Ireland ~ Self-Driven Journeys
Irish Cafe
Ross Castle
Cliffs of Moher
Street Musician
Pub in Dublin
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9 Days Self-Driven Irish Journeys
Sullivan's Travels will set up your footsteps in Ireland. "They'd steal your heart away" As your travel consultant, we provide the following services: pre-booked accommodations to B&B's, hotels, castles, manor houses and farmhouses; reserved car rentals to travel the Irish highways. We will plan with you the places, people and sites you would like to visit. All trips include a day by day spiral-bound itinerary. It will include airline information, pre-booked accommodations of your choice, daily driving directions and places to see in the area. The itinerary will have pictures of the places you will stay and the places you want to visit. We also prepare local information, historical background, Irish humor and driving tips by "Left Lane Maureen". Sample self-drive itinerary Friday Flight from the United States to Ireland. When you are settled on the plane set your clock to Irish time, forget the time difference, and you will get a good night's rest. Saturday Dublin Airport, The Rock of Cashel, Cashel Morning arrival at Dublin Airport. After customs, pick up your rental car. Familiarize yourself with the car and remember you drive on the left side of the road. May the road rise up to greet you! Leaving the airport take M50 around Dublin and turn on to the N7, to N8 to Cashel. The Rock of Cashel is one of the places where the high kings of Ireland were crowned. King Brian Boru was crowned here in 977, and made it his capital. Cashel means 'fortress' and a fortress it is. For 20 or 30 km in every direction there is a grassy plain, but on the outskirts of Cashel stands a lump of lime stone. Sometime in the 4th century a group of Irish Knights built fortifications upon the rock. This is now a roofless castle open for tours. Tonight you will stay at "Hillhouse Guesthouse" with views of the castle. This evening you can check out the town of Cashel. Cashel is a prosperous and thoroughly touristy, medieval town with plenty of restaurants and pubs. Sunday Killarney Killarney is a picturesque tourist town which boasts some excellent craft galleries and is a good place to shop. One real pleasure is the air smells of damp woods and heather moors. Saint Mary's Cathedral, finished in 1855, was designed by the architect Augustus Pugin. Ross Castle dates back to the 14th century. In Killarney you can hire a jaunting cart and travel through the countryside and arrive at the grounds of Muckross House and Killarney National Park. Tonight and tomorrow night you will be staying at a B&B or hotel. Monday Ring of Kerry, Killarney The best way to see the Ring of Kerry is a day trip by coach around the Ring. You're are sitting above the hedgerows with a grand view, taking in the wit and humor of the driver as he tells stories. The coach will pick you up at 9:30 a.m. and bring you back at 4:30 p.m. Have a leisurely breakfast, and enjoy the Ring of Kerry. Driving distance is 118 miles. Killarney is synonymous for it's many drinking establishments and plenty of Irish music. Get a wee drop at one of Killarney's many pubs. Tuesday Dingle, Dingle Peninsula There are many things to see on the western extremity of the peninsula. The whole area is exceptionally rich in prehistoric and early Christian remains. The attractive little port of Dingle with its colorfully painted shops and pubs, will make a good base for exploring the Dingle Peninsula. The summit of Connor Pass is the highest mountain pass in Ireland open to cars. From the top, you can gaze at the magnificent view. But in a moment the mist can roll in and everything vanishes. Tonight you will stay at a B&B in Dingle. Wednesday Cliffs of Moher, Doolin You'll know you are in Ireland, when you see Bunratty Castle, built in the 15th century. The Cliffs of Moher is a must see. On a clear day the views are tremendous. These awe-inspiring bastions of rock rise sheer up from the sea to a height of nearly 670 feet and run relentlessly for five miles. From the edge, you can hear the booming far below as the waves of the Atlantic crash into the cliffs. The town of Doolin is a small Irish town and is home to three pubs that are famous for their Irish music – O'Connors, McGanns and McDermott's. Tonight you will stay at a guesthouse in Doolin. Thursday Clonmacnois, Shannonbridge Clonmacnois was the seat of learning for hundreds of years of monastic life. As Europe sank into the Dark Ages, Ireland in the 7th and 8th centuries became a land of saints and scholars, with thriving monasteries where monks wrote in Latin and illuminated manuscripts. The ruins of Clonmacnois Abbey have 7 churches, the first church was built in 545 AD. Most of the remains that you see today, date from the 10th to 12th centuries, as earlier buildings of wood and clay have long since disappeared. The Shannon River brought the Vikings and also the native Irish forces who raided the monastery. It is said that it was burned 12 times. Clonmacnois is one of my favorites of the early Irish sites of history. A narrow bridge crosses the River Shannon into Shannonbridge, a delightful little village, with an old fashioned Irish charm. Tonight you will stay at a B&B in Shannonbridge. Friday Dublin's Fair City Today you will be driving to Dublin Airport to return the car. You do not want to take the car into Dublin City. It is a nightmare of one way streets, congestion and roundabouts that will get you lost. The street changes names at every block, the Irish love their patriots! Welcome to Dublin City, Ireland's capital and largest city. The city celebrated its millennium in 1988, but there were settlements here long before 988 AD. Dublin City is a safe walking city with cheerful streets. Trinity College and it's grand library is guardian to the Book of Kells, dating back to around 800 AD – one of the oldest books in the world. The best way to see Dublin is to take the Dublin Bus Tour "City Tour". Your 24 hour ticket will allow you to hop on and off, as often as you wish. This tour will give you an overview of Dublin and some of the things you might like to see. The Temple Bar area is a magical place with its renovated Victorian buildings, a maze of narrow cobbled streets with many Irish pubs within a crawl of each other. The Auld Dubliner, Oliver St., John Gogarty's, The Norseman and the Temple Bar to name a few. So enjoy the best Dublin has to offer. You can do a pub crawl back to the hotel. Tonight and tomorrow night you will be staying at a Dublin hotel. Saturday Tour Dublin As you walk you will see the Georgian architecture of the 18th century, a time of peace and prosperity in Dublin. The Georgian doors can't be missed. Also, the windows get smaller as they go up, this is done to make the building appear taller. The River Liffey runs through the center of the city. Dublin is a city of endless history. You can feel it as you walk the streets. One must not visit Dublin and neglect to study the history of Ireland, the General Post Office, the Dublin Writers Museum and the old Kilmainham Gaol. Also, there is the Guinness Storehouse Brewery, Smithfield Village and the Old Jameson Distillery. At the head of Grafton Street is a statue of Molly Malone, a tribute to the Dublin women who hawked their wares through streets broad and narrow. "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone..." It's Saturday night in Dublin's Fair City and the city should be alive! Sunday Flight home Your flight home is today. Take a taxi back to Dublin Airport. We would be delighted to help plan your Irish adventure! |