Ireland itinerary help with a week's commitment on the Dingell Peninsula
 

Due to frequent flyer advantages, we will be arriving in and leaving from Dublin Airport (we're in the US). We have rented a cottage with friends on the Dingell Peninsula for a week. Our total trip is 2 weeks, so we have a few days on the front and a couple on the back of the cottage rental. We have not seen Dublin and have a strong interest in the city. We like food, history, scenery, people, literature. Trying to figure out if our out-of-Dublin time needs to be driving via rental car or should we try to fly from Dublin to nearer the Dingell peninsula. Or, is that even viable?

Have a night in Dublin on arrival and then 2 days crossing to Dingle. Possibly Kilkenny, Adare? Dingle is not a touring base but many people find enough to fill a week there. Head back to Dublin via Limerick and the M7.

Plenty of time to explore a bit in Dublin, and along the way to Dingle.

Dublin has some fantastic sites. Based on your interests - a pub tour based on James Joyce would be a good start :) There are some great places in the city - I like the hop-on/hop-off busses, but make sure to get the ones with the live commentary rather than the pre-recorded. Some of them sing to you!

Once you head towards Dingle, there are lots of stops. I'd suggest at least one if not two nights on the way, if you can. Kildare has a lovely Japanese Gardens, national Horse Stud farm and St. Brigid's Well, all right next to eachother. Kilkenny is another great stop (sort of out of the way) - lovely medieval city with castles and churches and abbeys (oh my!)

If you do head down towards Kilkenny on your way there or back, also check out Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle, as well as the Swiss Cottage - all along a rough route west. (or east if it's on your way back to Dublin).

You will have a wonderful time!

Thank you! Is there someplace near the Dublin airport you'd suggest we spend the night before a 10am flight? Assuming we're coming from Dingell at that point.

For a 10am flight, since you want to arrive a couple hours early, I would just find an airport hotel and leave it at that. That way you can drop off your car the night before and shuttle in. I've heard that Bewley's is clean, cheap and convenient: http://www.bewleyshotels.com/dublin_...FdU55QodYQNMPA

Hi, I've stayed at Holiday Inn Express-Northwood, and can recommend it:
http://www.hiexpressdublin-airport.com/
Free breakfast included, free shuttle bus to & from airport.

I would drive. I was there in 2006 and were there for 2 weeks as well and we drove the about the entire coast of the Ireland. After we spend 2 days in Dublin, we headed to Waterford and spend the day at the Waterford Crystal Factory. After leaving Waterford, we stopped in Ardmore for a couple hours (love Nora Roberts and a series of her books is based here) and I have the best picture taken there from the entire trip. We then stopped at the Blarney Castle and kissed the rock and headed to Cork. After spending the night there, we headed to Dingle and spend the night there. The drive is well worth it and we didn't spend more than 140 miles a day in the car, well except the day we got lost looking for something but that was near the Cliffs of Moher.