Hello,

My husband and I are travelling to Ireland from March 9th until March 21st (we have 11 nights total). We're flying in and out of Dublin (got a great rate) but we want to spend most of our time on the west coast. We fly into Dublin early in the morning of the 10th (on an overnight flight), and we want to pick up the rental car and drive away from Dublin that day, as we plan to spend the last few nights of our trip there (from the 19th on). Hence, we need help planning our itinerary from the morning of the 10th to the afternoon of the 19th. We probably dont want to drive too far from Dublin on the first day--maybe a few hours, since we may be tired, although we have a tendency to sleep quite well on planes! That said, where is a good first place to stop? Is there much worth seeing in Wicklow, Arklow, Enniscorthy, Wexford, or Waterford? We have a pretty good idea of what we want to see between the 11th and the 18th but on the 19th our goal is to drive back to Dublin from Galway or Shannon. Could someone tell me how many hours it is to drive from Galway and Shannon (repsectively) to Dublin? ALso, once we get near Dublin, we plan to drop off the rental car and explore Dublin without a car, as that seems to be what most people recommend. (sound right?) Anyways, thanks so much in advance for the advice.

Lull, I was there in 2000, so my memory is not too fresh, but I can tell you that visiting the Waterford crystal factory was really interesting. Not much else to see or do in Waterford in my opinion, but if you're at all interested in the crystal, the tour is worth a couple of hours. I'll try to dig through the memory banks and get back to you with some more info

P.S. -- try posting your question on the Ireland forum as opposed to Europe... you might get more responses.

beachy--there are no separate country forums in Europe. Everything gets posted together.

Duh -- I meant the Ireland Topic subhead, not the Ireland Forum Thanks!

We did what you are planning several years ago but in the opposite direction. We drove from Dublin to Galway on the first day, stopping at Clonmonoist(?) on the way. It takes several hours but is an easy drive with good roads. The highway is very close to the airport so it was a breeze getting on the right road which I am not sure would be the case heading south. I would much rather spend a few days in Galway rather than Waterford although the crystal factory tour is definitely worthwhile. Galway is very scenic and not to be missed. From Galway, we drove to Dromoland Castle, then Dingle, Cork(skip this city), Kilkenny (very nice) and back to Dublin.
On our second trip to Ireland, we stayed in Kinsale, Killarney, and Cashel. Kinsale was not as beautiful or quaint as I expected and not worth the drive. Killarney was much better than expected with much to see and do in the surrounding area. Cashel was definitely worthwhile. The Rock of Cashel should not be missed. We stayed at Legends Guesthouse in Cashel which was very nice.
Spending the last few nights in Dublin worked out very well as you have time to just relax and enjoy the city and its sites.
On the second trip, we also stayed in Ennis and would do so again. The pubs have great Irish music and the town is quite enjoyable.
Don't miss Glendalough in County Wicklow and Powerscourt House, both of which are very beautiful.

In Wicklow I'd highly recommend Powerscourt House, Gardens & Waterfall and Glendalough