lovexhappiness

My boyfriend and I are visiting Ireland March 2017. I am a bit overwhelmed in the planning process because I have never been to Europe and want to make sure I make the most out of the trip.
We are wanting no more than 2.5-3 hours in the car daily, as I don't want to feel like I spent my whole trip in the car. We fly in a Saturday morning at 9:45 AM. We leave the following Saturday at 11:30 AM. Therefore, we would want to be back in Dublin Friday night.
throughout my research, I have developed a list of some of the recommended stops.
(I know I am not going to be able to get to all of them.) can anyone help me narrow down the must dos?

Here is the list I developed; Kylemore Abbey, Connemara National Park, Cliffs of Moher, Gleniff Horseshoe, Ashford Castle, Galway, Dublin, The Rock Cashel, The Dingle Peninsula, Ring of Kerry, Giants Causeway, Skellig Island, and Glendalough.

I am not even completely sure where some of those destinations are.
Can anyone help me develop a day by day itentiary? Ashford Castle is a must... and my boyfriend would like to play 9 holes of golf there.

Thanks for all your help!

TPAYT

Too much for a weeks time. You'd spend the whole time in the car.

For us, the west coast was the most picturesque. Many of your listed places are on the west coast. What we liked:

The Dingle Peninsula (gorgeous drive and not as traffic congested as Ring of Kerry)
Kenmare (my husband golfed there)
Kylemore Abbey (oh so old)
Westport (Loved Matt Malloy's Pub and the countryside)

On the west you could hit Galway, Connemara National Park, Cliffs of Moher.
Ashford Castle was excellent but quite formal If that's the type of gold you enjoy.

Keep in mind that the driving will take you much longer than expected.

That said, I'd head to the west coast stopping 1 night in between in you are just off a long overnight flight. If not off a long flight, drive to Galway. Next day head west. That leaves you 4 days (Mon.-Thurs) to discover the west. Fri. Back to Dublin. You could hit the Rock of Cashel on the way back but it's a bit too far south.

Get a good map and get oriented. things like The Giants Causeway just won't fit in the time allotted. Ireland is absolutely fantastic but you need time to drive and see the sights and appreciate the towns. Our biggest surprise of 2 trips was the food. We thought we'd be eating fish & chips for weeks on end but all of Ireland had some of the best food we've had in Europe & the UK.

TPAYT

That's GOLF not gold---although golfing at Ashford will cost a bit of gold!

janisj

for some background -- here is the OP's previous thread

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-roadtrip.cfm

Macross

I already gave you an itinerary. Second thought would be land and head by bus right away booking a 2:00 pm black cab tour. Spend the night at premiere inn city central. Maybe have driver leave you at Titanic exhibit so you can squeeze that in also.
Day two: head back to airport and pick up car driving to Galway. Nice things to do there at least in evening. You won't see much this day.
Ashford castle, Çong is there and Glebe ring of stones.
Four: Galway south seeing cliffs. Spend night at Launch do he can golf.
Kerry next Two days and then head back the next via Glendalough to Dublin.

lovexhappiness

Thank you for your feedback.

Anyone know where I would look to take a bus from Dublin to Cong? I figured I could take a bus to Cong and the pick up my rental car there.

Can you provide me with input as to how relastic my rough draft itentiary is?

day 1: bus to Cong from Dublin. Explore whatever there is to explore in cong. (Not sure what is here) Take rental Car to Ashford Castle and stay the evening there.

Day 2: Enjoy the morning at the Ashford Castle before beginning the drive to Galway. see the Connemara national park.

Day 3: spend the morning explore Galway before beginning the drive to spend the night in Ennis. Along the way stop to see the cliffs of Moher.

day 4: is there anything to see in Ennis?
Plan to drive to Killarney today. Between today and the following morning plan to explore Killarney national pare, Ross castle, muckross Abbey before going to our next overnight spot.

Day 5: see anything left in Killarney we didn't see the night before. Begin the drive to cork. Take the long way, giving time to see the ring of Kerry before stopping in cork for the night

Day 6: take the morning to explore cork. drive from cork to glendalough. Spend a little time in glendalough before finishing in Dublin.

Day 7: spend the day exploring Dublin.

day 8: head home.

Macross

Dang phone spell check. Lahinch.

If it were me I would head west by gobus. Enjoy Galway. Rent car from there.
Next day, explore area. Ashford castle, National park.
Then head south. Skip Belfast for next trip when weather will be warmer.

Bette

Cong is a very small village. No car rental companies there. You would have to take a bus to Galway City and pick up the car there.

http://www.buseireann.ie/

http://www.gobus.ie/

Keep in mind you have limited daylight hours in March.

Macross

I was very disappointed in Cong. No rental cars there. I guess I expected more. We hired a cab tour from Westport and we thought we could visit Ashford Castle. The cab was not allowed to even take us on the grounds for a spot of tea. Ten dollars per person to even get a look at the place. It was raining so we kept on going. Seeing Killary Harbour and Ireland's only fjord was beautiful and enjoyed Ballintubber.

You might enjoy Blarney after Cork.

TPAYT

What do you picture yourselves doing in Ireland?

Galway & Cork are large cities....great for pubs but hard to drive in.

Killarney also has good pubs but it's traffic congested with tour buses...again I don't know about March. Kenmare is smaller, still a few good pubs, good golf, and close to Muckross Houss (now that's a house to tour)

Ashford Castle is a 5 star hotel, not an old world castle to tour. It's very formal & somewhat stuffy. The grounds are beautiful but I don't know about March.

A great mid sized town close to the Cliffs of Moher, etc. on the West coast is Westport.

Everyone like to do different things in Ireland. I hope I've helped.

Padraig

Bette is right about the logistics of getting to Cong. The dirct route from Galeay to Cong is fairly short.

I like Cong. My principal reservation about it is that they make too much of the fact that "The Quiet Man" was shot there - as if there was nothing else appealing about the place. There is the old abbey, the grounds of Ashford Castle (lovely woodland walk), the river, some pleasing older buildings, and Lough Corrib.

From Cong, you can make an excellent route through Maam and Leenane to Kylemore (sorry TPAYT, the Abbey is not that old), and Letterfrack (Connemara National Park) and on via Clifden to Galway. A bit more than 3 hours driving, I'll grant, but feasible. and it's one of the most scenic drives in Ireland.

That programme rules out Cong for golf. But I'm not sure that is a huge loss. I have walked some of the course, and it is nothing special.

janisj

You will need to pick up any rental car in a city (or a few large towns) or at an airport -- not in a teensy place like Cong (less than 200 population)

TPAYT

Padraig....you are definitely more expert than I on Ireland. It just seems that the OP is so scattered and wants to see so many things that are not close on one another.
As driving is slow, I hope they can nail down what's important to them. Ireland really is an enchanting place.

Macross

More trips, I have been seven times and still exploring. I am in love with NI now. I like Wicklow and all the coast. You won't see it all in a week.