The secret to traveling on your first day is in minimizing the time (2-3 hrs max) stopping often for a stroll & fresh air, eating lightly, drinking lots of water and not trying to keep up with native drivers.

You really are setting yourself up for a green blur tour. I do agree with Bill & Padraig. You cannot possibly see all of the areas you want to see in the amount of time you have and see it well.

T'were it me, I would probably do it thusly:

Day 1 - Kilkenny
Day 2&3 - Dingle
Day 4 - Galway
Day 5&6 - Ballina or Donegal
Day 7 - Antrim Coast
Day 8 - Belfast
Day 9 & 10 Dublin (turning in your rental vehicle at the airport)

You will be hard pressed to enjoy your trip by trying to throw in Cork, Kinsale & Kenmare. Why not save the South end for your next trip? I would choose Donegal, as the Slieve League Cliffs are more phenomenal than the Cliffs of Moher, IMHO. You can see the Cliffs of Moher as you drive from Dingle to Galway. If you take the ferry across and then follow the coastal troad, it would be a pleasant ALL day drive between the two, visit the Cliffs of Moher, lunch in Doolin & stroll the shops, a drive through the Burren and into Galway by afternoon.

This would be my way of covering most of the ground you wanted to see, without overdoing it.

Slan Beo,

Bit

I think even Bit's suggestion is a lot of driving. It's a bit of a haul from Kilkenny to Dingle only because you would be going down through Killarney and then back up (oprobably the fastest route). You'd probably want to stop at the Rock and/or Cahir on the way, so that's realy a ful day. You'd have one day to see Dingle.

Then you have a long drive day of driving to Galway followed by another long day of driving to Donegal. The reason I bring this up is that it's not just the speed of travel that is a problem. Driving in Ireland is mentally tiring because it require constant attention to what's going on. It is very common to find oncoming traffic on your side of the road because they are passing an obstruction on their side.

The other option is to try something that is more northerly and not do the SW. Maybe 2-3 days in NI, 2 days in Donegal, a couple in Westport and then back to Dublin.

I know, lots to think about.

Bill

Bill,

I definitely agree that even my routing is a lot of driving. I was trying to give them some of what they wanted in the south. I always take the Kilkenny, Cashel, Tipperary route through Castle Island (half day with stops) so I hadn't even considered the drop down into Killarney.

No matter how many revisions they make, in the end, if they are wanting to do a loop of Ireland, there will be long days in the car. The best to hope for is to stay put in a place for two nights so that during that time their driving could be minimalized.

Especially at that time of year, I like your idea of a Northern loop for them. It would fill the bill quite nicely without being too strenuous.

Slan Beo,

Bit

I interpreted Rene's intention differently: a visit to the SW with a bit of Northern Ireland tagged on, and I think she is moving towards doing that in a more manageable way.

My question now is about how high a value they set on visiting NI this trip. A day-trip to Belfast from Dublin is an option, and saving NI for a future trip is also an option.

At the Dublin end, there are three good fine art galleries, but no great one: the National Gallery (European masters mostly); the Municipal Gallery (modern art that's not too modern); the Royal Hospital (very modern, stuff that loses me, but the building is nice). The National Museum on Kildare St. is a good visit, with some good pieces of early art (and the boyfriend's history interest would be catered for somewhat).

Over to you Rene: say what way you are leaning and we might refine further the list of suggestions.

Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions. Here's a new itinerary with lots cut out and suggestions from my bf as well:

9/19: Arrive in Dublin 10am, check in to hotel, hang in Dublin
9/20: Sightseeing in Dublin
9/21: One day bus tour of Wicklow or more sightseeing in Dublin
9/22: Train to Killarney, pick up rental car there and spend the night.
9/23: Drive Ring of Kerry.
9/24: Drive to Galway w/stop @ Cliffs of Moher
9/25: Drive around Connemarra/Clifden
**drop off rental car in Galway**
9/27: Shopping/sightseeing Galway
9/28: Train to Belfast
9/29: Sightseeing in Belfast, train to Dublin.
9/30: Fly home
__________
Qustions: Should I skip Connemarra after doing Ring of Kerry? Should I do Dingle Peninsual instead of Ring of Kerry? Should I lose a day in Dublin in order to add a day in Galway or Belfast? Should I skip Wicklow tour day for something else?

Many (myself included) think the Dingle peninsula is a better trip than the RoK.

Personally, I would never pass on an opportunity to visit Connemara: it nourishes my soul. But that's me. It is not a replication of either the RoK or the Dingle peninsula.

I take it that you know that there is no direct rail connection between Galway and Belfast -- you travel to Dublin and thence to Belfast. There isn't an easy bus connection either. If you are set on visiting Belfast, why not take an extra night in Dublin at the beginning of your trip and do a one-day rail excursion? Or even an overnight excursion. Juggle the rest of your dates accordingly.

At the end of our recent (April) 2nd trip to Ireland we ended our car rental in Sligo and took the train to Dublin for the last 3 nights.

