My goodness Larne looks very lovely!

Here are my photos from the Antrim Coast area - you don't have to be a Facebook member to see them through this link, I believe. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...3&l=4ac43aca5e

And here are the ones from Donegal area:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1&l=ed9dd7a671

Wow!!! Fabulous photos.

Thank you! Hopefully they inspire a visit :)

Oh my goodness, what great photos! I cannot wait to see Ireland. Green Dragon - in what cities did you stay? Did you move every day - or did you have bases from which you did day trips?

We stayed 2-3 nights each in 7 different places. Cushendall (Antrim), Ardara (Donegal), Westport, Inis Mor (Galway), Ballyvaughan (CLare), Dingle, and Kenmare. There are more albums of the trip, if you want them, and my trip report with all the links here:

http://www.greendragonartist.com/BI/...eports2011.htm

Note to taconictraveler: If you go to Dublin you can do day trips or do the gobus to Galway and do day trips from there, lots of nice day trips on buses or take the train to different places. We are doing the train to Belfast from Dublin next trip. Don't stop traveling!

Our first time to Ireland was many years ago and we had a VW rental. I kept yelling Micro mini next trip. The roads have improved but that trip we even folded in the side mirrors. Just saying get the compact car for the ring of Kerry and if you do Connor Pass. The new motorways have made it much better but village roads are very narrow if a big bus or truck is coming your way. I love doing as much public transportation that is possible.

Yellowrose, I just did a quick look at this thread and I haven't seen mention of the AA Route Planner feature. I suggest you take a look at it as you plan your trip because it will give you a reality check as to how far you can drive in a day. The distances in Ireland are deceptive because it generally takes much longer to drive the same distance in Ireland as it would take to drive that distance in the U.S. I recommend that you add about 20 - 25% to the suggested driving time given on the AA Route Planner to make it more accurate.

http://www2.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

I will check out the AA route planner. I had read about it on another thread. I have also read that it takes longer than imagined to get from place to place even though they look close in miles. Thanks for the 20-25% rule. I will factor that into my plans.

OK, here goes: How does this sound.

Day One: Arrive early in Dublin
Day Two: Dublin
Day Three: Dublin to Portrush area
Day Four: Portrush area
Day Five: Portrush to Donegal
Day Six: Donegal area
Day Severn: Donegal to Westport
Day Eight: Westport to Galway
Day Nine: Galway
Day Ten: Galway to Dublin

How does this sound?

Seems like you are going to do a lot of driving and miss out on a lot of Ireland. If you can only fly in and out of Dublin, then I'd suggest Dublin, Waterford, Cashel, Kilkenny and Glendalough.

If you can fly in and out of Shannon then I'd suggest Doolin, Aran Islands, Galway, Kilarney, Blarney, and Cork.

That being said, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Belgium and Netherlands next time. I absolutely love that area.

Krista_M: If you've read the whole thread, Yellowrose's plan has evolved to hitting north and west -- Antrim/Donegal/Galway and Dublin. Not south to Waterford/Cashel/Blarney etc . . .

I think that we may go with SeeDee's first recommendation and omit the north and stick to the Dublin area, midlands, Galway and Donegal. Heading north, as gorgeous as it sounds, seems to make things a little more complicated.

Has anybody stayed in Windsor Lodge in Dun Laoghaire?

We did, but it was back in 2000. The location was convenient for walking to the Dart and into the town center. I remember the house being old but clean. We had a family room. Parking was a liitle tight and we parked on the street/hill in front of the B&B. Mary was very nice. I don't have any impression in my head that would prevent me from staying there again.

We already rented from Dan Dooley but I will check them out as I could cancel. I heard such great things about Dan Dooley from so many Fodorites that I went with them. We are in our 50's, but out 26 year old son will do most of the driving. I will certainly compare prices. I can't believe that we will be leaving in our trip in less than a month!

Think I will just stick with Dan Dooley. Very highly recommended by many on line. They were extremely helpful and courteous when I set u the reservation. Plus I think that you are just advertising for easytour and I don't like that.

Just to bolster your decision, we just used Dan Dooley again last month and had no issues whatsoever. The car was brand new so we had to be extra careful, but we returned it without a scratch.

Your trip sounds perfect. We want to visit Donegal and Westport on our next trip to Ireland.

I've heard good things about Dan Dooley also. My suggestion would be to not waive the CDW insurance (even if you have a credit card that covers it) and just pay the extra bucks per day. The roads are very narrow in Ireland with rock walls and bushes along the side of the roads. Plus I can't count how many cars I saw with the side mirrors hanging off the side of the car in Dublin.

In fact, we don't even pick up the rental until we leave Dublin - the street signs are on the sides of buildings and it's very hard to tell which direction you are going when you are in the city. And Dublin has very good public transportation and taxis everywhere.