Maybe head to Galway for a night or two – nice town.

I suggest the Cliffs of Mohar definetely, Bunratty castle, and if you can go to the Aran Islands. The islands are a great place to see traditional irish culture. Galeway is a really fun place…if you want to go to pub crawl and party it up it would be a great time…especially if you are there in time for the Galeway races.

I don’t think there’s a whole lot in Shannon apart from the airport and some hotels and shops in the town.
The Clare coast is pretty impressive to drive along, up to Galway. You’ll pass the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin is close enough to the cliffs.
There are ferries from Doolin to the Aran Islands.
Ennis could be a good place to spend the first night, and you could probably see the cliffs and maybe the Burren national park from there.
You should definitely go to Galway though. Good town. Lively, youthful atmosphere. Kinlay House is a good hostel there. The city is a good base for day trips to Connemara (mountainous terrain) or back south to the cliffs and Clare coast, or over to Aran.
The fly/sail deal to Aran is good. Not too expensive. You fly over and then sail back. It feels like more of an adventure when you go up in a small plane. On the island, you can rent a bike and cycle around. There are a lot of monastic and older archaelogical sites scattered around the place, the main one being an ancient fortress perched on top of sheer cliffs with the Atlantic below.
If you had a car, there are some scenic drives up through Galway into County Mayo. Some of the tours to Connemara might go along those routes.
Tons of good pubs in Galway. If you’re stuck for time, you could fly over to Dublin instead of getting the bus (which takes three and a half hours). If it was a clear day, you’d get a good view of the country below. 29 euros if you book a couple of days in advance, (www.aerarann.com for flight prices) but the bus will be a good bit cheaper.

Shannon already is on the west coast, so you are close enough to Galway, Doolin, Ennis, etc. There are plenty of other places to see that are better than the area around the airport, so why waste a night?

yeah i couldnt find much on stuff to do in shannon so i was planning on heading over to doolin as soon as i could. I just wanted to see if anyone had anything that was worth seeing in shannon.

Shannon is pretty much just a village, but Limerick is the largest city near the airport.

I’m flying into Shannon from LAX and leaving from Shannon three days later to continue my journey. I’m wondering the same thing as mattymatt…..what to do and where to stay around Shannon. Here is my plan so far, please let me know your thoughts:

Day 1 – Arrive at Shannon(SNN) 0700, get hotel in Limerick as my base city for the three nights. Spend first day visiting the castle in Limerick, maybe Hunt Museum, and maybe stopping at Bunratty castle on the way to Limerick.
Day 2 – Start my 30-day consecutive Eurailpass. Day trip to Dublin.
Day 3 – Day trip two. Maybe, Cliffs of Mohar, Aran Islands, or Dingle Peninsula.
Day 4 – Flight from SNN 0700.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Luxury writes:

quote:Day 1 – Arrive at Shannon(SNN) 0700, get hotel in Limerick as my base city for the three nights. Spend first day visiting the castle in Limerick, maybe Hunt Museum, and maybe stopping at Bunratty castle on the way to Limerick.

3-nights in Limerick City is ‘overkill:’ You can see King John’s Castle, the Treaty Stone and the Hunt Museum in one full day (and even fit in an Angela’s Ashes ‘walk,’ if you like). I suggest 1-night in Limerick.

quote:Day 2 – Start my 30-day consecutive Eurailpass. Day trip to Dublin.

Dublin is a ‘hike’ for a daytrip from Limerick City. If you could remain overnight in Dublin and head for Galway the next morning it might make your Dublin visit more enjoyable.

quote:Day 3 – Day trip two. Maybe, Cliffs of Mohar, Aran Islands, or Dingle Peninsula.

During the Tourist Season there are several Bus Eireann departures from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher. Then, with an 07:00 departure on day-4 you may want to stay at the hotel at Shannon airport (Pan American?). Once, for an early flight I stayed at the Queen’s Hotel in Ennis but I had booked a taxi to pick me up at 05:30

quote:Day 4 – Flight from SNN 0700.

BTW
The Limerick City Bus & Rail stations are co-located as are those in Galway and Ennis. I know there are consignment facilities at Galway and Limerick (where you can check your bags) Rail stations.

mattymatt writes:

quote:… my second stop after london is shannon ireland where i hope to spend a few days on the west coast (mon april 18 i arrive in shannon) before heading into dublin for a few days. i’d like to see the cliffs of moher near Ennis and doolin looks really nice. Since i arrive at 14:10 should i look to head to the coast on that day or is shannon a nice place to spend the night?

I wouldn’t plan to spend the night in Shannon except in very tight circumstances. The Hotel at the airport is very expensive unless you happen to be ‘aircrew.’ There are some B&B’s nearby. They shouldn’t be too heavily booked in April; but B&B’s can be expensive: Prices are quoted ‘PPS’ (per person sharing) and it’s not unusual for the ‘single supplement’ to be half the PPS rate (i.e., 35 Euro PPS might be 45 or 50 Euro for a single). There’s a Hostal in Ennis: Abbey Tourist Hostal across the bridge from the Monastery ruins. They (Argentinian couple who manage the Hostal) have an e-mail address. It’s a long walk from the Ennis Bus/Rail station to the location of the Hostal (I estimate about 1km).

