Driving tour of Ireland

Gorteen

The prospect of paying almost €5 grand for a fortnight this summer in Spain or Portugal, I'm thinking of a tour of the Irish coastline this summer.

Car with 2 adults plus 3 teenagers. Thinking of hitting campsites with a 1 or 2 night stay, depending on what's in the vicinity.

Initial idea is to start from Midlands and go to Wexford, then Waterford (probably do the greenway to Dungarvan), then on to Cork, then Kerry, then Clare (maybe Lisdoonvara or Lahinch), then Galway, Mayo (to include Westport to Achill greenway), then to Sligo (maybe Bundoran area), then Donegal (possibly Letterkenny), then Antrim (Giants causeway), maybe a night in Belfast (probably hotel) before returning to Midlands.

Anyone done anything similar? Or are there particular suggestions or recommendations for any of the above locations?

amtc

A couple of years ago I had to do a tour of telephone exchanges for work...don't ask. I'd been most places from Dublin but always on motorways.

I drove from Cork to Waterford and the scenery was amazing.

What about Limerick? Was there Easter. Very vibrant.

Aran Islands?

Carlingford and zipline?

One thing that does strike me about your plan is it's likely to be quite expensive.

fdevine

Campsites or mobile home sites should help keep the costs down. The only problem with camping is the unpredictable weather. Having done it many times in the "Wet Wesht" of Ireland even high summer can be miserable.

Across to Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Derry, Antrim, Down over two weeks is only one day/night per county which isn't much time.

Being Ireland though you will find that it won't be cheap by any means. I personally think that you'll be lucky to see much change out of €2500 which is, admittedly, 50% of holidaying abroad (depending on where you go) but there are almost certainly cheaper options on the continent.

ibstar

Had friends who done it. It's cheaper to go abroad than to travel around Ireland, but the scenery around Ireland during a good summer is amazing from my previous experience of visiting different cities.

johnnyskeleton

Gorteen wrote: »

Initial idea is to start from Midlands and go to Wexford,

Don't forget Wickow:

http://www.camping-ireland.ie/parks/wicklow/moat-farm-caravan-camping-park

Almost too many good walks in Wicklow to mention, blessington lakes & Russborough house, glendalough, glencullen and johnny foxes etc.

That is not to take away from the excellence of Wexford, of course!

then Waterford (probably do the greenway to Dungarvan), then on to Cork, then Kerry, then Clare (maybe Lisdoonvara or Lahinch), then Galway, Mayo (to include Westport to Achill greenway), then to Sligo (maybe Bundoran area), then Donegal (possibly Letterkenny),

All good options, all the highlights. Depending on what you like, I'd try to get one or two activities in each day and maybe do a smaller route. For instance, you could spend a week in North Kerry or West Cork alone.

then Antrim (Giants causeway), maybe a night in Belfast (probably hotel) before returning to Midlands.

Just bear in mind that the north Antrim cost is freezing for most of the year so camping might not be great unless it's the height of summer. There is however a great hostel beside the causeway called finn mccools which is really cheap and you can park there (the only other places to park are in Bushmills town 4 miles down the road or at the visitor's centre which costs 10 pounds to park in and I don't think they'd let you stay overnight).

Anyone done anything similar? Or are there particular suggestions or recommendations for any of the above locations?

I don't have kids so I don't know what it would be like with 3 teenagers in the back, but it sounds like a lot of driving and you would be covering a lot of ground. Maybe aim to do a fortnight in the South Coast this year and save Sligo, Dongeal and Antrim to next year?

It also depends on what specific things you like doing - nature walks, beaches, food, nightlife, cultural stuff, city stuff etc?

Wexford
Vingear Hill is very historic but is really just a hill with a plaque. There is also a 1798 centre in Enniscorthy but I'm not sure what it's like.
Rosslaire strand is great for beachs etc or a round of golf
Wexford town has some great eateries in the centre like Greenacres or the yard (not cheap) and good pubs etc.
Kilmore Quay is great for seafood, and you can get a local boat to drop you out to the Saltee Islands if you want to visit a nature sanctuary.

