That's a much better itinerary. Only 5 days would be like a drive-by-shooting. You'll have a great time.

On your first day you should have plenty of daylight. You could even drive some of the Loophead Peninsula.

Take a 2-3 hour nap in the mid-afternoon to recharge your batteries from the jetlag. ((b))

I agree, much better. Still not slow, but doable. You'll have a great time!!!

Sound much better- we also did sheeps head-be ready to navigate as it is hard to find-only because you will think you are lost(but you are not) there will be NO tour buses and it will be a narrow road with grass growing in the middle leading to the begining of the hike.(where you can park your car I do not thinking biking out to the tip will be paossible)If its a nice day-the hike out to head is amazing! Whether can change quickly out there so be prepared hike should take about 2 hours.

We are also planning a Shannon - Dublin trip but with 6 nights / 7 days. My advice would be to slow down. If you try to fit too much, you will miss out on a lot. We are doing 2 nights Ennis with a day trip to C of M, 2 nights Killarney, then 2 nights Dingle with a stop over at Cashel on the way to Dublin. Were skipping Dublin, just going to the airport.

There are many many things to do in all these areas without rushing around . The pace of life in places like Dingle is laid back, so to really appreaciate it, at least stay a couple of days.

Hello Everyone--

After much contemplation we have decided on an itinerary. With only 7 days to work with this was not easy. Thanks to your kind suggestions, I knew speeding around trying to see everything would not allow us to really experience the spirit if Ireland. So, here's what we've decided. Although it not completely set in stone, its pretty solid as far as the overnight stays go at this point. Here it goes...

DAY 1: Burren/Cliffs (maybe Loophead), overnight in Doolin. Hopefully Daly's House or Cullinan's.

Day 2 and 3: Drive to Dingle. Stay at Emlagh Lodge (Seaview room) for next 2 nights. This will give us time to get a feel for town, bike to Slea Head, and maybe even hike Mt. Brandon if the weather cooperates.

Day 4: Drive to Kenmare via Killarney Natl Park. I think horseback riding thru park would be great. Can anyone recommend places to contact regarding this? Overnight at Virginia's Guesthouse.

Day 5: Depart Kenamre for Kinsale via Beara Peninsula (or at least Healy's Pass) and hopefully have time for Mizen Head to see the lighthouse. I am not sure how long we should expect the drive to be and if we should do Beara or Mizen or both. Any suggestions welcome! I've heard lunch in Crookhaven is a good idea.

Day 6: (The long day) Depart Kinsale early and head for Dublin via Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny/Kilkenny Castle. I originally wanted to stay overnight in Kilkenny but decided instead to give ourselves an extra night in Dingle instead. I am hoping maybe to have time to at least walk around Kilkenny town and get lunch on our way to Dublin. I would also like to stopover at the monastic city in Gendalough for a couple of hours and wonder around the trails there. I figure with stops and driving time this will be close to a twelve hour day. When we finally arrive in Dublin we will drop our rental off and have the next 2 night and full day to explore the city.

If anyone has experience driving this route from Kinsale to Dublin please feel free to give me thoughts/tips/suggestions. I'd like it to be both quick, but scenic as well--perhaps I am asking for too much :)

...Then its off to Edinburgh for four days for the festivals! Any advice in this area is welcome as well since this will be our first trip to Scotland!

Thanks you all for your help!

I think day 6 is going to be much too long -- Rock of Cashel would take all morning, add Cahir and Kilkenny and you've got all day. Glendalough and Powerscourt deserve a day as well! :(