We are in the process of planning our itinerary for our trip to Ireland. So far this is what I have in mind. We arrive at Dublin airport on July 22 at 8:00am from Canada. We are thinking 3 nights in Killarney and perhaps another in Galway since we will be working our way back up to Belfast. We have a car rented for the duration.
Here is my dilemma, with so much to see I am having a difficult time firming up the plans.
Can anyone offer some input?
I was thinking blarney castle on way to Killarney on our first day. Will be dog tired, never sleep on night flights. Blarney castle wouldn't require a lot of concentration. Second day thinking ring of Kerry or dingle. Third day take in the sites around Killarney. Leave on fourth day and head to Galway taking in the cliffs of Moher on our way.
This is written in stone and would like to get some ideas or thoughts.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi!

If I was to do that trip, I would make side trip to the Blarney Castle, but while it is a fun-to-see, it wasn't THAT amazing. It is a beautiful serene location, a beautiful castle relic, but it is much smaller in person. Stop at the Irish National Stud Farm - it was a highlight of my trips to Ireland! I'd give it an hour stop on the way to Killarney. Instead of Killarney, I'd recommend staying in Kenmare - it is a quaint, colorful, charming little Irish town with swans in the lake. You can easily see the same sights out of Kenmare as Killarney. You can easily do the Ring of Kerry in a day's trip, but go the opposite direction of the tour groups. Go early, it will be busy and will take 4 hours, but stop for lunch in a pub. (My favorite meal is a chicken salad sandwich, but different). Stop in Adare - also a must-see. Galway is a good place to stop. Look for an Irish traffic jam around Kenmare - sheep, not cars, stop traffic.

Have fun!

Hi:

I reoommend staying Dublin the day you arrive. Since you don't sleep on the plane (like me), you will be very tired and driving on the opposite side of the road take concentration and is a little scary at first. I'd head to Killarney the next day after you've had some rest.

Blarney Castle took us only an hour or so, but we got there first thing in the morning.

We really enjoyed the Rock of Cashel and tooks some great photos there.

Look into the Irish Heritage pass-it will give reduced cost admission to many sites (2 people for 1 price usually but depends on the site). We looked it up online and bought it once we got to Ireland (I think at the Rock of Cashel).

We also did the Ring of Kerry. It took us about half day with many photo stops. I agree with going in the opposite direction of the tour buses and leaving early in the morning. We did Dingle on another trip and preferred the ROK, but we had beautiful sunny skies for ROK and clouds for Dingle.

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you for both replies. I have now added rock of cashel to my itinerary and reserved a room in kenmare instead of Killarney. The room I reserved was without breakfast. It would have been an extra $120 to add breakfast for 2 people staying 3 nights. That would be $20 each for breakfast! Seems a little steep to me. Any idea how much I should expect to pay?
We have made up our minds that we are going to try and make kenmare first day, now taking in rock of casual and blarney along the way.
I read that the trip is a lot quicker with dual carriageways all the way to cork. Would you both agree?

And again thank you for input and advice.

When in Killarney be sure and stop at Muckross and Killarney National Park. Glorious hikes around the lake there, and Muckross Abbey is beautiful. also wander down the streets at night and listen for some traditional music playing. Great trad there.

Hi Jim:

The first time we went to Ireland, it was just two of us. We stopped at B&B's towards the end of the day, instead of making reservations. It worked well for us, since we were not staying in the same place for more than one night. I think we paid about 60 euro for both of us with breakfast, but it's been awhile. The drawback to this plan if that you might not be able to find somewhere to stay.

The second time, we went as the large group (six people), so we booked a cottage for one week. It seemed easier that way with so many people, but we ended up driving alot. We amde our own meals on that trip.

We did the Rock of Cashel and Blarney on the same day but we stayed in Blarney that night. Kenmare looks great, but we ran out of time and didn't make it there. It's on the list for next time.