8 nights on west coast of Ireland

Can't help you with the specifics (haven't been to Ireland yet, my first trip there is coming up next summer), but there's a PBS special that you may want to check out called "Ireland's Wild Coast". We caught it last year and it was spectacular. It's pretty much all about the wildlife and the natural beauty of the coast so you won't see a lot of towns, abbeys or other human-made stuff, but it sure was beautiful. Should serve as good inspiration. Trailer here.

Have a great trip!

Roundstone is a pleasant little village and a good choice for the Connemara area. I think Kenmare would be a better location for the area south of Shannon. From there, you can easily do the Ring of Kerry and the north side of the Beara peninsula. Dingle is also doable from there, although that day would involve quite a bit of driving.

First suggestion is that THIS weekend buy and read the RS Ireland Guidebook. Then sit down with your husband to discuss must sees. Make an intinerary and research your accomodations. Book them.

Remember 8 days isn’t truly 8 days because of arrival and depature times. Because of the smaller roads you will travel on drive times will be a longer than shown.

Here’s my take on what to see in the short time you have.

2 nights in Doolin. See the Burren.
2 nights in Dingle. Slea Head, Ring of Kerry, Killarney National Park, Gap of Dunloe.
2 nights in Portamagee . Sklieg Michael

West Coast is truly gorgeous. Relax. Enjoy it’s beauty.

Just got back from my second trip to Ireland. I think both suggestions are still too much driving, but we tend not to want to be sightseeing all day as we like evening hours for dinner and music.
We had 7 days and flew in and out of Shannon.
We did 3 nights Dingle and 3 nights Aghradoe ( near Killarney). That was about right for us. The ROK was our longest day. Left at 8:30am and returned at 5 and we only made 4 stops and bypassed Kenmare.

I wholeheartedly recommend Dingle, and the whole peninsula. We are getting ready to make our third trip to the area next month. We are staying en entire week in an airbnb apartment near Dingle Town. As you read about the Dingle peninsula I think you will find plenty of ruins to visit. I also recommend at least part of the Ring of Kerry. For a very spectacular location, you might want to consider visiting Skellig Michael. The last time we were there it was before the visitor season was open, but I very much want to visit this time around. You can only visit by going on one of the licensed tour boats. If you decide you're interested, you would definitely need to book the boat trip before you leave the US. enjoy your travels!

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(I will post this as a question in a separate thread so as to not derail this one.)

We loved the Dingle peninsula and highly recommend the Milestone House in Dingle. Proprietors Barbara and Michael Carroll were wonderful and helped with booking tickets to the church concert mentioned by RS. We spent 2 nights there and 2 in Doolin. The boat tour of the Cliffs of Moher (afternoon has the best light) was a great way to see the cliffs.

Dingle was my favorite place we visited. If you want a B&B there, I concur that the Milestone house is well worth the stay. They had the best breakfast of any B&B I've ever stayed in (I won't count the lobster omelette I had in Maine) and Michael and Barbara are a wealth of information. They even provided two detailed hand drawn maps, one of the peninsula and one of Dingle Town. It is not located directly in town, but is walkable.