Routing Dublin to Shannon
 

I only have 10 days, and really should have planned for a month. :) But I would greatly appreciate feedback on this basic plan before the fine tuning.

day 1 early am arrival Dublin
day 2 Dublin
day 3 Dublin
Possible open day
day 4 Cork Cty.
day 5 Cork Cty.
day 6 Killarney
day 7 Killarney
day 8 Dingle
Alternative open day
day 9 Limerick City
day 10 home.


Priority is scenery, but 22 year old son is going, so considered the 3 days in Dublin. Nightlife is a priority for him. Will it be available on a Tue/Wed/Thurs night?? Can this be shortened a day??

Cork County is a wide area consideration- recommendations?? 2 days too much??

Want to do the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula drive. Enough time??

Any other convenient location for a morning Shannon flight??

What to do in the one open day?? Alternative routing?

Thanks for the help!!!!!

This trip is for the first 2 weeks of October, this year.

IMO, you can cut a night in Dublin without shortchanging your son's desire for nightlife. He can find plenty in Cork City and Limerick City. Spend a second night in Dingle so you have more time to tour the peninsula, hear Gaelic spoken, and get in on traditional music sessions in the pubs.

Here's one more reason for a second night in Dingle. It increases your odds of having a clear day when you're touring Slea Head.

BTW, you sent me some aurora photos when I was planning a trip to Alaska two years ago. I'm still grateful for the gift.

Yes I would cut out one of the nights in Dublin. Your query about mid-week nightlife - yes he will find night-life in Dublin any night. What particular kind of night life is he looking for? nighclubs? pubs? music? traditional music or other music?
I would move a bit further west than Cork city, unless you have a specific reason for staying in the city - consider Kinsale. Also I would consider Kenmare as an option for one night (close to Killarney but smaller) - although Killarney will not be too hectic in October. I would recommend two nights in Dingle so that, as someone else suggests, you get time to get around Slea Head.
Unless you specifically want to go to Limerick City - consider taking ferry across mouth of Shannon from Tarbert and coming up west coast of Clare to Cliffs of Moher and the towards Ennis or Bunratty for last night.

check out www.entertainment.ie for nightlife, music, clubbing etc.

I assume that your return flight is out of Shannon. If you're looking for a great B & B, there's none better than Bunratty Lodge in Bunratty. Big beds, wonderful breakfasts, great hospitality. Check out http://www.bunrattylodge.com. It's a short well-marked drive to Shannon which makes it a good choice for a morning departure, or a first night stay upon arrival.
Also, there's nightlife within a short easy drive - a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle (shows at 5:30 and 8:30 PM) and Durty Nellies Pub too. Tickets to the banquet can be arranged through the B & B. We were too tired to do anything but sleep when we visited 3 years ago, so I can't comment on the show and pub. We are staying at Bunratty Lodge next month, so maybe this time we'll give the night life a try. Hope that helps!

We (my husband and I) were just in Ireland, and while we found Dublin to be a blast, we also really enjoyed Kilkenny. The nightlife in Kilkenny was really going strong and that was on a Thursday night. You might consider driving that way to Cork, and breaking up your drive a bit.
As a side note, in my opinion, (bearing in mind that we didn't go down to Dingle) the Connemara region had the most gorgeous scenery.
Tauri