We are planning a summer visit to Ireland, and are wondering whether the following itinerary is practical. We’re not “if this is Tuesday, this must be Belgium” type tourists and don’t want to overload ourselves at the expense of getting a real sense of the country. Any thoughts would be welcome!

Days 1-3, arrive Dublin, staying near the city center. Dublin tour, Trinity & the Book of Kells, possibly a tour to the Valley of the Boinne and Bru na Boinne archaeological sites

Day 4, to Kilkenny by way of Powers Court, the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough.

Day 5, Kilkenny. castle, St. Canice’s Cathedral, Rock of Cashel (looks like a bit of a drive; we could perhaps spend that night nearby or return to Kilkenny).

Day 6, To Kinsale, after swinging East to New Ross and Waterford.

Day 7, Kinsale. Walking tour, Charles Fort, possibly Cobh.

Day 8, to Dingle, by way of Muckross House and Killarney National Park

Day 8, Dingle. Drive the Dingle Loop.

Day 9, to Galway by way of Tralee, ferry across the River Shannon, Cliffs of Moher, The Burren & possibly Coole Park (too much to do this day?)

Day 10, Stay in Galway, visit the Aran Islands

Day 11, Galway to Westport, seeing various places in Connemarra

Day 12, Westport to Sligo Town. See Yeats sites.

Day 13, Sligo to Dublin Airport in time to drop car and make 2 p.m. flight to U.S.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Day 9 and 11 are full..

Personally I would Start from the Airport to Kilkenny (Direct) leave the Dublin time to the end.. Sligo to Dublin airport might look easy but suppose you get something unexpected when you are on the opposite side of the island to your flight?

Hi Lee. We did a trip like yours a few years ago, except we ended it on your Day 9 in Dingle and flew out of Shannon. One of the things which I remember reading over and over was that it will take you longer than you expect to get everywhere, and that is VERY true. The roads are narrow and windy, and there are sheep everywhere. We were also driving on the other side of the road (not sure if you are from the U.S.) which added another level on concentration. It was not difficult, just a little tiring. When we got home, I wished that we had crammed in less or stayed longer. This is not a criticism, but I don't think you are leaving yourself enough time to just enjoy the scenery as you go, or to make small diversions along the way. Irlend is a great place to just wander off the road and hang out for a while. Dingle is absolutely gorgeous, and you will be sorry to leave. You may want to give yourself another day there. Have you thought of leaving out of Shannon? That frees up some of your time if you don't have to get back to Dublin. To quote (kind of)Rick Steves "always assume that you will be back", and that is what we had to do in Ireland. We had originally included Galway, etc. but decided that we would save the northern route for next time. If you don't already have a room in Dingle, try the Pax house. It was wonderful. Hopefully I have helped you a little bit with my haphazard advice. You will just love Ireland no matter how you choose to see it!!

Hello - thought I would give you my final itinerary for our October trip, which is very close to yours:

Day 0 – flight from Seattle

Day 1 – Dublin

Day 2 – Dublin

Day 3 – rent car, Dublin to Avoca via Glendalough. 1.5 hr

Day 4– Avoca – Kilkenny 1.5 hr. Kilkenny Castle and town

Day 5 –ROC/Cahir round trip, overnight back in Kilkenny. Some have mentioned that I'll be backtracking to return to Kilkenny, but I hate 1-night stays if I can avoid them, and this will give us plenty of time to see these two sights and loop back to Kilkenny)

Day 6 – Kilkenny - Kinsale (2 hr)Only 1 night unfortunately, but should have plenty of leisure time after the short drive

Day 7 - Kinsale - Killarney (coastal route through Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry) 3 hr

Day 8 – Killarney – Gap of Dunloe, Muckross?

Day 9 – Killarney - Dingle 1 hour

Day 10 – Dingle Peninsula

Day 11 – Dingle – Kinvara via Shannon Ferry 3 hr. Cliffs of Moher enroute (Another single nighter)

Day 12 – Kinvara – Connemara Loop – Salthill (Galway)

Day 13 – Salthill – Aran Island Ferry to Inishmor

Day 14 – Galway – Bunratty – 1 hr. Folk Park, Medieval Banquet

Day 15 – fly home from Shannon

I've already booked most of our B&B's, using top-rated ones from TripAdvisor. I can hardly wait!

Given your similar itinerary, I would certainly consider flying out of Shannon instead of Dublin. Just IMO.

After 2 driving trips to Ireland in 8 mo. time I suggest you take some things out. As said above, it takes much longer to drive than you can imagine. On top of that, everything is so fabulous that you will want to spend more time instead or rushing around so much.

IMO, I'd take Tony's advice & skip Dublin. I'd also skip Sligo, spend more time in the Westport area, and fly out of Shannon. Also remember that you are a victim of the weather---what time of year are you going? We were there in Sept. and again in May. On our day to see the Cliffs of Moher you couldn't see your hand in front of your face so we skipped it.

Just trying to help.

I adore Dublin and there is so much to see there. I would try and skip New Ross and Waterford, Coole park and get back closer to Dublin on that last night. Clonmcnoise is a great stop along the way. Day nine is big day. The Aran islands is a full day alone.

I was not advising to Skip Dublin just put Dublin to the back rather than the front... Kilkenny is an easy drive if you go direct.. If I were to cut anything out to add time elsewhere it would of course be Dingle which would be a drive around after 2 nights in Killarney which is a touring base rather than a tourist hive. I would not spend a night on Inis Mor but I would split the Kerry-Galway leg with a night in Clare (and not in Doolin!!) Putting Dublin to the back end gives more time for the Galway to Sligo portion and yes 2 nights for Dublin especially with almost 1/2 day with an afternoon departure is enough.

Many thanks for the comments and suggestions. We will rethink our plan in light of them. We had originally planned to leave Dublin until the end, but were unable to find a hotel or B&B with availability for the late July nights we would be there.

Sorry Tony, my wording was bad in my response. I meant that they should take your total advise and THEN I would skip Dublin.

LeeVV, there is a new premiere inn over by St Stephens. I love Buswells and if you have to stay at an airport hotel the day tripper passes are cheap.

We've learned that there are 5 nights of Garth Brooks as well as a 3 night comedy festival and a science fair in Dublin on the weekend that is at the end of our stay in Ireland. (Buswells is booked as well as the dozen other places we've tried.) So, unfortunately, if we want to see Dublin, it has to be at the end of our stay. To have more "roaming around" time, we're considering making reservations only in Dublin, Dingle, and Galway. Considering that we're going in July, the height of the tourist season, is that too risky? We can't fly out of Shannon as we already have round-trip tickets from Orlando to Dublin. Thanks very much for all your very helpful comments.

Veronicacole. remove your post as you should never give out personal emails on public forum.. Probably best to ask a new question with some ideas of your own and get a more widespread diversity of answers.. As to accommodation Ireland has lots of it so unless you clash with an event you should be fine.

LeeVV, you might look into staying at Trinity College since you will be there in July.
http://www.tcd.ie/accommodationandcatering/