17 day itinerary for Ireland

I think you need to pick up several guidebooks to research a doable itinerary. Without knowing your specific interests, budget etc. Rick Steves guidebooks give several self driving itineraries depending on the amount of time you have.
I myself, always book my accomodations in advance. You are going during peak tourist season, so your choices will be limited. But, if you are not picky about where you stay, you may be able to wing it.
Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions. You are getting a late start planning.

Are you looking to do North and South or just one of them?

Ideally I would like to get some sense of both. But am open to being practical. So I thought of Galway, kilarney (though staying at kenmare or waterville), and places near Portmagee i.e. cliffs of kerry.

We did an 18 day self-drive of Ireland a few years ago. It was our fourth visit there. This was our itinerary:

Fly into Dublin. Drive north about 20 miles to Drogheda where we stayed at the D hotel. This was our base for visiting New Grange, Hill of Tara, and Monasterboice.

Drive to Donegal town. We stayed 5 nights but you could cut to 4. From here we visited Giants' Causeway, Derry, Slieve League cliffs, and lots of rural sites in County Donegal and County Sligo.

Drive to Connemara, visiting Ceide Fields enroute. This was a long day's drive, but you get those occasionally. We stayed at Ballynahinch Castle Hotel for 2 nights. Friendly place, not at all stuffy. From here you can visit Connemara or take a boat to the Aran Islands. If you want both, you would need to add another day.

Drive to Dingle. We skipped Galway City (no interest in cities). Enroute, a stop at the Burren area is worthwhile. We also skipped The Cliffs of Moher (Slieve League cliffs are higher and not so crowded). Use the Limerick tunnel for a faster route to the Dingle Peninsula. We stayed 2 nights at Castletown B and B in Dingle town.

Drive to Kenmare (only about 70 miles) where we stayed 5 nights. You could shorten this if you wanted to add a night to Dingle or Connemara. Kenmare is an excellent base for visiting ROK, Beara Peninsula, and other coastal areas in the southwest area. The town has several good pubs and restaurants.

Drove to Cashel for two nights to see the Rock of Cashel. One night would have been plenty - it's really what I would consider a two hour stop. However, we did have dinner there at a really good restaurant' Chez Hans. It is in a converted church.

Drove to Shannon, flew to London.

Modifying our itinerary slightly, I would suggest 2 Drogheda, 4 Donegal, 3 Connemara, 3 Dingle, 4 Kenmare, 1 Cashel. That's 17. We always skip Dublin - not enough attractions there unless you are interested in very recent Irish history. We are more interested in ancient Ireland and the beautiful scenery.

Choose your Irish car rental company VERY carefully.

Thanks so much. This is just so helpful. I will research the places you have suggested. Might even narrow down to 3 locations. Also, you and many others have said be very careful regarding the rental car company. Do you (or does anyone else) have any safe suggestions? I read on one link on this site that recommended Dan Dooley?

Dan Dooley was fine. We use Easirent, good rates and never a problem for us over multiple uses. Just be sure and get super CDW and tire and will shield coverage......So worth it.

Really liked Cynthias itinerary....an excellent one if you do want to move around Ireland in a sane rational way. We tone it down a bit more ourselves usually renting a cottage/house for a week to use as a base to explore and linger in an area, really helps us connect....and save money. We loved a place we stayed in Castlemaine which gave great options for exploring Dingle and the ROK......and a great spot outside of Kenmare for the ROK and Beara. Another favorite was in the Glen right next to Ballinskellig with a great living room view of Skellig Michael and enough things to do in the area to fill a month let alone a week.

That or an approach like Cynthias sure is the way to go. Sounds like you have a great approach. So, so, so much better than flying all over on one night stays trying to see a list of somebody else's must sees.

Have a great trip !!!!!

B&Bs are so prevalent all over Ireland that you can just show up knock on doors, even in the summer. We've bicycled in the Republic and the North nine times over the years and had a problem finding a room only once when we pulled in to a popular commercial town on a Friday. We eventually did after making about a dozen calls. I would, however, book your first and last nights in advance to reduce the stress of travel a bit.