I am planning a self drive tour for our family (me, husband, son (10), brother and grandma through Ireland. We had done a similar trip in Iceland and loved it!

We are going in and out of Dublin first part of September we only have 8 nights.

I am over whelmed with what to see and do.

1. We are going to pick up a car at the Dublin Airport and we will end our trip with 2 nights in Dublin. Should we return the car before our departure to avoid paying for parking and I am unsure if it is difficult driving in Dublin, making the early return wiser?

this is what I am thinking so far and need any help you can suggest:

--Land and drive to Galway and see Clonmacnoise monestary on the way.
--2 nights Galway - go to see Connmara, what else is doable from here?
--1 night somewhere CountyClare - to see the Cliffs on the way down and the Burren
--2-3 nights - need a suggestion in the Southwest??? we like pubs and some nightlife and what to get a feel for real Irish culture.
--2 nights Dublin and fly home

I had read that my son would be able to listen to the early set in some pubs (before 9pm) what towns would be a good place for him to hear some traditional music that would welcome a well behaved young man.

Also any recommendations for places for 5 to stay would be great too!
Thanks!!

We went in/out of Shannon but hit some of the sites you mentioned. See if anything strikes your fancy.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ids-photos.cfm

http://ukfrey.blogspot.com/2011/08/ireland.html

While one would not be entirely happy with driving directly to Galway, immediately after coming off a transatlantic flight, the road is all motorway and doable in a few hours. If in need of food, there is only one service stop en route - after the Enfield exit. You could try the cafe in Ballinahown which you will pass through when you branch off for Clonmacnoise.

You might consider giving a third night to Galway and visit the Cliffs of Moher as you travel south to the Kerry region. This would offer you the opportunity to see both Connemara and the Aran Islands - quite an ambitious plan in terms of time but you appear to be enthusiastic travellers.

As a base to explore the Kerry region, Dingle is often proposed but I would suggest Tralee as being a shorter drive from Galway and is a better hub for doing day trips to both the Dingle peninsula and the Killarney lakes. It also has Siamsa Tire, the national folk theatre (www.siamsatire.ie) which host Irish cultural nights and a large indoor waterpark, if junior enjoys waterslides (www.aquadome.ie).

Would definitely leave the car back to the airport on your return to Dublin and take the Aircoach into the city. Everything you will want to see in the city can be seen on foot or open-top bus which operate on a hop-on hop-off basis.

I second SeeDee's recommendation to see the Aran Islands. This can be done as a day trip while you are based in Galway. (The ferry leaves from Rossaveel.) Or you could do as we did and overnight on Inishmore. The advantage to this option is that you get a chance to experience Inishmore once the day trippers have left and you get a head start on your touring the next day before the day trippers come. (We mananged to avoid the crowds at places such as Dun Aengus this way.) You can arrange a B&B independently or take advantage of Aran Island Ferries overnight package.

Once on Inishmore, you can see the sights by minibus, pony cart or bikes (which is what we did). Dun Aengus is not to be missed!

If you are coming into Kerry, one of the BEST places is to stay at the Eclipse center self catering homes. It's right off the ring of Kerry 10 minutes from Kenmare, 10 from Sneem, and 35 from Killarney. It's also 10 minutes from Molls Gap. You can rent bicycles, do archery, horse ride, go mud surfing, fishing, all kinds of things. It's on the ring of Kerry, and a couple minutes from the Kerry Way if you like walking. It's one of the most beautiful settings you'll ever find.

The Blackwater Tavern (which also has a small shop, post office, and petrol station)is just up the road (takes 15 minutes to walk a minute or two to drive) has dancing on Friday nights, and the pub is very very family friendly. There are usually a number of kids there, and never loud drunks. The dancing on Friday nights is a mix of traditional set dancing and waltz/jive/quickstep. It's the hub of the local rural community. It's about as real an Irish experience as you will get.

If you have an interest in the area, the Irish TV show Nationwide did a feature on the Eclipse Centre last week. You can see it at http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1129800 It's on the last 6 minutes of the show.

If you are going to the Cliffs of Moher, stay in Doolin. That is THE place to go for traditional Irish music. We were there on a Monday night in January a couple years ago, it was freezing cold (down around zero), and we didn't expect many people to be around. Instead, it was PACKED in the pubs, and people had come from all over for the music. There were probably 12 people from Ireland, Scotland, and the UK there to play trad music, and there were a number of traditional singers. It was a fantastic old fashioned evening-and it happens pretty much every night there in Doolin.

Forgot to mention, Dublin is HELL to drive in! We normally park our car and take the bus or train in. There is plenty of public transportation in the city. Lots of one way streets, substandard signage, limited parking which is EXPENSIVE (plan on spending 20 to 30 per day to park the car in the city). And the clampers are very active-park in the wrong place for 1 minute, and you can expect to have to pay a ransom to get the clamp off your car, and expect to wait a few hours for them to get around to it.

Karen_Vicencio - while I'm sure the Eclipse Centre in Kerry is an excellent facility, I don't think it is appropriate to use this forum to promote somewhere that you are employed in, at least without declaring an interest.
Given the limited time at the OP's disposal, I would feel that travelling that far down into South Kerry to establish a base for touring about is not a particularly great idea anyway.

Thank you all for the information!

Here is where I am at right now please feel free to comment and help me with my last place to stay before Dublin.

We have decided to drop the car city center at Thrifty when we return to Dublin for our last 2 nights (wish us luck on just dropping it off successfully)

2 nights - Galway (Albany House or Prague House)
2 nights -Dingle (Harbournights B&B)
Need to pick somewhere for next two nights Waterford???
2 nights Dublin (Blooms Hotel)

I read that it is 4-5 hours to Waterford - is this a good choice, what should we see on the way?

thanks!!

You can of course rush from Galway to Dingle in one move but to get anything out of the area in between I would put a night in there. The other night I would put between Dingle and Dublin.

There was nothing wrong with your initial thoughts.

Hi, I agree with Tony, & recommend that you stay a night in Co. Clare, in a town such as Kilfenora, perhaps take your young man here:
http://www.vaughanspub.ie/traditional-irish-pub.html

We stayed at Prague House a couple of years ago and loved the location for walking into Galway. Parking in the city can be challenging!