Ireland and Scotland

[murphath]

DH and I mentioned to friends that we were going to plan a trip to Southern Ireland Fall 2016.  Now it seems that others want to join us so this has turned me into a tour organizer.  I'm feeling the pressure .  Just noticed this thread so thought I'd ask some questions:

1.  Was thinking we could do 4 nights Galway area and do day trips to the Aran Islands, the Burren, Connemara, Cliffs of Moher (I want to see them from the water, if weather cooperates.)
 etc.  People don't want to drive (DH, DD and I have no problems with driving) so are there organized tours to those areas from Galway?  That way people can pick/choose whatever they want to do and I'm not responsible for their ground itinerary so much.

2.  From Galway we would go south to the Dingle area for 4 nights.  Hoping there is an organized tour for the Ring of Kerry (have to do that once in your life, right?), Bunratty Castle medieval feast, some local hiking, and, if people want, they can go kiss the Blarney Stone.

3.  Next is up to Dublin for 3 nights where everyone is on their own.  We want to do the city bike tour, for sure.

4. We would take the train to Belfast (see more Irish countryside), ferry to Scotland, and train (?) to Edinburgh.  I'm thinking 3 nights here.  Any suggestions for things to see outside Edinburgh?  I know there's Loch Ness but isn't that just water?

To complicate matters, one of the trip members had the whipple surgery done for pancreatic cancer and she can't be moving from place to place very quickly.  That's why I thought we could stay in areas for at least 3 nights each.  Also, if she's not feeling well, she can rest and just wander on her own. She'll be "bunking" with another lady who is slow moving, as well.  We, on the other hand, have no physical limitations and like to get up and out.

Any accommodation recommendations in any of these places?  Some folks want to spend a night in a castle?  Anybody do that and want to share? 

I appreciate any and all info.  Thanks.

[Bonny]

I've done everything on your itinerary except the Ring of Kerry. But my trip to Western Ireland was on bike. Therefore we stayed in B&Bs in each of those little towns. The one exception was getting to Galway because of the heavy traffic. I will also say that Galway was my least favorite destination although we did stay at a pretty cool hotel there.

I'm a little concerned about your ability just make day trips from Galway. As I mentioned earlier traffic is pretty heavy and I think you will be spending a lot of time in the car. Also while the Irish roads were in good shape, they are much narrower and the time to travel from town to town will take longer than you expect. I suggest getting on to Trip Advisor and see if anyone else has done a trip to Western Ireland recently and can comment on the "commute times". Also if you are headed to the Aran Island you will need to coordinate ferry times.

Coolest souvenirs? An Aran Island sweater and a bottle of Connemara Whiskey. Whenever we open a bottle it reminds me of cycling around the peat bogs in Connemara. And it's much better than Jameson

I wasn't in charge of organizing the trip but I still bought Lonely Planet's "Ireland" guide book. It gave me a chance to read up on stuff beforehand. As the coordinator I highly recommend buying it. Just double check with Trip Advisor for the latest and greatest info since the books are often lagging about two years behind.

DH and I made a trip to Scotland in 2012. We spent 2 nights in Edinburgh and then drove up to take the ferry to the Orkney Islands and spent another four days up there. It was a wonderful trip. You could make a day trip to Loch Ness. It is a beautiful Loch (lake). But what you will find is a kitschy museum and not much else. We enjoyed it but I'm glad we didn't make a special trip to see it.

And plan on a lot of rain! We got suckered in when we first arrived in Ireland. It was beautiful arriving in Shannon Airport and the following day we road out to the shore. The weather was sunny and who knew about Irish surfers? But the following day the ride was through the Burren and it POURED. It then rained every day for at least two hours until the last day of our trip. That led me to make a joke about the title of a famous Irish song "40 shades of Green" which is that the rarest shade of green is sunlit green!

[billisonboard]

Tomorrow might have a serious impact on the Scotland part.

[murphath]

Thanks for all the info.  I know about the Irish roads as my daughter went to Ireland a few years back.  I think that is why some of these folks don't want to do the driving.

My husband hitchhiked throughout Ireland in the mid-70's so his knowledge is a bit dated.  If it were up to me, we'd skip Scotland altogether and just do No/So Ireland but I've been outvoted.

I'll check out Trip Advisor.

[Ombud]

Just booked Dublin 4/25-5/2/15. Looked at daytours.ie which has small tours available (up to 9 passengers)

[ilovedolphins]

Feb 22, 2015 1:10:10 GMT -5 Ombud said:

Just booked Dublin 4/25-5/2/15. Looked at daytours.ie which has small tours available (up to 9 passengers)

Will you be spending the entire time in Dublin?

[Ombud]

No. Dublin is my base but I'm going to Cork, Connemara (sp), and the coast each for 1 day. The exchange rate is awesome right now