Help with my Ireland itinerary plz!
 

Hello :) my best friend and I are going to Ireland October 25-Nov 4, for my 25th birthday! I have planned out a loose Itinerary and before I start booking hostels I would like some help tweaking it please. We are renting a car and driving everywhere, so helpful guesses on how much our trip will cost in gas/petrol would be very much appreciated. We want to see as much as possible, we are young so we don't mind being tired I'm looking to see things that ordinary tourists don't know about. Also I am Pagan and my friend is catholic so we are really interested in seeing certain historical places, we will be there for Halloween and I was told by some locals to make sure I go to the ward hill in Meath where it all began..( My concern is am I missing someplace important? Should we fit Tippeary in?)


Day 1- Arrive in Dublin at 8:00 am October 25, pick up rental car and explore the city, check
into hostel, stay for the night.

Day 2- Drive to Connemara explore a bit, then drive to Galway, stay for the night.

Day 3- See cliffs of Moher, St. Brigits well in Liscannor, then start the Ring of Kerry. Stop
at Port Magee for the night.

Day 4- (Optional trip to Michael Skellig weather permitting.) Finish Ring of Kerry.

Day 5- Cork

Day 6- Kilkenny

Day 7- HALLOWEEN!/SAMHAIN! I know its a bit of a drive but drive to CO.Meath and see
Hill of Tara and then Hill of Ward for celebrations. Where should we stay thats
close by or should we drive as close as we can to our next destination?

Day 8- Glendalough (should we combine Dun Laogahaire with this? or add somewhere
else or stay the night here and do Dun Laogahire the next day?

Day 9-Dun Laogahire

Day 10- Dublin

Day 11- Home :(

I calculated that we will be traveling 1,323.63 km

Too much. far too much. You are not going to see much of the Connamara driving over from Dublin and back to Galway. Then from there to Portmaggee via the Clare coast? A day to do the ring ok then down to Cork and then Kilkenny. But then you loose the plot again and why DunLaogahire ok nice enough but nothing there. I think you should plan things out again using a route planner (Google Maps or AA.ie) Remember the days will be short (possibly wet) and you will be working on about 40mph/60kph average speed.

Oh, oh, only a day in Dublin (discounting the groggy arrival hours)? And yes, why Dun Laoghaire at all? Do savor Glendalough though, a special place. So you can't arrange to arrive Limerick and depart Dublin?

Bill in Boston

And you certainly don't want to start your trip by getting a rental car to drive to Dublin. The city driving will be difficult; the parking will be expensive; and you don't need a car in Dublin for sightseeing.
You can take a bus back to the airport when you are ready to start your driving trip and get your car then.

I have to start and finish in Dublin. I already bought my tickets. And I can wait on the rental car I guess I just wanted to lock our stuff in it while we stayed in a hostel. Als Dun laoghaire because ever since we watch the movie PS I Love you we have wanted to go there, but if u have a though of where else we should go then plz feel free to share. And I used AA planner for the driving, that how I got how many Kilometers i'd be driving... I know I loose the plot leaving Kilkenny but we have to go to Meath for Halloween so it can't be helped. Should we skip Connemara? I figured if we left Dublin early in the am we could get to connemara by noon spend 3 hours there and get to galway by 4 or 5. Or we could always leave the first day and out to connmara and stay the night then head over to Galway. Take out Dun Laoghaire and add Dublin there. which makes the last two days in Dublin?

Also I don't get jet lag so don't worry about that I'll be ready to go straight from the plane, lol

Soooo Maybe it should be this?



Day 1- Arrive in Dublin at 8:00 am October 25, pick up rental car and Drive to connemara.

Day 2- Drive to Galway the Stay in Liscannor to see
St.Brigits Well. stay for the night (ate check in for
full day in Galway?)

Day 3- See cliffs of Moher,
then start the Ring of Kerry. Stop
at Port Magee for the night (here because its half way
of the ring and where we'd take the boat to the
Skellig.

Day 4- (Optional trip to Michael Skellig weather permitting.)
Finish Ring of Kerry.

Day 5- Cork

Day 6- Kilkenny

Day 7- HALLOWEEN!/SAMHAIN! I know its a bit of a drive but drive to CO.Meath and see
Hill of Tara and then Hill of Ward for celebrations. Where should we stay thats
close by or should we drive as close as we can to our next destination?

Day 8- Glendalough (should we combine Dun Laogahaire with this? or add somewhere
else or stay the night here and do Dun Laogahire the next day?

Day 9-DUBLIN

Day 10- Dublin

Day 11- Home :(

Hi Ashley-
I have been to Dun Laoghaire and have seen the movie,it is not in the movie.Dun Laoghaire is a small port city,it does have a nice sea walk.I did find this online -"While they walk together to find ‘Dun Laoghaire’ they are in fact in the beautiful village of Lacken, overlooking the Blessington lakes. "
Susan

oh Thanks Susan!

Ok so for Halloween at the Hill of Ward I booked a hotel in Trim, it looked close enough? But I still need to be set in the rest of my itinerary. I just dont know what I should change... Should we skip Connemara? should we go to doolin instead of Galway? Should we do Aran Island instead of Michael Skellig? Should we drive the Ring of Kerry? STRESS!!!

Maybe I should just take out the skellig....then my Itinerary would look like this



Day 1- Arrive in Dublin at 8:00 am October 25, pick up rental car and Drive to connemara.

Day 2- Drive to Galway and Stay

Day 3- See cliffs of Moher, and the Burren and St.Brigits
well. Then stop and stay at the start of The Ring of
Kerry.

Day 4- Take whole day to drive the Ring.

Day 5- Cork

Day 6- Kilkenny

Day 7- HALLOWEEN!/SAMHAIN! I know its a bit of a drive but
drive to CO.Meath and see Hill of Tara and then Hill of
Ward for celebrations. Got a hotel in Trim.

Day 8- Glendalough

Day 9-DUBLIN

Day 10- Dublin

Day 11- Home :(

Opinions? Does this sound better? Should we not skip the Skellig??

Lets try and work this...

Day 1, to Galway for a 2 nights base, Connamara and Burren/Cliffs.

Day 3, Down the M/N18 through the Shannon tunnel call into Listowel on the way to Kenmare for 2nights

Day 5, Round the Coast including Beara to Kinsale/Cork/Blarney

Day 6, Throgh Killkeny to Glendalough or Powers Court for the night.

Day 7, Powerscourt House and up to the Hill of Ward.

Day 8, Tara and back to Drop the hire car on your way back to Dublin

Day 9-10 Dublin bus tours and sights, Kilmainhan, Guinness, Museums etc.

Day 11, flight.

Powerscourt estate is about 1/2 hour from Dun Laoghaire so an easy call.

that sounds good but i'd hate to give up the ring of kerry, or kilkenny. and i dont know whats in kenmare. i wish i had more time!

oh i looked up kenmare so the ring is near that! actually I might take on u suggested itinerary after all, or at least use it as an outline. thanks!

You don't have to go around the entire Ring of Kerry.

Also, don't skip Connemara. See the 'outside' of Kylemore Abbey, there and have lunch at Ballynahinch.

Glendalough was interesting, as was Powerscourt, but I think we spent about an hour at each.

so should we not stay an entire day at glendalough? thanks fr the advice on not skipping connemara

Someone else should chime in on Glendalough, since it's been 10 years. I remember it as a picturesque cemetery, a 500AD tower, and some other ruins, etc, but there may have been more.