Hi Tony,

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate all of your help :-) I would definitely love to hear your input about the later stages of the trip.

OK, here are some revisions.... would appreciate any/all suggestions.

Day 1: Arrive DUB. Explore Dublin.

Day 2: Pick-up car. Drive to Belfast and Carrickfergus. Overnight in Belfast.

Day 3: Antrim coast (Giants Causeway, Dunluce), Derry (explore city walls, murals). Overnight in Derry.

Day 4: Derry to Donegal (stop & explore) to Sligo to Westport. Overnight in Westport. Is this just way too much for one day?

Day 5: Explore Westport. Drive coastal area of Connemara around coast. Back to Westport for overnight or head down to Galway?

Day 6: Leisurely day to drive to Cong/Ashford Castle and explore Galway. Overnight in Galway.

Day 7: Cliffs & Burren. Overnight in Galway?

Day 8: Explore more of the area. Ferry to Aran Islands? Overnight in Galway? It may be better for me to go from Rossaveal because I could just catch the shuttle bus and leave DH at the hotel....then he gets his day of relaxation.

Day 9: Dingle

Day 10: Dingle

Day 11: Dingle/Ring of Kerry

Day 12: More Ring of Kerry or move on? To where?

Day 13: Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel

Day 14: Glendalough

Day 15: ??. Likely spend evening near airport.

Day 16 - Drop off car (or possibly the night before). Depart 10 AM flight from DUB.

I know that I have zero interest in Waterford, so I'm not even putting that on the itinerary.

Day 4 does look pretty full. I could spend a whole day just exploring around Sligo Town.

Tony is not a fan of Dingle and I have only ever driven the Conor Pass and then headed back to the "mainland" so I can't speak to 2-3 days there but plenty of people love it.

In Derry, you can get walking tours of the walls and murals that leave from the tourist office. We lucked into one that was pre-booked for another group and were invited to join: "come along, ladies, only 4 euro and if you don't enjoy it you don't have to pay me!" Couldn't resist an offer like that!

Personally I'd skip Ring of Kerry and drive the Beara Peninsula but that's just me. You could base that time in Kenmare or Bantry.

The grounds of Blarney Castle are lovely but I wouldn't climb all those narrow stairs to kiss the stone for love nor money. You might consider visiting Cahir Castle since you will be near there at the Rock of Cashel.

For something a bit different you can take a Hawk Walk at Ashford Castle...they take you and the Harris Hawks into the grounds and let you fly them...and a big Eagle Owl. Highlight of my grandsons' trip.

Doolin to Dingle is not a bad drive, especially if you take the ferry. If time permits, consider a side trip to Loop Head before They make it all touristy.

Now I'm wanting to go.....

Just wondering if you've considered taking a train from Dublin to Belfast on that day 2, just so you don't have to get off the mark doing lots of driving. Also will reach there faster and then you can pick up your car in Belfast. Also avoid driving late in the day, as lots of roads don't have streetlights AT ALL, especially in the country - it gets PITCH BLACK!!! Also beware when the fog sets in, especially if you are on a coastal road - cannot drive at all, then, will just have to stop and climb out to look at the fog. So yes, your husband is correct to say - don't spend your time driving too much. It's nice and relaxing to stay in one place for 2-3 days sometimes, just to stroll around and take small trips around it, and it also avoids the packing / unpacking routine. Best of luck.

Best to think of Day 9 as a travel day rather than a Dingle day. Our Dingle to Galway day took pretty much the whole day but we did detour to Loop Head (as jaja also suggested above).

Not trying to turn your trip into my trip and I hesitate to make suggestions since I haven't been to all those places. However, we liked Killarney and the NP area. I can't say if it is "better" than the RoK though.

Not sure how you plan to do the RoK but he full loop is quite an all-day haul.

Jaja - It did look pretty full to me too....I was hoping to get a tentative plan to figure out where to sleep and then start filling in the things to do.

I like the idea of staying in one place for 2-3 days....but with what we want to see, I'm having a hard time figuring out what those areas would be. For example, it seems strange to stay in Galway to see the Cliffs and then turn around the next day and drive down to Dingle.

