I have so enjoyed your trip report and photos. Thank you

Yes, the photos are lovely, and I'm really enjoying your account of your travels. And you seem to have hot excellent weather.

Thanks everyone. Yes, we did have great weather. Folks told us it rained like crazy in August, so I guess September became their Indian Summer. During the three weeks in Ireland, we had one day that was really windy and just two days of rain.

I know you did this report many years ago, but it was so helpful today! Blizzard here in Chicago and planning a trip to London, Dover, Brighton Beach and The Republic of Ireland. So your Report was very helpful. I cut out the Ring of Kerry and added the National Park and Ross Castle just outside of Killarney because of this report. Still working on the Galway area and a drive back to Dublin to catch the open jaw flight back to the states after two months traveling Europe. Lots of planning going on. Love to do it with help like this. Thank you.

I'm glad you found it helpful. You may also find some help in AZ's trip report from last year. They started their Ireland portion in Galway, which begins in post #25 of the following: Always in Search of “Our Local”: 3 Days in Liverpool and 18 Days in Ireland
Stay warm and enjoy your planning. I find that's half the fun.

greytop13, I really enjoyed your report and photos, and I have saved it to my desktop. We are planning on visiting England and Ireland in 2025. Considering either May, June, or September. Looks like you had nice weather in September. What were the temps on average? That's a great tip about hiring a driver for the drive around Slea Head. My husband doesn't mind driving on the left (he did fine last year in Scotland) but I think it's a good idea to hire a private driver once in awhile so my husband can get a break and relax and really enjoy the scenery.

We did have great weather throughout the trip. As I recall, temps were 65 to 75 Fahrenheit most days. I looked back at our pictures and I'm either in shirt sleeves or wearing a sport coat. My wife mostly wore a rain jacket or cardigan. It was quite windy the day we visited the Cliffs of Moher and the only rain we had was in Galway

Having a local guide for the drive around Slea Head was wonderful. Not only did we both get to enjoy the scenery, but Paudy's knowledge of the area and willingness to share stories gave us insights we would never have had on our own. Good luck with your planning. I hope you enjoy Ireland as much as we did.

greytop13, thank you for your helpful reply.

This was a fantastic trip report and I am sure I referenced it for our trip in May 2022. Thank you!

Karen, I love your style of research and note taking, it is reflected in your beautiful journeys and trip reports.
We were in Ireland the last 2 weeks of May and the weather was perfect. It was pouring down rain when we landed and we had some nighttime showers, but we were really fortunate, temperatures were 60-75 degrees. But it is all such roll of the dice now, the week after we got back it was rainy all week. And that June they had record heat. A lot of accommodations in Ireland don't have A/C, I would rather put on a jacket than swelter all night. We are also steering away from travel in June, because we have found that the college kids start really start arriving then.

I am a fan of the private drivers now. My husband got tired of driving for 9 days in Ireland, so when we were recently in Tuscany, we had a driver for 6 hours and it was so worth it. We loved her perspective and advice. My husband really loved it and we are doing the same on our upcoming trip to the Cotswolds.

coral22, thank you for your compliments and your helpful comments. We are also planning a trip to Northern Italy for next year so trying to figure out the best month for our Italy trip and the best month for England and Ireland. Each trip will be a month long. I might post a question later on tonight on Fodors to get advice on the best time to travel. So far I've had excellent luck. Last June we had perfect weather in Scotland. All sunny days except for one misty morning and temps in the 60's and 70's. I do remember reading your Ireland TR. I will re-read it again.

When are you going to the Cotswolds? We are planning on going there when we visit England. And when did you visit Tuscany?

Coral, please share the details of your driver for the Cotswolds, we’re thinking of it for next year and want to drive. Thanks

Karen, we spent 10 days in Ireland in June 2017 and had glorious weather, bright sunny days, with temperatures around 75. Something like your experience in Scotland, guess we just got lucky!

Karen, we are heading to England at the end of April for 2 weeks.
We arrived in Italy October 8, 2023 for 2 weeks. I will you look for your posting about that.

geetika, we hired the driver that denisea used, from Cotswolds Executive Cabs. He charges $80 an hour with a minimum of a 6 hour commitment. He is based out of Broadway, but will pick you up from anywhere in the area. We are trying a combination of express bus, rental car, private driver and train. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for this excellent report!

Were you pleased with you stay in Galway? How many days would you suggest?

Yes, we did enjoy Galway. Being across from the park and on the end of the pedestrian-only area was perfect. I understand the Hotel Merrick has changed hands and is even under a different name, so I can't vouch for them. For us, three days worked out well. If we had more time we might have done a day trip to the Aran Islands, though I've read mixed reviews.

greytop13, we are leaving for Ireland and Northern Ireland in less than 2 weeks, so I re-read your very helpful trip report. Want to let you know that we have dinner reservations at Land to Sea and Out of the Blue during our stay in Dingle. We are staying at the PAX House, and John, the owner, recommended both of these restaurants. So happy to know that you liked them as well.

Just curious, what are the mixed reviews you have read about the Aran Islands?

KarenWoo, I hope you find Dingle as lovely as we did. I read glowing reviews of the Aran Islands, especially Inishmore. However, for the most part they were written by folks who had spent several days there. Many recommended renting bicycles to explore the island. The poor reviews were by travelers who made the day trip from Galway by ferry, which would have been our option. For the most part, they found the ferry crowded, felt they had little time on the island between coming and going, and were unable to venture past the touristy area. If you have the ability to spend at least one night on the island you could have a wonderful experience. Have a great trip!

greytop13, thank you for responding so quickly. If we visit the Aran Islands, it will be a daytrip from Galway. We don't have the time to spend the night. I am under the impression that once we arrive at Inishmore, we can take small touring vans to see the island, and by doing that we can get away from the touristy area and see more of the island. I hope I am right about this. Regardless of what we do, I know we will have a wonderful time in Ireland.