9 Day Irish Honeymoon - Advice Needed

In my opinion, it is way, way too much. Do you have a map of Ireland, if not get Ricks Ireland book which comes with good advice and a fairly decent map. Reason I say is that you are planning to go to Cliffs, then south may a couple of hours to Dingle, then back north to Ashford which alone could be a good three and half hours. doesn't make sense to me. Also, day one, you may not arrive at hotel to at least eleven, then a walk, then the brewery which was we think is not worth it but it can be done in a really fast hour, then the Book of. Kells, another hour, dinner and music, a killer day. If you already have tickets, suggest first two days in Dublin, then rent car, head south then west to Dingle, up to Cliffs, then Ashford, then to Dublin. If you don't have tickets yet, start in Shannon, do the west, up to Ashford and then east ending in Dublin, drop car and spend last two,days there. You want to enjoy this. At Ashford, do the falconry experience. Keep coming back to this site for more info and advice from others. Good luck.

@johnedmcd,

I didnt take the Guinness tour since i really dont drink also in Rick Steves book it was pointed out its more about advertisments than brewing. They did have some carriage rides nearby tho.

I thought the Book of Kells was cool along with the library. really cool building. Wish i could have taken pictures inside. But those are what i like.

happy trails and honeymoon.

Besides being way too many places, you really need to look at a map. You talk about seeing something in Killarney, going to the Cliffs of Moher (which are not in Lisdoonvarna, but Liscannor), going for a horseback ride, then heading to Dingle. Killarney is south, so you would be driving past the Dingle Peninsula to see the Cliffs, then back down to the Dingle Peninsula. Killarney to Liscannor is about five hours, and the drive from the Cliffs to Dingle is about 4 hours. When are you going to have time for the Cliffs or the horseback ride? That just can't be done in a day. Then you want to go from Dingle up to Cong, going back past Co. Clare and the Cliffs again. The drive from Dingle to Cong is over five hours.

In June, if you want to see the Book of Kells on your one day in Dublin, you need to go there first. Lines become very long very quickly during peak tourist season. I would not waste the time or money on the Guinness Storehouse. If you are arriving from the US on your first day, you probably won't be hearing any music that night. Staying out and moving will help you stay awake through the day, but you will crash early, and music generally starts later. You'll find plenty of music in Killarney, though.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Yes, I definitely misread the map today, with my Killarney-Cliffs-Dingle route.

Here is my question: In order to take it easier, I want to only have us stay two places, outside of Dublin. So given that Ashford will be one, should I cut Dingle (and its surrounding attractions) or Killarney (and its surrounding attractions?) Just so much to see in both, it's tough to decide!

Thanks so much!

I am really partial to Dingle, the scenery is fantastic. Had a great night in a pub seen in Ricks book. Been there three times before but this was best for music In our opinion.

Don't drop Dingle. It has so much to offer, both in town and driving the peninsula. If you go from there to Dublin (or visa versa) you can stop at the Rock of Cashel on the way.

Everything you want to see is in the West of Ireland! Why not fly in and out of Shannon instead?

I would recommend doing the Rural Pub Tour in Dublin if you have time. I did back in Oct 2013 and it was an absolute blast. I haven't read one bad thing about it. The Tour Guide, Shane is hilarious and offers a ton of info about Ireland and the outskirts of Dublin where the pub tour goes. Check out the website...you won't be disappointed.

http://www.ruraltours.ie/

If you have to drop stuff, drop everything else except Dingle!!! :) just kidding, but I did love Dingle. If you are going to Dingle and then later going to Cong, you can easily check out the cliffs on the way north after leaving Dingle. Just grab the ferry across the Shannon instead going the inland route. You can swing by the Cliffs for an hour or so and on north. The Cliffs are amazing but they don't take long to see. I actually enjoyed the boat tour under the cliffs much more than the tourist area up top.
My wife and I just took our honeymoon in Ireland this past September. We had 14 days but spent three in Dublin. I can post our itinerary for you to compare if you would like?

Hi John! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! It's a very exciting thing to plan your honeymoon; you both will have a wonderful time I'm sure whatever you end up choosing to do.

My husband and I are planning our first Ireland trip together in May (which is our second European trip, first one was our honeymoon in Italy two years ago). Based off our own experiences from our honeymoon (which was RIGHT after our wedding), I would definitely plan for some "down" time. You want to be able to relax and enjoy each other, so try not to over-plan your activities. Most of your sites are on the western side of Ireland. I would recommend looking into flights in and out of Shannon unless you are dead-set on Dublin. For our upcoming trip, we ended up booking flying into Shannon and out of Dublin. Everyone says how learning to drive in Ireland is easier from Shannon than Dublin. I don't know if you have experience driving there or if you are concerned about it, but it might be food for thought.

Now, I do not have much experience in Ireland (just a 5 days on a European trip in college) so take my ideas with a grain of salt as they are based off research and other people's advice, not personal experience, yet! I think that you may want to consider condensing your stops to allow yourselves more time to relax and soak up the area. From what I've read, Connemara National Park deserves it's own day, or two. I don't think you will have time to see the Aran Islands along with the park. As for driving from Dingle to Cong, if you stop to see the Cliffs of Moher, I imagine it will be a very long day full of driving. We ourselves are planning for 4 hours to drive from our B&B in Doolin (Cliffs of Moher) to Dingle. I'm guessing that you should probably pick either the Cliffs of Moher/Galway area or Cong/Connemara area. Side note: I believe you can ferry to the Aran islands from Galway or Doolin so you might investigate those stops and see if either of them appeal to you more than your potential stop in Cong.

Hope this helps!

You will ABSOLUTELY fall in love at the Ashford Castle. We were there in 2012, with a TAUCK tour. The grounds are spectacular, day and night.