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First time trip to Ireland

Hi travelers,
I am traveling to Ireland for the first time in a couple of weeks for a wedding.
The wedding is in a small place called Gouganne Barra, near Ballingeary.
I will be staying there for a couple of nights.
Will be in Ireland for a total of 13 days, flying out on day 13.

Wondering if this itinerary is do-able or too ambitious (I will be driving):

Dublin
Dublin
Kilkenny
Gouganne Barra
Gouganne Barra
Killarney
Dingle
Dingle
Galway
Galway
Belfast
Belfast
Dublin (to fly out next morning)

Look forward to your replies and recommendations!

Kelley

Posted by
58 posts

Thank you,

So the trip seems do-able?
Or should I focus my stay in the south and skip Belfast?

Posted by
2847 posts

Doable, but pretty aggressive. The diversion to Belfast appears to be the outlier. Unless you really have your heart set on going there you might be better off devoting those days to somewhere in the southwest. Your trip there appears to be pretty compact, ie not too much driving, but extending a day in Killarney or Galway might be a better use of your available time - lots to do in those areas to keep you occupied. Would build in a buffer if you get a bad weather day too.
Could go to Belfast as a day trip by train from Dublin rather than trying to do it via car - it's only a couple of hours away.

Posted by
81 posts

Doable, but I'd spend another day in Dingle or Galway, and eliminate a day in Belfast. Dingle is an amazing little idyllic Irish town. We loved it and was sad to leave. Galway is a good spot to use as a day trip to the Aran Islands. Have a good time! Ireland is our favorite place now!
Linda

Posted by
1097 posts

I agree with the others - skip Belfast on this trip and stay longer in Galway or Dingle. Dingle is fantastic, really, but I'd probably choose to stay longer in Galway as there's a lot more to do there. We ended up changing our itinerary on the fly and stayed 4 nights in Galway we liked it so much. Thinking about it... I'd skip the night in Killarney and add that one to Dingle. You can do Killarney as a drive-through on your way to Dingle.