I just got back from Ireland last night and want to thank all the Fodorites who helped me plan for my trip! Thanks for recommending the Ordnance Survey road map for Ireland (which I bought at Barnes &Noble). It was extremely useful because we drove a lot. Also, we didn't book B&B's in advance which was the best thing we could have done. There were SO many B&B's available that we were able to pick and choose.

Highlights:

Galway
Walked along Galway Bay near the Spanish arches; shopped and ate in Eyre Square (I recommend McDonagh's Seafood restaurant, just don't buy the seafood curry dish); did the self-guided Heritage Walking Tour. Visited Kenny's bookshop which was nice but not as great as I was hoping it would be. We also toured St. Nicholas Church and spent time in the Latin Quarter. We skipped the Oyster Fest because we weren't interested in being around a lot of crowds.

Connemara/Clifden
Visited Conemara National Park (beautiful!) and Kylemore Abby and went shopping (and spent the night) in Clifden, which is a cute town.

Westport/Sligo
We were in Westport during their art festival and spent some time at an exhibit for quilts (which was great). We visitedYeat's grave in Sligo and had tea and cake at the adjoining crafts shop.

County Donegal (Donegal Town and Glencolumbkille)
Thankfully, most of our trip was spent in county donegal. Beautiful countryside. Not very touristy. Sheep everywhere :] In Donegal Town, we did the self-guided walking tour and saw the Famine Graveyard and other historic sites. We also took a tour of Donegal Castle and visited the Old Abbey. In Glencolumbkille, we took a walk to Glen Head and saw the most breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike the Cliffs of Moher, you can pretty much walk to Glen Head and be in isolation. We were the only people out there and had the whole place to ourselves.

Strokestown
We visited the Famine Museum. It was a nice museum but there weren't many people in attendance the day we went so we literally had the place to ourselves. My fiance wanted to see this place and he really liked it a lot.

Cliffs of Moher/Ennis
We visited the cliffs which were spectacular. Worth the visit. We skipped the Burren and spent the night in Ennis.

This isn't a very detailed itinerary compared to some of the other posts but it hits on the highlights. As for B&B's, it was a mixed bag. Some were great and others were average but none were poor. By the last day, I was getting tired of the Irish breakfast. I might make myself some pancakes this morning, just for a change :]

We took USAirways to Shannon and it was the most bare-bones, low-rent international flight I have ever taken. I am accustomed to getting perks when flying internationally (free drinks, TV screen at my seat instead of the large screen monitor for everybody, goodie bag). Once we realized that there were no perks, we got over it but initally we were somewhat surprised.

I am going to Ireland next week. Who did you rent a car from?

I rented my car from Budget. We received a VW Polo, which was the perfect size for traveling Ireland's narrow and windy roads. It cost me $320 for 7 days. This cost included 100% coverage and other surcharges. I didn't purchase from Budget directly though. I booked my car through Auto Europe (800/223-5555, or www.autoeurope.com) over a month in advance. They require a small deposit unlike other agencies. But I saved a lot using them so I didn't mind.

Interested in what you thought of Connemarra and why you skipped the Burren. So many people on this site travel there or recommend them and I just never thought they were that great compared with all the other areas of Ireland.

We also enjoyed Donegal, although when my husband and I went there the ladies running the B&Bs wouldn't let unmarried couples stay. We were married but ran into other couples who told us that they eventually lied/bought fake wedding bands just to get a room for the night. I imagine things have changed now.

Will you go back to Ireland again?

I, too, used USAir and was very pleased with the flight and such, although sans perks. I was surprised that they were charging for earphones($5). I kind of missed flying Aer Lingus as I always felt that I was in Ireland upon boarding the plane. I booked my car with Sixt, and will not go into details, but suffice it to say that I will not book with them again. Glad to read your review of Donegal which is next on my list of counties to visit. I would also recommend Inismaan as a wonderfully secluded place.

I loved Connemara and which we had stayed there longer. We skipped the Burren because we were running low on time and my boyfriend and I weren't as interested in seeing the Burren as other sights. My boyfriend and I had no problem getting a room in Donegal thankfully. I would definitely go to Ireland again. I want to go back to the northwest.

Keenan writes: "I, too, used USAir and was very pleased with the flight and such, although sans perks. I was surprised that they were charging for earphones($5). ..." All TransAtlantic carriers I know of cut out the 'free wine or beer' sometime last year. But US Airways charging for earphones is something new - there was no charge for them when I flew PHL-SNN and back in May'03.

Lufthansa still gives free wine & beer on their trans-Atlantic flights. Does anyone know if Aer Lingus still offers these perks?

How was the weather? We're thinking of traveling to Ireland in September next year. We could go in the summer but prefer to miss the crowds. We live in Maine so are fairly thick skinned when it comes to cool temps.

Bud, Aer Lingus was still doing free beer, wine, and other alcoholic choices when we flew in July.

I don't know what to tell you NEDSIRELAND as they initially played previews for the movie then came around selling the earphones while killing the audio. Fortunately, I had a set of earphones with me. I flew Aer Lingus last November and they were providing drinks during the flight. To Pegoode, the weather was very good for me as there was only one or two days of rain during my visit and many days of sunshine with 60-70s temps. The irish were calling it an indiam summer.

The weather in Ireland in September is great. We had 3 days of sun while we were there and on one day it was actually very warm. If i went to Ireland again, i would definitely do it in September.