10 days itinerary in Ireland

You have 10 days total, and your list of destinations outside of Dublin adds up to 10. That means you'll have many, if not most, 1-night stays along the way and you will be rushing. Have you looked at the RS guide to Ireland where it indicates how to set your priorities according to how many days you have?

Offhand I would make 2 suggestions. (1) Skip Wexford because it's somewhat out of the way, and (2) Choose either Ring of Kerry or Dingle peninsula, not both. Those changes should make your itinerary a little more manageable.

Also, have you compared the cost of hiring a private driver vs. renting your own car or using public transport? Having a driver take you everywhere will surely be faster and more flexible than public transport, and will eliminate the stress of navigating to each place you want to visit, but it will probably be very expensive. Where will your driver sleep at night? Will you be paying for his/her hotel accommodations?

You could probably combine Powerscourt and Glendalough together in a day (be sure to take your time as you drive through the Wicklow Mountains...there are some little places to pull over and stop and look at the beautiful landscape...I remember loving the drive through the Wicklow Mountains)

Also you could probably combine Blarney Castle with Kinsale (Blarney first thing in the morning and then head to Kinsale for the afternoon/evening)

Thank you for both recommendations. As always when we travel through Europe, I will be consulting the RS travel guide!

We are thinking of heading to Dingle for 2 nights after Dublin, then on to Galway for 3 nights. Second option is to head to Galway from Dublin, spending the remainder of our time doing day trips from Dublin. My goal is to spend time getting to know the people in the areas we visit and absorb as much of the culture as we can while there. I would appreciate your thoughts on which option best achieves this.

For sightseeing, I think either of your choices would work, depending on your interests. If you want to “meet the people,” then not spending a lot of time in the city and staying in B&Bs or guest houses in your other destinations would be more conducive. Between the owners being friendly, the other guests, and going to a local pub and being willing to strike up a conversation, you should have a good experience. So I think your second thought covers that well. But, Ireland being Ireland, that could happen in Dublin, also. It’s up to you to be friendly to those you meet.