11 day itinerary help Ireland
 

First time trip to Ireland with DH, 54 yr old sister and 21 yr old niece(studying at NUI-Galway)Arriving March 26 Dublin @ 10 am from Chicago. Getting rental car at Dublin Airport. Enjoy nature, pubs, local fare, music, history,staying at B&B’s. Some mobility issues for the older ones-mostly involving multiple stairs.
Day 1 26th-drive to, pick up niece and stay in Galway
Day 2 27th-Connemara area stay in Galway
Day 3 28th-Bunratty castle, Burren Nat’l Park,cliffs of Moher, possibly Bunratty medieval banquet at night(input appreciated) stay in Bunratty village?
Day 4 29th-Ring of Kerry clockwise stay in Waterville
Day 5 30th Good Friday-continue Ring of Kerry (Ross castle, Muckross House) stay in Killarney
Day 6 31st Blarney Castle/stone woolen mill stay in Cork or Kinsale
Day 7 1st-Easter stay in Kilkenny?
Day 8 2nd-Easter Monday stay in apartment for rest of stay. 30 minutes out of Dublin on bus route will probably return rental car. Pub music crawl
Day 8- 3rd Dublin hop on hop off bus
Day 9 4th Dublin Giant causeway / Belfast ? private day tour
Day 10-5th Dublin
Day 11- Depart Dublin Airport 11 am
Looking for help with accommodations, off the beaten track gems, is this plan too slow or too fast knowing we want to see the most we can, can’ t see all and can be flexible, best cities or villages to stay. How are Day 5- Day 8 going to be affected since Easter holiday? Thanks for any assist

Not a great idea to drive immediately upon arrival due to jet lag and driving on the opposite side of the road... recipe for disaster! Can you fly into Shannon and take a bus? Or stay in Dublin for a night or two at the beginning?

We stayed in a great boutique hotel outside of Galway... The Twelve. https://www.thetwelvehotel.ie

The biggest piece of advice for Ireland is to expect car travel to take much longer than you expect because it will!

>>Can you fly into Shannon and take a bus? Or stay in Dublin for a night or two at the beginning?<<

Ditto that

>>The biggest piece of advice for Ireland is to expect car travel to take much longer than you expect because it will!<<

Ditto that too :)

In Bunratty we love Headley Court B&B.

Thanks for the accommodation suggestions. Our flight arrangements have been made and we did consider Shannon but multiple reasons took us flying in and out of Dublin. We have considered flip/ flopping the itinerary. We have considered jet lag and driving but in recent travels also feel the adrenaline/excitement is there the first day that’s why we are hoping after the initial day the next day will continue to be driving but hopefully a little lower keyed. Is the road from Dublin Airport to Galway a major highway or country roads? The info that we have is that it should take about 3.5 hours to drive to Galway-accurate or night? Any ideas for a stop between Dublin and Galway for a break or switch drivers if need be. We are very use to 4-6 hour travels at one time. Does it seem like other days may have unrealistic travel time?

Ireland is such a beautiful country, I hope you have a great time. Thoughts: Day-3 leave Galway, explore Cliffs of Mohr and the Burren or see the Burren first then the Cliffs of Mohr and then stay in Kilrush. Take ferry over the next day and stay in Killarney for three nights. Day 3-4-5 explore area. This would let you not change accommodations so much. There is a lot to do and see. Day-6 Look at your options for routes. We loved the drive from Kenmare to Bantry to Kinsale to Blarney. Your day 6 looks like you would be backtracking. Maybe stay day 6 in Kinsale and go to Blarney the next morning on your way to Kilkenny? Blarney is best very early to enjoy without so many crowds. The gardens are nice. The best advice I can give you is to stop and enjoy the beauty of Ireland. The scenery and the people are pretty special.

Thanks we were looking to decrease the one day stays but having difficulty figuring it out so we weren’t traveling an hour back to a base location to only spend that time the next day traveling through the same area to the next area.We realize how much there is to see and that is why need advice to be able to include those must sees but still enjoy the moment and the local flavor that isn’t touristy.