Feedback on Itinerary - Ireland

Yep, too ambitious. If you had 3 weeks this would probably be OK.

The RS guide to Ireland gives a proposed itinerary with suggestions for setting priorities and scaling back according to how much time you have. Remember that your goal is to experience Ireland, not just check off one destination after another.

Sorry that is beyond ambitious. It's about as close to impossible as it gets. Seriously you wouldn't even want to try. Virtually every day you have planned 2-3 times what is either feasible or advisable for enjoyment sake.

Driving times on apps for Ireland are best case scenarios assuming a constant speed and no stops that just DOES NOT happen. If it says it's a 2 hour drive it will be 3....at best.

There is always a desire to see as much as possible but the joy of Ireland is its people, calmly exploring, lingering in an area and soaking in its treasures. That cannot be done racing from one stop to the next and spending the vacation in a car, checking in and out of one night stays. A side note, Irish driving, while not as bad as some make out is a true challenge and whoever is driving needs to be concentrating on driving 100% of the time with help if you want to avoid an accident or tragedy.....no real sightseeing out the window.

Each day you have planned is too much. Each day I could delve into but here's one....Day 2 w realistic and OPTIMISTIC driving times. Kilkenny to Cashel 1.5 hours. Cashel to Blarney (not worth it on Rick Steves top ten tourist traps of Europe) 2.0 hours. Blarney to Portmagee ...Just driving the southern half of the ROK 4.0 hours. That's a minimum of 7.5 hours of intense driving with no time allotted for stopping and seeing anything.....Let alone checking in or out or eating. And that is one of the more "workable" days.

I'd really try and pick 2-3 things you must see for the entire time and use those 2-3 stops as bases for exploring THAT area. There are amazing things everywhere. For example there is no need to see the Cliffs of Moher if you are staying at Portmagee which is almost within literal walking distance of the Cliffs of Kerry which are insanely pretty, not tourist overrun like Moher. Plus you save hours of driving time.

Don't cheat yourself out of the best of Ireland ....which IS pure magic by trying to do way too much. Less is WAY more.

Yeah, I've figured that this is way too ambitious too.

I was already thinking of skipping Blarney Castle. Kissing the stone is our main interest, but more into seeing the castle. We'd have seen the Kilkenny Castle on the first day, so to skip this is OK.

So for day 2, we can go to Rock of Cashel, and then later drive along the ring to Portmagee. I was advised to do it counter clockwise, so might do that. That will give us ample time to stop and enjoy the scene while driving to Portmagee.

I was thinking to skip Killarney all together; and opt toward Dingle instead.
So that's day 3; where after Skellig, we'll continue driving along the ring toward Dingle and maybe to stay the night on Kenmare, or if any suggestion beside Kenmare?

Then day 4, just continue toward Dingle and stay overnight there.

And to skip Cliff of Moher? Im conflicted as isnt it a must see place for Ireland? :D

Your day two would still be really rough. Kilkenny to Cashel 1.5 hours. Cashel to Portmagee 5 hours. That 6.5 hours of driving. If you take 1.5-2 normal hours at Cashel you are at 8 hours already without stopping to eat, bathroom breaks, or stopping to look at anything on the way or the Ring of Kerry itself. You won't see much from the car because hopefully you'll be trying to stay alive on very challenging Irish roads.

The only "must sees" in Ireland are what matters to you. And before that even becomes a consideration you have to ask what you want out of a trip there. It can be about ticking off a long list of sights which certainly can be done but usually is hectic, frantic and isn't fully rewarding......or it can be about -experiencing Ireland....it's scenery, culture, people and history which is incredibly rewarding and not accomplished by rushing from spot to spot and being inside a car most hours.

So as an example the Cliffs of Moher. Beautiful....Well worth seeing....very clogged with tourists. But ask why do you want to see it....because someone stuck it on a list or because you dream of seeing those wild wind swept coastal cliffs that have a haunted beauty often seen in movies or written about in novels ? Well Moher is gorgeous but a challenge to experience that because of tour buses, gift shops and tourist hoards. Or the Cliffs of Kerry which have no gift shops, tour buses or hoards since they are on the Skelkig Ring and are the Wild, windswept cliffs most people dream of. So why is Moher a "must see" ?

You could EASILY spend all 8 days just on Iveragh visiting the ROK and Skellig Ring and not exhaust it. You can't see everything. Why try ? You can have a SPECTACULAR trip ....a better trip and see half of what you listed. Just near Portmagee....within half an hour there is Portmagee itself, beautiful Valentia Island with numerous sights on it. Ringforts and castle ruins at Cahirseveen, Abbey ruins, McCarthys Castle, the Cliffs of Kerry, Skellig Chocolates, gorgeous Loch Currane, Waterville and above Caherdaniel some of the best scenery in Ireland not to mention great restaurants, pubs, being in a dark sky preserve and the warmest nicest folks around. But you will miss almost all of that racing to the next "must see".

Instead you could pick three spots to base yourself....2-3 nights each...and explore those in more depth. More time, less frantic and see Ireland not a rental car interior..

