Thanks to all of your great advice, I've come up with a revised itinerary for our 8 night stay in Ireland.

I'm traveling with my husband, my sister, and my sister's fiance, so the challenge is to meet everyone's needs and "must sees" for the trip. My husband and I are flying into Dublin the day before my sister and her fiance arrive in Dublin, AND, my husband and I are flying out of Shannon the day before my sister and her fiance fly out of Dublin. Our circumstances make it impossible for us to fly in and out together, and out of the same airports.

Please let me know how this itinerary looks:

<b>Day 1, Sat: H & I Fly into Dublin</b>
- Stay in Dublin
<b>Day 2, Sun: Sis & Fi Fly into Dublin</b>
- All stay in Dublin
<b>Day 3, Mon: From Dublin to Dingle****</b>
- Stay in Dingle
- Take rail from Dublin to Killarney? OR Drive from Dublin to Dingle?
- Visit Killarney National Park?
<b>Day 4, Tues: Slea Head Drive</b>
- Stay in Dingle
- Bike or drive Slea Head Drive
<b>Day 5, Weds: Dingle</b>
- Stay in Dingle
- Drive Conors Pass
- Enjoy Dingle, relax
<b>Day 6, Thurs: Dingle</b>
- Stay in Dingle
- Another day in Dingle!
<b>Day 7, Fri: West Coast Drive to Galway****</b>
- Stay in Galway
- Visit the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren on the way
<b>Day 8, Sat: Connemara/Kylemore Abbey</b>
- Stay in Galway
<b>Day 9, Sun: Husband and I fly home to Chicago, Sis and Fi to Dublin</b>
- Stay in Dublin (Sister and her fiance only)
- Sis & Fi take rail from Galway to Dublin
<b>Day 10, Mon: Sis & Fi fly to Tel Aviv from Dublin</b>

****We can bet on driving all day on these days, is it worth it? Is there a better way?

Thank you all so much for your input!

Also, if you've stayed at any of the following places I'd love to hear your thoughts:

Dublin
- ABC Guesthouse

Dingle
- Greenmount House (I've read so many great reviews of them here)

Galway
- Petra House
- Devondell

Thanks again for all of your help!

If everyone is comfortable with days 3 & 7, then go for it. However, you might want to consider dropping a day in Dingle and increase your stay in Galway to 3 nights. This would allow time to recover from day 7 as well as day 3.
Haven't stayed at any of the B&Bs but they all are popular choices on "trip advisor" [my first stop when looking for lodging outside the USA].
Enjoy your trip.

While days 3, 7 and 8 are a lot of driving, they're certainly doable and there's plenty of stuff to get out and see along the way. On day 3, I'd say definitely drive, and definitely stop and see the Killarney Lakes and Muckross House. It'll be a long day, but the next couple of days will be easygoing so you'll be fine.

Connemara isn't really a quick day trip from Galway, but it also is one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland and not something I'd skip. I'd suggest taking one of your Dingle nights and staying in Galway instead, so you have a breather in between your long drive from Dingle-Galway and your long drive from Galway all around Connemara.

You will love Dingle -- we stayed at Emlaght Lodge and it was incredible -- gracious hostess - and beautiful setting - we opened our eyes and could see the Water....right on the coast-- did the fungie dolphin boat ride -- and the road around Slea head -is SOOO Tiny - we hired Sean and he drove us around in about 4-5 hours for 20 euros each - we were glad HE drove it -- but it was beautiful! Enjoy....

Thank you so much for your replies.

We took your advice and considered dropping a day from Dingle and adding a day to Galway, but everyone preferred to keep the four nights in Dingle in the end.

SO, we figure we'll either make the drive to Connemara on that last full day in Ireland, or if we're really tired we'll go on a dreaded tour from Galway. I'm hoping we can make the drive, though.

I've booked our lodging for Dingle and Dublin, but haven't heard back from either Petra House or Devondell in Galway. I just emailed Devondell on Friday, so I imagine I'll hear back from them this week. I contacted Petra house over a week ago, so I'm thinking that won't work out. Does anyone have any other suggestions for lodging in Galway?

