Itinerary review and suggestions

Basically this (to me) looks fairly well-thought out for the amount of time you have.

The only thing that makes me concerned is if you are arriving from the U.S. and planning to drive all the way to Kenmare the same day, especially if you aren’t experienced at left side driving. True confession - I have done similar in Ireland timewise so I know it is doable. But my trip wasn’t a breeze and it was all M roads and I knew how to drive left-side. Is there any way you could add a night and stay in Adare your first night?

If you can’t add a night, maybe flip Bunratty. On Day 1, drive to Bunratty and tour, staying there on your first night. Then you’d be free to call it quits any time jet lag hit. Then on Day 2, drive on to Kenmare. Then on Day 10, drive to Shannon to fly. That wouldn’t add a night, but would also depend on your flight time (not ideal).

If I were weighing Bunratty versus trying to fly in, get a car, and do that drive all on one day, I would probably skip Bunratty.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into staying the first night in Adare!

For people who don't look forward to driving, you're doing a lot of driving. The scenic drives (Ring of Beara, Slea Head, Sky Road) are only scenic for the passenger. I would seriously consider hiring a driver or joining a tour for these scenic loop drives. Just because you have a car to get you from one lodging place to another doesn't mean you have to use it for things you'd rather not.

Thank you for your suggestion

Second vote for hiring a driver for the Slea Head drive! Watch a couple of videos about the drive. At places the road is so narrow that 2 cars can’t get through going opposite directions. And it’s a very winding road. I’m SO glad we had a hired driver who was familiar with the road!

Can someone point us in the right direction for finding a driver for Slea Head Drive? Thanks!

I think Rick recommends someone based in Dingle in his book. We were originally supposed to take a day trip with Rabbies, which got excellent reviews, but Rabbies ended up canceling all its Dingle trips last spring, so reliability could be an issue.

Our substitute was a private driver from Killarney Executive Tours. I do NOT recommend them— only sub-par guide in our 3 week trip. She was an excellent driver and we felt completely safe with her on roads that were not only windy and narrow, but also wet. If we had hired a driver, she would have been fine. But we were specifically promised a guided tour, with stops similar to those on the Rabbies tour, and our driver knew almost nothing about the Peninsula and couldn’t answer our most basic questions. So that was a bit of a disappointment, although the drive, and especially Slea Head, were spectacular. We wore waterproof shoes, raincoats, and rain pants, and loved hiking near Slea Head despite the wind and rain!

Slea Head is no worse than a lot of single track roads. There are lots of "passing places" and as long as you don't bunch up into more cars than three( what it take to fill a passing spot) you can make safe progress. We did it CCW with only slight issues although we were scolded by a claimed local (with a thick non-Irish accent) that you should go CW. I'd much rather deal with traffic in small gobs than follow a slow driver the whole way around.

You are going to find driving slower than Google Maps might suggest, so you might want to have some sights that you can skip as you fall behind. Given your short visit, I think you're on the right track.

A lot of places will already be filling up if you're not careful. Our May 2026 trip was all booked four months ago.

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice, it seems we have more planning to do!

I also didn’t find Slea Head any more challenging than many other roads if you don’t try to hurry. And I was a solo driver. I DO always get an automatic. Finding a place to pull over and let cars behind you pass you safely is my “go to” tip I use everywhere. I don’t want to clog traffic but am also never in a hurry - so pulling over eases the pressure anytime someone is catching up behind me. My trip was last year in May.

Edit: I did it clockwise and it worked well for me. YMMV.

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. After speaking with my cousin I have changed the itinerary and we will be spending more time with the family in County Galway. If anyone has any suggestions for that area I'd love to hear them.