itinerary advice

I know it’s tempting, but your one-night stays will allow you very little time in each place. I don’t think it’s worth all the trouble to drive to Dingle (especially) for such a short amount of time. What if it’s pouring rain when you get there, and you have to stay indoors? Then you’ll have to leave the next morning, without really seeing anything.

You might choose two of those last 4 places, depending on what you want to see and do. Otherwise all your time will be spent driving, even if you choose to do day trips. Slow down and enjoy where you are.

Personally, I would also stay closer to the airport the night before your flight. Airlines are advising you to get there 3.5 hours early, I think. You might need even more time.

What if you saved Dublin for last? You could take the bus out to Galway from the Dublin airport, rent your car, and drive to Westport from there. Just a thought.

I agree with the previous post, but if your husband really wants to see these six places, I would say reduce your Dublin and Westport stays to 2-3 nights each so that you can have a 2-nighter in a couple of other places. Four consecutive 1-nighters would be nothing but a headache, IMO. Of course if there's some way you can add another day or two to your overall trip, that would help too.

Driving from Kilkenny to Dublin Airport for an 11:30 departure means you're supposed to be inside the airport by 8:00. Is this on a weekday? If so, you may have incoming commuter traffic slowing your progress. Even on a weekend, you'd need to be on the road from Kilkenny by about 6:00, considering that you have to navigate around Dublin and into the car rental return. Personally I wouldn't risk it -- I'd rather put Dublin at the end of the trip so as to have no car to worry about and simply take bus or taxi to the airport that morning.

Hi,
You didn't say when you will be there. That could impact your decisions. Are any of your locations musts?
We just returned from 12 days in Ireland at the end of May. We were lucky not to have to deal with crowds anywhere. I would advise not doing all of those single nights. And maybe take off Kinsale because of location. The previous suggestions of doing Dublin last are a good option.

We spent 2 nights in Dublin and thought that was about right. We headed to the airport to get our car and went to Powerscourt, through part of Wicklow national Park, Glendalough, Kilkenny and to our nearby hotel at Mt. Juliette. That was an entire day. It was pouring down rain the next morning. We quickly started editing. We felt it was much more challenging driving on the left side than we anticipated, doable but not relaxing. Driving times were always 25% longer than projected. And that was in May. We did not want to spend our whole trip in the car. It was hard to cut out the southern part of our trip, but it was the right decision. We ended up in Kilarney, Dingle, Doolin and Westport.

I would suggest something like:

2/3 nights in Dublin

2/3 nights Westport

1 night Doolin

2 nights Dingle,Killarney or Kenmare

2 nights move to another location of Dingle, Killarney, or Kenmare

2 nights Kilkenny
or 1 Night Kilkenny/ 1 night Dublin returning the car before Dublin hotel/airport hotel

We literally got out the day before all of the horrible lines started at Dublin airport. I don't know what the recommendation is now for when to get there. We got there 3 hours before our flight but had to return our car, but did not go through US customs. We had time to grab some lunch. You will have a wonderful time! Just make time to relax and enjoy the gorgeous scenery!

Thanks so much! I appreciate the advice.

I would not want to have to drive from Kilkenny to Dublin airport on the day of my flight!

I also think that 2 nights is enough for Dublin, unless you have extensive sightseeing you wish to do.

As noted by many driving times in Ireland are often significantly longer than you (or google) thinks. Kilkenny is a pretty good haul from the airport - which is on the other side of Dublin. We spent 2 1/2 days in Dublin, thought that was plenty.

Although a lot of the fun in Ireland is seeing the countryside as you drive (less so for the driver sometimes!) a one night stop allows an check-in, an afternoon walkabout and moving on the next morning. Sometimes 2 nights is much better.