Hi Forum,

After doing a bit of research, I’ve narrowed down an 8-day trip in mid-May to two options. What’s I’ve got so far:

*Fly into Shannon, stay in Galway City for 2 full days.

*Either Connemara, with Clifden as base for 3 full days OR County Sligo with Sligo town as base for 3 full days

*End trip with 3 full days in Dublin, leave out of Dublin airport.

I’ve only ever been to Dublin, and my family has never been to Ireland at all. Our interests are probably typical: some of us are history buffs, some of us are hiking aficionados, we all want to see authentic live music. We’ll obviously do some touristy things, but also want to leave time to get lost. There are six of us, and therefore we’d have a fairly large car, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference in terms of what area has fewer narrow, windy one-lane roads.

I love that Connemara is a Gaeltacht region, but it looks like we’d do more driving there then we would in Co. Sligo and I don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. Both look stunning, and I’m having a devil of a time deciding where to go given we don’t know when we’ll be back next.

Thanks for your input and an early Happy New Year!

Cliftden or Westport.

I also suggest the best bases would be either Clifden or Westport (or 1 night Clifden or Roundstone, followed by 2 nights in Westport). It depends how leisurely you want to take it. You can do Connemara in a day, and as Clifden is at the far side of Connemara, you might end up doing a good bit of backtracking if you use it as your base for 3 days of touring. Westport allows you to hit connemara, but also gives access to the lovely Mayo coastline, and to the charming village of Cong where you can go for a walk in the grounds of the swanky Ashford castle hotel. Westport and Clifden are both more charming towns than Sligo. Clifden is very small indeed; there is more to Westport. Sorry, I hate it when I ask "A or B" and someone answers "C"

We stayed in Clifden for 2 nights and loved it.
Also stayed just out of Sligo and found it a bit drab.

For first timers, three days based in Sligo might be a bit limiting on your west of Ireland experience.
On a number of counts, Westport is hard to beat for the range of options it offers.
Apart from being a decent sized town (by Irish standards) that delivers a good range of restaurants and pubs for the eveningtime, you are spoiled for choice when it comes to daytime. A loop drive, hitting a good selection of what Connemara has to offer (Clifden included), may be your first option and if the driving is not too much of a burden, you have Newport and Achill Island for a second day. Rather than spend too much time in a car, you should consider making tracks one morning to one of the ferries that service Inishbofin, Inishturk or Clare Island and spend the day in near car-free isolation rambling around - aimlessly, if possible.
For another car free day, the more active in the group might consider renting bicycles and exploring the Greenway that goes from Westport out by Clew Bay to Newport, Mulranny and ultimately Achill Sound; the wise ones get transported by minibus to Achill and avail of the prevailing wind for the one-way trip back to Westport. You also have the option of the short drive to Murrisk and take on the challenge of Croagh Patrick; you'll have earned your few pints of Guinness in Matt Molloys that evening.