5 Day Itinerary Advice

It's perfectly doable. In May you will also have lots of daylight too.

You might consider not picking up your car until Day 2, if you’re planning to stay in the city center. I think driving (and parking) in Dublin could be rough. Or pick up your car on Day 1 and drive directly to Galway, leaving your Dublin exploration for the end of the trip (after you’ve returned your car). I think your itinerary overall is doable and realistic.

You would not want or need a car in Dublin. I'd take the Express Bus from the airport into Dublin. Enjoy Dublin. Take the train to Galway, and then rent your car there. You could either return the car in Galway making your way back by train, or pay a different drop off location fee and drop it off at the Dublin airport.

As far as seeing all of the sites, there is a lot of daylight, which makes it terrific! Enjoy!

If possible, I would shift some days from Iceland to Ireland. If you're not doing the Ring Road and "only" doing the South Coast, I don't think you need 7 days. OTOH, 5 days in Ireland is WAY too few. It looks like you're only planning to spend one day in Dublin (which is fine, as that's not what Ireland is about, IMO), so why not see if you can fly into Shannon instead? I don't know, and maybe there aren't flights from Reykjavik to Shannon. If you're able to add some days, you could day trip to Trim from Dublin. The other poster is correct that you don't want to have a car in Dublin.

I concur that 5 days in Ireland is certainly doable for what you’re thinking. While more time would let you see/do more, if five days is what you have, then you can make the most of them. We haven’t included both Iceland AND Ireland in the same trip, but have been to both.

For Iceland, are you considering a boat to the Westman Islands while you’re down on the South Coast? In April when we were in Iceland, it was too early in the year for that, so I still have the Westmans on my wish list. You could see Puffins, especially since you won’t be going to Skellig Michael in Ireland to see them this trip.

For Ireland, do get your rental car once you’re ready to depart Dublin. No need to get a car just to drive into Dublin before heading towards Galway. The AirCoach bus can easily get you between downtown Dublin and the airport, avoiding dealing with parking and traffic in the city.

The AirCoach is also an excellent way to go directly from the Dublin airport to Galway, but if you want to see Trim and its castle on the way, I can understand you wanting to drive yourselves.

We went to Inis Mor on both of our first two Ireland trips, and took the ferry from Rossaveal the first time, but flew on Aer Arran the second time. The plane wins, hands down, even though it costs a bit more. Both times, the seas were so rough that boats couldn’t get back to the mainland from Inis Mor, and that meant waiting and waiting to see if people could actually make it back in time. The small planes don’t have to worry about water conditions. They have tiny luggage capacity, but if you’re just going for the day, that’s not an issue. The small airport is also closer to Galway than is the ferry port at Rossaveal, so it’s a closer departure, and you can park your car at the airport for the day - easy. You’ll be glad you flew, and the short flight is scenic, too.

I realize that a 10:00am flight home is fairly early, but if you turned in your rental car on Day 5 (maybe depending on the time you picked it up, and how many days rental you’d be paying for), you could stay in more central Dublin, and still get to the airport for your flight the next day, rather than staying out by the airport.

One last possibility might be to save Dublin for your last two days. Land around 10:30am on Day 1, then head towards Galway with your rental car with stops at Trim and Clonmacnoise. See Ins Mor on Day 2, Cliff on Day 3, and get to Dublin on Day 4, avoiding two separate one-night-stays in Dublin.

I think I would do what Cyn suggests and drive to Galway the day you land. You do not need or want a car in Dublin. Otherwise, I think this a good pace, and should be a nice way to spend five days.