We flew into Dublin and did a loop starting in a southerly direction. We drove the Dingle Peninsula rather than the Ring of Kerry, since we were put off by the idea of competing with tour buses.

If you like walking, you might check out the Burren.

A good resource for planning your driving trip is the AA Route Planner. Add about 20% to the given driving times to make them more realistic.

http://www2.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

We did a hiking-centric trip to County Kerry and County Clare last May. I found the following to be good resources for hikes:

http://www.shannonregiontrails.ie/FindaTrail/Walking/

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Walking-Ireland-Bardwell/dp/1864503238/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1335652178&sr=8-4

This was our favorite hike (in the Burren): http://www.shannonregiontrails.ie/FindaTrail/Walking/LoopWalks/TrailName,7510,en.html

Hello Rachh

Hope you have a wonderful holiday in September and I'm sure you will as it is a great month to visit Ireland. You can never have too much time in Ireland but two weeks will give you alot of time to experience Ireland.
Flying into Dublin versus Shannon. Shannon is smaller so easier to get around, plus in and out of. Dublin is a great city, but its a big city with big city traffic, so if you are renting a car and driving on the opposite side of the road for the first time, the roads around Shannon are quiter and less complicated.
From there I would hear south start in Cork (2 hours drive) do Blarney Castle, Visit the English Market, Go to the Titanic muesum. From there go to Kenmare (2hrs drive), great town, lots of good restaurants and bars and amazing scenery, do the ring of Kerry and head for Dingle (1 1/2 hours drive).
Then head north to Clare via the car ferry from talbert to Killimer and come the coast road and you will pass the surfing town of Lahinch, then the Cliffs of Moher and down into Doolin (3 1/2 hours driving).
In Doolin you have alot to see and do, The Cliffs of Moher start here and there will be a new Cliffs of Moher Coastal Edge walk starting 200 meters from our door in Doolin that goes all the way along the edge (12km total, visitor center is 6km.
You can explore the Burren and its methalic tombs such as the Dolmen, and there are a number of great hiking and biking trails. (search for Burren Hiking trails and Doolin Cycle hub for the maps.)
You can take a day trip out to the Aran Islands, Inishear is my favourite, its the closest, smallest and easiest to get too.
Other things to do are Doolin Cave with the largest Stalactic in Europe, Ailwee Cave and its Bird of Prey Santuary, go Sea Kayaking, Horse Riding, Surfing, Bouldering and Absailing to name but a few outdoor activities. And there are some great local providers for equipment and tutorials.

And of course at night time there will be live traditional Irish music playing in all the pubs, and they serve good food and pints plus there are a number of great restaurants with many awards in Doolin and surrounding area.

From Doolin head north via Galway (1 1/2 hours drive) up to Connemarra more breath taking senery Westport, and Letterfrack (1 1/2 to 2 hours drive from Galway.)would be two of my favourit towns to visit.

From there head over to see the Giant Causeway and then down to Dublin (2 hours driving) and from there you can head back to Shannon area / Limerick or Ennis (2 1/2 / 3 hours drive) and before flying home visit Bunnratty Castle and Folk Park, go out to Cragganowen of stay out in the lake district of Lough Derg and around the town of Kilaloe.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Anthony
Doolin Hostel

We enjoyed our 8 days last August in Killarney, Dingle and Galway. Blog and photos below.

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/ireland.html

One tip from this forum that we followed was to try Loop Head which was very nice (we subsequently passed on the Cliffs of Moher so I can't compare). Likewise, the RoK seemed like a longer day than we wanted to we opted for Dingle's Slea Head drive.

Happy Planning.