Ireland or Italy

We were in Ireland for 15 days in 2016, and in Italy for 15 days a few years before that (in our mid-50s). In neither trip did we feel we had enough time to see everything, but that's just an excuse to go again. We rented a car in Ireland, as the trains/buses didn't go everywhere we wanted to. However, driving in Ireland CAN be a bit nerve-wracking in places. (We also drove in Italy, some, and it had some nervous moments, too.) We were in Ireland in early September. (We left U.S. Labor Day weekend.) It's a fine line in Ireland between too many tourists, and sights being closed early, shorter days, etc. We were overall pleased with the timing -- still warm, still green. Because parts of Ireland have not many trees, once the grass browns out I don't think it would look nearly as pretty. Plus, a late-May time would give you plenty of light. Just plan on some rain whenever you go; we decided not to do Ahren or Blasket islands ahead of time, and it ended up being gale-force winds and rain that day, anyway. We loved the Blasket Island museum, though.
In Northern Ireland, we were impressed by the beauty. Really liked the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Giant's Causeway -- like nothing else we've seen. Also really enjoyed Titanic museum in Belfast -- it's more focused on building it than on the tragedy. Wished we'd had time for open-air folk museum near there, but didn't make it. We're also Game of Thrones fans, so saw the arching old elms (Dark Hedges) that doubled for the King's Highway in the show. We also visited Enniskillen in County Fermanagh (I have ancestors from near there) -- unexpectedly lovely, nice castle and two lakes/lochs -- many Irish vacation here, but not really on American travel radar. Cliffs of Moher almost worth the trip on their own. The Burren also interesting and different sights. We ended up doing Dingle peninsula/town instead of Ring of Kerry -- it has some similar types of sites, but without quite the prominence of the Ring. And, Dingle ended up being one of our favorite small towns. Lovely Irish music night at a church, as well as in several pubs. Walking around town and near the bay was a delight. Killarney Nat'l Park is definitely one good place to see trees in Ireland. Visited Muckross House and found it a bit underwhelming. (Very lovely for Ireland, but doesn't compare to England/Italy houses.) I'd go if I were in the area, for sure, but not a special trip. Also loved town of Kinsale (great history, very old English star forts with good guides). Enjoyed small medieval town of Kilkenny, then on to Rock of Cashel. We did Dublin last -- good, but we've been tending not to enjoy the biggest towns as much any more. Good history sites/museums, especially enjoyed the tour of a replica ship to take immigrants to America. Kilmainham Gaol tour was very good, too. (Can sell out.) We really enjoyed Ireland, and didn't get more than drizzled/light rained on, except for the gale day. While we had some really excellent meals (usually higher-end) in Ireland, the food is not what I would go to Ireland for.

I guess, if you've never been to Ireland before, I'd take the place I'd never been. It'll just be harder to get to a few places on public transit. We met several people over there who'd hired local drivers/cars for a great deal of their trip. To me, that might be the best/most efficient way to get to the smaller places -- no idea on rates, though. We also enjoyed staying in many bed and breakfasts, and our conversations with the owners and the other guests. That being said, we drove the whole way and it was quite a bit of driving some days, but tried to intersperse that with 2-3-night stays where we could. Except where you can take the bigger highways, it just takes longer on 2-lane roads with lower speeds. (We often joked about the speed limits, as we never went nearly that fast except on 4-lane roads.)

All that being said, we LOVED Italy with so much to see and the food rarely disappoints.

I haven't to Ireland, but I think--given that it's not necessarily going to be sunny there--I'd have a preference for the longer days in May, as compared to October. Actually, I'd try to see Ireland in mid-summer, but I'm a wuss when it comes to cold, wet weather.

Ive been to Italy twice, first time we did Venice, the Dolomites and that north area, basically because my son was a student in Salzburg so we stayed up that way. We did October 2016 at Cinque Terre in Italy and Lucca. We loved it and we did some hiking along the coast which is difficult at times. The weather in early October was great and the length of the days out distanced our energy levels. As you know from Italy we did not need a car and did not have one it Italy for the Cinque Terre trip, trains only.

In late April and early May of last year we went to Ireland. Mainly we did the west coast but did three days in Dublin on our way home. We did Doolin, Dingle, Kenmare, RoKerry, Beara Peninsula and I did most all of the driving. We hired a man for an absolutely awesome private tour of the Ring of Kerry while we were staying in Kenmare.

I would recommend Ireland as we loved it. We did some low key hiking to see the sites but that is not something you have to do to see the beauty. We love music and Ireland offered a ton of traditional music that was easy to find every night,. The driving can be an adventure and the public transport is more of a challenge than it would be in Italy. For me, 4-5 days in and around Dublin would be too much, three days would be plenty. The west coast of Ireland is breath taking and if you hookup with a couple of guys for private tours you will get a wealth of history, they were wonderful both at Dingle and on the Ring of Kerry. If you do Ireland and want to do local tours as you mentioned give a me a shout on private message and I'll give you the names of the tour guys we used. We also did a hawk walk up in Cong at the Ashford Castle and we drove around the Beara Peninsula without a tour guy and it was beautiful and easy. The natural beauty and the food in Ireland ws far greater than I had imagined.

You should do Ireland!

Its been many, many years since I was in Italy, but we went to Ireland last summer and I liked it so much I am going back again this summer. Although, I haven't been to Italy in a long time, I've read many, many of the trip reports on this site about Italy and I'm sorry to all the Italy fans on this forum, but I think the Irish have them beat in their hospitality to foreigners. No getting pushed off the sidewalk in Dublin! So, I vote for Ireland! Also, does not have the cruise ship passenger problem in some of the ports in Italy like Venice etc. I'm pretty sure you could get to many of the main areas using bus and train, but it would take some planning. I think if you do decide on Ireland, you should do a consult with the Rick Steves office!

Well, I like your name!

I will be interested in the responses as i am interested in same things.

Always wanted to go to Ireland, but havent been ready yet for a vacation where it is chilly all the time. I remember a trip to Scotland many years ago in May and how cold and windy it was.

Ireland is a very worthy place to visit. My wife and I traveled there in 2002 and again in 2016, staying at several of the same B&Bs. The Irish B&B experience is part of the .. experience and highly recommend. We had a rental car on both trips, I think without will be challenging for planning, but I'm sure it can be done. Car rentals in Ireland are expensive and the amount you save will help fund your tours. I have been to Italy on all or part of five trips, as wonderful as it is, I encourage you to branch out to Ireland. I might forego Northern Ireland and add Kilkenny. Stay in Kinsale over Cork. Your husband as a history buff would love the star fort in Kinsale. Don't overlook the city of Ennis as a place to stay, think you can get tours out of there too. Also as to timing, out trip in 2016 was in the first half of May and we encountered no crowds, other than in the Temple Bar area in Dublin.

If you miss going to Dingle, you miss going to Ireland.