We are going to have 8 nights total. Is breaking it up 4 nights city, 4 nights country a plan? We are traveling with our 18 year old daughter who enjoys cities. Thanks for any opinions.

Where in the country are you heading. You could do 2 nights Dublin and 2 Galway which is a smaller city and then the countryside? Of course you can always keep busy in a city like DUblkin. What are your interests?

See http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34741493

Best wishes,

Rex

Siobhan--Thank you for responding. We are going to the southeast. Will go down the coast , then into Kilkenny for 2 or 3 nights and do day trips, finishing in Malahide the last night near the airport. We enjoy cities--museums, cathedrals,shops...spent 8 days in Edinburgh last year, and a week in London the year before with our daughter.. But want to balance that with the country. I actually prefer the smaller cities and country when My husband and I travel alone. We enjoy quaint towns, castles, and history. I guess what I'm asking in reverse is will 4 days give us the flavor of the southeast? Also, while I have you, We are considering renting an apartment in the Temple Bar area while in Dublin. I have read that some find it a noisey area. Keeping in mind that we are fairly easy- going travelers, would you recommend that area ? We like to be as central to sights as possible,and prefer the older parts of cities. We have traveled quite a bit, but never to Ireland. Again, thank you.

I like Dublin as a city but if I had 8 days to visit Ireland for the first time I would add the southwest to your southeast destination and cut down my time in Dublin to 2 days. I would also not stay in the Temple Bar area of Dublin as it is, as the name implies, full of bars and people in a party mode.