Having been to Dublin once before and toured some of the sights we chose this time to take tours out of Dublin (those last 3 days gave DH a break from driving before we headed home and himself back to his job...driving)

It made for a looong day but we did an all day tour from Dublin (with Railtours Ireland) to N.I.,through the Glens of Antrim, Causeway Coast, Bushmills, Carrik-a-rede rope bridge and Giants Causeway. We enjoyed it- it ended up being one of the better tours I have taken over the years, albeit I am NOT a bus tour kinda gal. I realy wanted to see N.I. and it was the only way it was gonna fit in this trip as well as satisfy the "end with no car rule".

The tour was $138 USD per person and began at Connoley Station at 7am, 1st class train ride to Belfast and entry onto the Bushmills tour. (Lunch and rope bridge fees were separate), short Belfast city tour, train back to Dublin, Connoley arrival at 10:30pm

The Wild Wicklow tour was fun too. I vote for Dingle over ROK!

Good luck on your itinerary, you are getting some great advice- we really pushed on our 1st trip, hence the return this time (with slightly longer stops) and trip three is in the works for 2008 with much longer stays in each area. -yep, 3rd time's the charm as I finally get what all everyone means to s-l-o-w it down!
Have a fantastic Journey!
Dawn

hell,what a lot of ideas for your trip ,suprised your not tired already!! we have just returned from Killarney so have visited a few of the places you intend to see ,Ring of Kerry not to be missed but why drive? we took the full day bus trip nice and relaxing and still saw all the sights with the bonus of a courier, Dingle Peninsular is wonderful, take time to walk for some of the time ,Brandon Bay is a nice walk along the beach with spectacular views...also if you intend to stay in Killarney we found a B+B to die for ,all day breakfast which means after you eat it you dont need to eat again until dinner!!! www.homepage.eircom.net/-doors its called Crystal Spings..have fun its a wonderful country. JOHN + TRISH CRAVEN

Thanks to "12PerfectDays." It sounds like your NI trip is great. Can you tell me the name/website of the tour company you used?

Hi renebene-
I actually ended up booking through Lynott tours 'cause I could just call in New York and pay in USD over the phone. Had it set up before I went and they mailed me my tickets. (They also tried to add on an "admin" fee and when I hesitated and mentioned that I had not seen that on their website they did waive it.)

You can also book direct through Rail Tours (in Euros).

http://www.railtours.ie/dc10.asp

http://www.lynotttours.com/i-dublintours.htm#giants

If you are looking for a hotel in the center of everything we got a GREAT deal at The Paramount Hotel in Temple Bar (request a 5th floor room after booking). The room was really nice, clean, alot larger then I expected and completely worth it! (bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper- was fine for us)

Booked with Hotels.com- 3 nights for $309 USD total (room only rates)
http://www.paramounthotel.ie/

Good luck!
Dawn

mgdmoon, I would love to take you up on your b&b suggestions. My husband and I will be traveling in early july into Dublin airport and out of Shannon. Would you mind sharing your experiences in Glendalough, Cashel, Kenmare, and Dingle? We are also considering trying to find 1 or 2 of the “hidden ireland” homes where travelers can stay with families – did you experience any of that as well?

Thanks so much!

At last we have finalized our itinerary which eliminates a lot of driving and running around the country:

DAY1(WED):ARRIVE IN DUBLIN, train TO GALWAY
DAY 2(THU) GALWAY
DAY 3 (FRI): GALWAY TO ARAN ISLAND (via CLIFFS of MOHER)
DAY 4 (SAT): ARAN ISLANDS TO DOOLIN
DAY 5 (SUN): DOOLIN TO DUBLIN(via Galway)
DAY 6 (MON): DUBLIN TO N.I. (3 day tour)
DAY 7 (TUES): NORTHERN IRELAND
DAY 8 (WED): NORTHERN IRELAND TO DUBLIN
DAY 9: (THU): DUBLIN
DAY 10: (FRI): DUBLIN
DAY 11: (SAT): 1 day tour from Dublin?
DAY 12: (SUN): DUBLIN TO LAX

Now, we need budget hotel suggestions, (no hostels pls). We're trying to stay in places for less than 99 Euros a night. Here's the short list, suggestions are welcome....
DUBLIN: Gate Hotel, Fleet St Hotel or Grafton Guest House
GALWAY: Forster Court Hotel, Harbour Hotel or Days Hotel
DOOLIN: Dubhlinn House, or Churchfield B&B
_____________________
We were hoping to stay in a castle one night, but it doesn't seem possible now. Any ideas? Also, are we better off staying two nights in Doolin or one in Doolin and one night ON the Aran Islands?

The trip is looking like it makes much more sense to you and your bf. What I can tell you is that my wife and I have made a rule of thumb for our last and next visits to Ireland is that we never stay at a hotel/B & B for less than two days, nor more than three days. We try to use the lodging as a base to tour and to play golf. We end up really appreciating the people and the scenery and even get to chat more with our hosts and the locals. Last year we made an exception and stayed at Ballynahinch for five days. It was great and pretty. Did lots of things, played a bit of golf, saw the Connemara Pony show and after a few days, we actually were able to stop on the street in Clifden to chat with locals we had met. Please remember that a big part of the Irish vacation is to meet and talk with the Irish people, it makes it a lot more rewarding.