Itinerary suggestions for July trip

Departing from the east coast and crossing the Atlantic and arriving in Dublin the next morning means you will not sleep on the flight over, even if your seat reclines into a horizontal position and you wear a Bose headset. Can you fly in and out of Dublin and Shannon? This way you will not have to back track allowing more time to enjoy Ireland instead of always driving to get somewhere. I know someone who described her only trip to Ireland spending the whole in a car. It is not unusual for us to plan too much at the beginning of the planning stage.
You cannot drive the entire Ring of Kerry plus include a day trip to Skellig Michael in a day. You need three nights for the Ring of Kerry if including Skellig Michael. You also need to make reservations for Skellig Michael before leaving home. Furthermore, if driving the ring from Killarney, you will be behind tour busses which may travel slower than you. I would launch from Kenmare that is another well maintained town and less touristy than Killarney and you won’t get stuck behind numerous tour busses.

Picking up on Mary Pat’s point - don’t hire a car immediately after a transatlantic flight. Swap your itinerary round and spend time in Dublin at the START of the holiday not at the end. Pick up the car when you leave Dublin.

Also, there’s no point in driving to Trim and then backtracking the next day to go to Kilkenny .

Ring of Kerry needs a full day. You can’t do Skellig Michael as well. Remember that trips to Skellig Michael are weather dependent which is why it is often suggested visitors plan 2 or 3 days in the area as it gives more chance to get there. (You don't have that luxury.) Drive the Ring of Kerry counter clockwise. You'll be driving in the same direction as the tour buses which saves having to try and pass them coming towards you.

Where are you planning to get the boat to Aran from - Doolin? Dingle to Doolin is going to be 3+ hours drive. It would make sense to spend the night before in Doolin rather than Dingle as you would then be able to catch one of the morning boats giving you more time on Aran.

Looking at your trip, there’s a lot of driving and you are going to be pushed to try and fit everything in. Driving in Ireland is slow and it is going to take a lot longer to cover distances than you might expect. You need to slow down!

I’ve been trying to plan out your itinerary and they only way I can fit everything in is by taking time out of Dublin. If you want to spend more time in Dublin, then you need to take out one destination.

Day 1 Arrive in Dublin for two nights

Days 2 Dublin

Day 3 Drive to Kilkernny via Glendalough Sleep in Kilkenny

Day 4 Drive to Kilarney via Rock of Cashel Killarney for two nights

Day 5 Ring of Kerry, Sleep in Killarney

Day 6 Drive to Dingle & Slea Head Peninsula Sleep in Dingle

Day 7 Drive to Doolin - see something of the Burren . The limestone scenery is completely different to anywhere else in Ireland. Sleep in Doolin for two nights.

Day 8 Day trip to Aran Islands

Day 9 Drive back to Dublin (Stop at Athenry for the castle and also Clonmacnoise Early Christian site). Drop off car and spend the night in Dublin

Day 10 return home.

We stayed for 3 nights in Trim, but it was our base for daytrips to Newgrange, Hill of Tara, etc. Unless you have a relentless desire to see the Trim Castle (which we didn’t even visit), skip Trim this time. You’d be better off driving your rental car to Glendalough, and sleeping there, or next door in Laragh. Next day, off to Kilkenny.

Regarding Skellig Michael, if you’re wanting to set foot on it and climb the 600 steps to the monastic ruins on top, you’ll need to book your boat well ahead of time. Right now isn’t too soon, before they sell out. But because the boats depart between 8:30 and 10:00 (depending on your skipper’s assigned time), you’ll want to be staying closer to the coast than Killarney, or plan on getting up really early. The Skellig trip will take most of your day, so driving the Ring of Kerry would take a backseat. And weather can cancel the trip just that morning, so it’s not guaranteed. There are, however, “Eco Tours,” where the boat circles Skellig Michael and Little Skellig, but you don’t land. Those are cheaper and require less time (and less need for reservations), so an Eco Tour might fit into your itinerary.

Thanks so much Cyn, wasleys, and MaryPat for the thoughtful and very helpful replies. I certainly appreciate it. You each make excellent suggestions. I'm mindful of spending too much time in the car. I understand that west Ireland is rural and scenic and will demand a bit of travel time but don't want to spend the majority of our time driving from place to place. So, finding the right balance is a priority of ours.

From your comments it seems like staying in Dublin at the start of the trip is the right way to go and then from there pick up the rental and head out. That makes sense to me.

It also sounds like we don't have enough time for Skellig Michael and driving the Ring of Kerry. So, I think Skellig Michael will have to wait for the next time - though we were rather interested in seeing the monastery. I hadn't thought about tour buses on the Ring of Kerry. Aside from going counter-clockwise is there a strategy for dealing with them or is it just a fact of life that time of year? Perhaps head out very earl in the morning?

Wasleys I'm grateful for the reworking you did on my itinerary, particularly the suggestion of staying the night in Doolin before heading off to Aran. Much appreciated for the sound advice.

MaryPat, I like your idea of leaving from Shannon rather than Dublin. That certainly makes better logistical sense. I'll look into that. Thank you.

