Please help me plan a route that has a mix of beauty and efficiency

The Browser

Hi All,

I'm getting married in Tipperary on 7 June. On 8 June, I would like to take my wife, a Filipina who has never been to Ireland before, on a tour that takes in the following sites:

• Cashel to Portmagee / Skelligs via the Gap of Dunloe (staying at Portmagee overnight)
• Portmagee upwards to the Aran Islands for a tour of Inishmore (staying on Aran Islands overnight)
• Across then to either Newgrange or Glendalough, to be back in Cashel by Tuesday night.

So, we would leave Cashel on Saturday afternoon and return by Tuesday evening. Along the way we'd like to see some nice scenery and have a bit of an adventure, free to stop off along the way if we see something interesting.

I realize that this tour is logisticaly challenging -- that's why I've come to the Roads forum, for route suggestions that encompass speed and efficiency at times, but beauty at others. Motorways can make up some of the trip for sure; but are there also some nice, interesting regional or secondary routes that we could take (e.g. the ferry from Kerry to Clare)?

Thanks,

AugustusMinimus

You have 2 options for the Gap of Dunloe anyways.

1. Drive up the Gap of Dunloe from the Fossa side. If you do this, you'll come out somewhere up near ladies view overlooking the Killarney lakes. From there you'll need to do more than half of the Ring of Kerry to get to Portmagee. You'll have to drive through Sneem and Caherdaniel to get there.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=killarney&daddr=52.0751191,-9.6238812+to:52.014901,-9.6352295+to:portmagee&hl=en&ll=51.952729,-9.876709&spn=0.482435,0.883026&sll=51.958654,-9.762726&sspn=0.482371,0.883026&geocode=FcJWGgMdogBv_ynZbpe0DDxFSDHAdDGXqccACg%3BFW-aGgMdtyZt_yl3TcjOvzhFSDHd9MkcZCEm0w%3BFTWvGQMdY_ps_ykfGmKFYEBFSDGxsZNPhExWrQ%3BFXa1FwMdrONh_ynRm4OIXZNPSDFQuTGXqccACg&mra=dvme&mrsp=1&sz=10&via=1,2&t=m&z=10

2. From Killarney, drive out the Mucross Road and up to Ladies view. From there, drive down the Gap of Dunloe, coming out on the Killarney to Killorglin road. From there, it is a more straight forward drive to Portmagee via Cahirciveen.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=killarney&daddr=51.9390437,-9.6555379+to:52.0149012,-9.6352295+to:portmagee&hl=en&ll=51.978113,-9.62265&spn=0.482161,0.883026&sll=52.010246,-9.61853&sspn=0.240907,0.703125&geocode=FcJWGgMdogBv_ynZbpe0DDxFSDHAdDGXqccACg%3BFeOGGAMdD6ts_ynhmpTu8mpFSDHyJiXzzRB0bQ%3BFTWvGQMdY_ps_ykfGmKFYEBFSDGwsZNPhExWrQ%3BFXa1FwMdrONh_ynRm4OIXZNPSDFQuTGXqccACg&t=m&doflg=ptk&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=11&via=1,2&z=10

Option 1 is longer but you get in all the Ring of Kerry (you'd complete it the next day). Option 2 takes in the drive from Killarney to Ladies view via Mucross which is quite nice.

Carawaystick

If you're not set on Inis Mór, you can get a ferry from Doolin in Clare to Inis Oirr.
So from Valentin, return to north Kerry and get the ferry across the Shannon at Tarbet

Take the coastal road around loop head and up to Doolin. You can either drive into the cliffs of Moher or there's a new coastal walk up from Doolin (6km)

Ferry to Inis Oirr where you can walk around it handy enough

Ferry back, take the coast road by Fanore through bitten or by Corkscrew hill to ballyvaughan and on to Kinvara

Kinvara-Gort-Loughrea-Balinasloe-Shannonbridge-Clonmacnoise

From Clonmacnoise you can cross the bogs to Cloughan and then to the Blue ball south of Tullamore

After visiting a monastery you might like to see Newgrange n52-m6/4-m50-m/n2-Newgrange

Or to get to Glendalough:
Tullamore-Daingean-Edenderry-Rathdangan-the Curragh-Naas-Blessington-around the lake, over the Wicklow gap to Glendalough

antoobrien

Carawaystick wrote: »

If you're not set on Inis Mór, you can get a ferry from Doolin in Clare to Inis Oirr.
So from Valentin, return to north Kerry and get the ferry across the Shannon at Tarbet

Take the coastal road around loop head and up to Doolin. You can either drive into the cliffs of Moher or there's a new coastal walk up from Doolin (6km)

The Doolin company are advertising all three Islands, but I'd take this route for a scenic route to Galway in any case. Given the rough 3.5 days time limit I'd suggest going to the Islands from Doolin rather than Rossaveal and using the N67 to see the Cliffs of Moher and Aillwee Caves and general Burren scenery. Tjhe N67 will loop back to the N18 at Kilcolgan, about halfway between Galway and Gort. From there I'd go Gort - Portumna - Birr - Mountrath - Durrow and take the old N8 (R639 now) to go back to Cashel.

If the o.p. is interested in going from Rossaveal and has the time, then I'd suggest heading out to Kylemore Abbey & Clifden (a nice spot to spend a day or two), but realistically speaking I don't think you;'ll get it all in.