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Ireland Itinerary Advice Please!

My husband and I are planning a trip to Ireland (early May) and would love some input on our cobbled-together itinerary. Our biggest concern is if we’re simply trying to cram too much in, as we've never planned a trip like this before. Currently, we’re tracking ~2 hours of driving a day (plus one longer day getting from Portrush to the Achill Island area).

Any input on what is realistic, as well as anything that is must see or not worth the trip in the areas we’ll be in would be greatly appreciated. Also worth noting is that we know the travel time to go north is killing us, but the Giant’s Causeway and Antrim coast are a must see for us!

Below is a (very) rough itinerary, where we might stay each night is listed first, with potential things to see on the way or in the area in parentheses. Thank you in advance!

1 - Arrive in Dublin stupid early; Trim (Trim, Bru na Boinne)

2 - Belfast

3 - Portrush (Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-rede, Dunluce Castle)

4 - Westport (Achill Island, Ballycroy National Park)

5 - Rossaveal (Connemara National Park)

6 - Innishmore

7 - Galway

8 - Doolin (Burren, Cliffs of Moher)

9 - Limerick

10 - Birr (Rock of Cashel, Birr Castle)

11 - Kilkenny

12 - Dublin? (Wicklow, Powerscourt)

13 - Dublin

14 - flight

Posted by
263 posts

You've done a lot of work and research to put that together! Good for you. It's fun, isn't it? :)

I think you are wise to keep the driving to a minimum the first day. Bru na Boinne shouldn't be more than an hour or so from the airport. (We are leaving from that area, and plan to make our "stupid early" flight home from a b&b nearby!) I've not done Trim, but that plus Bru na Boinne may be too much. Do Bru na Boinne first in case you run out of steam. It's a great way to kick off your trip, with the mystery and history of that incredibly atmospheric place. Dublin at the beginning or end, either works--do go to the National Museum, and you will see all the "real" treasures. We visited lots of places that were the homes of great artifacts, but the artifacts themselves were all gathered safely in the climate-controlled main museum in Dublin.

I admit I was disappointed by Doolin, but YMMV. We went for the music, which was good, but not really better than the music we found in many other places. Do save an evening for Matt Molloy's pub in Westport town--most dependable trad music sessions we've encountered. (Though for us serendipity was in the many smaller local sessions we unexpectedly found elsewhere.) In the Westport area, we are doing Clare Island instead of Achill...we've seen some of the Granuialle sites there but I understand there's a bunch of neolithic remains as well. Cool. :) Achill Island looks similarly rich. It's great to have a place that checks many boxes without more travel time.

The rest of my answer is more general. Your itinerary looks like a lot to me. I'd have another look (and a discussion with your co-travellers) to see which are the nice-to-haves, and which are the must-haves, as you've indicated the Giant's Causeway is. And the nice-to-haves can be your "elective" list. I have four things in this area; I'll pick these two or three because it's raining today, or I want to sleep in a bit and do my laundry, or I've already seen three stone circles and I don't really need to see the fourth one. You also want to leave a little time for serendipity. My husband and I have done that kind of prioritization exercise a couple of times, planning our first trip back to Ireland in 16 years.

My other big concern is the different place every day. Does that mean you are doing one night per accommodation? Unless you travel exceptionally light, this can turn into a chore, and is not necessarily efficient. Remember changing accommodation takes time too...packing up in the morning, settling the bill, finding the next location, checking in. We are there for a week this time, and have three "stops": 3 nights in Westport, 2 in Dingle and 2 in the Boyne Valley. That covers my "must dos" for this trip, with room in there for a bunch of regional "nice to haves" within base distance. I have also learned to travel with a "I'll be back" mindset. If I feel like I have to see everything, now, it's too much pressure.

You look like you've really done your homework, and picked some great sites--I'll bet this won't be your "big trip to Ireland", but your "FIRST big trip to Ireland"! ;-)

Posted by
933 posts

Wow! You are changing locations every day. I did not have a car for my travels, and I did not go to a lot of the places on your list, but I did spend four night in each of Dublin, Belfast, and Galway, you could certainly get away with less, but I would not attempt all of these one night stands. You'll be exhausted, and if something goes wrong you will end up missing something you really wanted to see as you have no time to allow for problems. Have you booked your flights yet? I would suggest flying into Belfast and out of Dublin, this would give you some added time in Belfast on your first day when you are going to be tired. Is there a way you could make less stops and still see what you want? For instance, base yourself in Galway for two or three nights and do day trips to see the cliffs, Burren, Inishmore? Hopefully, others who have experience driving in Ireland will wade in, but to me this seems like too much.

Posted by
238 posts

Our first trip to Ireland (also our first trip out of the US) in 2012 was a lot like the one you are planning. We had 15 nights and chose to circumnavigate the whole island, including Northern Ireland. We did a combination of one-nighters (5), two-nighters (3) and four nights in Dublin--three on arrival and one before our morning flight home. It is doable and we had a wonderful time but I'm not going to lie--it was hard sometimes! We definitely spent a lot more time driving than we would have liked. And with such a fast paced schedule there isn't a lot of flexiblity--if the weather is bad, for instance, as it was when we got to Giant's Causeway, you have to go for it anyway if it's important to you. But that is sometimes part of the adventure. And some things will be out of your hands--weather can shut down the ferry to the Aran Islands, but that will free up time to check out something else. It's Ireland, after all--there are so many wonderful things to see and do that you can't possible cover them all, even with lots more time. And hopefully this won't be your last trip. We ended up going back three years later. We spent a lovely three weeks meandering through the south and west part of the Republic, spending three or four nights in a number of locations and being more flexible about what to see and do each day. It was much more relaxing, but I doubt that we could have managed it as well if we hadn't already had that previous experience. So my advice is twofold--prioritize the things that are most important to you, with some backup plans should things not work out as expected and then go for it; and remind yourself that things that you miss or don't spend enough time with will still be there on your next trip.

As for nitty-gritty info, I agree with Joanne--Bru na Boinne is not to be missed. The music at Matt Malloy's was wonderful on our second trip when we spent several nights in Westport (a nice little town--we really liked it) but on our first trip we only had one night there and there were tons of tour busses in town--we hated the whole experience. So serendipity is definitely a factor in this kind of travel. There really wasn't much to see in Doolin and I would also be inclined to skip Limerick-- spend a couple of nights in Dingle instead. Whatever you decide though, you will have a memorable experience and I think you will love it!