Two Weeks in Ireland: Should I spend time in Westport and Donegal?

jtmiller95 asked: "What areas most require a second day?"

Almost all of them.

Hello jtmiller,

Ireland is a wonderful country, I did a tour of it on coast for 10 days (that was too fast and I am planing to go back).
There are many places and things to see, it depends very much on what you are looking for. May I have a suggestion? Make an itinerary, but do not book B&B's before your departure (unless you are going to Northern Ireland - Giants Causeway area.) Every second house in Ireland is a B&B and you will easy find places to sleep. I was there in August and still didn't have any problem to find a different place to sleep every night. As soon as you arrive in Ireland, buy a book of all B&B's of Ireland.
I don't know how Donegal is, as I didn't stop to see it. My itinerary was Dublin - Carrickfergus- Bushmill (Giant Causeway, the Rope Bridge and Bushmill factory are great attractions) - Londonderry - Sligo (Yeat's country area - Atlantic Haven bed and breakfast with views of Bulben Mountain, Atlantic Ocean, a big garden and great hospitality) - Galway (and yes, I would recommend you here at least two nights - you have to visit Aran Islands, which are wonderful,and Connemara)- Limerick (don't lose Bunratty Castle) - Tralee -Dingle-Ring of Kerry- Killarney - Kenmare - Bantry - Mizenhead (very beautiful, even is less visited) - Cork (which I would avoid)- Youghal(where you can admire seals in the harbour) -Dunmore East - Rosslare Harbour - Saltee Islands and back to Dublin. I didn't see Cahel and Blarney Castle, but the south area, even if it is less visited (Mizenhead, Youghal, etc) is very beautiful.
Have a nice tour!

We didn't stay in Donegal, but we loved Westport. it's a really pleasant town. It's very pretty, clean, and generally comfortable.

Westport is great. I recommend you look ath The Boulevard Gueshouse. Knock is also interesting.....in a weird way. I find pilgrimage sites fascinating.

Jtmiller95, Westport is delightful as is Donegal. But I would suggest you stay longer in fewer spots. When we Yanks look at a map of Ireland, distances seem very doable until one really hits the road. Most motorways there are not what we are used to in the States.

I recall meeting a party once at Abbey Glen in Cliften who had driven from Shannon (after a trans Atlantic flight). They were backtracking the next morning down to the Ring of Kerry - good luck! Traffic around the major cities can be daunting. One can enjoy the scenery, flowers, livestock, great food and ale, along with wonderful craic most anywhere in Ireland. Don't spend most of your time on the road!

Thanks to all who have already responded to my post.

I'll continue to adjust this itinerary over the next two months, but here is my second iteration:
Oct 2 - Arrive Dublin, which we'll tour and stay the night.
Oct 3 - Visit Glendalough, Kilk.Celtic Festival; stay in Kilkenny
Oct 4 - visit Rock of Cashel, Youghal; stay in Cobh,
Oct 5 - explore Cobh, visit Kinsale; again stay in Cobh
Oct 6 - visit Muckross House/Friary; stay in Kenmare
Oct 7 - drive Ring o'Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, stay in Galway
Oct 8 - Visit Connamara, Night in Galway
Oct 9 - Thru Sligo and Donegal to Derry; night in Derry
Oct 10, Visit Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway and Rope Bridge; night in Derry
Oct 11, Drive to Omagh-Ulster/Amer.Folk Park, Armagh-Navan Fort; night in Belfast.
Oct 12, Visit Dumdrum Castle and Newcastle; night in Belfast
Oct 13, Visit Monasterboice, Boyne Valley, Hill of Tara; night in Dublin
Oct 14, Depart for US

I wish I could get my wife to spend another week, but no such luck. Please give me your suggestions.

Might I suggest, on October 5, instead of backtracking to Cobh after visiting Kinsale, move on to Kenmare. Then on the 6th, you would have all day to drive the ROK and still visit Muckross House. Otherwise, October 7, IMO, would be an incredibly long day (ROK, Moher to Galway is really pushing it.)

Then on October 7 you could visit the cliffs on the way to Galway and have a bit of time to explore that city before supper and hitting the sack.

Irishface, Thanks for your suggestions. Is there a better place to spend those two nights than Kenmare?

The majority of folks here seem to prefer Kenmare over Killarney. I have stayed in Kilarney several times and liked it well enough. The last time I was traveling with my dad and stepmom and we went to the tourist office to have them find us a room. We were out of town a bit and across the road was Muckross House. sorry, I no longer have the name of the place but as I recall there were several B&B's on that road. We walked over to Muckross House and also walked to Torc Waterfall.

