Ta to Ireland

[fat-mal]

Greetings to all
I am thinking of taking my good lady and our TA over to Ireland from Fishguard and doing the Ring of Kerry. Hoping to go next month for a week B&B. So I am looking for tips, routes, things to see, and not too expensive B&Bs. And anything else that will be of help. Thanks Fat-Mal

[kc34]

Hi Mal. I live in dublin but have not spent much in the south of the country. I know the midlands a bit of the north but if your heading over the pond keep in touch. I would travel down south for a night or two for a met up.

[tonythesaint]

Hi mal,
Me and the other half took our TA over via Rosslare last month and loved it, we headed down to Bantry and stayed there, we did the ring of Kerry which was great but for me the ride around the Beara Penninsula and over the Healy pass was the highlight of the week. We stayed at the same B&B for most of the week as it meant we could ditch the luggage cos some of the roads are a bit bumpy especially fully loaded (the better half doesn't do traveling lightly !) but the TA performed brilliantly and seemed really at home on the Irish roads.
We found everyone very friendly and helpfull and had a great time, going back in september, the one thing that did surprise me thou was how few bikes you see, especially in the South/West area ! on the day we did the ring of Kerry (160 miles) we only passed 4/5 bikes all day.
Tony.

[fat-mal]

Thanks Tony thats the sort of info I am after. Very helpfull. All the best to you and yours. Mal

[phil2alp]

We stayed in Glengariff last year for 5 nights. It's just North of Bantry and quite a lot smaller. We stayed in a hotel which was less expensive than we expected it to be when we went in to enquire about prices . Sorry I can't remember exactly how much.

As Tonythe saint says it makes for a more relaxing week to dump your luggage and stay in one place as a base and explore each day from there.

Have a look round the Dingle peninsula. I thought that was better than the ring of Kerry.

Also the the lakes at Kilarney National park are well worth a look.

Allow a little more time than you might expect to travel as some of those roads on the West coast are very windy.

The Irish people are very friendly and talkative on the West coast especially when you get out of the towns.

North of Galway is also a good spot. I ended up on roads where the road signs were in Gaelic and eventually were basically farm tracks next to the coast.

[taffy]

just spotted this thread, yes kinsale - bantry - ring of kerry -and a good mix of views and roads to get there, i am in the middle of your spin over so if you need a pit stop or any problems near cork and i can be of assistance pm me for mobile.

[FatFergie]

I posted this in reply to Tony a few weeks back:

"I live in the south and my parents live in west Cork so I generally don't have to look for accommodation when I'm in the area and can't give you any specific recommendations. There's a wide range available from camping to nice hotels. What sort do you need? It's fairly expensive but B&Bs are generally good value for single night stays.
The west Cork and south Kerry area are ideal for bikes but bear in mind that travelling speeds are lower here than in the UK. 65 kph is a realistic average speed and maybe think about stopping somewhere on the way here or on the way back, or both.
I love all the peninsulas, the five fingers from Mizen to Dingle ("Daingeann" on signposts to confuse tourists), my favourite being Beara, Iveragh the one I know least well, I've tended to avoid it because it's more touristed than the others. PM me if you'd like more specific roads to ride otherwise just get happily lost. Keep your tank topped up because some areas are a bit low on fuel stations that stay open."

Glad you got to Beara Tony, lovely isn't it? Enjoy Mal.

[Simon]

otherwise contact chrish as he lives on the ring of kerry and is as mad as a hatter!

[FatFergie]

Heyyyy Simon, any news yet?

[brendy]

Hi Mal
I live in Derry,up in the NW.I recently had 6 days off, and did a 965 round trip down the west coast.
The whole west coast is pretty cool-with 3 wild but friendly dolphins at 3 different locations,huge cliffs, limestone-alpine landscapes, brilliant scenery, lovely quiet twisty roads, McCarthys bar,music, friendly people,tons of ancient buildings etc etc
For my trip, I went for one night to a bike meet, a trip to Skellig Michael(one of Irelands 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites-google it and see) and a night out on Dursey Island. This last one is slightly surreal. It is connected to the mainland by Irelands only cable car. All the islands cars are parked down at the cable car station as most of the inhabitants are off the island most of the time.You can walk around, past all the houses which have no one in,but the windows are open on good days!
As regards accomodation, I travelled with a loose plan,and camped or stayed in hostels wherever the day ended. There are also plenty B+Bs. I would recommend carrying a copy of Lonely Planet-that way you will have a decent guide book, but more importantly,accomodation phone numbers to book ahead. The tourist offices are also very good.
On the downside, prices for food can be pricey, but this is balanced out by the fact that fuel is cheaper.
Have fun
Brendy