Cork
Midleton is great if you want to visit the distillery or rock into the very expensive ballymaloe house restaurant about 10 miles down the road. There is also the equally expensive Castlemartyr spa hotel.
Fota Island nature reserve is great and en route to Cork City
Cork City has loads of stuff like the Gaol etc but you might want to avoid cities.
Blarney is a good place to visit for all your castle needs
Kinsale is a lovely little fishing town with a few great restaurants and pubs. Not sure what the camping situation is like.
Inchidonny strand is a great beach near clonakilty which is also a nice town. Apparently the pudding makers have opened a visitor's centre, but that could just be an example of local humour!
Everywhere in West Cork is beautiful and there will be loads of places to stay.

Kerry
There's almost too much to do naturewise with the ring of Kerry, the Mcgillicuddy reeks, Valentia, lakes of Killarney etc. If you do a bit of the ring of Kerry try to get to Derrynane House, former home of Daniel O'Connell.
Dingle is a great town full of pubs and fun and the penninsula is great for camping.
Tralee isn't great, but the Siamsa Tire is great to see Irish folk theatre
Killorglin - if you're in Kerry between the 10th and 12th of August and you don't visit the beautiful madness of Puck Fair then you're doing it wrong!
Ballybunion is great for golfing, but not sure that's practical in a family holiday.

Clare
Also worth a week with the Burren, Kilkee, Lahinch, Doolin, Ballyvaughan etc.
The honeypot in Lissdoonvarna has just won a michelin star so is worth a visit, as is Linane's in New Quay where the seafood is so fresh that you might have to wait until they unload the boat on the nearby jetty before you can get your dinner

Galway/Mayo
Connemmara is also beautiful and well worth visiting slowly over the course of a week or two.
Galway city is also great fun
The Aran Islands and Achill are also two brilliant spots to visit.
If you get up to north Mayo the Ceide fields are apparently one of the oldest stone age ruins around. The only thing is that they are mostly under about 10 feet of mud and turf, so it's a classic Irish "close your eyes and imagine you'res seeing something amazing" type thing. Almost worth it for that - if your kids grow up and move to London or New York or somewhere straight laced like that, they will remember our slipshod approach to tourism with fondness!

Sligo/Dongeal
Again, loads to see and do naturewise with Mullaghmore, rosses point etc
Lissadel house outside Sligo is particularly good
The further north in Donegal the more beatiful but colder it gets, so be warned! Letterkenny is good fun.

Antrim
As above, can be cold but bushmills and the ropebridge near ballycastle are the main sights. The countryside is very pleasant but, while meaning no ill will towards our Northern Cousins, some of the towns have seen much better days!

Belfast
Nice neat little town. The Titanic exhibition really is worth going to, paying 20 pounds, feeling ripped off but then coming out of there having actually learned some interesting stuff. Deans of Howard street is a good place to go to get a fine steak and chips lunch afterwards.

Overall, the problem with Ireland is that there is just so much to do and so little time. More importantly, we really undersell ourselves as a nation. Most of what is great about Ireland is the random locations you find where you can go into a small pub that is also a post office and will sell you bread and milk if youre stuck, or the beautiful beach with no one on it etc.

Gorteen

Thanks so much for all the info..... I meant to add we are considering camping with a B&B/Hotel option in the back pocket if we need a bit of comfort for a few night....
The driving doesn't bother me because I've briefly worked it out and it works out at between 70 and 110 km per day which is easily do-able.

We've been to Kerry before (mainly Killarney) and the "kids" really want to go back there.... I hope it's as good as they remember.

I've done the Waterford/Dungarvan greenway and the Westport/Achill greenway, so I might convince the others to give it a go!

I'm very interested in NI, mainly for Giants Causeway and Titanic Museum.

I'm a happy man if it does end up at 2500... Pulling on the green jersey and all that.... The big issue is the unpredictable weather, but sure feck it!

Are there any more "must-see" items?

johnnyskeleton

I did a 100-200km per day driving tour last year but it was just adults! Its not bad but it is good to stay in a few places for a few days for their sanity as well as your own!


If yoou really want to see the causeway and they want to see Kerry, why not do a tour from antrim to donegal and down the west coast?

If I had to pick 5 must see items in a circuit of ireland id probably pick:
1. Aran Islands, probably inish mor
2. Glendalough
3. Dingle
4. The burren
5. Lissadel house