In late May, 2 couples flying into Shannon and out of Dublin. Picking up where we left off 2 yrs ago and want to start with Dingle Peninsula and head north. Would like to make it to northern part of country too and visit Bushmills, but no desire to go to Belfast. Is this too aggressive? I'm thinking there isn't much to see between north and Dublin. Correct? Want to allow 1-2 days in Dublin at the end of the trip. Seeking recommendations on places to stay--B&Bs, castles, anything special that isn't $300/nite. Also, any must-see sites and shopping? Thanks!

Geez, Kathy! You aren't asking for much, are you?

Sounds like your previous trip was magic and I'm betting that this next one will be, too. I wish I could give you more thoughts on Northern Ireland but someone else is going to have to weigh in on that one... Suffice it to say that I wish I had spent more time there and not the rushed one day!

Dingle is amazing but be sure you go on a guided tour or take a really good guide book with you. I missed so much the last time that I will need another trip to make up for it. (Maybe I planned it that way??? > ) We stayed at Miltown Guesthouse in Dingle and loved it. Large rooms, excellent breakfasts and gracious hosts. You will find LOTS of place to stay in Dingle and many of them recommended on this sight. If you do a Search you'll find them all...

In Clare, the Cliffs of Moher are your #1 place to stop. If you go through Clare and see nothing but those you will have done well. Personally I love the Burren though and spending time there. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park are worth while as is the castle in Kinvara.

Galway and the Connemara. If you have good weather do not pass up the Aran Islands, either! All are amazing and I can (and have) spent a week here just finding it all. If you can spend at least a day or 2 here then do it. Loads of shopping in Galway town, loads to see in Connemara.

I'm going to skip the counties between Galway and Donegal since your time is limited and you probably will, too. But if you any of you are literary buffs then Sligo (or Yeat's country as it's known) is the place for you.

Donegal is what you think of when you think "Ireland". One of my favorite places and oh! so much to see here! Good luck trying to fit it into your 9 days. Slieve League is a Must See; the hightest cliffs in Europe. Amazing B&B in Letterkenny called Pennsylvania House. Loved it and very much worth the extra few pounds (I mean Euros, of course ) for that King Sized bed! In Ireland! Go figure...

Northern Ireland, heck, you could spend all 9 days here and still not see it all. Derry was amazing and I wish I had taken a tour of the place. The Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle are the 2 sights we managed to get through. Also drove the Coast Road from Giant's Causeway down through Belfast to Dublin - all in a day. If you have time, take that route and you won't be sorry. It's beautiful!

Not sure what you did in and around Dublin last time but be sure to take in Newgrange and Knowth if you haven't already. Must See places! Get there early though as the tours sell out fast.

Of course these are only a few places that you can visit and by trying to do them all your vacation won't be much fun or very relaxing. Lots of research and discussion on your part (with your travel partners) still to do but you have loads of time to do it in.

Good luck to you and enjoy your trip,
Wendy

I liked Belfast a lot when I was in Northern Ireland but if you want to avoid it I would definitely take the tour up to Giant's Causeway anyway. It was a day trip for us from Belfast and included Bushmills and some other amazing scenery stops. And enjoy the very fast and different Northern accent!
Like Wendy said, while you are in Dublin, do go to visit Newgrange and also the hill of Tara (namesake of Scarlett O'Hara's Tara) which are incredible. These can be combined in a daytrip.

Hi Kathy,

Yes this is very aggressive. If you are driving from Dingle to Northern Ireland and then to Dublin a substantial amount of your time will be spent driving - and not experiencing.

Fermanaugh County in the North has more than enough to keep ones interest for a week (our favorite area of Ireland). I would save the North for your next trip.

Based on your time constraints I would suggest the following:

Dingle to Galway (through Cliffs of Moher, Burren and Aran Islands)
Galway to Connemara (Westport and Cong)
Connemara to Bunratty (Ennis, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park)
Bunratty to Dublin (perhaps spend a night in Cashel)

Leave the North for your next trip - it is worth doing and has tons of things to see and do.

Places to stay - Greenmount House B&B in Dingle, Joyce's Waterloo Lodge B&B in Clifden, Trinity Lodge B&B in Dublin.

Have a great trip.

Whether heading north is too much all depends on how much time you have. If you're just here for a week, then it's too much. 2 weeks, you're fine.

There's a WHOLE lot to see between Bushmill's and Dublin. Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, Glens of Antrim, Carrickfergus Castle, Belfast (you'd be missing out on a lot if you skipped it, including City Hall, Belfast Castle, Cave Hill, lunch at Nick's Warehouse, the black taxi tours, Linenhall Library, etc., etc.), the Mountains of Mourne, Silent Valley, Murlough Beach, Strangford Lough, Newgrange (possibly the best tourist stop in Ireland), Malahide, Howth (the last two are just north of Dublin airport)... Now I'm getting tired, but I was just getting started. I'm curious--where did you get the idea that there's nothing to see in Northern Ireland aside from Bushmills? BTW, stay at the Bushmills Inn. It's great, and good food, too.

Castles to stay: Killyleagh Castle in Killyleagh on the coast of Strangford Lough does accommodation. It's still privately owned, and is the oldest inhabited (a family still lives there) castle in Ireland.

BTW, it's now only about 2-2.5 hours to Dublin airport from Belfast. Head for Lisburn and pick up the M1.

Ann are you from NI? Just got back from NI a couple days ago and found thought it was amazing. Giants Causeway was good but my favorite was Dunluce Castle...we went right before closing and the place was empty it made for good photo ops without the crowd. Belfast is a great city (though we stayed both in Lisburn and Killyleagh.
I believe the only place you can stay in Killyleagh castle is the entry gate tower and not the main castle itself. A friend of ours owns a B&B there and says that people complain about the cold drafts quite a bit.
Waffle18 is also right about Donegal...hands down the most beautiful part of the country we saw. Ballyshannon or Ardara make good places to stay and base yourself.