19 days in Ireland - First time

I have never been to Ireland so cannot help in that regard but you are moving around a lot. My husband and I made a 10 day trip to Italy where we had a series of two night stays. It was exhausting and we vowed to never do it again. You are planning to keep up this pace for almost twice as long.

Just returned from Greece where we had 14 nights with two 3 night stays, and two four night stays. This pace was much better for us.

Beth

I agree with the above poster that its a lot of moving around. However, some people are younger and prefer a fast pace.

We like a slower pace, getting to know an area in depth a little bit more.

I would cut N. Ireland on this trip and save it for next time.
You have Killarney N. P. under Dingle. Dingle is about 1 1/2 hours from Killarney. Add another night to Dingle and add another night to Kenmare so you can see Killarney, which takes at least one full day.
Do drive Slea Head drive on the Dingle peninsula.
Remember, 2 nights anywhere is only one full day to explore an area.
Have a great trip!

I agree with the other posters that you are moving around too much. Try combining some stops by picking one town where you could spend three or four nights and do day trips from without having to drive too far. This will allow you to unpack and get to know a place a bit better. I would also suggest leaving Northern Ireland off of this trip, it’s a long detour, and and you will enjoy spending more time at other locations than you will rushing around trying to see the whole island.

Definitely cut down the number of stops. I'd skip Kinsale.....nice place but a lot of extra driving. Spend more time in Kenmare. See the stuff outside Killarney, enjoy North Beara and the south side of the ROK. If you want to golf Waterville has a great course in a wonderful setting. Go see the Cliffs Of Kerry (far better than Moher) and save a trip to Moher.

Looping around all of Northern Ireland in so short a time is a huge amount of driving....Remember generally driving times are half again as long as listed on apps which are ridiculously optimistic. It can be done but for most it's an exhausting blistering pace. Less in Ireland is ALWAYS more. Rushing around ticking off itinerary stops should be firmly subordinate to experiencing Ireland. Leaving time to interact with locals, explore and find things on your own is when the magic happens not when racing to the next "must see" thing.

Just not rushing and taking our time has led to many amazing moments, ending up very welcomed guests at a local very REAL trad Irish music dance night, helping feed a farmer's sheep and horses and having dinner with his family, a cool private tour of ruined Abbey because we made friends with a wonderful old woman and her dog, time in a home bakery learning recipes and Irish, getting to drive a boat most of the way out and back to Skellig Michael and many many others.......heck having an amazingly great lunch from a gas station/ grocery store and ending up horseback riding on a beach. If we were wedded to an aggressive itinerary we would have missed all that - and we are NOT outgoing people at all.....but the Irish are amazingly warm and welcoming. Don't miss that Ireland. It's that Ireland that makes me cry when it's time to head home.....Not the next thing on a must see list.

So strongly urge - scale back to enjoy more. Linger and enjoy and stay longer in fewer spots.

We made a similar trip (our first time in Europe) 6 years ago. We covered the same territory you are planning but in 15 rather than 19 days--three nights in Dublin, and two each in Belfast, Dingle and Kinsale. All the rest of our stops were one night only. Although the pace was grueling we still look back on the experience fondly and have some wonderful memories of places and people--so yes, your itinerary is doable. That said, we decided that we had missed out on too much (like you, we also skipped the Ring of Kerry the first time around) and returned three years later. That trip lasted 21 days, involved three and four night stops and was confined to the south and west of Ireland. It was a totally different and more satisfying experience for us. We had a chance to really relax and enjoy the people and local cultures, as well as enjoying some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere. It really depends on your goal for the trip--to see as many of the iconic sights as possible (which is certainly an OK goal, especially if you expect never to return to Ireland) or to enjoy the beauty of the place and the friendliness of the people. We all have our different travel styles.

On a more practical note--on that second trip my husband was able to play several rounds of golf--a huge check mark off his bucket list. I walked along each time. We found the courses in both Dingle and Westport to be quite lovely, sufficiently challenging and not terrible expensive, even factoring in club rental. We also played the course in Skibbereen--it was OK but not as scenic or challenging (cheaper though).

As for B&Bs in Belfast, 6 years ago we stayed at the Avenue Guest House in the university district and liked it very much. It was a lovely room, the beds were quite comfortable and breakfast was delicious. We had a car though, so we were able to drive to the Titanic Museum--I don't know how easy it would be to get there on public transportation.

One place we did visit on that first trip was New Grange and it was a real highlight for us. I'd urge you to consider trying to fit it in. We were traveling counterclockwise around the island and stopped at New Grange on the drive between Dublin and Belfast. Perhaps you could exchange one night in Portrush for an extra night in Belfast and visit New Grange on your way back to Swords.