Would it be at all easier to do things clockwise? As opposed to our current counter clockwise plan? Or does it not really matter.

Indy - I'm not sure about the loop....I've read that it is an all day affair. Which wouldn't be so bad if the next day was a lighter day.

Strawberry - I didn't think about the train for Belfast. I guess I was concerned about renting the car in Dublin and returning it there. As it is, there is apparently only one company that will allow their cars into N. Ireland (through Autoeurope). We definitely want to avoid driving at night!

My first suggestion of heading north was to get a 2 nighter in at the start rather than 3 or 4 one nighters but the plan seems to be coming together ;-)

Day 4 Derry to Westport is a 4 hour drive plus stops. You could put a night into Sligo and rather than Westport. Clifden might then be a better location for your 2 night Connamara stop. The other way of doing this would be to overnight in Donegal rather than Derry.

No not a big fan of Dingle any more. What used to be a quaint fishing village on a fairly nice peninsular has been turned into holiday central by the arrival of a single Dolphin and a self-opinionated Travel Guide Author.

The peninsular is though a nice place and thousands of tourists can't be wrong. Come in over the Connor Pass and the Slea Head loop is on the western tip. Some nice beaches as well and of course the specially for the visitors music sessions.

Night 11 and 12 I would stay in Kenmare, smaller and more intimate than Killarney but a good base at the lower end of the ring of Kerry and a good base for the west Cork peninsula's. Beara is to my mind a whole lot more scenic than Dingle but without the tour bus trade to state its case (thankfully).

From Kenmare it is easy to get to Blarney and your end game.

It makes sense to drop the rental when you get back to Dublin as city driving and parking is a bit of a nightmare even for natives.

As you are visiting in July then it will be daylight until at least after your evening meal so no need to worry about the dark or Fog?

Thank you for your insights Tony. I know the writer you are speaking of....just spent a few hours today watching his Ireland episodes. I wanted to give hubby some overview and it turns out that he thinks Waterford would be really cool to see (if they still do the demonstrations).

I also realized that doing Belfast first is better because of marching season and JUly 12th being some type of really big march. So seeing Belfast before then might be ideal.

I am going to keep reading and researching and see if I can't finalize more. As I keep reading, it doesn't seem like the Donegal/Sligo area is too interesting to us...so driving from Derry/Donegal down to Westport doesn't seem too bad. It'll be a long day, but then it'll put us down to the area we want to be in.

I'll look into how far Donegal is from Derry....might be able to just do a quick jaunt in Derry (wall + murals), especially since we will have seen a lot of the sectarian neighborhoods in Belfast.

Putting together this trip has been interesting....there are a few "must see" sites, but not the normal museums/ruins that I am used to in my other European travels (e.g., Rome, London, Amsterdam, etc.).

Ireland seems more of a "wander aimlessly and just soak up the atmosphere and if you see something then pull over."

Wanted to add: I see Portrush as a place to stay for the Antrim coast, but since we're coming from Belfast, it doesn't seem to make sense to stop there, does it?

Hmmmmm, looking into Tony's suggestions.... I feel like I have a good handle on days 1-6, but then things start falling apart!

Now I'm a little confused about day 7-8. Do I put myself in Galway? But that seems a little backwards to go down to the Cliffs/Burren and have to backtrack to Galway for the night. If I do the Aran Islands, I know my husband won't go so I need a base that he can hang out at. I don't know that I would be crushed if I didn't get to Inishmor.

So maybe it would make sense to go back to the Doolin idea? But then I'd have to get from Clifden to Doolin in one day, which might be a bit much (we'd stop off in Galway to sightsee and grab lunch). The map shows it as 2.5 hours driving, which isn't horrible.

Day 1: Arrive DUB. Explore Dublin.

Day 2: Pick-up car. Drive to Belfast and Carrickfergus. Overnight in Belfast.

Day 3: Antrim coast (Giants Causeway, Dunluce), Derry (explore city walls, murals). Overnight in Derry.

