Ireland for two weeks

Are you renting a car or going by bus/train? I flew into Dublin and out of Belfast, this makes it easier to see the northern parts without have to backtrack to Dublin to fly home. I would not use Cork as a base, Killarney is better, and closer to some of the things you like to do. Galway was my favourite town, and lots to do in the area. I also stopped in Kilkenny and Kinsale, and my last few nights in Belfast. I did not have a car, though, so that limited where I stayed (had to be towns with easy train or bus access). I went from Dublin to Killarney, then back through Kinsale, Kilkenny, then on to Galway, and from there to Belfast. Try not to make too many one night stands. I actually spent four night in each of Dublin, Killarney, Galway, and Belfast. There is a lot to see from each location. You will get plenty of great advice from others here who have done a driving tour.

Thanks Anita. In Dublin, we won't get a car. But once we venture out to our next stop, we will rent a car. Did you fly back home from Belfast? I've always wanted to visit Belfast, ever since I was a wee girl. I had a pen pal there, and then sometime in the mid 80s she stopped writing. I've always wondered if she died :(

Anyway, I agree that it would not be much fun spending a night in too many places.

Had thought about something similar to what you mentioned, then exploring from there.

Hoping to rent Apts and cottages since there are four of us, and we enjoy cooking.

Is it very rainy in late May/early July?

If it's hiking, nature and quaint towns you're after, then head to Counties Galway and Donegal. You'll even find a few castles there (Oughterard and one in Glenveigh National Park come to mind), though there aren't all that many in Ireland. Connemara is, in my experience, the most beautiful part of the country and draws hikers from all over. Donegal is remote, wild and pristine. B&Bs are everywhere.

In County Donegal, the village of Glencolumbkille (at the far SW end) is in the beautiful eponymous valley, from which you can hike along trails to the top of a mountain for grand views of the Atlantic. In far NW Donegal, magnificent, conical Mt. Errigal should not be missed.

In Northern Ireland's County Antrim, Bushmill's Distillery, the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge are well worth a visit.

You MUST go to Dingle and stay 2-3 nights and drive the Slea Head/pennisula. One of the best places I've seen in the world and I've traveled a lot! It all depends on what you like...I preferred Dingle to Galway, for example. Maybe I prefer the smaller town and getting to meet the locals AND the trad music! Wow! It often rains in Ireland so always extra days for that....I loved Dublin and plan on heading to N. Ireland this time around in August. Have fun!! Kinsale is cute too!

Thanks for the additional tips everyone.

I keep hearing about Dingle, so we plan to visit that area. Would 2 nights be sufficient?

Is the Ring of Kerry worth adding in? Or is that a bit much?

I'm trying to figure out where to base ourselves in Northern Ireland so I could spend a day in Belfast, then the rest of the time between Donegal and Giant's Causeway and the bridge.

Our experience has been that two weeks is about enough to comfortably tour about half of Ireland, either the southern half from Dublin to Shannon or the northern half the rest of the way around to include Northern Ireland.

On our first trip we spent a few days in Dublin then picked up a car and headed south, west and then north, sticking pretty much to the coast, ending up with a couple of nights in Doolin to explore the Burren which put us within about 45 minutes of Shannon airport, good for a late morning flight back to JFK.

On our second trip we flew into Shannon and drove down to Dingle for our first few nights before continuing north through Galway, Westport, and Donegal before crossing over (you barely notice it except the speed limit and petrol price signs change) into Northern Ireland for stays in Derry and Belfast. Then it was down to Dublin for a couple of nights before a mid-morning flight home out of Dublin.

We prefer to spend at least two nights per location which we stuck to for the most part on our two Ireland trips.

Thanks, Peter.

We won't get the car until we are ready to leave Dublin. Should be rent it outside of the city center?

Also, we have a dilemma. Our flight back home is on United (hope no one will be dragged off!), leaving Dublin around 6:15 am! Pretty insane, but we have to fly to Amsterdam, then connect to flight to Houston.

This means that we can't figure out if to keep the car until that morning, or return the evening before. Hope we don't need to be at the airport at 3 am :(

Has anyone else had such an early flight out?

I have been on that flight. I arrived 3 hours early just to wait in line for an hour before the gate opened. We left from terminal 1, which is not international...its the EU, so different than flying directly to the US. I could have used the extra sleep!!

