My wife and I plan to visit Ireland in mid October for 10 days. Beginning and then ending in Dublin, what would be a good itinerary to tour by car while not jumping location to location to check off must see sites? Perhaps 3 to 4 locations from which to do day trips and also have some down time to simply hang out locally. Tnx
Posted by
Midwest
540 posts
This Oct or next? If this Oct I would see where you can get reservations. If next I would start with the Rick Steve’s guide book to see what interests you
Posted by
OP
2 posts
This Oct. We had a travel window so we lept.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2660 posts
The AT A GLANCE section might help you plan.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland
Posted by
Midwest
540 posts
I would get on booking.com now and see what is open. I will let others jump in on places. We just finished a RS tour and added two days on both ends. Enjoy
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
417 posts
3 to 4 locations in 10 days IS jumping location to location. That’s what “touring by car” means. You can do a huge loop drive all around the island, stopping in a different place every night. Just decide clockwise or counterclockwise.
If you want to spend more time in one or two places and take day trips, you need to decide what day trips you want to make. This will dictate the places you decide to stay (also availability of accommodation).
This site has a lot resources for planning an itinerary. It even has a suggested driving route. But it is for 21 days, not 10. You could Google “10-day driving tour of Ireland” as well.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
741 posts
Although I sometimes target staying in places for multiple nights, the things that we're interested in are usually between towns, so rather than constantly backtracking, we hop from town to town. If you resist the urge to take the kitchen sink with you, checking in and out of lodging is no harder than walking to/from the car. If you're more interested in the things close to towns (museums, walking tours, etc) then two nights in one spot is okay. Other's prefer to camp out in just one or two places, which is definitely not our cup of Guinness. In 64 days of visits, we've stayed three nights in Dublin, Dingle and Belfast, two nights in Doolin, Dunfanaghy, Donegal, Galway and the remaining nights were singles. Our 2025 trip does include a triple in Cork and three doubles, probably more a reflection of getting old than a change in preferences.
Posted by
92 posts
Past two weeks we did Galway, Ennis, Dingle, Kenmare, Kinsale and Kilkenny. All good but would drop Ennis and Kinsale to give you four locations outside of Dublin. If in Galway, definitely see the show "Trad on the Prom" if performing the day you are there. Also, the best traditional music in pubs is in the west and you will witness that in Galway. We had a car, but would highly recommend Paul Brown Tour of the Ring of Kerry if he is available.