Ireland Itinerary 9 days - to much??

28/08 is a really long day. It's not impossibly long, but you don't leave yourself much time for exploring Kilkenny or the Rock of Cashel. If you left Wexford at 8:00 a.m., you'd be to Kilkenny around 9:30, so you'd have a few hours to see the castle, walk around town, see its other sights, have lunch. Then you'd need to get in the car - the drive to Cashel is about an hour from Kilkenny, the Rock closes at 7:00 p.m. and last admission is at 6:15 p.m., and I would want at least an hour there. Plus more if you want to walk around the town at all. And then a couple of hours to Killarney. So it's not impossible, but it's just a lot to do in a day. Perhaps you could drive the night before to Kilkenny to save a bit of time in the morning? Just a thought.

A little confused - did you mean to do the Ring of Kerry on 29/08 and then the Dingle Peninsula on 9/30? If you want to do both days on the Ring of Kerry, then it doesn't make sense to stay in Dingle the night in between. That part of your trip is pretty jam-packed. I think I would skip the two nights in Doolin. Stay two nights (the 28th and 29th) in Killarney, then stay two nights in Dingle (the 30th and 31st). Then on the first, drive from Dingle to the Cliffs of Moher via the Tarbert-Killimer ferry, and then on to Galway through the Burren (this is a long day, but I have done it myself, and we were in Galway in time for dinner).

I don't think there is anyway to do both the Aran Islands tour and drive to Belfast in the same day. The drive to Belfast from Galway is at least 4 hours. Galway is not an exception city in my opinion, but it is more of a convenient location for other places. Perhaps you could shift your Aran Islands trip to the 2nd, and then on the 3rd you'll have more time to get to Belfast and can schedule a stop or two along the way to break up the ride (Clonmacnoise, Tullamore, or Newgrange would all fit the bill).

Northern Ireland portion looks fine, just note that the Giant's Causeway is about 1.5 hours from Belfast. Are you flying home from Belfast or Dublin? Not sure what time your flight is on the 5th, but just be sure to leave yourself enough time.

Many thanks for the advice Steve - will definitely be taking the advice on!

Do you have any recommendations on where to stay in any of these places? This is not something I have yet looked at as wanted to wait until itinerary was confirmed.

We are going to fly home from Belfast. I have checked and we can hire a car from Dublin then return it to Belfast.

Is there places I have missed out that you would recommend going?

Many Thanks
Marie

In Dublin, we stayed at Staunton's on the Green, and I would definitely stay there again. We arrived at the hotel around 9:00 a.m. hoping just to drop off our bags. Instead, they gave us an extra free breakfast, and while we were eating, they got our room ready. Great location on the south (quieter) side of St. Stephen's Green, and walking distance to a lot.

In Kilkenny, we stayed at the Lyrath Estate. It is about 3 miles from the center of Kilkenny, so you'd need to drive in from there. The hotel and its grounds were stunning, and the included breakfast was one of the best I've ever had - hotel or otherwise. We typically stay at B&Bs on trips and generally prefer them, but I booked this stay with credit card points. I would recommend it, but if you are staying in Kilkenny for just one night, might be better off staying somewhere in the center of town.

In Dingle, we stayed at Browne's B&B and would highly recommend it. The hosts, Camilla and John, were absolutely wonderful. Upon our arrival, they sat down with us and gave us tips about the Slea Head Drive (some notes even Rick missed!), what their favorite restaurants were in town, and which pubs would have the best live music each night. Breakfasts were excellent. It's about a 12-15 minute walk from the B&B to the center of Dingle, just as a heads up.

In Galway, we stayed at the Connacht Hotel. I wouldn't recommend it - was like a gigantic American Best Western.

As for other recommendations, what are your interests? Do you like cities or castles or countryside? Ruins or museums? One thing we tried to do was find things to do along our routes from town to town so we could enjoy other parts of Ireland too.