Day 4: Derry to Donegal (stop & explore) to Sligo. Overnight in Sligo.

Day 5: Connemara. Overnight in Clifden.

Day 6: Connemara/Cong. Overnight in Clifden.

Day 7: Drive down to Cliffs & Burren. Stop in Galway to sightsee. Where to overnight? Stick with Galway?

Day 8: Explore more of the area. Ferry to Aran Islands? Overnight in Galway? It may be better for me to go from Rossaveal because I could just catch the shuttle bus and leave DH at the hotel....then he gets his day of relaxation.

Day 9: Drive to Dingle peninsula. Conway pass? Stay in Dingle?

Day 10: Slea Head/explore Dingle. Overnight in Dingle.

Day 11: Drive to Kenmare. Stop in Killarney/Muckross House. Overnight in Kenmare.

Day 12: Ring of Kerry drive. Overnight in Kenmare.

Day 13: Beara Peninsula, Blarney. Overnight in Kinsale?

Day 14: Rock of Cashel. Overnight in Kilkenny.

Day 15: Glendalough/Wicklow mountains. Likely spend evening near airport.

Day 16 - Drop off car (or possibly the night before). Depart 10 AM flight from DUB.

<i>Day 7: Drive down to Cliffs & Burren. Stop in Galway to sightsee. Where to overnight? Stick with Galway?

Day 8: Explore more of the area. Ferry to Aran Islands? Overnight in Galway? It may be better for me to go from Rossaveal because I could just catch the shuttle bus and leave DH at the hotel....then he gets his day of relaxation.

Day 9: Drive to Dingle peninsula. Conway pass? Stay in Dingle?</i>

As you noted, backtracking to Galway doesn't seem to fit very well. What's the primary draw? DH day off there? Access to Aran Islands via Rossaveal?

I think your Day 7 night would be better in Doolin so you don't have to backtrack. If you still want to go to the Aran Islands you can from there. That will put you that much closer to Dingle as well (thought not that big of a deal).

I like Portrush and would normally suggest staying there but it would not be right for this trip. So all sorted apart from the Aran Isles/Galway/Clare part.

You have a couple of Options. Go to the big island from Galway on a tour. Or go to the Small Island from Doolin and take the combi Innis Orr Cliffs cruise (Something I do with our visitors).

I don't see a problem seeing the Burren/Cliffs/Innis Orr using Galway as a fixed base. There is an element of backtracking yes, but you could then use the N/M18 straight down and under the Shannon which would possibly be the longest day.

Unless you are going to do Inis Orr on your own then I would not stay in Doolin in July, there are nicer places along the coast. Another option might be to Call at Doolin etc on the way to stay in Ennis which apart from being one of my favourite places is a good base for the whole of Clare not just the coast and an hour closer to Dingle by the Tunnel.

Probably just throwing more confusion by trying to clarify the options. But as you say everything else is sorted. apart from accommodation which we can come back to.

Oh goodness Tony...that is so incredibly kind of you to throw together!!

I was looking at the map and thought about Ennis as an option for exploring the Burren/Cliffs area.

I think I need to figure out how attached to visiting the Aran Islands I am. If I want to visit InisMor, then it seems that I really need to overnight in Galway.

I need to look into the InisOrr combo cruise that you speak of.

Overall, I think slowing things down is good. It would be nice to arrive at our overnight stop before dinner and have time to relax.

If I scrapped InisMor then we could stop in Galway for a few hours and move down to Ennis and spend 2 nights in Ennis as our base for the Clare area. And then move on to the Dingle Peninsula.

Sorry had to remove the post, map is at http://g.co/maps/vq826 on 2 pages and can be edited and played with.

The cruise I use is with O'Brien Line http://www.obrienline.com/products/product-002.html

Thank you Tony!!

I second Tony's suggestion of Ennis. A nice sized town with a village atmosphere. We always stay there when we arrive via Shannon airport. Yes, it's a very good base for doing the Cliffs, Burren, etc.

OK, how about this....mostly changes in the middle:

Day 1: Arrive DUB. Explore Dublin.

