First time trip to Ireland - 6 nights
 

My husband and I are taking our first trip to Ireland at the end of March next year. We only have 6 nights total - flying in and out of Dublin. We figure we can probably only visit two other places outside of Dublin without being in the car the whole trip - what would folks recommend we see/visit (that ideally wouldn't involve us being it the car for 3.5 hour stretches)? I realize this obviously limits what we can do - but we definitely don't want to be in the car the whole time!

Thank you!!

With only 6 days, you have limited options. You COULD easily travel to the west coast (say, Galway), as it's only about 3 hours' drive. But there is much in the east that can occupy you.

Glendalough Abbey, Powerscourt Gardens, Powerscourt Falls, Wicklow National Park - that makes a great day trip.

Another day trip - Boyne Valley, including Newgrange, Hill of Tara, Knowth and Dowth.

Just driving up the coast to places like Trim Castle (where Braveheart was filmed) or Slane Abbey (Picturesque Ruin on a hill) is a lovely day.

There is also plenty to do in the city. Dublinia, Trinity College, Book of Kells, shopping, pubs, old book stores, etc. depending on your tastes.

Keep in mind your days will be shorter in March. Early darkness means more time in the pubs :D

Spending the day in Waterford is a good day trip, and a lovely drive :)

Going to the West Coast is a wonderful idea. There are breathtaking views to behold. Dublin offers a lot of places to visit and you have the opportunity to learn about Ireland.

I second GreenDragon's suggestions for the greater Dublin area, Glendalow/Wicklow, Powerscourt one day and Newgrange, Hill of Tara, Trim Castle and other Boyne Valley sites a second day. Remember that Newgrange allows only a limited number of people in each time slot and it isn't easy to get tickets, you may want to take a tour to avoid this problem.

Trinity College (especially the Long Room at the old library) and Kilmainham Gaol were my favourites in Dublin, also just walking around this young and vibrant city.

Yes, the West is supposed to be gorgeous, we're planning on going there next June. But am wondering if you have time with just 6 nights on the ground, unless you head out there immediately on getting to Dublin. Otherwise save this for the next trip, you're sure to go back...:)

You might want to put your out-of-Dublin trips at the beginning of the trip or the end of the trip so you do not have the car rental on your "Dublin city" days. Having a car is a hindrance in the city and the parking will be expensive, if you can find parking,

I've long since learned you must always plan a trip as if you're going back someday. You will NEVER see it all in one trip! :D

Agree with GreenDragon and geetika about lots to see in Dublin, also day trips north and south. Yes, reservations for Newgrange needed so we went instead to close by similar Knowth mounds. Also Trim Castle is impressive. Hill of Tara lovely windswept place but not much to see. To the south Glendalough to me has a special mistique about it.

Yes, Trinity College and book of Kells. Strolling on Grafton St. with evenings for music in Temple Bar area. Might consider theater...we took in plays at Abbey and Gate theaters. I would certainly include Kilmainham Gaol (forget Guinness tour). Eat across street Patriot's Pub. Post office has famous paintings of the uprising...and behind is a farmer's market. Is there a movie about the Uprising in the works? Up north is Irish Writer's Museum and west is Dublin Castle, also Christ Church for Evensong.

As for the West Coast, yes if time permits you must get to Kilarney, Rock of Cashel, Ring of Kerry, Dingle, the Burren, Galway Bay, etc. But this is obviously a trip in itself.

This is all incredibly helpful - thank you. The more we've thought about it the more we felt like it would be difficult to probably do the West Coast - as GreenDragon mentioned- that's a trip in itself!

Was wondering if any of you had feedback on Kilkenny?

We were thinking of flying into and staying over in Dublin the first night - not necessarily ideal to have to go back and get a car - but we don't think we'll be able to drive much after an overnight flight with (likely) no sleep. Or would you recommend we get the car and keep it at our hotel for the night? (I guess I'm not sure which is more expensive - going back and forth to the airport or paying for parking one night).

