14 night trip to Republic of Ireland - not northern Ireland

Posted by DakotaTravelers (AZ&WA) on 01/09/25 07:38 PM

Hello. There is so much valuable information in the Travel Forum which is so helpful and wonderful. It makes me think I should have just signed up for a Rick Steves tour. But alas, I guess I'm too independent minded and pride myself on trying to customize a trip for 2 couples who have flight reservations for arrival in Dubin on May 28th this yr and departure June 11. We are older couples but pretty physically active and agree that we don't want to live out of our suitcases every night ( 3 night minium stays) and want a definite mix of city/small town and country exploring with great views and experiences. One thing my friend REALLY enjoys is going to a bar/pub for what she calls Adult Beverages so that's part of her priority list. We plan on renting a car for transportation but want to definnitely do a day of bicycling somewhere along the trip on trails that aren't too hilly and perhaps go from one small village to another.

Our car route is counter clock wise for rd trip from/to Dublin - should we go clockwise for aniy reason?
3 nights (but really only get 2 days touring w late afternoon arrival) in Dublin at StayCity Apartments or Maldron Hotel Kevin St
3 nights in Galway (Hyde Hotel or Menlo Park Hotel) with plans to drive to Conemarra (drive a loop) and explore Aran Islands
3 nights at Killaryney Lodge stopping on way to check out Dingle Peninsula or maybe change our reservation after reading some comments about commercialization of Killarney? Stay in Tralee or Kenmare instead?
3 nights to explore southeast & east coast of Ireland (Cork, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny?). No hotel rez yet.
2 nights remain but am thinking we may want to go back to Dublin and area around it to explore 1 day by car (Wicklow?). I already
made a 2 night rez at the StayCity Apartments Dublin Castle location but it can be cancelled.
Both of us couples have early morning flights (9am and 10 am) on Wed June 11 so we can't plan anything that day.

Prefer to rent a car in Dublin rather than at airport which makes it easier for us to pick up and drop off. We'll explore Dublin on foot and public transport so we'll get rental car on May 31st. Any suggestions of a company to use that has offices/lot close to where we are staying at StayCity or Maldron Hotel?

We will try to do indpendent day tours after arriving by car in Dublin, Galway, and some of the other cities so we aren't just driving around and looking but not LEARNING about Ireland and its uniqueness. Hoping we can find those in the places above. Any recommendations or assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Posted by jjgurley

Mountains of S. Oregon

01/10/25 07:05 PM

811 posts

We live out of suitcases (carry-ons) and occasionally do two night stays, rarely three. We find that most things we want to see are half way between places that are nice to stay (often determined by trad music, for us), so not much to comment on except:

1) Westport has a long greenway which is mostly on bike paths. You can arrange pickup or dropoff to allow a one way ride. We're too old for bikes, but we might do e-bikes next time we're there.

2) I'd suggest breaking your three night rule and staying one night on Inishmore. It is much nicer once the day-trippers have left. Do it at the beginning or end of Galway so you can do 2 consecutive nights in Galway. Adult beverages upstairs at The Crane Bar.

3) We didn't care for Killarney (mostly crowds) although the NP has some nice hikes. It's not THAT bad, but other places would be nicer. You could easily do three nights in Dingle without getting bored, including Blaskett Island, Slea Head, and various old ruins.

4) Kenmare wins over Tralee in our book. Just big vs. less big city issues.

5) The in-town rental agencies close by 4-5pm, so if you get back to Dublin after that, you end up at the airport. Watch out for one-way fees, even though it's all within Dublin. Rates are generally lower in town, although there's a lot of "demand pricing" going on. Don't hesitate to re-do reservations as time passes, since cancellation is still free.

6) You could do Newgrange/Boyne Valley on the way to Galway or do a tour before/after the car (booking might be an issue for a tour or even for the site as a DIY).

7) If you're not practiced at driving on the wrong side, the airport is a lot easier to get acclimated from than starting out in town. In any case, have a good navigator next to you or a dashboard talking GPS or phone with EU data plan.

There are very few places in Ireland that aren't green, gorgeous, and welcoming. And May/June has the best weather. You really can't make a mistake although a few spots in Dublin are a little iffy.