Extra day at Dromoland Castle
We will be doing the Week in Ireland tour in May and have an extra day (pre-tour) at Dromoland Castle. Any suggestions on how to spend our day before the tour begins? We do not want to rent a car so transportation is also a factor. Thanks for your help - this is a great group!
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Hi CAC1, my husband and I are also going on this tour in May. I have been doing some research and this is what I came up with. We enjoy horseback riding, so we plan to arrange that. I read that the castle can arrange a round trip taxi ride to Castlefergus Equestrian for trail rides. No worries if you have no riding experience. There is lots of places to walk around at the castle and admire gardens. They also have a Falconery experience that I know my husband wants to do. We arrive very early the day before the tour and I see that the castle has historical tours of the castle on Saturdays at 11 am, so I hope we can join that. We arrive on a Saturday so we have all day Saturday, then Sunday until the tour begins that evening and also Monday afternoon we have more free time at the castle. Someone else posted there is a church within walking distance of the castle if you want to attend church service on Sunday.
We toured Bunratty Castle and Folk Park not far from Shannon airport and also attended their medieval banquet (w/food and entertainment provided by singers and musicians in period costume. We had a great time. You need to get tickets early for the banquet. Goggle it or check out my posts from several years ago. We stayed at the Old Ground in Ennis and arranged with the hotel for a driver for the afternoon/evening.
Take a taxi to the town of Ennis. Have lunch and do some nice shopping . Quaint town.
We thoroughly enjoyed the falconry experience. Also did a private tour of the castle that was interesting.
My husband and I are also arriving mid May, getting real excited!! If anyone will be there May 17 or 18 and would like to meet up for drinks, please let me know. Also, we're planning to go to Bunratty Castle so if you'd like to share a taxi, that'd be great.
I emailed the Dromoland Castle to ask some questions about falconry and horseback riding. Emma Barry emailed me back quickly and answered my questions. She explained that falconry gets booked up and she arranged a reservation for us on Sunday, May 18th. I asked if I needed to sign up ahead of time for the complimentary history walk on Saturday and she signed us up tor that. Then after I made a reservation for horseback riding and found out they require cash and do not have credit card equipment, she explained they can do a currency exchange at the castle without fees (just the current exchange rate that day). She even offered to give us euros and add the fee to our room rate. This fee will show up as a cash advance, though, so we may just bring US dollars for the exchange. I was impressed how prompt and helpful Emma has been. She said this is what she is there for, so I should ask as many questions as I wanted.
Sussan, sounds like you'll be there the same time as my husband, Neal, and I. We are doing the hawk walk Saturday morning and thinking about Bunratty Castle on Sunday before we all meet up for dinner Sunday evening. Looking forward to meeting you in a few days.
LaConna