Tag: 2024

We had breakfast at the same little french café this morning as we had the day before. The city was very calm this morning, compared to the buzz yesterday evening.

After breakfast, check-out and a visit to the petrol station. We set off towards Kilkee Cliffs. This involved a short (and rather expensive) boat trip from Hobart. But credit to the staff for ensuring that we got safely onboard and disembarked by directing us at the ramp.

Kilkee Cliffs are well worth a visit. Not to much people and stunning views. Keep an eye to where you put your feets. Especially if it’s wet and windy. There are no fences or such to stop you from falling into the ocean below.

Next stop was the Cliffs of Moher. As we suspected it was a tourist trap in capital letters. Chaos at the car park as a start (no control on how many cars are let in or how they park). We managed to find a free spot after a while. Then there was a myriad of people around the visitor center and on the viewing points. We went up to a couple of the spots to get some photos. But we quickly decided to go elsewhere for lunch.

We recalled that we passed a place on the way up to the Cliffs of Moher. Said and done, we drove back a couple of kilometers to The Rockshop.

After lunch we decided to take a slight de-tour to the hotel. So we drove another backroad to avoid Cliffs of Mohar and ended up at R477. This road follows the coast all the way to Ballyvaughan where we stay for the night.

The Water Country House is a charming B&B just outside Ballyvaughan. They do not offer any dinner, so we went into the village. The seafood restaurant that was recommended turned out to be fully booked. After all it’s Saturday. So we went to the local pub instead. Too bad that there was some sort of football game going on at the TV with some enthusiastic followers. But the food was ok.

Tomorrow we’ll continue north along the coast.

Today we drove the legendary Ring of Kerry plus the Skellig Ring. At least the major part with some improvisation in the end. There is an excellent guide available at https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/ring-of-kerry-drive/ which pretty much cover everything you need to know about Ring of Kerry. The road condition is mostly very good. Parking can be an issue in some of the villages as well as on some viewing spots.

We started the day with breakfast in the city center. The breakfast restaurant at the hotel was far to noisy for our taste. But Petit Delice compensated for that and is well worth a visit.

We struggled a bit to find somewhere to eat. In Portmagee we couldn’t find a parking space. On Valentina Island, most places were closed. But we found a small café in Knight’s Town that served excellent sandwiches.

After we departed the ferry, we decided to take a different route back to Killarney. Instead of following the Ring of Kerry along the coast. We decided to go for the mountains and drive along L4010.

After returning to Killarney, the cars got a much needed wash. We then went shopping in the city and had dinner at Murphys.

We drove approximately 195 km today. Tomorrow we’ll head north to the Cliffs of Moher.

The day started with more rain in Dublin. After breakfast, we first drove to a petrol station to top up the other car in our little group of two. Having had enough of Dublin traffic yesterday, we decided to use the ring road around Dublin. Despite being a toll road, it was worth every cent. One just have to remember to login online and pay the toll within 24 hours.

We had picked a couple of places to visit on the way south. First out was Wicklow Mountains National Park with Sally gap and Wicklow gap. Plus, there is a visitor center near Wicklow gap where you can walk along two lakes. We had a lovely lunch there as well.

The next stop was the Vee pass in Tipperary. By then the sun hade come back and the soft top went down.We arrived to the hotel near Cork at 19:00. We drove 339 km today on some really nice roads. Mixed with some highways as well.

We finally arrived to Ireland around lunch time today. It was smooth sailing from Holyhead with not much traffic on Anglesey. Once in Dublin, we drove to the hotel in order to drop the bags. Despite telling the GPS app to avoid toll roads, it led us to a tunnel through the city with a toll. It’s always a challenge to pay when driving a sports cars. Since the machines are made for much higher vehicles. And when you are in a country with left hand drive, it adds to the complexity. Either the passenger will have to try to operate the machine. Or the driver has to get out of the car and run to the other side, pay, and get back in.

The plan was then to drive back into Dublin for some sightseeing. But the hotel rooms were almost ready. So, we had some cappuccino while waiting. The hotel is nicely situated next to the beach. It was a bit too windy today for a swim. The hotel rooms seems to be newly renovated and the staff is very friendly. So thumbs up for White Sands Hotel.

Once we got the rooms, we drove into the city center of Dublin. This was as tiring as expected. Sports cars and city traffic isn’t a great combination. We managed to get into a parking garage without scratching any rims or break any front spoilers. We had lunch at the Bull & Castle. A nice enough restaurant near the castle.

Although the weather was better than the forecast, there was still a light drizzle. We walked around parts of the city center. But most sights closed at 17:00. So, we only looked from the outside at the castle and S:t Patricks cathedral. The traffic was an absolute nightmare in the evening.

Once we got back to the hotel, we found out that there was some sort of football event going on and the pub was full of people watching on the screens. This was not an option for us. So, we went for a walk only to realize that the nearby restaurants all closed at 21:00 during the week. We end a rather miserable day with tea and some candies at the hotel room. Let’s hope that tomorrow will be better.

Day 3 was a stark contrast to the day before. We woke up in a sunny Harwich. We had a first breakfast on the boat and a second one at Costa while planning the more exact route. We can report that the tarmac on the road out of Harwich has been redone. Huge improvement compared to the previous off-road track we’ve seen there before. We set out to drive across England and into Wales and the village of Bala. There we planned to have lunch. After that, we took aim at Snowdonia national park. The drive went well with not to much traffic.

We first visited Wales back in 2019. That’s when we started to write this blog. We were amazed by Snowdonia already then. And the area delivered some stunning views and roads this time as well. In total, we drove 507 km today. All of which with the soft top folded.

Tonight we are staying at a combined pub and hotel. Black Boy Inn in Caernafon. The hotel is situated inside the city walls.