For 2 weeks in Ireland you will really need to pick the northern or southern halves. I have done both and honestly for hiking/nature/castles I felt the northern half was better. Our plan roughly for the 2nd trip was Dublin 2 Days, Get Car and then 1 night in Belfast, 1 Night in Ballycastle, 1 Night in Derry, 1 Night in Donegal, 2 Nights in Galway, and 1 more back in Dublin. This allowed us to break up the driving in multiple small sections with plenty of stops to get out and stretch the legs. My first trip to Ireland was something like 3 days Dublin, 1 Waterford, 1 Cork, 2 Kilarney, 1 Limerick, 2 Galway, and 2 more in Dublin.

We won't get the car until we are ready to leave Dublin. Should be rent it outside of the city center?

We rented from this Hertz location (I tend to use Hertz in Europe for minimum shenanigans, although I also research rates via AutoEurope and am apt to actually rent via AE when I use Hertz): https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/location/ireland/dublin/DUBC62

It's very close to a bus stop and so it's easy to get to on your way out of town, and far enough out of town that it's practically a left and a right and you're in the Wicklow mountains.

Also, we have a dilemma. Our flight back home is on United (hope no one will be dragged off!), leaving Dublin around 6:15 am! Pretty insane, but we have to fly to Amsterdam, then connect to flight to Houston.
This means that we can't figure out if to keep the car until that morning, or return the evening before. Hope we don't need to be at the airport at 3 am :(
Has anyone else had such an early flight out?

Last fall we discovered on arrival in Dublin for our last few nights (we turned the car in before heading into the city) that a one-way transit strike was planned for the day that we were supposed to head to the airport. The B&B manager said that he knew reliable cab drivers that would get us to the airport but I panicked about how bad the situation could be so at the last minute I booked one night at the Maldron Hotel which is practically inside Dublin Airport. It was around €200 which would have hurt less had I planned ahead in time to cancel the B&B night in the city.

Agree w David's suggestions ....last time i was at giant's causeway you could walk from parking lot out to the rocks (maybe a mile?) or choose to ride the shuttle bus one or both ways. Know that its also hike from ITS parking lot to the carrick a rede bridge. Bushmills is a nice place to warm up if need be.

Ginger - you need to take the RS best of IReland 14days sometime. I took that tour in 2014 august. Love, Love, Love it but it also was my first RS tour and first time to Ireland. The people are just so amazing and the countryside was just beautiful. I am going back next year and doing the 8 day heart of Ireland and add the 10 day Scotland tour in April of 2018.

I am jealous. Have fun

Kim

Two nights in Dingle is probably good. Assuming you drive the Slea Head loop around the Dingle peninsula, and I highly recommend it, I would not take time to do the ROK also.

Why do you think ROK is not worth it?

What's the cost for a taxi from Dublin Airport to
The city center? Or is there a bus at the airport?

A taxi might be better since there are four of us, plus luggage. At least 3 suitcases and backpacks.

Another quick question. Has anyone visited Newgrange? This was an itinerary suggested to me by someone, and since it mentioned a few places we definitely want to visit, I'm thinking of working with it. Thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

"If you fly to Dublin I would go to Newgrange first and then on to Belfast From there you can take a day trip to the GiantsCauseway. If you have time visit the Titanic exhibition there and I always recommend the Black Cab tour of Belfast. From there you can drive to Donegal and visit Slieve League Cliffs. They are the highest Cliffs in Europe. Take the Wild Atlantic route to Galway and tour Connemara Galway is full of things to do. Go South through the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher I prefer to do this by boat from Doolin. Then you can drive to Killarney and do the Ring of Kerry and Dingle. I would leave Dublin till last when you can take a tour on the Hop on Hop off bus to all the various places. A 24 hour pass is reasonably priced on this. "

FWIW, we really enjoyed ROK... I never quite understand the people who say to skip it.

There are a couple of buses that take you from the airport to many sites in downtown Dublin, Airlink is one of them.. the second ones name escapes me. It is very easy, efficient and cheap way to get downtown from the airport.

Thanks Sharon about the bus.

I just read someone's blog about her honeymoon trip, and she raved about ROK!

I know everyone is different, and will have different tastes, but it seems like it's either a don't miss or skip it kind of recommendation.