Best places to go to in Ireland?

Jezabelle28

Hi all!

My fiance and I are getting married next Feb and want to do a mini tour of down south of Ireland for our honeymoon! We would be going in March (I know, not the greatest time of year :rolleyes: )

So where would you all recommend? we are coming from Monaghan, and have been to Westport/Mayo and would like to stay away from the big cities and just see more rural areas!

We are both big animal lovers so if ye can recommend places to see that include animals it will be even better!

Thanks a million guys! x

Bacchus

Hey, living in east Cork here and would recommend you maybe map out a route starting somewhere in west Kerry and all along to Waterford (I'm not really familiar with what's in Wexford but maybe someone else can give you pointers there).

Some places to hit/stay (driving along the coast as you go)...
- Dingle (stunning, on the edge of Ireland)
- Valentia Island & The Skelligs
- Killarney. Stay in the Europe. Sights... National Park, Muckross house, gap of dunloe. There's also a fantastic hiking trail from Kenmare to Kilarney that you can do.
- Bantry or Clonakility. Both nice west cork towns. Actually, Inchydoney is a beautiful hotel right on the beach near Clonakility. Definitely worth a stay.
- You'll pass it anyway if you stay along the coast, but the Old Head is cool (even if you can't get onto it itself due to the private golf course).
- Kinsale is the next logical place to stay. It's a bit touristy but it's got lovely hotels and places to eat.
- Skipping past the city, next would be Fota. If you like animals, this hotel/spa has an adjoining wildlife park that is fantastic.
- There's lots of lovely areas around east Cork then... Ballycotton, Shanagarry, Ballymacoda, Garryvoe (nice hotel there). Whitegate. Check out Kilmahon House B&B btw. I shot a wedding once where the bride was getting ready there. It's a gem. Pretty sure there's a couple of open farms around the area too but not sure if they're more aimed at kids.
- Youghal is next. Not sure if there's any nice hotels there but the boardwalk along the beach is a lovely walk. There's a couple of nice cafe's too for lunch (check out Priory coffee).
- My knowledge starts to get a bit more sketchy from here on... Dungarvan is a nice (largish) town with some great food and nice walks around it but not sure on the hotel front what it has to offer.
- Oh, there's the cycle greenway in Waterford that you should definitely check out.
- I'm not sure then about Waterford/Wexford but you should finish on a high in the Monart hotel. I've never been but my wife has and once we get this whole "raising children" phase out of the way that's where we're going

Hope that helps!

Head down the east coast to Bray. If you’re into walking, the Bray cliff walk is worth doing. Then head to Kilkenny and enjoy the castle and city. Cut across to Cashel. From there head to Cork city. Then head West to Kerry. Up to the Cliffs of Moher, then up the wild Atlantic way home.

Bacchus

Deleted User wrote: »

Head down the east coast to Bray. If you’re into walking, the Bray cliff walk is worth doing. Then head to Kilkenny and enjoy the castle and city. Cut across to Cashel. From there head to Cork city. Then head West to Kerry. Up to the Cliffs of Moher, then up the wild Atlantic way home.

Oh, that reminded me.... Ballycotton cliff walk and the Ardmore Cliff walk are both great. Also, the Cliff House in Ardmore is a stunning hotel to stay in.

pooch90

If you're going to Cashel then Cahir is fab too.

Jezabelle28

Bacchus, Maryanne and pooch- thank you all for your fab replies! It's hard to know all the little nooks and crannies of our little Isle to get seeing! Thank you all so much and Bacchus thanks for your in depth message, they will all certainly be on our list