I would greatly appreciate your comments on my Itinerary #3. (please note that I have ancestors from County Cork and Armagh, as reflected below)
Oct 1 – Depart U.S.A.
Oct 2 - Arrive Dublin; tour and stay the night.
Oct 3 - Visit Glendalough, Kilkenney Celtic Festival; stay in Kilkenny
Oct 4 - Visit Rock of Cashel, Barryscourt Castle (ancestor), Cobh; stay in Kinsale
Oct 5 - Tour Kinsale and Charles Fort, on to Muckross House/Friary and Torc Waterfall; stay in Muckross
Oct 6 - Drive Ring o'Kerry; stay in Dingle
Oct 7 - Drive Dingle Peninsula, visit Bunratty Castle & Durty Nellies Pub; stay in Bunratty
Oct 8 - Visit Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Tour Galway; Night in Galway
Oct 9 - Drive to Clifden, visit Kylemore Abbey, Aughnanure Castle; Night in Galway
Oct 10 Thru Sligo and Donegal to Derry; night in LondonDerry
Oct 11 Visit Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway and Rope Bridge night in LondonDerry
Oct 12 Drive to Omagh-Ulster/Amer.Folk Park, visit Armagh(ancestor) and Dumdrum Castle; night somewhere between Newcastle & Newry
Oct 13 Visit Monasterboice, Valley of the Boyne, Hill of Tara or Slane; night in Dublin
Oct 14 Return to U.S.A.

Another vote for Westport and the Boulevard Guest House. If you enjoy hiking, Crough Patrick is nearby.

I'd stay at least 2 nights in any location (except for the last night when I'd stay one night in Ennis).

Can you fly into Dublin and out of Shannon (or vice versa)?

We drove around North Ireland and Ireland much as you plan to do. It was a great trip. One place you might want to see is Newgrange which is just north of Dublin. We found that to be a very interesting site.
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm

We also visited Enniskillen and Belleek China Factory - two places not on your list.

carolsc - Flights are already booked in/out Dublin; tix bought using FF miles. Rather than returning to Galway from Clifden, I'll consider heading north to Westport and the Boulevard G.H.

Bratsandbeer - Great suggestion. I'll forget Dundrum Castle and head directly to the Boyne Valley from Armagh. What recommendations do you have for accomodations near Newcastle?

All - given my proposed itinerary, is there a Csstle-Hotel anyone would suggest that wouldn't divert me too far?

jtmiller95
We rented a car at Dublin airport and drove to Newgrange early afternoon. We then drove on to Carlingford where we stayed in a B&B.

I couldn't recommend any accommodations. It was 2 years ago and we stayed in b&bs everywhere. Some were average and some were great but in each one, the families were so happy to have you. We made our reservations before we left for Ireland. Tripadvisor gives a lot of reviews on b&bs.

WE stayed at Cassidys Hotel on O'Connell St You can take a bus from the airport and get off within one block of the hotel. It is close to shopping, the river, the city busses, and the hop on and hop off. Great location!! We have stayed there twice.
http://www.cassidyshotel.com/

On the 12th, consider driving a bit farther south and staying in Smarmore Castle Hotel between Ardee and Collon in Co. Louth.

Thank you for the referrals on hotels. Both are perfectly situated for me. Any other suggestions on Dublin accomodations? It would be nice to be close to Trinity College, but I'm not sure I want to pay 85Euro per person per night.

I stayed in a hotel in Dublin, near Temple Bar in center with 60 euro/night for the room. The name is Dublin Citi Hotel. It is very central, clean, we went to Trinity College walking and also during the evenings you can walk around Temple Bar area.

Also, take very much care about sleeping in Belfast. We couldn't find any B&B., there were only hotels of about 200 pounds per room per night. I am not sure if there are many B&B in Londonderry either. First night you sleep in Londonderry, you may like to sleep in Donegal. Also, I wouldn't want to lose Aran islands near Galway, but I see you have a thematic and many other things to visit

If you are going to visit the Rope Bridge and the Giant's Causeway, you may like to sleep nearby. I slept in a B&B called Lagavara Farm, it was 30 pounds/person/night. Dunluce doesn't take a long time at all, all you can do there is to admire it and make couple pictures, you may also like to visit Bushmill factory.

cri80 - Thank you

Trinity College sometimes has accommodations but only from mid-June until the end of September. You could check with Trinity and ask if they ever extend those dates.

We stayed at Ballycarton House near Derry for 3 nights. A most enjoyable stay. One day we drove along the coast and visited Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
http://ballycartonhouse.com