Day 2: Pick-up car. Drive to Belfast and Carrickfergus. Overnight in Belfast.

Day 3: Antrim coast (Giants Causeway, Dunluce), Derry (explore city walls, murals). Overnight in Derry.

Day 4: Derry to Donegal (stop & explore) to Sligo. Overnight in Sligo.

Day 5: Connemara. Overnight in Clifden.

Day 6: Connemara/Cong. Overnight in Clifden.

Day 7: Drive down to Cliffs & Burren. Stop in Galway to sightsee. Overnight in Ennis.

Day 8: Explore more of Clare. Possible day cruise out of Doolin. Overnight in Ennis.

Day 9: Drive to Dingle peninsula. Conway pass? Overnight in Dingle.

Day 10: Slea Head/explore Dingle. Overnight in Dingle.

Day 11: Drive to Kenmare. Stop in Killarney/Muckross House. Overnight in Kenmare.

Day 12: Ring of Kerry drive. Overnight in Kenmare.

Day 13: Beara Peninsula, Blarney. Overnight in Kinsale?

Day 14: Rock of Cashel. Overnight in Kilkenny.

Day 15: Glendalough/Wicklow mountains. Likely spend evening near airport.

Day 16 - Drop off car (or possibly the night before). Depart 10 AM flight from DUB.

Looks fine.

How about the cliffs cruise whilst in Doolin and try East Clare for the other day from Ennis, have a look at Lough Derg. Killaole and Ballina, spot of lunch in Goosers maybe a trip on the river or to Holy Island.

Now Accommodation..
Dublin a decent hotel with 24 hour check in
http://www.wotif.com/hotels/ireland-...in-hotels.html

Belfast, some tips in here?
http://ireland.activeboard.com/t4868...t-premier-inn/

Derry. Rose Park house, good location west of the river and a fair price http://www.roseparkhouse.com/. Out of the city a little but not far. Troy Hall B&B http://www.troyhall.co.uk/Troy_Hall,...ry_-_Home.html

Sligo. We usually stay in Tubber but I have it on good authority that Iona B&B is a good option http://sligo-bb.com/?rnd=53946589814279109123022 Hotel option, The Clarion, http://www.clarionhotelsligo.com/

Clifden. My Choice Dún Rí right at the east end of the centre on a quiet corner. http://www.dunri.ie/ for more expensive tastes and a little different, Quay House. http://www.thequayhouse.com/

Ennis. We stay at the Grey Gables just a couple of minutes walk into the centre. http://bed-n-breakfast-ireland.com/?...05666032682470 The Hotels in town are The Old Ground and Temple Gate, both are very good, http://www.flynnhotels.com/Old_Ground_Hotel_Ennis http://www.templegatehotel.com/

Dingle I am relying on trusted others here but Pax House is highly respected. http://www.pax-house.com/

Kenmare, The Abbey Court is wonderful by the Abbey and the bay. http://www.abbeycourtkenmare.com/ A little out from the town Tara Farm is my second choice. http://www.tara-farm.com/

Kinsale. Never stayed in Kinsale but will make enquiries.

Kilkenny. A little out of the centre Rosquil House has been one of our good stays, http://www.goireland.com/kilkenny/ro...es-id42760.htm Further out (about 10 minutes) Blanchville Country House also offers some spa and massage therapies. http://www.blanchville.ie/

Dublin Again. I like the Premier Inn which has a shuttle service to the airport, slightly business like but clean and comfortable. http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/D...dublin-airport

All of the above are just suggestions that I can recommend from experience or recommendations from people I know.

twiggers -- its coming together nicely. You'll have a nice time.

Tony -- another thanks from the crowd for all your help.

Tony! That is an amazing list :-)

Do you think we should overnight in Ennis for both nights? Or Doolin for one and Ennis for the other? The appeal of staying 2 nights is pushing me toward Ennis.

Indy - Thank you so much! Now I have to start making reservations and really putting things together!

The airfare has been moving a bit and I'm hoping it will drop soon. Need to work out the car details for N. Ireland, super CDW, and extra driver. Don't want DH to be driving the entire time!