Thank you again. This has been tremendously helpful. I have to say, I enjoy the planning of a trip almost as much as taking the trip (my wife is the opposite!) so reading through the travel forum here and reading your responses has been tremendously fun and enlightening.

A Ring of Kerry tip, direct from Rick Steves: spend the night and start in Kenmare, not the buses’ base of Killarney. That means not having 2 nights in the same place that your original itinerary said, but you’re already doing several one-night stands before Dublin at the end anyway, so maybe that wouldn’t be impossible.

There’s also the Skellig ring drive, a loop that branches off the main Ring Road on roads too narrow for buses to manage. I understand it gets hiked/walked, too. You’d get to view the Skellig islands put in the sea. An early start would give you more time for more driving.

I'm not quite sure I follow the logic of starting the Ring of Kerry from Kenmare rather than Killarney. Starting from Kenmare, you either have to drive to Killarney to do the ring anticlockwise OR drive it clockwise from Kenmare which means you will have all the tour buses approaching you.

I personally would stick with Killarney and try and get an early start to get ahead of the tour buses.

You can download a copy of a guide to the Ring of Kerry here.

There are three really good ring forts you can visit while doing the Ring of Kerry. Each of them is slightly different and if time allows try and do all three. Cahergall and Leacanabuaile Ring Forts are close together and near Cahersiveen. Staigue is signed up a narrow road off the southern side of the ring, near the tiny settlement of Castlecove and is right up in the hills. Do go inside to see the stone steps giving access to the walls.

It is definitely worth doing the Skellig Ring Drive which is the extension at the tip of the Ring. It also gives access to Kerry Cliffs
These are over 1000' high and have yet to be discovered by the tourists who flock to the Cliffs of Moher.

I'm also a great planner. It is worth it as you can often discover real hidden gems that don't feature in the guide books.

Actually, Rick’s additional advice is to drive the Ring clickwise from Kenmare. That way, you’re not stuck behind the counter-clockwise bus caravans. You could encounter them coming towards you, and at blind corners or constricted bits of roadway, extra care is needed, but then you can get past the delays and move onwards.

The advantage of doing the Ring of Kerry clockwise is you don't have to cross traffic to enter and exit the parking lots/pullouts. The main RoK (not the Skellig ring drive) has been widened so passing the tour buses going in the opposite direction will not be a challenge. If you want to see the Skelligs from a distance and are interested in a moderate 3 km hike take the Bolus Baracks Loop hike just outside of Ballinskelligs. It has unfortunately gotten written up in Trip Advisor but when we did the hike in 2018 we were the only ones there and the views were stunning. https://www.discoverireland.ie/kerry/bolus-head-barracks-looped-walk

Thanks all. This is an interesting discussion about the Kerry Ring road and the best way to do it. A related question. Do people do the drive in the rain or is it weather dependent? I'd hate to plan a day to do the drive only to have to cancel due to weather.

I very much appreciate the links you've been providing and the Skellig Ring drive sounds wonderful as does the the Bolus Baracks Loop hike. I'd like to incorporate both of those into the itinerary. That might make for a rather long and exhausting, yet exhilarating day. Is it even possible: Drive the Kerry Ring road with a side portion on Skellig ring and the hike?

Thank you all again. Things are really shaping up - at least in my mind!

Perhaps wasleys will chime in regarding weather. I think complete washout days are rare. It's more "showers and sunbreaks" so I wouldn't let a little rain stop me. Of course clouds will interfere with views and if you are on the Bolus Barracks Loop it will make it muddier - make sure you have waterproof shoes no matter what you plan to do. But "weather" also diffuses the light and makes some vistas more dramatic.

It does rain quite a bit in Ireland, that is why it is so green.... Unless it really is torrential and continuous rain with the risk of serious flooding, most people carry on as normal. Just take extra care when driving.

Glad to hear we can probably pull this off rain or shine. My first trip to Ireland, in the late 8os, I planned on doing a lot of tent camping. Let's just say that didn't work out too well because of all the rain!

I'm reading through old forum posts looking for recommendations on places to stay. If you have any hotels or B&Bs you loved (or hated) I would appreciate hearing about it.

As always, thanks for the help. Things are shaping up!

I would also suggest flying into Dublin and doing your Dublin sightseeing first and flying home leaving from Shannon. We are also East Coasters and this is what we did. I could not imagine getting off the transatlantic flight and hopping into a rental car! And I am not just saying this because of the time difference and jet lag. Driving in Ireland is not for the faint of heart so I would suggest saving your driving days till you are well-rested.

We took a train from Dublin to Cork, then a bus in Cork to the airport where we picked up a rental car after we stayed a few days in Dublin. We enjoyed Dingle and had a nice stay at Bambury's Guesthouse in Dingle which is suggested in Rick's Ireland guidebook. If you are looking for a place to stay might be worth checking out.

Thank you donnellyjen74. I appreciate the good advice. It makes a lot of sense to do Dublin first. We're going to spend the first few days of the trip in Dublin and then pick up the rental car and head out. Flying home from Shannon makes the most logistical sense rather then trekking all the way back to Dublin. Unfortunately I'm not sure that will work for us - having nothing to do with the Ireland trip but rather some obligations once our vacation is over.

Thanks too for the recommendation in Dingle. I will look into it.