Mother Daughter Ireland Trip- need some itinerary advice
 

Hello...I'm 21 years old and my mom and I are heading to Ireland for my graduation trip, we are spending 10 nights and want to explore the south west for the majority of the trip. We have a couple places picked out for where we want to stay but would love some advice on where we should spend the most time, the best bases for different places as well as great places to stay! We want to spend a little bit of time in dublin as well as that's where we will be flying in and out of. We are also planning on renting a car and have found that Dan Dooley is the best option for that as well.

This is our working itinerary right now (flights are already booked):

April 29th: Dublin (arriving in the morning)

April 30th: Cork

May 1st: Kenmare

May 2nd: Kenmare

May 3rd: Doolin (staying at Daly's House in Doolin)

May 4th Doolin

May 5th Galway

May 6th Galway

May 7th: Dublin

May 8th Dublin

You won't need a car in Dublin as all the touristy things are in walking distance if you stay near Trinity College. You can turn the car in for your final stay in Dublin. Buses run to Dublin Airport. 2 days in Dublin and Galway is plenty. Enjoyed Galway and Killarney the most on our trip. I didn't visit Kenmore or Doolin. Others can give you better advice for those.

Thank you! Any recommendations for places to stay in galway or dublin?

Over-all, it looks like a well thought-out plan. I might choose Ballyvaghan or Ennis over Doolin, but it is YOUR trip, not mine.
What is your budget for Dublin and Galway?

http://www.forstercourthotel.com/ in Galway is smack in the middle and easy walking to everything. I have stayed there and also Jury's Inn but not as central. Jury's Inn by Christ Church in Dublin is a nice place but love Buswell's over by Trinity. I like that side of the Liffey. Dublin is great, so much to see and do. Galway is very pretty and I like Doolin. Maybe a trip to the Aran islands on the ferry from there. Three great pubs for music and food.

You can get a Bus from Dublin Airport to Cork. rent your car from Cork airport day 2, Put Dublin to the end of the trip rather than front and back that could possibly free up a day for use in the middle?
I wouldn't use Doolin for 2 nights either, nice place to visit but I need more variety and interaction. As said it's your holiday.

You could free up one day in Doolin and explore a little north of Galway.

We stayed at Forster Court in Galway. Breakfast was decent and it was centrally located to Eyre Square. Nothing fancy but clean and quiet. We stayed at Trinity City hotel in Dublin. It was easy walking distance to all the touristy places in Dublin. Again, the room was clean and quiet and breakfast was good. Their service though went above and beyond the call of duty. Our luggage arrived a day late but they set us up for success. We arrived at 9am ahead of 3 o'clock check-in but they still gave us a free breakfast. This was in 2011. It might be under new management now because I think the name used to be Trinity Capital hotel. Regardless, the location was perfect.