Itinerary Help
 

My husband and I are planning to visit Ireland and Spain for about 3 weeks from June 24-July 15th. We are trying to work on our itinerary and are looking for advice and travel tips! :)

Here is what we are thinking so far:
Day 1 Arrive in Shannon, Ireland- drive to Dingle
Day 2 Dingle
Day 3 Dingle, and drive to Doolin/Aren Islands area (see Cliffs of Moher)
Day 4 Morning in Doolin/Aren Islands then drive to Galway
Day 5 Galway
Day 6 Galway
Day 7 Morning drive to Dublin
Day 8 Dublin
Day 9 Dublin

Day 10 flight and travel to San Sebastian, Spain

Day 11 San Sebastian
Day 12 San Sebastian
Day 13 San Sebastian
Day 14 ?? (looking for suggestions for these days-
Day 15 ?? Logroño, Pamplona during San Fermin,
Day 16 ?? Zaragoza)
Day 17 travel to Barcelona
Day 18 Barcelona
Day 19 Barcelona
Day 20 Barcelona
Day 21 Barcelona
Day 22 Flights home

Notes:
We plan to rent a car in Ireland. (Tips, suggestions?)
We would like to mostly stay in hostels, or cheaper option b&b/hotels.

Questions:
Considering the cities in Ireland we are thinking of visiting and the dates (June 25-July 4) do you recommend booking hostels/hotels/b&b's in advance? Would we be able to "go with the flow" and book when we get to each city thus making our schedule more flexible?

Does it look like we have planned enough or too many days in each city?

Recommendations for a city to visit between San Sebastian and Barcelona?

Recommendations for places to stay or EAT in any of the cities?

Places we definitely should not miss!

June is high season and if you are looking for decent budget accommodations I would reserve as soon as possible - or you may find that only more expensive options are available.

As for Pamplona - I would assume all lodging options are long gone and you will probably need to really search to find something in a town not too far away.

At least stop in Pamplona for the day if you can't get a room there, the San Fermín festival is something quite extraordinary, extremely good atmosphere and fun for everyone. And all of a sudden, you've had enough and want immediately out...

San Sebastián and Barcelona are the two best cities to eat in Spain (Madrid is also up there). San Sebastián is perhaps the culinary capital of Europe. Dozens of threads here about restaurants in both these cities, but the article "Is San Sebastián the best place to eat in Europe" should give you an idea: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...rink.shopping2

Updated info on both cities:
San Sebastián: http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/
Barcelona: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/

Do reserve hotels or B&Bs now.

Dingle and Doolin are tourist central lots of accommodation but the ones with the high TA ratings get booked solid beside the fact they charge what they want rather than what they're worth. No major festival in Galway that week so accommodation won't be a problem. same goes for Dublin.
I will take it you mean Inis Oirr from Doolin not Inis Mor which should be done from Rossaveal west of Galway..

Some maps which might have points of interest etc.
http://goo.gl/maps/pKSdX
http://goo.gl/maps/e4gVk
http://goo.gl/maps/uqIi8
http://goo.gl/maps/FDZCV

Of course Heading straight to Dingle off a transatlantic flight is a bit of a push.. stretch your legs in Listowel and see some Irish Ireland before hitting the tourist trail.

It looks like Day 15 would put you in Pamplona on Tuesday, 8 July. You should be able to find a place to park if you arrive early enough. There are several underground garages, the largest being at the bus station. Street parking will be difficult, but not all that impossible.

The encierro, the running of the bulls, is a 08:00, but you will need a balcony reservation if you actually want to see anything.

If you wanted to spend the night, expect to pay somewhere around €300, if not more, for a decent hotel room.