<b>Erin 74</b>--Thank you for the Killarney Lakes/Muckross House recommendation. I've added those to our "see on the drive" list.

<b>Irishgal</b>--Your story about Dingle makes me even more excited to go. It sounds so beautiful.

Please don't be discouraged from driving around Connemara. I have done it (and I was the sole driver) several times from Galway. I did not find it a burdensome day. There is so much to see and do, that you will be stopping frequently for photos, shops, castles, etc.

Leenane is a great place to stop for lunch and to visit craft shops with demonstrations. It is at the head of Ireland's fjord. The scenery is stunning. On the N59,in Moycullen, not too far from Galway is a shop with Connemara marble jewelry and carvings. There is a good explanation about it. Near Oughterard is Aughnanure Castle, a six story tower fort which is interesting. You might want to stop along Lough Corrib and explore.

After Lenane, if you decide to head toward Clifden, you will pass Kylemore Abbey (lovely grounds, but an expensive entry) and Connemara National Park. The visitor center has lots of interesting information about bogs and flora and fauna in the area.

Near MaamCross is another castle, Castlekirk (the Hen's Castle). This is a good place to take a road over to Screeb if you don't want to go all the way out to Leenane, etc.
This road to Screeb will take you through some lovely scenery. And then you will return to Galway along the coast road.

Irishface--Thank you so much for all of that information. I'm going to print it out to bring with us when we visit! The marble jewelry and carvings sound especially lovely.

Does anyone have experience with Ardawn House in Galway? We're looking into staying there, now. Devondell is all booked and Petra House hasn't responded.

Also in Moycullen is Connemara Celtic Crystal. You may shop and have a tour, but be aware that the artisans leave early on Friday so the tours are not available late in the afternoon. Besides the rather expensive crystal they have a gift shop where you can get the usual souvenirs.

Great info----helping with our trip.

Just have to second irishface's suggestion of Leenane as a stopping point in Connemara. It's tiny, but I got one of the best photos of my whole Ireland trip in Leenane. Just across the little bridge from the town is a waterfall, and on the day we were there a horse just happened to be strolling in front of it. Gorgeous! http://tinyurl.com/yqcyqg

Also, in Clifden I recommend E.J. King's as a good place to stop for fish & chips and a pint. Right in the center of town.

From Leenane, there is a 'detour' route to continue on to Westport, via Delphi and Louisburg, over the R335. Total distance is 33.4 miles rather than the 'direct' route, which can be covered in 20.4 miles.

For me, there is NO more compelling, nor more emotive drive, in all of Ireland.

Link to info: http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_sin...ine%20poem.pdf

Photo:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/itallian_chauffeur/2654079187/" title="Doo Lough by remprimo, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2654079187_b737212838_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Doo Lough" /></a>

Consider it ...

Bob

Amazing feedback, everyone. Thank you!

Bob--That photo is gorgeous. Wow.

Just returned from a nice long visit to Ireland and Scotland, which included three weeks in Dingle.

Since you'll be in town on a Tuesday night, it might be fun to join the locals and attend the Tuesday Night Film Club at the Phoenix Cinema on Dykegate Lane. Then you're right around the corner from Dick Mack's pub or down the street from the Droichead Beag (Short Bridge) pub.
I do think that driving from Dublin to Dingle is a long-haul and I don't know if you'd be able to really enjoy Killarney on that day.
If I had to choose between the two, I might trade-out the whole Conor Pass drive, for a separate trip to Killarney. Then, say on Day 6, if the weather is good, you can easily drive to the top of Conor Pass to get a view down both sides of the mountain. Those roads are MIGHTY narrow, though, so be careful!

Is it Ardilaun House you're asking about? Up on Taylor's Hill?

If so, I have stayed there albeit quite a while ago, but it was quite nice--more of a hotel than B&B. I remember walking down to Galway from there. I know that it is still listed on various websites.

It looks like a good plan, not undoable. Do check out Strawberry Fields on the Ring of Kerry - great crepes and tea, near the bottom 'end' of the ring. http://www.strawberryfield-ireland.com/

Also, the north side of the Conor pass is the scarier one - but also the more beautiful. And don't miss Slea Head, it is the single most beautiful spot I've been (yet!)