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10 day itinerary -- Is this doable? Or is it too much?

Hi, all --

We're arriving on September 6 and fly out September 17. We have the following itinerary planned. Is it too much?

Sept 6: Arrive in Dublin at 8:45, pick up car, drive to Newgrange. Tour tomb in the afternoon, then drive to Trim and spend the night in Trim.
Sept 7: See Trim Castle, drive to Kilkenny, spend the night in Kilkenny
Sept 8: Rock of Cashel, other stuff, drive to Kinsale, spend the night in Kinsale
Sept 9: Explore Kinsale, drive to Kenmare, overnight in Kenmare
Sept 10: Explore Kenmare. Overnight in Kenmare.
Sept 11: Ring of Kerry. After this, should we sleep in Killarney or move to Dingle, since the next day we want to explore the Dingle Peninsula?
Sept 12: Dingle Peninsula, sleep in Dingle.
Sept 13: Drive to Galway, explore Galway, stay overnight.
Sept 14: Fly to Aran Islands, afterwards, drive to Westport, stay in Westport
Sept 15: Biking on Great Westport Greenway, stay in Westport
Sept 16: Drive to Dublin; I'm open to suggestions on anything to do in between
Sept 17: Fly out of Dublin

Posted by
1743 posts

It would be too much for me. I prefer to spend a minimum of two nights per location, and preferably three.

But that doesn't mean it's too much for you. If you don't mind a lot of single-night stays and being on the move to a new location almost every day, then don't let anyone tell you you need to cut something out.

Have a great trip!

Posted by
820 posts

If that kind of one night per lodging trip is your style, this is doable. But not for me...

Someone else may chime in with suggested edits, so I will leave that to them. Something seems off with the last 4 or 5 days of your itinerary to me, maybe a bridge too far or something, plus the longish crawl back to Dublin the night before flying out...

Posted by
365 posts

It’s a LOT of “go”- no relax and no room for error. Meaning, if there’s a terrible weather day or you feel tired or a bit off… every day is heavy power paced touring.

If you’ve toured like this and enjoy it? Rock on! But I’d slow it down/relax it quite a bit from this and have a few days at fewer spots personally. There is NO wrong touring style but since you’re asking here I assume you’re not sure if that’s too much which usually means it might be a bit overly ambitious.

Posted by
8252 posts

I would drop Westport, stay on the Aran Islands, rent a bike, and do my biking there. Westport was the most disappointing part of our Ireland trip. The Aran Islands were a highlight.

Posted by
47 posts

I just went through a similar exercise of planning a 10 day visit. We leave in a month. I started out with an itinerary that was not quite as aggressive as the one you have published. I ended up simplifying our trip, eliminating one site and reducing time at another. We will now have 3 two-night stops and only 4 one-night stops.

I will comment on one agenda item. We are also going to start in Kenmare to drive the Ring of Kerry. Driving clockwise through the loop we are going to turn left out of Killorglin and head into Dingle.

Posted by
33 posts

Thanks for you for your comments Based on what I've heard here, we've changed up our itinerary to be as follows. I think it's substantially less intense.

Sept 6: Arrive in Dublin at 8:45, pick up car, drive to Newgrange. Tour tomb in the afternoon, then drive to Trim and spend the night in Trim.
Sept 7: See Trim Castle, drive to Kilkenny, Night #1 in Kilkenny
Sept 8: Rock of Cashel, other stuff, drive to Kinsale, Night #2 in Kilkenny.
Sept 9: Drive to Kinsale. Night #1 in Kinsale
Sept 10: Night #2 in Kinsale
Sept 11: Finish Kinsale, drive to Kenmare. Overnight in Kenmare
Sept 12: Ring of Kerry. Night #1 in Dingle
Sept 13: Dingle Penninsula. Night #2 in Dingle
Sept 14: Drive to Galway. Overnight in Galway
Sept 15: Fly to Inis Mor. Overnight in Inis Mor.
Sept 16: Fly back from Inis Mor, drive to Dublin.
Sept 17: Fly back to US.

Posted by
2790 posts

I'm not sure I quite understand your plan for the 8th: ie leave Kilkenny for Cashel and eventually work your way down to Kinsale ... but then return to Kilkenny for the night? Have to assume that it's a typo from your original itinerary which has you staying overnight in Kinsale - which makes more sense.
If so, that would have you spending the nights of the 8th & 9th in Kinsale, which then would free you up to drive to Kenmare on the 10th. Adding a 2nd night there would give you the option of either driving down to the Beara peninsula or driving up to Killarney NP that day - either of which would be good options.
Your leisurely circuit along the ROK on the 12th looks fine. Weather permitting I'd suggest a slight diversion over the the village of Portmagee while you're in the vicinity. The tour buses don't go out to that part of the peninsula so it makes for pleasant driving - especially the short stretch along the Skellig Ring Road just west of the town, which features picture postcard views of the Skelligs and the very pretty Kerry Cliffs. Depending on your interests you could book one of the excursion boats out to the Skelligs from the visitor center across the bridge from Portmagee. Another suggested stop would be the Gap of Dunloe - you'd have to extend your circuit of the ROK a bit to include it but the extra time is well worth it on a sunny day. Can either walk along the road towards the head of the glen as far as you like before turning around or take a pony trap to see what we think is one of the prettiest little glens in all of Ireland.

Just a thought, but you really won't need a car any more once you arrive in Galway on the 14th. You could taxi to & from the airfield for your flights, then catch the train back into Dublin on the 16th. Given the exorbitant cost of rental cars at the moment saving a couple of days by turning the car in upon arrival in Galway could save you a few euros. The one-way drop fee in Ireland is pretty cheap - might be worth pricing it at any rate. I think Europcar and Budget both have concessions in Galway, and there may be others I'm not aware of that could make a one way rental a cost-effective option for you.

Posted by
33 posts

Oops, you're right! That's a typo. Thanks for pointing that out. Yes, we're not driving down to Kinsale and then back to Kilkenny. It's two nights in Kilkenny, then two in Kinsale.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Posted by
746 posts

I think that this is a April Fool’s post. Someone did similar on April Fool’s day. They did not say at the time and I posted some alternate itinerary and subsequently found out. This is the same vein.
True? Could it be. To want to explore the Dingle Peninsula, and then giving it one day, irrespective of driving to it and leaving it, the same day.

Posted by
33 posts

What? Are you mad? An April Fool's Post? This is my trip! Why would you think that? I'm really curious.

Posted by
1912 posts

You actually lost me on the first day. I’m not sure where you are flying from, but I can’t imagine arriving, driving ( I know it’s not far- but far enough!) taking a tour and then driving again.

We fly from the west coast and often drive on arrival but need to crash soon after. I can’t imagine enjoying a tour while being tired and out of it.

We did two weeks in Ireland spending 2 nights and a couple of three night stops. We LOVED Ireland!! I can’t wait to go back! But, we learned from that trip. It’s was way too much driving, driving is intense and tiring, it takes hours longer than what you’d expect. And, the BEST part of Ireland are the people. Next time we will slow down, soak it up, and enjoy it even more. I’ll also get off the beaten path. Those places were our favorite!

Something to consider.

Posted by
8252 posts

I like the improvements you made to increase your time in the Aran Islands and skip Westport. I am confident that you will be quite happy with this choice.