I could use a little help with Ireland trip planning -- west side of the Island

Galway is a bigger city so if you prefer picturesque villages and scenery, you may want to look outside Galway. Dingle fits the bill 100% though.... you will also get some great music there.

If the Aran Islands are on your list, it is often easier to take the ferry from Galway to get to them
We loved Galway and I know that many do but it is not as 'quaint' as other Irish areas.

The scenery on the Ring of Kerry and the Slea Head are completely different. It is the one thing hat you will notice about Ireland is that the scenery can really change quickly... all gorgeous just different. We really enjoyed both drives.

You will find vociferous advocates for both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula (which includes Slea Head). Both are fantastic. I'm partial to the Ring of Kerry and especially the Ring of Skellig which is the westernmost offshoot of the ROK.

Dingle peninsula has a beautiful drive especially along the southern side w beautiful Inch Beach land the picturesque, though often tourist clogged town of Dingle. Both are beautiful but when we were there in May were tourist heavy. Further west is Slea Head which is a spectacular drive. We loved the small village of Ventry and its beach - that was oddly not as clogged. Nearby Dunbeg Fort was interesting. The drive out Slea Head with its views of the Blasket Islands was absolutely stunning and well worth the whole trip. Here we did run into a lineup of tour buses that made the drive a bit frustrating. We didn't get the chance to take a boat out to the Blaskets but we heard that is fantastic. The drive up north has some great stuff - Ballyferriter which is a nice village, the Gallarus Oratory and more stunning views. There is some gut wrenching driving if you have a fear of heights as I do but it is doable. Stunning scenery - a wonderful drive.

The Ring of Kerry can be tour bus clogged but not in our experience - being there in April, May and September. The south side of the Ring is stunning. The view above Caherdaniel is insanely beautiful, Loher Cashel and Staigue are ringforts that are easy to get to but not at all tourist overrun. Their pure wildness was amazing. Derrynane is wonderful with the Standing stone, the home of Daniel O'Connell. The little village of Sneem was great with beautiful views and fun shops and restaurants. Further on is the larger Kenmare and the gorgeous areas at Killarney National Park which are fantastic w tons of varied things to see.. Killarney itself is SUPER touristy and not my favorite place. The North side of the ROK has great history w two great old ringforts near Caiherseveen, Kells, Rossbeigh beach and great views of the ever present mountains - the Magillicuddy Reeks.

The highlight for us though was Ring of Skellig at the peninsula end. It's real wild Ireland. With the amazing Cliffs of Kerry (far better than the Cliffs of Moher), spectacular breath taking scenery in the Glen, Ballinskellig Beach w the ruins of McCarthy's castle and the Abbey, the wonderful small village of Portmagee with its access by boat of the awe inspiring Skellig Michael, as well as Valentia Island and the wonderful nearby town of Waterville with its great beach, restaurants and Loch Currane NONE of it tourist clogged. The pubs are wonderful peaceful family oriented spots to eat. You can get trad music if you want but none of them overwhelm you with it.

I live in a tourist destination in the US. We tolerate visitors and try and be nice but the folks of Ireland and Kerry in particular are welcoming, warm, funny and above all genuine. We found so many fantastic interactions with the people there it was staggering. Above all give yourselves time for those moments.

So in summary both options are good options. We preferred the ROK because of the Ring of Skellig offshoot and found it calm FAR less touristy and utterly spectacular. You could easily spend 6 days in either place or 3 days in each. Overall we found more variety, more expansive areas w less tourists and a calmer time on the Ring of Kerry and Skellig ...... but the cool thing is you can't go wrong. Give yourself time, don't rat race, linger and interact with the people and it will be a dream come true. Absolutely love Kerry !!!

Bob, it is always somewhat risky to give advice to someone one does not know and does not know their preferences:

But, that said, consider also going north of Galway for at least a day's drive thru the Connemera region. Sky Road is listed in "National Geographic's 500 Journeys of a Lifetime." If you can spend a night in Clifden (sp?) or Cong, IF experiencing the Hawk Walk at the School of Falconry at Ashford Castle might interest you, it would be a great time to experience it. One does NOT have to stay at Ashford Castle (which is a top hotel in the world, but it is absolutely lovely is you do) in order to experience the Hawk Walk....you simply reserve a spot in advance. But, you can reserve a slot for just you and your wife, you are given information about hawks, you meet the hawks, then you both go out by yourselves with a guide and your own hawk (yes, they provide the very, very thick leather glove) and then you learn to launch and land the hawk. It really is an incredible experience and talks just a couple of hours. You can Google for YouTube videos to see what it is all about.

Enjoy your time in Ireland. It is a beautiful place.

