My husband and I will be spending 9 days and nights in Ireland at the end of August. We will be flying in and out of Dublin, from the East Coast of the US. We will be renting a car after a few days in Dublin, and I am assuming we will share the driving. This is our first trip to Ireland, and want to see as much as possible, but want to be mindful not to be in the car for too long of a stretch. Here is the tentative itinerary I've come up with. Any feedback on how do-able this is would be appreciated!

Day 1 (Saturday 8/20):
Arrive in Dublin (9 am)
Spend day sight seeing & getting acclimated to time change
Sleep in Dublin (Trinity Lodge for three nights?)

Day 2 (Sunday 8/21):
More Dublin sightseeing
Sleep in Dublin

Day 3 (Monday 8/22):
Guided day trip to Belfast/Giants Causeway (depart 6:30 am, return 10:30 pm)
(I'm aware this is going to be a *very* long day, and that we'll be at the mercy of the tour group, but we really want to see the Giants Causeway, and I couldn't figure out a way to work it into our itinerary if we drove there ourselves. If anyone has recommendations on good tours to go with, please advise!)
Sleep in Dublin

Day 4 (Tuesday 8/23)
Rent car (is it best to do this at the airport?
Drive to Kilkenny (via Enniskerry & Glendalough)
Visit Kilkenny Castle
Sleep in Kilkenny (Butler Court?)

Day 5 (Wednesday 8/24)
Visit Rock of Cashel
Visit Blarney Castle
Continue on to Kinsale
Sleep in Kinsale (The Olde Bakery?) (or skip Kinsale and spend night in Cork City)

Day 6 (Thursday 8/25)
Spend day driving toward Dingle Penninsula via Kenmare & Killarney with frequent stops to see this portion of Ring of Kerry (if we're if tired of driving, take more direct route and skip RoK)
Sleep in Dingle (Greenmount B&B?)

Day 7 (Friday 8/26)
Explore Dingle Penninsula
Sleep in Dingle

Day 8 (Saturday 8/27)
Drive North to Cliffs of Moher (using Tarbert/Killimer ferry)
Sleep in Galway or Doolin (Any suggestions on which makes more sense? We won't have much time in either place...just Sat evening to hit the pubs and Sunday morning. Doolin will make for a slightly shorter drive on Saturday, but I'm assuming Galway has better night life)

Day 9 (Sunday 8/28)
Depart Galway/Doolin, head back toward Dublin suburbs
Sleep in Skerries (Red Bank House?) (Picked Skerries since it close to airport and can spend last afternoon/night in a beachy locale)

Day 10 (Monday 8/29)
Head to airport & return car for 11 am flight

Any feedback would be appreciated! I haven't booked any accommodations yet, so recommendations on where to stay also appreciated. Thanks in advance for your comments!

Having just returned from a 9-day driving trip in Ireland, I think your schedule looks good.

I can't advise on any tours from Dublin to the Giant's Causeway (we drove ourselves based from Belfast in 2009), I can say that a day trip to the Causeway and the Antrim Coast is an excellent choice of a day trip. I'm sure you will really enjoy it.

If your primary purpose for the evening of Day 8 is "to hit the pubs", then I would suggest just staying in Doolin rather than driving all the way to Galway. Doolin has 3 great pubs, all of which offer traditional music. We visited all 3 on our stay there in May. (I wasn't "wow'ed" by our B&B in Doolin, so I won't recommend it, but there are a lot of places to stay there. Check out some of the reviews on Trip Advisor.)

Think I just answered this somewhere else...

Thanks for the suggestions!

And yes Tony, I just commented on your reply on TripAdvisor. Thanks!

beccaf1970;
I HIGHLY recommend you stay at Pax House in Dingle. We spent 2 great nights there last October and just loved it. Pax House is just 1 klm from the center of Dingle and has THE best view of Dingle Bay and the surrounding countryside you could ask for. The rooms are a very good size, rates are very reasonable, John and his staff are friendly and extremely helpful, you have Rio the dog as your greeter, and the view from the dinning room is just breathtaking. See my photos and further review on tripadvisor, if you like. Most people will tell you that Dingle Peninsula is much better than ROK. Check out the Killarney National Park and Muckross House on your way into Killarney, definitely worth the stop. Enjoy your trip! I can't wait to visit Ireland again.

Hi beccaf:

You are traveling during high season to all of the places that have the most tourism so expect crowds.

On your Giants Causeway plans. I think I've made 3 or 4 visits there in my trips around the country. It is certainly a fascinating place to see but I just don't think it's worth a 6:30am-10:30pm trip, especially if the weather is bad. That sounds absolutely dreadful. There is so much to see in Ireland in the general direction that you are going that I would seriously reconsider the plan.

Kilkenny Castle is by guided tour only so you will need to make it there in time to sign up and get the tour. In August it is likely to be crowded and so you would need to get there well before they close for the day. They tend to sell out during high season.

Blarney Castle in August sounds painful. Again, high season and this is Irelands greatest tourist trap. Stand in line for a couple of hours to kiss a dirty rock. Stop in Cahir instead and see a much better preserved castle. I know - it would be horrible to go to Ireland and not kiss the stone. No it wouldn't. I've visited the castle once, didn't kiss the stone and other than the grounds being lovely, the castle itself is a ruin and the lines are horrible in August.

Skip the entire RoK. Too much driving during that time. You will see some spectacular scenery between Kinsale and Dingle, which is further that I would want to go anyway. Don't stay in Cork City. That said, Kinsale will be very crowded.

Lots of great places to stay in Dingle. I've stayed at the Shores Country House on the north side of the peninsula. It is stunning, the views are amazing, the price is very reasonable, Annette is an amazing hostess, food is wonderful. I've stayed at over 100 B&Bs. This is my favorite.

Choose Doolin. By the time you get to Galway, get lost finding your B&B or a place to park in the city center you'll have used up a good part of your day. As was stated before, there are some great pubs in Doolin which again, will be packed. You may have a hard time hearing the music unless you stake out a seat early in the evening.

Maybe spend your last night in Malahide, still an easy drive to the airport and a nice little seaside town. I don't remember Skerries well enough to comment on the village, but I remember it as pretty sleepy. There would be much more to do and better dining options in Malahide.

In the end, if it were me, i would jetison the Causway trip, add a day to the south (probably between Kinsale and Dingle) and by all means, don't go to Blarney Castle. I know you really want to go north but it just is too much ina an already very busy trip in my opinion.

Bill

I would second the idea of staying in Malahide for your last night. We did that and it was only a 10 minute drive to the airport the next morning to drop of the car and get our flight back. It is right on the ocean and only a short drive from Howth if you like. We stayed at Evergreen Malahide B&B and the hostess, Olive, does everything she can to help you get ready for your return flight. She has a lot of people who stay there on their last night because of the proximity to the airport.

We stayed at Emlagh Lodge in Dingle and we were right on the harbour. There was a pathway to walk into town 5 minutes away. We did the Slea Head drive in Dingle but did not do the Ring of Kerry. We stayed a night in Killarney at the Lake Hotel, which I also recommend. It is right on the Loch Lien. Places worth visiting nearby without having to do the whole Ring of Kerry are Ladies' View, Torc Waterfall and Muckross House and Abbey. We saw Ross Castle in the evening,only from the outside, since it was closed by then.
Have a great trip!

I would definitely stay in Kinsale over Cork City. A lot of great pubs, restaurants, tourist walks, shopping. Kinsale will be crowded but park the car and do it all on foot. Skip Blarney and by pass Cork City. Kinsale is worth it.