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Filling in an Ireland Itinerary

Hi Friends,

I'm planning a trip in September/October. I'm a single woman in her early 30s who is very comfortable traveling on her own. The first part of the trip with my sister, her husband, and my brother is generally set out:

Day 1: Fly into Shannon from London- note, we will already have spent several days in Europe, so time zone challenges are over. Get a rental car, check out Bunratty Castle and Folkpark, then drive to our BnB in Doolin for a night of enjoying a local pub

Day 2: Morning horseback ride, afternoon hike to the Cliffs of Moher, another night at a Doolin Pub.

Day 3: Drive from Doolin to Dublin, drop off the 3 siblings at our AirBnB, then drop off the rental car at the airport and get to Dublin. Maybe do a few sights if we have time, in particular the literary pub tour.

Day 4: Game of Thrones Tour, Dublin to Winterfell- this is the big priority of my siblings, I'm along for the ride.

Day 5: Dublin sites, especially the Book of Kells, but whatever other priorities my siblings have. My sister and her husband fly back to London that night, my brother to LA early the next morning.

for Day 6 to 11 I'm on my own. So I'll have five full days to explore wherever I want. Day 11 is the flight home. I'll be one of the drivers of the rental car in the early part of my trip, so I could rent a car again, but I won't have a navigator. I've debated a few different routes, but if you were in this situation, where would you go next? Thanks for any advice!

Posted by
1172 posts

What do you like to do? Anything you really want to see or experience while in Ireland?

Posted by
12 posts

I love seeing interesting, historic places, beautiful sites, and getting a good feel for local culture and traditions. I'm not much of an art person, but I definitely enjoy history museums/sites. I've looked into going north to see Belfast and the Giants Causeway, or going to the Dingle Penninsula, but given that I just have five days I want to give myself time to really explore a place without a ton of driving/train time/different hotels each day. If there is an area where I can pack a bunch of experiences into visiting one location, that would be ideal.

Posted by
1172 posts

I would stick to Dublin and do day trips from there. You can day trip to Belfast and Giant's causeway. There is a ton to do and see in Dublin and you currently only have 1 day there. i Highly recommend Kilmainham Gaol ( pre-purchase your tickets)
You can also take a day trip to Wicklow etc.

Posted by
455 posts

Day trip or drive north to Valley of the Boyne, New Grange, Trim. South to Glendalough, Wicklow mountains, Cashel.

Posted by
459 posts

In Doolin I would definitely recommend Daly's B&B, was our favorite B&B while in Ireland for two weeks, great location, wonderful hosts. Also while in Doolin be sure and try and visit the Doolin Music House for an early evening of traditional music at a persons home near Doolin. Basically a "living room" concert for approximately 20 people, we had a blast there and the music and food was done by 9 PM so you are then ready for pub music that generally starts around 9-9:30. I hope you are in Doolin on a night when the music house is having guests. Five couples were traveling together and were at the Doolin Music House while we were there so you may be able to take your whole group there for early evening music. We liked O'Connor's Pub for music and food in Doolin.

Posted by
346 posts

I would go to Newgrange one day, then consider going south, perhaps to the Kilkenny area, for a couple of days. Staying in Dublin is much more expensive than staying outside the city, plus, I think the villages are terrific. Dingle is wonderful, but I wouldn't want to drive all the way over there again, especially without a navigator, after you've already been to Doolin, etc. I also like the village of Kinsale down on the coast.