Twiggers, since your husband is disabled do you require a room on the ground floor if staying in a B&B? If so, that would change some of my recommendations.

Actually....my big thing first is to decide which day we are leaving the US!!! I may be able to add an extra day somewhere if I can skip out early.

Maybe in Kinsale or Kilkenny

I have to put together my summer teaching schedule and figure out if we can go a day earlier. It means I'll be grading exams the entire flight over

I would have Ennis as a two night stay. Send me an email near the dates and I might pop down for a pint with you in Brogans.

jaja - No, he would be OK going up one or two flights. He just can't stand/walk for more than a few minutes at a time (diabetic neuropathy).

Thanks Tony! That makes sense. I found out that my grades are due on Sunday night, so I may cancel the last day of class and leave on Friday July 6, which might give us an extra day.

Airfare is just so darn expensive right now *sigh* A face of life now.

Thanks for the offer Tony

OK, a few things....

Trying to figure out a Dublin hotel for night 1. I'd like to stay around 100 euros for a double. Hotel needs a TV and en suite bathroom.

Preferably centrally located.

For the two of us to get to/from airport (we need to go back and pick up the car on day 2) what would be the best mode of transportation? Keeping in mind that we'll be jetlagged on day 1!!!

Lynams on O'Connell St is about as central as you can get or the North Star just by Busarás the main Bus station. I like the Maldron at Smithfield a little out of the centre but still with easy access.

Cost and availability will depend on your day of arrival.

http://lynamsdublinhotel.com/
http://www.northstarhotel.ie/
http://www.maldronhotelsmithfield.com/

Thank you Tony! I will look at those.

I have a reservation booked with Hertz. AutoEurope wasn't any cheaper and I don't think it is advantageous to have a middle man. Any thoughts on that?

I checked Dooley and they were MUCH higher for all the same features.

I have the airline tickets on hold....waiting/hoping for a price drop.

Once I figure out the Dublin hotel, I'll figure out transportation and sites.

OK, Lynam's comes in at 139 with free wifi. Northstar comes in at 152.10 with free wifi and breakfast. They also have a shuttle to the airport for 4.5 per person. We could use this to get back to the airport to pick up the rental car.

Both hotels have middle of the road ratings on Tripadvisor.

What do you think about the Hilton at this location: Charlemont Place, Dublin 2, Ireland

I can use points and money and only pay $70...which is appealing to me to save about $100. But no free internet

Just outside of Sligo at Rosses Point I can highly recommend Iorras B&B (pronounced air-us; not at all the way I was pronouncing it before I got there).
http://www.sligoiorrasbandb.com/ TV in the rooms!

Tony has his favorites in Ennis, but I like Eden Hill House, on a working farm and almost a straight shot to the airport on your departure morning. Sad to say, their website has disappeared but they can be booked through the tourist booking agencies. Just put "eden hill house+kilmorane" into your search engine.

In Kenmare we liked Caha's B&B http://www.cahaskenmare.com/ .

Since you will be in Dublin in July, have you thought about staying at Trinity College?
http://www.tcd.ie/accommodationandcatering/

Hilton is fine and makes sense to use any discounts you have. Trip Advisor ratings have the power of the god's but the only ones I believe are written by me (12) or written by people I either know or trust.

Rosses Point is a nice area for Sligo, never stayed there but any personal recommendation on forums is better than 20 reviews on any web site.

Eden hill House outside Ennis is good (bit awkward to find)..But I like to take in a bit of craic and walk 5 minutes back to the lodgings so would not say it fits a 2 night town stay.

Thanks for putting in JaJa (and others) I was beginning to think I had hijacked this thread!

Thank you Jaja!

Tony - I appreciate it!! I think I am going to go with North Star for Dublin. The price is right, dinner is included, free wifi, and it's close to the city.

Due to DH's disability, I think we will do the Hop On/Hop Off bus in Dublin.

Thank you Nadya! I'm working on Belfast right now...

----
Question re Belfast:

The big draw for me is the sectarian neighborhoods. I am concerned about how much I can see from our own car. Can we stop along Falls Road/Shankhill and get out and wander around?

We'll be in Belfast on a Sunday. Will traffic be better inside the city so that we can drive around ourselves?

It seems a shame to pay for a bus tour/taxi tour when we have the car. However, if the bus/taxi can provide a better experience, then I'll pay for it.

