Ireland Itinerary
 

We are flying in and out of Dublin and have planned the following. I know all the experts are bombaraded with requests for itinerary help, so forgive yet one more:
Day 1 and 2 - Dublin
Day 3 - to Kilkenny (ON)
Day 4 - to Kenmare via Kinsale (ON Kenmare)
Day 5 - Kenname, ROK Area
Days 6 and 7 - Dingle Peninsula
Days 8 and 9 - Cliffs of Moher/Galway/Connemara
Day 10 - Donegal
Days 11 and 12 - To Belfast via Giant's Causeay
Will spend last night in Belfast, approx. 2 hrs. from Dublin airport for Noon flight out.
To all you experts out there, I have read, reread, researched, etc., and I hope this is realistic. Your thoughts, please?

What's the point in going to Donegal just to overnight there?

I would not overnight in Belfast if I were flying out from Dublin at noon the following day (especially for a transatlantic flight).

We will be in Donegal by noon, and wanted to see Coastal area, Slieves League, etc. No reason other than to soak up the beauty. We will be in B&B south of Belfast and wanted to have one full day there. I'd appreciate alternative suggestions though.

Where will you be the night before if you expect to be in Donegal by noon? I suspect that you seriously underestimate driving times. You seem to plan to leave Dingle, visit the Cliffs of Moher, see Galway and Connemara, and get to Donegal by noon on the third day. I live in Ireland, know the roads and am used to driving them, have been to all those places, and would not dream of doing that. It's just too much driving. Bear in mind that you will be mostly on slow roads.

You don't get from Belfast to the check-in desk at Dublin Airport in two hours. Allowing for getting rid of the car, you should allow three. That presumes no puncture or other misfortune. For a midday flight, you should be at the airport not too long after 9.00 a.m. Counting back, you should be on the road shortly after 6.00 a.m., and your B&B might be a B with no B if you want to leave that early. I suggest that you plan to spend your final night near Dublin.

I think you are trying to cover too much ground.

Oh, dear, no! I will be driving from Galway City to Donegal. Our itinerary is as follows: 2 nights Dublin, 2 nights Kenmare, 1 night Dingle, 3 nights Conemara environs, etc. I guess I was unclear, sorry! But even I know we could not cover all that ground from Dingle to Donegal in one day, and I live in South Carolina! We had planned on trying to be at the airport by 9, so your advice is well received. Keep me straight, Padraig, and know I appreciate your replies.

Let me guess: this is your first trip to Ireland and you have never driven there. Your schedule makes that point pretty clear; seriously underestimates driving times. Your itinerary is a driving tour of Ireland with minimum time for actually experiencing Ireland. If that is your objective, well done.

Days 4 and 5 are rushed and don't make a lot of sense; on day 4 you are doing a huge loop that would only get you a lot of winshield time, basically. Where are you staying on Day 5? Are you driving back to Kenmare to get back on the road again on to Dingle?

Also, I think staying overnight in Belfast to catch a noon flight out of Dublin is insanity. Try stay/ get closer to Dublin.

You weren't unclear. I meant that Dingle to Donegal, doing big stuff on the way, is too much for the three days you allow for that component, especially if you hope to arrive in Donegal early on the third day of that sector of your programme. Touring in Ireland is not A, then B, then C, and so on. The bits in between are often interesting and engaging, and you might end up shooting past places where you might like to spend time.

It seems to me that you have identified a few particular targets and are building a programme to accommodate them. It is not necessarily a bad thing to try that, but your targets are such that you want to do the length and breadth of the island in twelve days. That's just not fun. Most of your routes are on roads that are slow and tiring to drive.

I think you should review your priorities, cut your wish list, and perhaps accommodate other things that limit the distances.

Viajero: Day 4 we will be driving from Kilkenny to Kenmare, and have scratched Kinsale enroute. We are in Kenmare for 2 nights (nights 4 and 5). Day 5 we will spend seeing national park, ROK, mainly just taking in the natural beauty. We do not intend to drive the WHOLE ROK, just see what we can. Day 6 we will go to Dingle probably just for 1 night. We are considering instead having 3 nights in Connemara environs. We know there is a lot of driving, but at least we aren't moving every night. Appreciate the advise on Belfast night before.

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I would definitely spend more time in Donegal... you wont find that rugged beauty elsewhere in Ireland or the world!! As a alternative may I suggest 2 nights in donegal and on the 3rd drive to belfast via the giants causeway - theres not an awful lot to see in Belfast. x x

Day 1 - arrive Dublin ON
Day 2 - Dublin ON
Day 3 - to Kilkenny (ON)
Day 4 - to Kenmare ON
Day 5 - Kenname area ON
Days 6 - Dingle Peninsula ON
Days 7, 8 and 9 - Cliffs of Moher/Galway/Connemara Area (no ON arragements made for these 3 nights)
Day 10 - Donegal ON Dunkineely
Days 11 - To Belfast via Giant's Causeay ON Belfast
Day 12 - Belfast, late afternoon drive to Dublin ON near airport
Day 13 - Depart for home :(
*ON (overnight)

Here's where we are now, thanks to a lot of good advice. Sorry about the goof up on the last post, hit the wrong button.

Much better.