Starting to plan a trip around Ireland, probably early to mid June, 2014. Renting a bike, and heading to the West coast seems like a good place to start. Any advice for routes, locations, specific dates (or dates to avoid), or other good ideas?
Great choice on a holiday destination. The south, south west and west of Ireland are the most scenic locations, as well as having kept the tradition of old Ireland. Starting in Cork, stop off in Kinsale, check out Cobh, the last stop of the Titanic, Glengariff, Bantry, the ring of Kerry, avoid Limerick, Clare is beautiful, Galway, the Aran Islands and on up to Donegal. Avoid fancy restaurants and chains and check out the smaller diners in non tourist towns. Country pubs are also more fun and can also be cheaper. The Spaniard in Kinsale is a must. PM me your email and I'll do up a google map with stuff worth seeing and cheap places to stay.
I rented a GS from Celtic Rider in Dublin last fall. Paul and the guys there are great and the equipment was in top shape. Check out Connemara and the Burren (SP?). Great roads on the west coast. Can't go wrong on this trip...too many great roads, not enough time. Here's a link to some video I shot on my gopro while I was over there.
If riding north on the east coast to Ulster you could nip up to Kilkeel to Newcastle to Strangford and over on a short (20min +/-)ferry crossing to Portaferry along the coast road to Newtownards to Belfast(avoid West Belfast as it's a shithole)...on along through Carrickfergus(where you'll see an excellent example of a Norman Castle) http://www.downdc.gov.uk/Leisure---Culture/Tourism/Strangford-Portaferry-Ferry-Sailing-Times.aspx On along the Antrim Coast coast road is not too bad a ride where you can glance over and see Scotland...ride on up to Portrush via The Giants Causeway via Dunluce Castle and head on along towards Donegal etc. http://www.causewaycoastandglens.com/Causeway-Coastal-Route.T186.aspx Westport has some great wee pubs and even scoot on over to Achill Island in County Mayo. You should get a large 'pub grub' meal costing about -£10 in most town pubs. You'll miss the NW200 (in May..pre races as it were to the Isle of Man TT races) but if you're interested,i.e. in Road Racing you'll get dates here http://www.irishbikeracing.com/dates.php If you're interested in WW2 stuff have a peep here http://ww2ni.webs.com .
So when given 5-7 days of riding time, is that enough to adequately circle the isle (without being rushed), or is it too much?
I think that is a lot to expect if you want to stop long enough to "smell the roses" or enjoy the country. Driving (or riding) on the other side of the road is suprisingly intuitive, but just as you get used to it is when you have problems. I have found that arriving on Sunday is a bonus. Most flights arrive early in the morning, so that gives you some time with the road to yourself to get used to driving on the "other" side of the road. We spent 10 days last year with a cage, and only enjoyed part of the country. I'm in Dublin tonight on business, and would love to get out tomorrow. But probably not going to happen. If you like music, spend the night in Doolin, near the Cliffs of Moore, very worth the effort. Kinsale is my other favorite place. But it's Ireland, it doesn't get much better!
I started doing some research for a similar trip about 9 months ago. One of my ideas was to hire a bike in Ireland but also spend a few days on the Isle of Man (after all the TT ruckus had died down; late June). I stumbled on a new and used bike dealer in Belfast called Phillip McCallen Motorcycles. (I know it's in West Belfast, but they do offer to pick you up from the airport) http://www.phillipmccallen.co.uk/ After an email enquiry I was contacted by a very accommodating bloke called Sam McClurg who answered all my questions, then politely kept in contact over the past few months. I have had to put the trip off to 2014, but I am confindent that these people will live up to expectations. They insure the bike for Eire and Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and mainland UK, so you can go where you want. I was also thinking the Yourshire Dales and Lake District might we worth a look. You have to pay the ferry fares. Look for Isle of Man Steam Packet Company They are Triumph, Kwakka and KTM agents, but recommended the Triumph 800 Tiger as being most suitable for Irish roads, and they will supply them with luggage. I seem to remember that they can hire riding and wet weather gear as well. I haven't got the emails to hand, but mey recollection was that the hire was about 385 GBP per week which is about $600 US (but don't quote me on this; whatever it was it didn't sound excessive). One of the reasons to consider a side trip to the Isle of Man is that after TT fortnight, the open roads again become an open speed limit; how cool is that? Cheers, Tim in Australia
Just for info...Phil McCallen is in Lisburn not Belfast....easy to get to... There's sat nav co ordinates in the website if needed.... .
I know you are right WIBO, but when I look at the map from all the way down here in Australia, Belfast looked close enough. If you look closely in the bottom right of this phot, you will see that Phil rode in some pretty imressive company.
lol...I can see where you're coming from... Yip..he is a great rider for sure......and a very nice man into the bargain. .
Last year I made a trip to Ireland, we kept on the south side, no higher then Connemara on the west side, and Dublin on the east. The ring of Kerry, The Military road are places to visit! Ride through the Burren, and take a look at the Cliffs of Moher. Great atmosphere, and good food in the local pubs. We camped on a great camping site in Galway, with a great view on the Antlantic Ocean. We took 4 days for this part of the island, and could have used 2 extra! Tight roads bring down the average!
Just to point out mcallens is in lisburn not belfast. Also it is owned and run by famous road racer phil mccallen which is cool
See Rockydogs Ride Report ,he is currently riding Ireland and is doing the best route from Kinsale through the south west and up the west coast towards Donegal.
Going in Dublin in Sept this is awesome...I will be renting a motorcycle and was wondering about place to see and ride keep them coming...
Ireland .. A great place to ride.. Check out http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49439 enjoy
