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Itinerary Feedback - Southern Ireland Trip

Posted by on

First time poster. Would appreciate feedback on our planned trip in late-August, early-September. Family of three are traveling, one of which is our 20-year-old son. My key questions are (1) do we have too many destinations, given the number of days, and (2) are there any must-see destinations we should consider adding or so-so destinations we should consider dropping? I realize answers to these questions are relative but getting feedback from folks who either live in Ireland or have visited there would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

  • Day 1: Leave Seattle
  • Day 2: Arrive Dublin airport at ~13:00, taxi to City Centre, check into Trinity Townhouse
  • Day 3: Explore Dublin and surrounding areas, stay at Trinity Townhouse
  • Day 4: Explore Dublin and surrounding areas, stay at Trinity Townhouse
  • Day 5: Taxi to airport, pick up car rental, drive to Rock of Cashel, drive to Kinsale, check into Desmond House
  • Day 6: Explore Kinsale and Cobh, stay at Desmond House
  • Day 7: Drive to Kenmare "area", check into Parknasilla Resort
  • Day 8: Drive Ring of Kerry, drive to Dingle, check into Pax Guesthouse
  • Day 9: Explore Dingle Peninsula, stay at Pax Guesthouse
  • Day 10: Drive to Cliffs of Moher, drive to Galway, check into TBD (5+ hours in the car!)
  • Day 11: Explore Aran Islands (Innishmore) via Rossaveal ferry, stay in Galway TBD
  • Day 12: Drive to Dublin airport, drop off car rental, taxi to City Centre, check into TBD
  • Day 13: Taxi to airport, leave for Seattle at ~16:00
Posted by
742 posts

I think I've been everywhere you're visiting, and it sounds like a pretty reasonable trip. Our trips are always more hectic - I'm jealous. Any trip that involves Dingle will have long driving days.

If you're doing the Ring of Kerry, you might find the Cliffs of Kerry are quite similar to Moher without the buses full of tourists. Instead, you pay an enterprising landowner 8 euros to enter. That would shorten your trip to Galway a bit or maybe leave some time to include Burren NP (quiet hike) or Bunratty Castle (fun folk park and castle).

During your inter-stop drives there are lots of interim stops to break up the drive, depending on your preferences.

Other suggestions would disrupt your plan pretty badly, so I'll keep them to myself. Don't leave to many TBDs for much longer - August is a peak month.

Posted by
3226 posts

While in Dublin stop by the visitor center and sign up for a day tour to Brú na Bóinne; it’s only a half day tour and well worth seeing. I would also sign up for a tour from Galway to Inishmore so you can take a bus from Galway to Rossaveal Harbour (1h) and get on the ferry to Inishmore for the day. This way when you arrive in Galway you can drop off your rental car. There’s also a direct train from Galway to Dublin (2h 30m).

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