Ireland
 

Short notice trip to Ireland. Tentative route is Shannon to Dingle to Kinsale to Kilkenny to Dublin. Any must sees or best kept secrets? Thanks Rick

That's a lot of ground to cover - how many days do you have?

We did a similar itinerary a few years ago. When are you planning to go?

We leave Wednesday, and we will stay six nights total.

What are your interests? I think you could do what you are planning, but without an idea if what you like to do it's hard to give you ideas on how to spread out your days.

Do you have an interest in seeing anything in Dublin? Why have you chosen the route you did?

So it would look like this:
Day 1: arrive at SNN
Day 2: Drive to Dingle
Day 3: Drive to Kinsale
Day 4: Drive to Kilkenny
Day 5: Drive to Dublin
Day 6: sightsee in Dublin
Day 7: fly home

Right? So you would have only one place where you'd stay more than one night. It is possible, but you will be in the car a LOT. Shannon to Dingle took us over half a day, for example, because we hit road works and had to wait for the ferry. It's up to you. Personally I'd take out at least one stop; which one depends on what your interests are.

We are taking this route because we fly into Shannon and out of Dublin. So the route is a loop to Dublin with siteseeing along the way. We are interested in hiking (weather permitting), visiting museums and soaking in small town Ireland culture.

Since you mention that you enjoy hiking, I would suggest a stop in Killarney National Park. Take a detour to Cashel on your way to Kilkenny. The Rock of Cashel is amazing! On the way to Dublin is Glendalough. It is very peaceful and has fantastic ruins. Powerscourt is a short distance from Glendalough and has beautiful gardens. Some of our most colorful pictures are from Powerscourt with the Wicklow Mountains in the background. Our favorite sight in Dublin was Kilmainham Jail. It is very moving. Take the Hop On Hop Off bus in Dublin for an overview of the city.

Suggestion:
Day 1: Shannon airport to Dingle; Overnight Dingle
Day 2: Dingle Peninsula; Overnight Dingle
Day 3: Dingle to Killarney State Park to Kinsale; Overnight Kinsale
Day 4: Kinsale to Rock of Cashel to Kilkenny; Overnight Kilkenny
Day 5: Kilkenny to Powerscourt to Glendalough to Dublin; Overnight Dublin
Day 6: Dublin; Overnight Dublin
Day 7: Fly out of Dublin

Keep in mind that driving is much slower that you would expect on rather tight roads.

For you overnight in Dingle, you have to stay at Pax House. We just were there 3 weeks ago for a 2 night stay and the service is fantastic, the view is beautiful and the host extremely nice. Rio the dog will also be a highlight of your stay. I can't wait to visit Pax House again in the future.