My husband and I have a trip to Ireland planned for the beginning of Sept. We are going to arrive in Dublin, stay there for 2 days, take a brief 2 day trip to London to see a friend and return to Dublin. We then have a rental car and five days and would like to find an itinerary to make the most of the time we have before we leave from Dublin. We are looking for a leisurely pace because it is a vacation after all. From all I've read so far, it's hard to go wrong but I'm having a hard time knowing which direction to go. We like a good mix of history and local flavor; not so interested in the usual touristy things. Ideas? Thanks.

You might want to post this question on the tripadvisor Ireland travel forum, which is more active than this one.

You present a challenging question, essentially where to go for 5 days. Some would do a whirlwind, but that doesn't sound like your style. You probably need to read up on the country and discover what interests you most. Outside of the big cities, Ireland is all about the out of doors with beautiful landscapes, some interesting castles and abbeys, and some quaint towns, etc.

You probably have time for one, maybe 2 places to visit and use as a base. And where you end up parking it will depend on your interests and what you'd like to see.

Good luck!

Just do day trips from Dublin. Newgrange, Wicklow, take a train to Belfast and explore for the day. Suffolk St tourist office has tons of day tours to pick from but train travel from Dublin makes it very easy. Two hours and you are in Galway.

Thanks to you both. We have 5 flexible B&B vouchers so we can stay farther afield from Dublin, though Newgrange is on the list so far. Don't really want to spend more than 3 hours driving every day. I think I'll read up on some of the places in the southwest with the suggestion of Wicklow. Maybe a circle tour around Leinster. Do you know of any particular highlights in that area besides what you mentioned?

this is a recent trip report
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...eland-2014.cfm

I didn't know you had those B&B vouchers. Are you renting a car or doing public transportation?

Sorry, just saw you had a rental car. You can go anywhere then.

Thanks for the link to that trip report. More good ideas there to check out.