Then thinking about staying in Kilkenny for a night or two and then maybe one of your suggestions above, and then back to dublin.

I see many of you suggested day trips though - would you not recommend staying out in Kilkenny or Cork, or Powerscourt and instead do day trips?

Kilkenny is a lovely medieval city! Lots of little cobblestone alleys. And of course a castle and TWO cathedrals (one Catholic, one Church of Ireland) to explore. As well as the Black Abbey. The River Nore is lovely.

It's a great place for day trips. I THINK Powerscourt is more convenient for a day trip from Dublin, but I'm not certain. Same with Glendalough. Newgrange definitely is.

Going back and forth for the car is a lot of time and headache. If you can either find a decent parking place (the hotel might have parking... might!) is easier. But it's up to you - is your time not getting back and forth to the airport on public transportation worth the extra money of getting the car for the day and parking it?

There are other pick-up locations in Dublin besides the airport. We always rent from Dan Dooley. They have a 1-800 # where you can call and actually talk to a human being! If you have your hotel address they might be able to direct you to the closest pick-up location.
Dublin is having a lot of construction work right now on the Luas line in the center of the city. Not sure what the status will be in March '17. It makes driving in the city extra difficult. We were told by several locals during our August visit that parking is very difficult to find. I would only bring a car into Dublin if the hotel provided parking at a reasonable rate.

3 summers ago we stayed at Trinity College and walked to the DART station to travel to Dun Laoghaire where we met up with a young man from Dan Dooley with our rental car.

Back many years ago on our first Ireland trip we made the colossal mistake of driving through Dublin. No mas.

The first time I went anywhere (first real vacation) I was 26. I flew to London then over to Dublin. I rented a car and drove in Dublin. First time in Europe, I had just learned how to drive stick shift a couple months before. Luckily it was a tiny little Ford Aspire or something mini like that. I didn't have a lot of issues, but that was also in 1996.

Traffic is a bit more chaotic now.

Thanks GreenDragon, Bette, and jaja. It seems like we may want to find a way to do this trip without a car from the sounds of it.

Do any of you know how easy it might be to get around by train to someplace like Kilkenny or Powerscourt? Or are we really lost without a car?

Here's travel information from the Powerscourt site:
http://powerscourt.com/plan-your-visit/location
I have not done Powerscourt by public transportation, maybe someone on this board has personal experience.

Looks like Kilkenny can be accessed via train on the Waterford line.
http://www.irishrail.ie/

I'm not saying don't get a car, just saying don't have it on your Dublin days....maybe do nights 1 & 2 in Dublin, pick up the car the next morning and do nights 3,4,5 in maybe Killarney or Kenmore and then come back to Dublin, return the car and do night 6 in Dublin and see some things you did not see at the beginning. Just a thought. Remember - you WILL come back!

Kilkenny is lovely and not too far to drive on your first day. (IMHO, of course.) The city is very compact and great for walking. You could spend a night or two in the area and head toward Kells Priory, Jerpoint Glass, and Jerpoint Abbey before making your way back to Dublin via Glendalough and Wicklow. Drop off the car then start your Dublin visit.

We did parts of this in the spring, with the addition of a few nights in Galway at the start of the trip.

We have had a car in Dublin but it is a pain to drive in the city and worry about parking. We kept the car this last time but our B&B was outside of the city center so we took the bus those days and the car stayed parked at the B&B. (Our car rental last year was so ridiculously low that we didn't care about returning it early.)

If you have not already bought the tickets, you could possibly fly home from Shannon.

However, there is plenty to do in Dublin for 2 or 3 days.

Be sure to dress in very warm clothes. The dampness can make you feel even colder.

What Bette said - Ireland is MUCH easier to see with a car, but Dublin isn't a great place to start driving.

Public transportation can be done, but you will be limited to where you can go. For me, one of my greatest thrills is choosing a random road to discover what's there. Following brown signs (usually for scenic/historic places). Then I use my GPS to find my way back to my B&B.