I'm finally going to Ireland

I am concerned that without a plan that you'll have a wonderful time!

My favorite thing in Ireland was all of it.

Happy travels!

MJ O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen serves up a fine pint, great conversation and lots of tasty food from their buffet. Plus, live trad music 7 days a week.
MJ O’Neill’s is at 2 Suffolk Street, Dublin

Slainte Mhath!

Train or bus to Belfast. ( British Pounds) See the Titanic Museum, wander about St George’s Market, visit the Peace Wall to see the murals, tour the Crumlin Road Goal and have seafood at Mournes.
If Game of Thrones fan take the tour. Also see the Giants Causeway.

From Dublin ( Euros and don’t mention King Charles ) drive to Glendalough then over the Sally Gap to Wicklow. Whatever route you choose head to Dingle. I did drive to Arklow I think. Stayed a night and from Arklow to Cork. Stayed another night for some craic. Then off to Dingle where I stayed for 3 nights.

Lovely people although the island is a bit more over touristed these days.

Have a great trip.

To be honest, I don't have a plan.

Nothing wrong with that. If fact, it's great! Some of my trips were solo (before marriage) and I just went with the flow. You'll have a great time doing the same.

Have you any accommodation booked yet? End of July is peak holiday time so what are your plans for finding accommodation? Long gone are the days of winging it and finding somewhere as you go. The places you are wanting to see are some of the most popular and busy in Ireland.

You do realise that Belfast and Giant's Causeway are in Northern Ireland, which is part of teh UK and a completely separate country to Ireland?

Two weeks isn't really long enought o adding on a short trip to Scotland.

Gus, You might visit the Dingle Peninsula and skip the Ring of Kerry. They are similar, but the Dingle route is a bit less crowded than the Ring—- especially in July and August.
Then you’ll have more time for your other points of interest.
( Another tip is to visit the Ring of Beara, which is the peninsula just south of Kenmare and below the too-famous Ring of Kerry.
I didn’t tell you that, though, because it’s a secret)!

Don't rent a car in Dublin proper, you won't need one. As a solo traveler, I would be a tiny bit concerned about driving on the opposite side of the road without a navigator, but maybe you've done that before. Driving takes longer than you think it should. Plenty of ideas here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland

If you go to N. Ireland or Scotland, you will need to apply for and get an ETA before you leave, as you'll need it to enter the UK.

Since you already want to visit Galway here’s what you can do….. When your flight lands at DUB, catch one of the Airport Express buses that go to GALWAY in 2.5-2.75 hours. They depart directly from the airport outside of the terminal every hour. You can recover from your over-the-pond flight in Galway which is a college town of 100K with lots of traditional music in its pubs. Everyone loves Galway.
Then you can pick up your rental car in Galway and return it elsewhere in the Republic during your trip.

www.AutoEurope.com brokers car rentals from the big agencies.

If your priority is to meet Irish people, maybe don't go where all the Americans are? Most of Ireland is not covered by the RS guide. If all you want to do is drink Guinness (be sure to ask for Murphy's or, better yet, Beamish down in Cork, though), I'm not sure what the car is for. You don't want to drive after having any amount of alcohol, as the limits are very low.

I think you will love the Dingle area, get out to hear music and talk to people!

Remember, in order to travel to Northern Ireland, (Belfast) you are required to have a UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization). You can apply on-line for under $20. Results and confirmation generally come back the same day that you apply.