I would take one of the Black Cab tours rather than drive yourselves you will get far more history from the driver than just looking. These are housing estates and not easy to navigate. I personally wouldn't walk around but then I have not been in these areas for 30years.

If you are going to do the Titanic exhibition then the grand staircase is open on Sundays. Remember tickets must be pre-booked for the exhibition.

Tony - Thank you! Do you have any recommendations for any taxi tour companies? I'd like one that does both Falls Rd and Shankhill Rd.

The open top bus had stops up and down both streets. Apparently there is a combo ticket for 21 pounds (Dublin & Belfast).

Another question:

I have the car pick-up set for 10 AM (might change it to a little earlier) to drive to Belfast.

I would like to stop at Newgrange. Keeping in mind this is a Sunday, does anyone know how long of a wait we would have? DH has no interest, and I don't want him waiting forever. It looks like Newgrange is just off the M highway.

Also, a friend recommended Trim Castle. This looks a little further out of the way. I'm willing to sacrifice this if I'll run across other castles later in the trip.

I'd like to be in Belfast by 1-2 PM. Drop off things at the hotel and then spend the late afternoon touring around the city.

I'm realizing that Carrickfergus will need to wait until the next day.

This has all become very confusing... sometimes asking for advice can do that. You said in your initial post that you wanted to be flexible and wing it, so I think you should just go back to that thought. Pick a few key places that you know you want to see, and then drive and stop as you please. Buy a good map and take a few chances on some back roads. Everything above sounds like you will be moving alot, and unless you are huge tourist, this really isn't any fun. And remember, there are beautiful vistas of "cliffs" anywhere along the coastline so you don't need to see them all. They can all pretty much start to look the same. A friend and I did this 10 years ago. We knew we wanted to fly into Dublin and out of Shannon so we had a hotel in Dublin the first night and a hotel in Shannon the night before we left. We rented a car and knew we wanted to get to Waterford because we had friends there. We would get the map out every day and our trusty guide book and just start driving. We would use the Tourist/Information offices. We had a wonderful adventure without feeling like we had to be a prisoner to a clock.

The first time I did the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry, on a bus tour, I didn't see either of them. I have a photo of a sign saying "The Scarriff Inn: The Best View in Ireland" and you can barely see it through the fog. The second time, on the other hand, the weather was absolutely perfect. We started from Kenmare (we liked Virginia's Guesthouse very much), got out to Portmagee before the tour buses came around (they all start in Killarney about the same time and go counter-clockwise)and caught one of the last boats out to Skellig Michael. That was one of the top highlights of that or any other trip we've made. But the weather was unusually gorgeous. After two hours on the island, we went back to the mainland, picked up our car, and by then all the tour buses had gone by, so we went on to Dingle without any traffic. Expect bad weather--there is a reason why Ireland has 40 shades of green. We lucked out on that last trip (June-July 2006) and in 12 days only got rained on twice. Unfortunately, those days we were outdoors touring gardens (Powerscourt and Garanish) and got drenched. Driving is fine if you're not the nervous sort (narrow, winding roads, with locals going the too-high speed limit).

This post on another forum gives some pointers from a real NI expert. I would suggest you either message them on their profile page or post your NI questions on that forum.

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-...n-Ireland.html

Oh, and just outside of Spiddal is An Caladh Gearr Thatch Cottage. She doesn't have a website, but you can look at it here: http://tinyurl.com/c24oyg .

She has only 3 rooms and in September '93 we had the entire place to ourselves....fond memories of sitting in the lounge in our jammies in front of a turf fire and drinking Bailey's.

Thanks zor!

Kass - that was my original thought, but in July I can't risk not having places to stay. And I really am more of a planner....I am realizing that I can't just wing it. But I will pick a few key sites that are must sees, and if I don't make it to the rest, then no big deal.

Tony - thank you for the link! I'll check that out

Jana - thank you!

Well, maybe I need to abandon Newgrange since it seems like you need to get there early. Perhaps I can see how the itinerary comes together and maybe add it at the end....it's slightly north of the city, but may be worth it!

Sorry to be a bother. Any other recommendations for being in the heart of Dublin. Something with free wifi and a lift. I'd like to add some option to Lyman's and North Star, just to compare.

An easy walk to one of the Hop On/Hop Off bus stops would be great!