ali_fafa

My itinerary does not include Kilkenny, Galway, Cork. From reading a whole bunch of itineraries, blogs, etc, these seem to be "must" places but not sure if I should change my itinerary to include any of these.
On Day 3/last day in Dublin, would you suggest skipping Kilmainham Gaol to go to Kilkenny instead?
On Day 6, does Dingle require a full day? If not, what other towns/things do you recommend for that day?

ali_fafa

Thanks Macross! Is there enough time for this on Day 7 -- driving from Killarney to see Cliffs of Moher (with tour to Aran islands), then Burren, Bunratty Castle. Sleep in Ennis?

mjdh1957

Your Day 7 is pretty hardcore and you will be sick and tired of being in the car by the end of your trip (in my opinion). Ireland is bigger than you think and the speeds once you are off the motorways are low. And you will very likely get stuck behind a tractor or a tour bus that you can't overtake. There are any number of wonderful places worth visiting without driving across half the country in order to tick things off some 'must see' list. If you want to see the West, take the time and see it properly. Or spend your whole week in Dublin and do a couple of day trips to Wicklow and elsewhere in the East.

janisj

ditto everything mjdh1957 says . . .

ceezee

You can’t cram all the ‘must’ things into a 7 day trip. We couldn’t fit everything into a 12 day trip. That was our first trip to Ireland and in an October. We loved it so much we went back for 2 weeks the following May. Now we’re going again for 17 days and mainly just adding going to Dublin. The west coast is stunning and slow, because of both following slow vehicles on narrow roads and having to pull over for the view. Just figure you’ll go back.

xcountry

Working with your schedule I would probably head toward the Cliffs of Moher on day six after visiting Dingle. So two nights in Killarney and two nights in Doolin or Lahinch or somewhere up there.

Watching soccer so the above is not guaranteed.

Macross

I would skip day five and the Bunratty castle. Lahinch is a great place to stay, ditto on Doolin. I am going for my 8th trip next year. I want to spend four nights in Ballycotton in the most beautiful house overlooking the water, take a pontoon boat out to the light house one day. The next day Midleton for drinking and maybe lunch at Ballymaloe house. A day in Cobh. That is the extent of my planning. Everything is very close to us and then head back to Dublin and soak up the culture and do a few coastal day trips on the dart. I know our first trip was non stop though and we were a lot younger. We found Greystones and just kept asking if we could stay one more night. I loved it and we could take the Dart into the city. The driving had stressed out my husband and he wanted to park the car and drink beer with lunch. Since then we pick two or three stops and are happier but that first trip we went everywhere. It is your trip and you know what you can handle.

ali_fafa

Thank you All for your invaluable advice and info!