Itinerary Advice -First Trip to Ireland
 

Hello! My husband and I are planning our first trip to Ireland and would appreciate a critique of our itinerary:

Day 1 arrive in Dublin
Day 2 Dublin
Day 3 Kilkenny
Day 4 Rock of Cashel; drive to Killarney (we're staying outside of Killarney -just want to see some of the surrounding area, but do not plan to drive the Ring of Kerry)
Day 5 Killarney area (Muckross House, National Park); drive to Dingle afternoon
Day 6 Dingle (Slea Head Drive)
Day 7 Drive to Doolin via Conor Pass; see Cliffs of Moher
Day 8 Open -spend night in Bunratty?
Day 9 Leave from Shannon Airport

Is this a good itinerary for first time visitors? Are there any "must see sights" that we should add? Anything you would skip that we have in the agenda? We were thinking about adding Glendalough before we head to Kilkenny at the beginning of the trip.

Thanks for the help!!

I think it's a lot more time spent in the car in tyransit than you realize and a bit too ambitious. I spent 8 days recently on my first trip (it's posted here with a typo in the header - lok for "owen's ieland trip report...."). We arrived and departed from Dublin - less convenient than leaving from Shannon but you'll be surprised at how slow progress is. With traffic delays, slow roads, stoping to see the views etc, its realistic to plan on no more than 35 miles per hour average - slower in some areas.

My GF likes getting up late and starting the day slowly on vacation (not my style - came as a revelation as this was our first big trip together). This did impede our progress a bit.

It really boils down to what traveling style you like - if I'm in a scenic area I'm quite content to drive down the little back country bye roads at random and just see what I find - spending the better part of a day suits me just fine. The legs from Dublin to Kilkenny and Kilkenny to Cashel will be less scenic than the other areas.

I highly recommend that after gettign some more advice here, you post a (possibly modified a bit) itinerary in the Q&A section at http://www.irelandexpert.com pat, the woman who runs the site, is very busy and sometimes takes a few days to reply but she is very savvy on Ireland and will offer excellent feedback.

You don't mention what time of year you will be traveling - that can make the difference in sunset at 4:30 and 10:30!

Assuming you are going while it is light out until around 8:30 or better, your trip looks fine to me.
Dublin to Kilkenny should be around 2 hrs or so - I would not side trip for Glendalough though, if you do that ( 30-60 min to Glendalough, another hour or so to walk around, and then 2 hrs or so yet to Kilkenny) you won't have much time on your only night in Kilkenny.
I would head straight to Kilkenny and see all the sights there - If you get in early enough - drive to the surrounding towns for Nicholas Mosse Pottery (Bennettsbridge) or Jerpoint Abbey / & Jerpoint Glass Studio. Or stop in at Mount Juliet golf course for lunch :)

Your drive from Kilkenny to Cashel (see the rock) and on to Killarney will be a FULL day of driving. Be prepared. Luckily you have two nights planned in the Killarney area, so if you are tired from the drive, you can relax a bit. Be sure to catch the traditional music in Killarney at night -lots to choose from.

One final suggestion - if it is not already full - Do one of the Medieval banquets on your last night. Bunratty and Knappagoue (sp?) both hav them. We did Bunratty and had a grand time.

Debbie

Do a jaunting cart ride through Killarney national park, it's a mini ring of Kerry.

Well, Killarney Nat'l park is beautiful, but it's a mini Ring of Kerry without the coast line, ocean or some cliffs. Both are nice, but quite different.

Bill

Beware of driving! It's not like the states....two lane narrow roads! We had a week and we were all so tired of the car! We actually had to skip Killarney so we could spend 2 nights in Dingle. So glad we did! Dingle was wonderful. We almost skipped Cliffs but I am so GLAD we didn't!!! I agreee....do a banquet on the last night! Fun way to end trip! Have a great time!