Ireland Itinerary 3 weeks help!
 

Hi there!

My friend and I are planning a trip to Ireland for three weeks in July next year and I would really appreciate some feedback as to whether this itinerary is realistic and if we are seeing the best of Ireland by going to these places. We are too young to hire a car so will have to rely on bus services and trains. We are really trying to do the trip quite cheaply as are students and cannot afford expensive accommodation! We are also trying to have as much of an authentically Irish trip as possible and it is for this reason that we are not going around the Ring of Kerry, as is apparently very crowded with tourists at that time of year. We are not big on clubbing or nightlife, and would much rather see historical sites and scenery. Any suggestions or ideas are most welcome!!

Day 1 – Arrive in Dublin and spend three nights there
Day 4 – train to Kildare and then onto Kilkenny, where we will stay two nights
Day 6 – Travel to Cork and stay there for two nights – Also a day trip to Blarney Castle
Day 8 – Travel to Glengarriff. Stay one night
Day 9 – Depart Glengarriff by bike and go to Ardgroom/Allihies (stay 1 night)
Day 10 – Bike back to Glengarriff and stay one night
Day 11 – travel to Dingle stay three nights
Day 14 – travel to Limerick and stay two nights. While here, we would like to do a day trip to the Burren (Is this realistic?)
Day 16 – go to the Cliffs of Moher and then on to Galway – by looking at bus schedules, I think we would have four hours at the Cliffs. Is this enough time?? Stay Galway two nights
Day 18 – Travel Galway to Dublin (stay one night)
Day 19 – Travel to Belfast. We were hoping to go to Bru na Boinne on the way, but it says we would have to take a taxi from Bru na boinne to Drogheda, and then train from Drogheda to Belfast. I was wanting to know if taxi’s would do this trip, or whether they are more in the cities? Stay two nights Belfast.
Day 20 – we were hoping to be able to go to the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede bridge in one day. Again, is this realistic?? Would we be able to get a taxi from the Causeway to the Bridge?
Day 21 – fly out to Glasgow
Thank you very much in advance for your feedback!! :)

A few comments on your plan, which, given the generous time available, is very doable, even without a car.
When in Cork, I would doubt if devoting a day to see Blarney constitutes a good use of your time; perhaps consider a round trip by bus to Kinsale instead and walk out to Charles Fort.
Glengariff is a nice spot to include on your itinerary; if finances allow, take the short boat trip out to Garnish Island.
Seeing both the Cliff of Moher and the Burren might best be done by giving Limerick a miss and basing yourselves in somewhere like Doolin Hostel for a few days. You can walk from there to the cliffs and bike rental should be possible to explore the Burren.

The Bru na Boinne can be seen via a bus tour out of Dublin. There might be one out of Belfast, as well. I know you can take a day tour via bus along the Antrim Coast from Belfast, for the Giant's Causeway, Rope Bridge, etc.

SeeDee's suggestion about using Doolin rather than Limerick is a good one. The Burren is a fascinating place!

Good for you for taking the time to stay in one spot for longer than one night! Very wise. Without a car you will have some inconveniences, but you are staying along the tourist path, so it won't be horrible.