Check out http://www.BusEirean… for bus schedules. At that time of year it won’t be difficult to find bus service to Ennis or Galway; but for places like Lahinch or Doolin, Buses may be few and far between.

That is exactly the feedback I was looking for! Thanks a ton. My comments/questions are below.

quote:Luxury writes: Day 1 – Arrive at Shannon(SNN) 0700, get hotel in Limerick as my base city for the three nights. Spend first day visiting the castle in Limerick, maybe Hunt Museum, and maybe stopping at Bunratty castle on the way to Limerick.

Eddie writes: 3-nights in Limerick City is ‘overkill:’ You can see King John’s Castle, the Treaty Stone and the Hunt Museum in one full day (and even fit in an Angela’s Ashes ‘walk,’ if you like). I suggest 1-night in Limerick.

Day 1 – Limerick – Do you think it would be better if I spent the night in Dublin instead?

quote:Luxury writes: Day 2 – Start my 30-day consecutive Eurailpass. Day trip to Dublin.

Eddie writes: Dublin is a ‘hike’ for a daytrip from Limerick City. If you could remain overnight in Dublin and head for Galway the next morning it might make your Dublin visit more enjoyable.

Day 2 – Dublin – I was thinking that the hole base-city thing had the advantage of not packing up and finding the hotel/hostel which could take almost as long as the 2hr train trip from Limerick-Dublin. But, I like your plan and am strongly considering it.

quote:Luxury writes: Day 3 – Day trip two. Maybe, Cliffs of Mohar, Aran Islands, or Dingle Peninsula.

Eddie writes: During the Tourist Season there are several Bus Eireann departures from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher.

Day 3 – Galway/Cliffs of Moher – Sounds like this would be an extremely busy day to get to Galway then to the cliffs and back to a Shannon airport hotel. Especially if we want to utilize the Eurailpass? But, it would be great to go there, so I’m chewing on the details.

quote:Luxury writes: Day 4 – Flight from SNN 0700.

Eddie writes: Then, with an 07:00 departure on day-4 you may want to stay at the hotel at Shannon airport (Pan American?). Once, for an early flight I stayed at the Queen’s Hotel in Ennis but I had booked a taxi to pick me up at 05:30

Eddie writes: BTW The Limerick City Bus & Rail stations are co-located as are those in Galway and Ennis. I know there are consignment facilities at Galway and Limerick (where you can check your bags) Rail stations.

Day 4 – You really know you stuff! I already researched getting to the airport for the 0700 flight and it isn’t easy. The earliest bus is 0630 and it takes 45 min to get there, so we would definitely miss the flight. So, I figured we would have to do the same as you and spring for a taxi…..which I really didn’t want to waste money on! I did briefly look into hotels in Shannon, but they seemed too expensive. I’ll have to look into the &quotan American".

The consignment facilities is a great tip, thx, I’ll definitely utilize them. Thanks again for your help.

I couldn’t find any hotel named Pan American or any inexpensive options. All over $110 and most didn’t seem that close to the airport. When I looked before, I found some hotels thru the airports website, but those were expensive too. The hotel I found in Limerick would only be about $63/night.

On www.irishrail.ie I did find a 0600 train Limerick arriving in Ennis at 0640, but I can’t tell if it makes any stops let alone if it stops at Shannon. Does anybody know?

Luxury writes:

quote:I couldn’t find any hotel named Pan American or any inexpensive options. All over $110 and most didn’t seem that close to the airport. When I looked before, I found some hotels thru the airports website, but those were expensive too. The hotel I found in Limerick would only be about $63/night.

Sorry, I undoubtedly got the name wrong. The one I’m thinking about is on the airport grounds about 100m from the entry doors.

quote:On www.irishrail.ie I did find a 0600 train Limerick arriving in Ennis at 0640, but I can’t tell if it makes any stops let alone if it stops at Shannon. Does anybody know?

I know of no train station at Shannon or closer to Shannon than Limerick or Ennis. Sorry about that!

More stuff: If you leave your luggage in Conseignments, be sure to ask about times you can pick it up. I left mine at the Ballina (County Mayo) bus station once, and when I returned there was no one in the Office. Luckily, when the Dublin bus arrived, he showed up (although that wasn’t the bus I was waiting for).

There are some nice looking motor hotels in Limerick on the way out toward the airport. I don’t know if the Taxis charge by meter or a fixed price to the airport. Traffic will be light at that time of day, so figure on 20-25 min to the airport. That would hold for both Limerick & Ennis.

I usually stay ‘on the cheap’ in Limerick City (the Railway Hotel, across from the bus/train station), because I am just stopping over before going to the airport on the 07:45 AM BusEireann. I’ve spent a lot of time in Limerick City and I think they have the best value for the money in their ‘Carvery’ lunch as well as the cheapest Pint one can find in downtown Limerick City. Back to the Bus: A lot of young workers take that early bus to the Shannon Industrial Parks – very few people go to the airport on that ‘run.’

