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Help with my itinerary-8 days in Ireland.

I need a little help with the itinerary I have planned for Ireland. I would love some guidance to know if this all looks doable, or if there are somethings here that I should skip, etc. Here's what it looks like:

Day 1 Dublin arrival. Get settled and do some walking tours/bus tours.

Day 2 Dublin museums (Archeology and Book of Kells)

Day 3 Bru Na Boine (4 hours if seeing both, +1.5 round trip from Dublin)

Day 4 Kilkenny and Rock of Cashel on way to Dingle. Sleep in Dingle. (Feedback is that this is too long a day. Which site should I skip?)

Day 5 Dingle Peninsula driving tour. Sleep in Dingle.

Day 6 Dingle to Galway seeing Cliffs of Moher and Burren County. Sleep in Galway.

Day 7 Aran Islands. Sleep in Galway.

Day 8 To Dublin, fly to Edinburgh. Sleep in Edinburgh. (We are going on to Scotland but I just need feedback on the Ireland part.)

Thanks for your help!

Posted by
348 posts

It looks very possible. Possibly more full than some might like, but it is very doable. In Dublin, try the natural history musem, it's right around the corner from the archaeology museum, and interesting as a museum of a museum. It's unchanged from Victorian era and worthwhile just as a time capsule of what museum used to be. Get to Trinity College early for the Book of Kells. The lines get long.

Day 4 is long (from someone who likes full days). Consider dropping one of the stops. I'd drop Kilkenny over Rock of Cashel, but go with what you prefer more.

Get to Bru Na Boine early if you want to see both Knouth and Newgrange. Expect that you may have to wait for one or the other. Consider a stop at Monasterboice and/or Hill of Tara if you can't get workable time slots for both Knouth and Newgrange. Monasterboice ad Tara, they are very close by (I assume you will have a car, it's probably not possible if you don't).

Dingle to Galway is kind of long if you stop at the Cliffs of Moher. But if you go with this, and time allows, consider a quick detour from the Burren to Galway for a stop at Kilmacduagh. Kilmacduagh is worth it, you will have the place to yourself, or at most one or two other cars..

Posted by
404 posts

I think your itinerary is just fine, but I would consider one change. Instead of spending three nights in Dublin at the start, I would recommend doing two in Dublin, leaving early for the Bru Na Boine on the morning of day 3, then driving straight to Kilkenny (which is almost all highway driving). Then you'll have some time in Kilkenny that afternoon/evening to stroll the streets and see some pubs, etc. Then on Day 4 you can see the castle early in the morning, then drive to Cashel, then drive to Dingle. That will still be a long day on Day 4, but not as hurried.

Posted by
30 posts

I agree with Steve completely. I assume Steve means tour Kilkenny Castle in the early a.m. (first tour is at 9 a.m. in the summer) and then drive to Cashel to see the Rock before heading to Dingle for the night. If you don't get lost this will work just fine, so get directions from more than one source on the route you want to take.