You've received good advice from the other posters. Here's my 2 euro cents:
With only 6 days at your disposal you really need to prioritize to keep from running yourselves ragged pursuing someone else's idea of a perfect itinerary. No matter how you finally sort this out know that it will still be great - it's all Ireland after all. Continue your research, read all the guidebooks you can get your hands on, then lay out a"soft" itinerary that will allow you to modify it as you go, depending upon what moves you at the time (and allowing for the odd rainy day too).
Dingle and the Slea Head drive are pretty much one and the same. While there are other attractions on the peninsula (and the town) the scenic drive is the main attraction. Two nights (or one full day) are usually enough for a first time visitor.
The Ring of Kerry is world famous for good reason - it's gorgeous. The spur that goes out along the Skellig Ring, past the Kerry Cliffs and onto Portmagee is our favorite too. Time and interest permitting you could visit the Skellig Center in Portmagee, take a boat ride out to the Skelligs, explore Valentia Island, or walk thru the Gap of Dunloe...the prettiest little glen in Ireland in our opinion. The big tourist crush doesn't begin until schools get out in early June, but you'll see progressively more and more people the later in May you go. The easiest way to beat whatever crowds there are is to get an early start - as early as possible each day. The tour buses don't start to roll until around 9:30, so if you arrive at a popular destination earlier than that you'll probably have it all to yourself. And as an aside, the buses don't go out along the Skellig Ring road at all... another reason to take the detour.
In Ireland it's more about the journey than the destination, so the comment about slowing down and proceeding at a more leisurely pace is good advice. That said, a drive up the coast from Dingle to Galway can be a very memorable experience in its own right if you head out of Dingle via the Conor Pass, catch the ferry at Tarbert across the Shannon, then turn left towards Kilkee and Kilrush and drive the coastal road north towards the Cliffs and Galway. You won't make good time but you really won't care.
Connemara is our favorite part of Ireland. Staying in Clifden will allow you to explore the Sky road and the Connemara Loop all the way down to Cong as others have mentioned.
The West of Ireland isn't as nice as you've heard - it's actually a lot nicer than that, and it deserves more that 6 nights to do it justice.

No one has asked you this, but I hope you are flying into and out of Shannon airport?
If you have not made flight reservations and your hope is to see the western side of the island, then please consider flying into and out of Shannon. Not sure what else you were planning on seeing.
We spent two weeks on the western side of Ireland and it still wasn't enough. Didn't even get to the ROK. Although I loved it so much, I'm going back this summer!

My two cents worth from a long ago Irish trip: Don't judge driving time by US road standard. Plan on doubling your drive time. Roads can often be narrow and curvy. Plus there's the enjoyment and adventure of taking the road less taken. You will find wonderful surprises down the narrow country roads. We found a 300 year old woolen mill just by reading the road sign. Got lost near Bandon and discovered a memorial to Michael Collins. And the 8 ft tall fuchsia hedges in full bloom bordering the country lanes were breathtaking (who knew that fuchsias weren't just in pots hanging from the eaves).
I think you're being a little over ambitious for your short time. The ferry between Tarbert and Killimar in Co Clare was worth the wait in line, especially if you don't take ferries at home. On your way to Galway plan to see the Burren. Be sure to take time to walk among the monoliths. We stayed in Dingle, toured the peninsula, amazed at Gallerus Oratory. We then moved the Skibbereen. It was a full day's drive. Coming from the north, we stayed in Clifden, then headed south to Galway for the horse races. Wish I could remember where we stayed but it wasn't in Galway and was a friendly B&B with the kitchen floors made from Cliffs of Moher stone with fossils in it. We were much younger and tried to pack the days as full as we could. Going all the way to Clifden may be a little ambitious for your time allotment.
Slainté and enjoy your visit.

Bravo to all the above posters. We've been studying and learning from this Forum for several months in preparation for an Ireland trip this Spring. These comments are among the richest in detail for prioritizing driving routes in the west. Thank you; and thanks to Bob for drafting an inquiry that stimulated such thoughtful responses.

I would like to thank those who have responded. As you might have suspected from my question, Ireland is not exactly the most interesting location for me. But your responses have helped clarify some things and I really appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and enthusiasm. I'll keep each of your suggestions in mind as we firm up our plans.

I'm nominating ewewookknit for a tourism award!! Woo hoo!

I agree with almost every single thing said on his/her post! One thing to add is that there will be a new hotel on the Ring of Kerry drive. Derrynane Hotel has been bought and will reopen in the Spring. We don't know the name, though! So that's another place to stay that has fantastic views over Derrynane and the sea!

Also - she describes the Skellig Ring using a name that is just a tiny bit off. In case you want to google it, the loop goes by Skellig Ring and/or Skellig Loop. It starts near Cahersiveen and turns towards Portmagee, crosses the bridge onto Valentia Island where there is lots to see, back again over the bridge then around that small peninsula around St. Finian's Bay/The Glen (great hillwalking and great views from the car - but it is a one-lane-road for much of it near there). Then goes past Ballinskelligs back to the Ring of Kerry Road. I had a Couchsurfer on Saturday and we did that loop in 8 hours and we didn't have nearly the time I wanted to show him everything! The rainbows at The Kerry Cliffs were spectacular!

Another thing to keep in mind about Galway is that it IS a city, and has rush hour traffic as any city would have. So keep that in mind as you drive around there - you don't want to get stuck on a road when Apple let's off for the end of the day!

Susan
Expat living in Waterville

Hi Susan, Thanks for the nice comments ! My wife and I (yup it's a he writing this - my wife does contribute over my shoulder at times :) ) so love Kerry and the ROK and Skellig Ring ! I envy you living in Waterville. From the super nice person at the market who couldn't stop her good natured giggling at my attempts at pronouncing a few Irish words, to fantastic dinners at An Corcoran's and the Butler Arms or talking to an older man at the seaside who pointed out everything to be seen along with its history -Waterville was a joy. Multiply that by the rest of the west of Kerry and you have a true slice of heaven....and as incredible as the sights are the people are even better. I just pray people, when they do visit give themselves the time to see and feel all of it. People race from one sight to another, ticking off items and miss the very real magic and absolute wonder of the region. Thanks again - and thanks for all your fantastic insight and advice that have helped make past trips of ours even better !!!

We will be back in April....we are bringing our daughter and can't wait ! Best Wishes, John