left the car at the rental drop off in Holyhead and took the ferry across to Dublin.
We stayed a couple of nights in Dublin and didn't pick up our next rental car until leaving to explore Ireland.
We found it much easier with an automatic transmission so my husband could just concentrate on the road. We had a large road map and no GPS. We got lost a few times but always found where we wanted to go. Just make sure to book your rental car well in advance. We went in May and I think I booked at least 4 months ahead. We got the full insurance which is pricey but you could just return the car and not worry about any dents or anything. I think my husband found it easier driving in Ireland than he did in Scotland. We did not drive at night in the dark.
We did not try to see all of Ireland. Pick an area you are interested in and enjoy that. We did not see any of Northern Ireland except driving through from County Monaghan (where my family is from) to County Donagal, and another day doing a daytrip of Donagal to the city of Derry to see the Spanish Armada artifacts in the museum. We actually stayed 3 nights a bit north of Ashford Castle near Westport, County Mayo.
Search County Mayo in Trip Advisor and it will come up with the top things to do. The number one thing is the Falconry School at Ashford Castle.
Enjoy your trip. We love it and plan to go back.
There is lots we still want to see in both Ireland and Scotland, but when I made our route I had certain things I wanted to see.
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
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Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Nov 9, 2014 14:04:29 GMT
My late DH did the driving when we visited Ireland. At the time he needed an International drivers license. Check to see if you still need one.
if I were going back I would check out the tour buses in Ireland and take at least one day to see the sites around where you're staying. The buses are great, they have any number of itineraries and the drivers are very knowledgable. Touristy? Yes but I think it'd be a shame to limit yourself to one small area. Ireland is a beautiful country with a lot of rich history and IMO by limiting yourself like that you could just as easily do it anywhere else.
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Post by Karene on Nov 9, 2014 16:23:49 GMT
No, you don't need an international driver's licence for Ireland or the UK. Some of the best places in Ireland you need a car to see.
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georgiapea
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Post by georgiapea on Nov 9, 2014 16:32:39 GMT
The trip as your DS has it planned is sort of an 'immersion' thing. Doing all the fun things that a single location offers. For someone his age that sounds like a much better time than frequently driving to look at things. He'll be able to tell about the adventures he had while there instead of it being remembered as "We drove around and looked at stuff".
Looking forward to hearing how the vacations go.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Nov 9, 2014 17:04:12 GMT
We stayed at Ashford Castle last year. It was phenomenal. Loved every minute there.
I would hire a driver to take me to the ferry to the Aran Islands and to the Cliffs of Moher and to the Burren and into Galway. I don't think your son knows what he doesn't know and they are absolutely worth seeing. You can do the Cliffs and the burren in one day. Same with the Aran Islands. Ashford Castle is amazing, but I don't know that I'd want to spend a whole week there and not go anywhere else. Cong (the town it's in) is lovely, but very quiet and sleepy.
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Post by Barbie on Nov 9, 2014 17:24:24 GMT
No, you don't need an international driver's license in Ireland. And my personal opinion is that you would be INSANE not to see as much of the country as possible while you are there! I was there for 9 days, and it wasn't nearly enough. We flew into Shannon, drove out to Ennis for lunch, and Doolin for the night. We saw the Cliffs of Moher the following morning, then headed up through the Burren to Galway and out to Spiddle for the night. Then we drove through Athlone over to Dublin, Dublin to Kilkenny, Kilkenny to Kenmare. We stayed in Kenmare for several days, taking day trips from there, driving the Ring of Kerry, etc. We went to Limerick one night for dinner, then back to Shannon for our flight home.
Our car was a manual transmission, but automatics were available. Don't bother with the GPS--it will get you lost more often than not. No big deal for us, since we liked exploring. The roads can be a little intimidating at first, by by the 3rd day, it was no big deal.
I truly believe that the beauty and joy in Ireland is found in the countryside, the small villages, and the warm and welcoming people. If you stay on the grounds of a tourist location, you won't experience most of that. Get out and experience Ireland! It will be so worth it.
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