Dromoland Castle

alohasusie

Hi,

We are arriving at the Castle about 9am. Rooms aren't usually available till the afternoon, what did you all do? Not sure how awake we will be as we're coming in on an overnight flight. Any suggestions would be appreciated? Was the hotel staff accommodating at getting you into a room earlier?

Thanks,
Sue

Kathy18

I can not tell you about this particular tour, but if you search "things to do near Dromoland Castle", you might find suggestions of things in the area.

In my numerous travels overseas, I have learned that even if I am tired, I force myself to stay awake as much as possible that first day after the overnight flight. I try to find some place to visit during the day and then go to bed earlier than usual at night. This gets me on to the new time zone quicker. The first time I did it, I was not sure if it was effective, but when a friend arrived at the same location about a week later, she just wanted to rest and take a nap. She ended up sleepy for the first few days. I was adjusted the day after I arrived. This has worked every time since that first one. Some people will tell you to just rest that first day, but for me and others with whom I have traveled, we discovered that my plan works.

rabo

Two things I try to do on any trip . . .

1. Arrive at least on day early. Gives the body a little time to adjust.

2. Immediately force yourself to adopt the time schedule.

crackers54

I have always kept very busy upon arrival on overnight flight and find I adjust to the time difference quickly. Sometimes I am very tired when I get in the room and get off my feet for hour (but try not to fall asleep) before going to dinner and get enough energy to stay up hopefully till 9PM. I have found this works for me.

AlanS

We usually arrive a day or two early but in any case we try to stay awake and adapt to the new time zone immediately. We have also arrived early before our rooms were available.

In Munich we relaxed in the hotel lounge for a bit since our room was almost ready, but after gaining access and freshening up, instead of napping, we headed off to grab lunch and stroll through the city to the Marienplatz and see the famous Glockenspiel.

You can check your bags with the bell captain in most (all?) hotels on Tauck tours. We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland a day early, mid-morning after an overnight flight from the US. Since our room wouldn't be ready until after 2:00 pm, we used the lobby restrooms to freshen up a bit, checked our bags with the bell captain, then headed off across the city on a local bus to the waterfront where we toured the former Royal Yacht Brittannia, wandered through the adjacent mall, and got lunch. I had already scoped out the bus schedules and local attractions over the weeks and months leading up to our trip. The next day, before our welcome dinner, we used local buses again to visit Craigmillar Castle which we had seen on TV's Amazing Race and Rosslyn Chapel which was featured in Dan Brown's 'DaVinci Code' book and movie. Everything worked out great- we not only adjusted quickly to the new time, but prior planning allowed us easily get around to explore the city and surrounding area and visit places not included on the tour.

In your case, you will be located just off the main road (M18), about halfway between the towns of Bunratty (13 min.) and Ennis (30 min.) which are a tad south-east and north of Shannon Airport, respectively. You could have the concierge get you a cab, book you a car or, while they take longer, there are regular buses (stops near the hotel- 450 m. / 5 min. walk) making the rounds, to visit either one. Just wander around the towns, eat or shop. In Bunratty you can visit the Bunratty Village Mills (Blarney Woollen Mills store sells a wide selection of Irish gifts including Waterford Crystal, Beleek China, Irish Aran knit wear, jewellery, linen and tweeds.) or visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Village (folk village is a reconstruction) or go north and wander around Ennis. Other posters here have said that Brogan's Pub on O'Connell St. for traditional pub fare and live music, and the more formal Seasons 52 on Parnell St., are good places to eat in Ennis (menus at the links. Note: Their website is still up but Google Maps reports that Brogan's is permanently closed. Also, according to their Facebook page, it appears Brogan's had a farewell party in Feb. So, unless someone else purchased and re-opened it, you better call first before going to Brogan's : ( ).

We start our "Best of Ireland" tour in September at the Old Ground in Ennis, so I've already done some research. The INTERNET is your friend for finding things to do and places to see.

ah609

There are a lot of activities at the castle. Almost all for an additional charge. We were there last summer. These are the activities I can remember:

Take a guided tour of the grounds
Golf
Archery
Hawk Walk
Skeet Shooting
Rent a golf cart and drive the grounds
Spa
Fishing, row boats and paddle boards on the lake
Feed the geese and swans - but watch out they are very aggressive
There are tennis courts, but there are usually kids (and adults) riding pedal carts around the court
Pedal carts - some of them are okay, but some are old and really hard to pedal

Mrs Katherine Hammond Breitfeller

It has been awhile since I stayed at Dromoland, but they have extremely comfortable chairs and chess sets through out the corridors as well as lounges! If you want to go out, Bunratty isn't far and is a great intro to Ireland! I agree also that Dromoland's estate is extensive and provides for lots of wandering. There are also ruins of an abbey and a castle on the golf course adjacent to the castle. Reception gave us a map of things to explore. Even though it has been so long, Dromoland still features in my mind as the best vacation stay of my life!! I hope you enjoy it!