First Ireland Trip Spring 2020

Our first trip (two weeks) was when we were in our early 50's. We flew into Shannon and flew out of Dublin. During the two week trip we hugged the coast and moved every 2-3 days dropping off the car before we spent the final couple of days in Dublin. Northern Ireland was not part of this trip. When we got home we were both exhausted even though we were fit and active. Some roads in Ireland require longer travel times than we are used to in the US and I would always factor driving on the left hand side of the road from the right hand side of the car. Maybe I would suggest saving Northern Ireland for another trip and flying open jaw so you don't need to backtrack. We have been back to Ireland twice since that first trip and have driven less and stayed longer in various locations!

I would either drop Northern Ireland (adding nights in Galway and/or substituting with Kenmare and Killarney National Park) or I would drop Kinsale.

Your itinerary is reasonable if you really want to visit Northern Ireland on this trip. As others have suggested, it would be more relaxed if you dropped Northern Ireland, though.

If you decide to keep Northern Ireland, I found Derry more interesting than Portrush (although you are closer to Giant’s Causeway in Portrush). The wall, murals, and historical exhibits in Derry were more intriguing to me, and you can take guided tours of the murals as well.

For the southern part of your trip, I enjoyed Kinsale, and it’s well worth a visit. Kenmare or Killarney put your closer to the Ring of Kerry and the Killarney National Park (where the Muckross House and Traditional Farm houses are excellent for history. I enjoyed the farm houses more than Muckross).

You have 7 days in the major cities, so consider if you want more time in the smaller towns and countryside. Those tend to be more relaxing.

All the best,

Raymond

I would either go north or south, and leave the other parts of Ireland for another time. Spend 2-4 nights in each location and enjoy what that town or area has to offer. We like smaller communities versus larger ones, so we don't stay in bigger centres, like Galway. We're winding down our 3.5 week trip in Ireland and have only focused on Dublin and County Cork, Kerry and Clare.

We thank everyone for taking your time to provide your valuable insight! I believe we will take your advice and save Northern Ireland for later. I also believe we would enjoy the smaller towns as opposed to the larger ones.

One last question, which 3 or 4 smaller towns would you recommend?

Thanks again!

Check this thread on suggested bases: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/central-location-spoke-for-4-1-2-day-experience.

Thank you for a lot of great ideas! We really appreciate your taking time to help us out.

We did Wicklow mountains, down south to Castletownshend, to Kenmare, Dingle, Inishmor, Clifden, and Trim. We always stay out of the town but with easy access in. Beautiful B n B’s!!

I would say, the driving is more intense and longer than you’d expect. I’d chose shorter distances between stays and stay longer in each place ( that’s what we learned on our recent trip)

You’ll love Ireland!!!

Thank you so much!