June 29th fly to Shannon arrive 11:20 am
Drive to Ennis for lunch (21 minutes, 26k)

drive to (42 min, 39k) Cliffs of Mohar 2ish (how long does one typically spend here? what do you do other than enjoy the vista?)

drive to Burren (37 minutes, 34k) (how long does one typically spend here? do you drive through and see the terrain? hike? )

drive to Ashford Castle for the night (1 ½ hour, 98.2k) Arrive at castle in time for 7:30 dinner reservation.

Is this too much for one day???? Where would you go from here???? We have one more night (30th) to stay somewhere between Ashford and Dublin...... Want to be in Dublin by the afternoon of the 1st for a Guiness tour, then on the 2nd what other suggestions for Dublin? Powerscourt? on the way on the 1st or do it on the 2nd???

we fly back to london early on the 3rd, to catch a plane back to the states......

This is just one itinerary I have in mind, the other is flying into Cork and driving up through Waterford staying the 29th at Castlemartyr Resort, then where would we stay on the 30th? what would we see in this area??? I think we will skip Blarney Castle unless someone says it is worth it, but June and tourists on busses scare me..... the crowds, ugh, interested in natural beauty, old castles, monasteries, viking history, Christian history, beautiful churches and abbey's, any arms and armor collections in Ireland?? (husband has a keen interest in such things) ..... we have 3 teenagers with us, fairly hearty, but they need nice beds and good meals to keep them positively engaged.....

we went to Greece in 2011 and this community was so helpful!.... please let me know your thoughts, even if you have completely different ones than I have started here, we have never been to Ireland, Thank you!

I wondering where you are getting your journey time estimates. Driving in Ireland is slow. We've visited about 13 times and always rented a car. You need to add about 25% to the drive time estimates (at least).

Upon your arrival at SNN, you need to allow time to clear Customs, grab bags, if you are checking them, and then get to the car rental facility. This will probably involve waiting a few minutes for a shuttle. I think you have two goals on day 1 - the Cliffs and Ashford Castle. Ennis is a nice town, but with your goals I would depart the airport and head directly to the Cliffs. Enjoy a bite to eat in the cafe at the visitor's center then spend time walking along the cliffs. Then drive through the Burren towards Ashford Castle. I hope the intention of staying at the Castle is not just dinner. It is a stunning location and you should plan to arrive a few hours before dinner so you can walk the grounds and enjoy the area.

If you arrive in Dublin in mid-afternoon for the brewery tour, I would stay in Dublin the following day to enjoy all the sights the city has to offer. (Return car at airport when you first arrive in Dublin - you do NOT want a car in the city).

If you only have 4 nights I would do 2 nights Ashford Castle and 2 nights Dublin (if the Castle is a must). Personally, I would probably do something like Galway City 2 nights and Dublin 2 nights. Or head in the other direction and do 2 nights Killarney and 2 nights Dublin.

Also, I think your husband would enjoy the National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology. They have a very good Viking exhibit among others things.
https://www.museum.ie/Archaeology/Ex...nt-Exhibitions

Thank you Bette! This is very useful information, I took the estimates from google maps, so glad you told me they are incorrect. I am not stuck on Ashford, just thought it would be nice for the kids to get to stay in a castle (castle is booked and too expensive anyway, but we are on the grounds in the lodge.... ), I am happy to let Ashford go, I am just here trying to figure this out! Thank you for the Museum suggestion, we will go there when in Dublin..... why two nights in Galway or Killarney? I thought 1 night in one place then on the drive to Dublin another place, then Dublin 2 nights, not that I am correct! Just asking your thoughts on this suggestion. Also, for Burren, do you just drive through? I really appreciate your help! Thank you!

You really can't see too much in 4 nights. It sounds like you arrive in Shannon, have 4 nights, then depart from Dublin, right?
Perhaps get a guidebook and see what appeals to you. Every time you check-in and then check-out of a hotel it eats up time and it is more restful to stay put and try to string some nights together based on our travel experience.

Why Galway City? It is a small city and has a young vibe; a cool pedestrian area. I think the teenagers in the family might enjoy it. Not as long a drive as Ashford. On day 2 you could drive the Connemara Loop stopping at Kylemore Abbey for lunch. This might check the "castle" box.

Why Killarney? If you go in the other direction, Killarney is a gem. You could visit Muckross House on day 1 and maybe fit in a boat trip on the Lakes of Killarney. On day 2 you could drive the Ring of Kerry. This is a full day. Sleep in Killarney on night 2. Next day up early and head across the country to Dublin. Probably a good 4 hours. Maybe stop at Rock of Cashel for a break.

Regarding the Burren, it is an area of very interesting landscape unlike what you would see in other areas of Ireland. Many people would stop by the Poulnabrone Dolmen. Some might stop by the Perfumery.

You can't do much, so you need to do some research to see what appeals to you.

Per the drive times, we were in Ireland in the summer of '16 and found Google Maps to be pretty much spot on with drive times. Prior to your trip, when you are checking out the routes/times, make sure you input the departure time on the day of the week that you will be traveling. It will then factor in rush hours, etc. If it is typically a heavy drive time on that road, it might give you a range of 1 hr to 1hr 40 min.

Once in country, if you are using google maps as your gps, the drive times to next destination and traffic information was extremely accurate.

great thank you!

wonderful thank you so much!

We have driven in Ireland several times and always used Google Maps for navigation. We found their estimates of driving time to be quite accurate.

We appreciate everyone's advice, it did narrow things down. We have decided to begin in Shannon spending the night in Ennis, drive through Cliffs of Moher and Burren, then straight on to Dublin area, staying at Powerscourt 3 nights and one night in Dublin.

We hope to see Birr Castle and Clonmacnoise Abbey on the way. This gives us more of a "vacation" ..... we can go around the Dublin area and see things but still have a relaxing place to call "home" for the few days we are there. This is our first taste of Ireland, and the beginning of planning was so challenging as there are so many beautiful areas and interesting historical sites.

Thank you again, especially you Bette! We will make sure to see the Archeology museum!

blessings to all!

Your are welcome.
From Powerscourt I can recommend spending some time in Glendalough:
Glendalough Monastic City ? Ireland?s Ancient East ? Wicklow County Tourism