16 Day Ireland Driving Loop-Looking for comments and input

You need to slow down so you can enjoy Ireland. All the places on your list deserve much more than a glimpse. I would remove the industrial city of Waterford, the out of the way drive to Muckross House and the outlier Portrush and do this instead:

Wed. 9/25 – arrive in Dublin and hop on a direct bus at the airport that will drop you off in Kilkenny (2h 20m). Sleep in Kilkenny.
Thu. 9/26 – sleep in Kilkenny.
Fri. 9/27 – pick up car and drive to the Rock of Cashel. Sleep in Kinsale.
Sat. 9/28 – drive to Cobh. Sleep in Kinsale.
Sun. 9/29 – drive to Kenmare. Sleep in Kenmare.
Mon. 9/30 – drive the Ring of Kerry. Sleep in Dingle.
Tue. 10/1 – drive the Sleighhead Loop. Sleep in Dingle.
Wed. 10/2 – drive to Doolin. Sleep in Doolin.
Thu. 10/3 – visit the Cliffs of Moher. Sleep in Doolin.
Fri. 10/4 – drive to Cong. Sleep in Westport.
Sat. 10/5 – sleep in Westport.
Sun. 10/6 – drive to the Antrim Coast. Sleep in Belfast.
Mon. 10/7 – drive to Dublin and drop off car. Sleep in Dublin.
Tue. 10/8 – sleep in Dublin.
Wed. 10/9 – sleep in Dublin.
Thu. 10/10 – fly home.

Thank you Mary!
Driving from Westport to the Antrim Coast and ending up in Belfast seems like a lot for one day. I appreciate your input!

Mary Pat’s itinerary works well until the Sunday 10/6. The drive from Westport to Belfast via the Antrim coast is going to be a long day - you are looking at 7-8 hours solid driving without any stops. Is it actually worth it? You have two choices - scrap this and add an extra day elsewhere OR take a day out earliuer in the itinerary.

Looking at the itinerary, you could take out a night at Doolin. Drive from Dingle to Doolin using the Tarbert to Kilimer Ferry. Then use the N67 up the west coast which takes you past the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Doolin.

This would give an extra night for the Westport to Belfast loop - stopping in Portrush area as originally planned. That would give you the full day to see the Antrim coast on the way to Belfast. There’s plenty to see along that stretch - Giant’s causeway, Dunluce castle, Carrick a Rede rope bridge and then the Antrim Glens...

It makes more sense to remove Northern Ireland from this itinerary so you can sleep in Kenmare for two nights and day trip to the Muckross House. If you skip Northern Ireland, return your car in Galway and take a direct train from Galway to Dublin: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/. This will be less stressful than driving in Galway, plus the view makes this journey worth it.

Thank you both for your input. I realized that i had errored and we actually have 1 more day. I've shuffled things around and will take your advice!

actually one more question for you both...we are 2 couples that are in our early 70s- active but still not in hiking mode. I'm still considering doing the Sleighhead loop in the am (we will likely stop at the lookouts but not walk the beaches) and ending up in Doolin that night. Is this reasonable?

It is doable BUT a lot will depend on how many stops you intend making on the Slea Head drive. We took a full day to do it and then went back for another day to fill in on some of the places we missed.There;s a lot more to see than just the beaches - Dunbeg Fort, Fahan Famine cottages, beehive cells, Gallarus Oratory, Kilmalkedar church...

You are going to need to allow 4 hours (ish) to drive to Doolin after the Slea Head drive. The drive via Limerick is a bit boring too. It is much more fun to take the Tarbert to Kilimer Ferry and then trickle up the coast via the Cliffs of Moher - This is shorter distance wise but slower to drive.

Any trip to Ireland over a couple weeks that doesn't include Belfast & the giant's causeway would miss a key stop. There are always tradeoffs of course.

Take a look at RS sample itinerary:

By Rick Steves and Pat O'Connor
So much to see, so little time. How to choose? To help you get started, we've listed our top picks for where to go in Ireland, and our plan for your best three-week trip.
Depending on the length of your trip, and taking geographic proximity into account, here are our recommended priorities:
3 days: Dublin
5 days, add: Dingle Peninsula
8 days, add: Galway, Aran Islands, slow down
10 days, add: County Clare/Burren, Kilkenny/Castle
13 days, add: Belfast, Antrim Coast

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland/itinerary

Happy travels!!!

Keep in mind that Ireland and Northern Ireland are two entirely different countries. Make sure, if you're still planning to visit both, that your car rental agency allows it. Not all of them do.

We just returned from two weeks driving in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Others have already offered worthwhile feedback. Here are a few tidbits:

• Rental car companies charge you extra if you drive a car rented in Ireland into Northern Ireland, even if you still return it back in Ireland. I think it cost us about €34 with Sixt car rental. But you must arrange it BEFORE taking the car out.

• Sheep dog demos are fun. The one you had on your itinerary gets a mention in Rick Steves' book, and we hoped to see it, but their demo times change day to day and didn't fit our schedule. Don't worry. There are many other sheep dog demonstrations around the island. During the Sleigh Head Loop Drive, we ended up gong to Dingle Sheepdog Demonstrations, which also gives access to famine cottages from the 1840s and an even older Beehive hut. The dogs were great fun. Plus they give you nuggets to feed the sheep with beforehand.

• The Titanic Belfast museum is stellar. Allow at least two hours to go through. Timed tickets are required, though we showed up early and they squeezed us in sooner.

Our first trip to Ireland, we kept it to the Republic of Ireland and did not visit any of N. Ireland as, for us, it took too much time away from what we most wanted to see.
We went to the Cliffs of Moher at around 5pm (it was beginning of July so sunset was really late!) That was a perfect time to go. We lucked out on weather as it was a beautiful, sunny day. Keep in Mind, it is Western Ireland and the weather can be foggy, rainy or dreary next to the Ocean.
Another poster mentioned the Dingle Sheepdog Demonstrations. We did this one too! I loved all of it and highly recommend! We did not make a reservation, we just showed up and joined one of the daily demonstrations.
I also agree with the suggestion of taking the bus (citylink) from airport to Galway the day you arrive and start your trip in Galway. You can then rent your car from Galway when you are ready to go, saving you some headaches and money.
Lastly, figure out what are the most important things for you to see/do while on the Island. If it includes some items in N. Ireland, then do it! But, if your priorities are not in N. Ireland, I'd skip it for another trip.

We did this Vagabond tour which was similar length and general route to what you are planning. It seemed the right amount to travel each day (and we stopped and did a couple hikes daily). Have a great trip!

Thank you Kimberly for the input! Moving the dog visit to Dingle is a real help.

And thank you for mentioning the issue with the car rental for N.Ireland!

I just want to add that our Alamo car rental does NOT charge a fee for taking the car into Northern Ireland. We are renting and returning at DUB airport. Check your rental terms.