Your day two would still be really rough. Kilkenny to Cashel 1.5 hours. Cashel to Portmagee 5 hours. That 6.5 hours of driving. If you take 1.5-2 normal hours at Cashel you are at 8 hours already without stopping to eat, bathroom breaks, or stopping to look at anything on the way or the Ring of Kerry itself. You won't see much from the car because hopefully you'll be trying to stay alive on very challenging Irish roads.

The only "must sees" in Ireland are what matters to you. And before that even becomes a consideration you have to ask what you want out of a trip there. It can be about ticking off a long list of sights which certainly can be done but usually is hectic, frantic and isn't fully rewarding......or it can be about -experiencing Ireland....it's scenery, culture, people and history which is incredibly rewarding and not accomplished by rushing from spot to spot and being inside a car multiple hours.

So as an example the Cliffs of Moher. Beautiful....Well worth seeing....very clogged with tourists. But ask why do you want to see it....because someone stuck it on a list or because you dream of seeing those wild wind swept coastal cliffs that have a haunted beauty often seen in movies or written about in novels ? Well Moher is gorgeous but a challenge to experience that because of tour buses, gift shops and tourist hoards. Or the Cliffs of Kerry which have no gift shops, tour buses or hoards since they are on the Skelkig Ring and are the Wild, windswept cliffs most people dream of. So why is Moher a "must see" ?

You could EASILY spend all 8 days just on Iveragh visiting the ROK and Skellig Ring and not exhaust it. You can't see everything. Why try ? You can have a SPECTACULAR trip ....a better trip and see half of what you listed. Just near Portmagee....within half an hour there is Portmagee itself, beautiful Valentia Island with numerous sights on it. Ringforts and castle ruins at Cahirseveen, Abbey ruins, McCarthys Castle, the Cliffs of Kerry, Skellig Chocolates, gorgeous Loch Currane, Waterville and above Caherdaniel some of the best scenery in Ireland not to mention great restaurants, pubs being in a dark sky preserve and the warmest nicest folks around. But you will miss almost all of that racing to the next "must see".

Instead you could pick three spots to base yourself....2-3 nights each...and explore those in more depth. More time, less frantic and see Ireland not a rental car interior..

Also have you booked Skellig Michael ? For the landings it's already booked out to August......full before. You can get non landing eco tour stops but landings are books rd.

Yes, Skellig Michael landing tour has already been booked. So that one is pretty much settled.

So I guess we'll have to do with a long drive from Cashel to Portmagee. Hopefully we can enjoy the drive and stop here and there on the way to Portmagee.

I am replacing Killarney with Killorglin, stay there overnight before heading to Dingle.
So not too rush in after Skellig, and have time to stop on some places.

As others have said this is far to ambitious. Keep in mind on the day you arrive you may be tired an not want to drive very far, if at all. It might actually be best to spend your first night in Dublin. When I was did my driving trip in Scotland I found it best to plan to hit just one place before lunch, and one after lunch. Sometimes I planned only one main goal for the day as I knew I would stay at some places for a while. For example, on your day one you might be able to do Glendalough in the morning, then Kilkenny castle in the afternoon, but if you really like Glendalough and want to stay longer you can probably still get to Kilkenny later in the day and have time for the castle. However, on your day two you probably cannot do Rock of Cashel and drive the Ring of Kerry. When if comes to driving areas like Dingle and Ring of Kerry remember that you are going to stop a lot to take in the scenery, take a walk, take photos so it really does take a whole day. If you look at your itinerary and pick just one thing as the most important and make that your goal for the day it will make it a lot less stressful. Have some options for each day if you have time. I would not attempt to drive back to Dublin after doing a day trip to the Aran Islands as you probably won't get back to Galway until dinner time, and you will most likely be tired. You may even want to consider doing this trip in the reverse. The day you arrive take the train to Galway and rent your car there, or first do a guided day trip to the Aran Islands then rent your car and head south. Doing it this way would allow you to get over the jet lag before you get the car.

Thanks for the feature feedback Anita!

The Skellig trip has pretty much settled, so we have to start the trip as indicated in the itinerary. we'd spent a day in Dublin already so we should be well rested before start driving from Dublin to Glendaolough.

Well noted on Galway. Stay 2 days in Galway would be make or sense.

So I would probably make changes to be:

Day 1:
Glendaolough & Kilkenny Castle
- stay at Kilkenny

Day 2
Rock of Cashel
Ring of Kerry
- stay at Portmagee

Day 3
Skellig trip
- Stay at Kenmare

Day 4
Muckross abbey / house
Ross Castle
Ring of Kerry
(or just skip those and direct to Dingle)
- stay at Dingle

Day 5 -
Slea Heap Drive
Explore Dingle
- Stay at Dingle / Lisdoonvarna

Day 6
Cliff of Moher / The Burren, depends on situation
- Stay at Galway

Day 7
Aran Islands
- Stay at Galway

Day 8
Half day Galway
Back to Dublin

Hope this will be making more sense.
Will see how the day would go and decide to visit places or skip to others straightaway..