BTW
According to my last year’s BusEireann Expressway bus schedule there’s an Ennis-Shannon bus at 23:15 (arr 23:55) and a Limerick-Shannon bus at 23:05 (arr. 24:00). Those are probably to bring third shift workers to work (and maybe to take the second shifters back home). I don’t know how the people at Shannon would feel about sleeping on the (fairly comfortable – plastic stuffed seat cushions) seats in the arrivals area. The Cafeteria opens at 07:00 and U.S. flights begin arriving around 05:30.

It seems like there should be another early morning bus from either Ennis or Limerick (or both) to bring the Cafeteria workers and some other airport or airline employees to work. But it’s not shown on my schedule.

quote:….More stuff: If you leave your luggage in Conseignments, be sure to ask about times you can pick it up…

I usually stay ‘on the cheap’ in Limerick City (the Railway Hotel, across from the bus/train station), because I am just stopping over before going to the airport on the 07:45 AM BusEireann. I’ve spent a lot of time in Limerick City and I think they have the best value for the money in their ‘Carvery’ lunch as well as the cheapest Pint one can find in downtown Limerick City. Back to the Bus: A lot of young workers take that early bus to the Shannon Industrial Parks – very few people go to the airport on that ‘run.’

BTW
According to my last year’s BusEireann Expressway bus schedule there’s an Ennis-Shannon bus at 23:15 (arr 23:55) and a Limerick-Shannon bus at 23:05 (arr. 24:00). Those are probably to bring third shift workers to work (and maybe to take the second shifters back home). I don’t know how the people at Shannon would feel about sleeping on the (fairly comfortable – plastic stuffed seat cushions) seats in the arrivals area. The Cafeteria opens at 07:00 and U.S. flights begin arriving around 05:30.

It seems like there should be another early morning bus from either Ennis or Limerick (or both) to bring the Cafeteria workers and some other airport or airline employees to work. But it’s not shown on my schedule.

I’ll try out that ‘Carvery’ lunch and be sure to double-check the baggage check hours. Thx. Sleeping in the airport is definitely an option I want to look at. Saving both the 49 Euro Hotel and the taxi would be totally worth it. I actually tried contacting the airport about that but haven’t gotten a response. I also contacted the bus company and they confirmed the info listed on their website. It’s either that early train that will miss the flight our the night before. She didn’t suggest any other options and didn’t know about sleeping at the airport. Your comfortable seat comment makes this airport-sleeping option more enticing. Thanks again.

quote:I’ll try out that ‘Carvery’ lunch and be sure to double-check the baggage check hours. Thx.

They also have a pretty nice Carvery lunch at Locke’s – I believe it’s on George’s Quay about 50m off O’Connell Street. It may cost a bit more (1-Euro) but if you’re in that part of town …

quote:Sleeping in the airport is definitely an option I want to look at. Saving both the 49 Euro Hotel and the taxi would be totally worth it. I actually tried contacting the airport about that but haven’t gotten a response. … Your comfortable seat comment makes this airport-sleeping option more enticing.

I wouldn’t ask Airport Administration about the possibility of waiting all night for an early morning departure. They definitely discourage that sort of thing. But RyanAir closes check-in for a flight 40-minutes before departure (06:20?) so they probably begin check-in at 06:00. My 2-traveling companions were on that 07:00 RyanAir Shannon-London (Stanstead) and they pre-booked a taxi from Ennis for 05:30.

quote:I wouldn’t ask Airport Administration about the possibility of waiting all night for an early morning departure. They definitely discourage that sort of thing. But RyanAir closes check-in for a flight 40-minutes before departure (06:20?) so they probably begin check-in at 06:00. My 2-traveling companions were on that 07:00 RyanAir Shannon-London (Stanstead) and they pre-booked a taxi from Ennis for 05:30.

Maybe I’ll ask RyanAir. 5:30 doesn’t seem like there is enough sleeping hours to warrant a hotel . I think we’ll take that late bus, find a pub near the airport, have some stout, and arrive for our flight an hour or two early. Do you have any Irish beer recommendations other than Guiness or maybe Murphys?

quote:Maybe I’ll ask RyanAir. 5:30 doesn’t seem like there is enough sleeping hours to warrant a hotel . I think we’ll take that late bus, find a pub near the airport, have some stout, and arrive for our flight an hour or two early. Do you have any Irish beer recommendations other than Guiness or maybe Murphys?

I can’t guarantee those late buses are still on BusEireann’s schedule

There’s a bar in the airport arrivals area, a bit to your right as you come in the large entry doors (near the bus stop); and I’m sure there’s at least one bar in the airport Hotel (which, I believe is the Great Southern – I think it was originally the Pan American back when PanAm was the largest U.S. Flag Carrier serving Ireland).

Heinekin (Holland) and Cruz Campo (Spain) are now part of the Guinness ‘Family.’ For a change, you might want to try Bulmer’s Cider or Smithwicks (‘smith’ ‘iks,’ the ‘w’ is silent) ale.