Itinerary suggestions/confirmations-Northern Ireland and West

First of all, it's great that you "enjoy scenic drives, villages, food, music, drink and experiences" -- and since you toured the southern portion of Ireland previously, you know there is no shortage of all these things in Ireland!

Many people on these forums will ask you please not to drive after a transatlantic redeye flight, especially in a country that drives on the left. Yes, it's too ambitious to try to take in the sights you've listed on the way from Dublin to Belfast. Reconfigure your itinerary to visit these on your way back to Dublin at the end of your trip if they are important to you. There's quick and easy public transportation from Dublin airport to Belfast, so no reason to drive. Save yourself 3 days' car rental fees and wait to get your rental when you're ready to leave Belfast.

Overall I think you're aiming to cram too many sights into too few days. It's exhausting just to read your list of destinations. You need to narrow down your list to the things that are really important to you, IMO. Since you've already traveled together, I guess you have a pace you're comfortable with, but I would submit that generally, the more people in the party, the more slowly you move. With four adults and luggage, you'll be renting a midsize or larger car, and that means you'll have to drive more slowly on narrow country roads than you'd do in a compact car.

I've been penciling out a similar trip to pick up the places we've missed over the years. I find it really tough to stay in one place if it involves backtracking or covering the same ground, so I'm planning Dublin, Dingle, Doolin, Galway, Clifden, Donegal, Dunfanaghy, Cardonagh, Ballycaslte, then Belfast. I've looked at the reverse, and decided on clockwise so the last day is the short drive from Belfast to the airport. If we did it the other direction, we'd have to spend the last night in Dublin. Doolin and Galway are repeats, but the music is too good to skip. We have a favorite Sunday session at the Brazenhead which starts the trip and of course the Cobblestone (hopefully before the developer re-does the whole building). We're seniors and neither of us mind traveling light and moving often, and I love driving a manual transmission on the wrong side of narrow roads. I wouldn't hesitate to do the short drive to Belfast after a long flight, especially if you've been to Ireland before.

Driving that distance just after an international flight is unwise and dangerous, I don’t care what side of the road you’re used to driving on. Why not do the trip in reverse and take public transportation to Galway after your arrival? Spend the beginning of the trip exploring there, then pick up the car for the rest of your trip.

The suggestion to reverse the order of your proposed itinerary and head to Galway after arrival in Dublin is a good one I think. Even if you yourself are confident that you’ll be able to sleep on the flight over and be fit to drive upon arrival, it’s likely that at least a couple of your travel companions will arrive sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, and generally too cranky for the aggressive touring schedule that you propose. Letting everyone get a good night’s sleep in Galway will both recharge everyone’s batteries and give you a chance to acclimate somewhat before getting behind the wheel.

There’s direct bus service from Dublin airport that will get you to Galway in a couple of hours - arriving just in time to check in to your accommodation, take a shower, maybe take a short power nap to feel human again, followed by dinner, a pint, and a stroll thru the town.

Thanks for all the advice—gives me some things to ponder. I’m pretty sure we will not attempt the ambitious travel day I had proposed after the overnight flight. Maybe we will overnight in Malahides the first night?? I considered traveling clockwise. We didn’t travel from Dublin to Galway on our last visit and thought we might take in sights along that drive. Are there any we must see? I’ve become a fan of the group “Jig Jam” from Tullamore—other than the distillery, is Tullamore worth a visit?
Epltd thought our proposed itinerary was exhausting just to read it!! I don’t disagree but what should we cut?? Sligo? Westport? Donegal?
On our last visit, I thought we overloaded a bit on the coastline and didn’t get to the interior enough. We might be doing the same thing with this proposal. Thoughts?

I stayed at the Grand Hotel Malahide 2 years ago. It’s fine. Nothing spectacular. Very convenient to the airport-about a very easy 15 minute drive. It’s a convention hotel with typical rooms and food. Bar is nice. Easy walk to nice restaurants.

To break up the drive between Dublin and Galway, consider a stop at the monastic site at Clonmacnoise. It's located along a picturesque stretch of the Shannon - doesn't take much imagination to envision Viking longboats coming up the river to sack the place 1,000 years ago. It's much less crowded than Glendalough and is just a nice place to stretch your legs a bit.

Edited to add: ensure that your rental car provider is aware that you'll be venturing into NI for part of your trip. Didn't used to be a big deal but others here have reported that some companies have started charging a few extra Euros for those driving north of the border. Wouldn't want to inadvertently void your insurance by omitting to do so at any rate.

Don’t skip the Giant’s Causeway, the visitors center is very nice and there is a shuttle to take you down to the causeway and back up if you prefer not to walk. There is a paved walking path down there too. Standing in front of the causeway with the North Atlantic rolling in was one of my favorite Northern Ireland experiences.

As was mentioned, you don’t need to pay the inflated cost to enter the visitor center in order to visit the Causeway which is accessed via an adjacent tunnel leading to the path down to the rocks. The visitor center, unfortunately, is where the bathrooms are located.
An enjoyable alternative is to park at the Causeway Hotel right next door, have lunch or tea and scones in their dining room and then stroll over to the entrance at your leisure. For an added treat try to time your visit for early morning or later in the afternoon once the day trippers have departed - you’ll have the place mostly to yourselves.

This past summer we e-mailed the National Trust, the organization that maintains the Giant's Causeway, to inquire whether its £13 entry fee applies to bicyclists. It does not. Rather, we were told, it's a "parking" fee, which includes a ticket to the Visitor Experience and a guided tour. It's assessed not per car, but per person. The proceeds aid in the conversation of this and other sites under the Trust's jurisdiction. So if one walks or bikes or parks in a nearby, cheaper, lot, entry to the Causeway is free.

But no matter how you get there, visiting the Causeway is a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

More details are here:

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway#Overview

Very good information from all. Thanks. Tentatively, we have 3 nights in Galway to use as a base for exploring Connemara region, Aran Islands, Kylemore Abbey, etc. I’m having second thoughts however, and wonder if we might use Clifden as a base instead. Galway has more to offer in terms of restaurants, pubs and nightlife, I’m certain, but is it too busy , crowded and rowdy for us grandparents? We definitely want to visit Galway, and we do want to have restaurant choices and pubs, but I’m interested in your thoughts as to whether you think Clifden might be a better choice for us to use as a base. Thanks again.

I love the Bayview Hotel in Port Ballintrae. The view from the rooms out over the harbor is marvelous, the restaurant good, and the proximity to key sights excellent.

https://bayviewhotelni.com/

We much prefer Clifden as a base for Connemara - having found Galway to be rather charmless as Irish cities go. Clifden is close to the pretty Sky Road scenic drive - one of Ireland’s best, as well as being close to the village of Cleggan from which you can take a short ferry out to the island of Inishbofin … one of Ireland’s better kept little secrets.

Galway can get crowded, but the music choices are broad, and you can hop on a bus in the town center and get ferried over to InishMor (Aran) for the day or overnight (which I recommend so you get some non-day tripper time).

In three visits to Galway, the May visit was the worst, as there was an incredible warm sunny day that coincided with the end of school term. Lots of drunken high school kids crowding the bars and streets. The June visits were just fine. I'm a stodgy 71 year old that normally asleep by 9pm, and I felt right at home. Luckily, I can use jetlag to reset my clock to stay up till closing while in Ireland.