Need advice on itinerary from Galway to Dublin

Hi Renee, time flys when you’re planning a vacation and we have a 4 week one coming up. My wife and I will be in N Ireland Sept 1-9 touring to Belfast around to Galway and staying in Airbnb’s. We rented a car from NewWay Car Hire and found it priced great with all the necessary insurance included.

Thanks for your reply! That sounds fun! How did you go about finding the air b&b’s and know which are good ones?
Thank you!
Renee

I think if you aren’t going to have a car then the best thing to do is to use Galway, Belfast, and Dublin as home bases to do day trips from. This way you won’t waste a lot of time taking buses and trains from town to town. I spent four nights in each of these three cities, and could have spent more time in each. Remember, four nights will give you three whole days, and then you have to factor in the days you travel from one city to the next, which will take at least half a day to check out of one place, take a train or bus to the next, find and check in to your next hotel. I would suggest you do a google search for guided day trips available from each city, figure out what interests you the most, and then determine how many days you need in each place. Try to determine where the day tours leave from, and then try to find accommodation that is close to there so you only have a short walk to get to the bus on time. There are many day trip options but here is what I did: From Galway I did three day trips, Cliifs of Moher and Burren, Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, and a day out to Inishmore. From Belfast I did a day trip up to Giant’s Causeway, then spent time touring around the city. From Dublin I did a day trip to Newgrange that included Monasterboice and Hill of Tara, then spent the rest of my time in the city at museums and Killmainham Jail. I arranged all of my day trips before leaving home as the popular ones can sell out.

Anita's plan is very sensible.
Another option would be stop off in Athlone, which is on the rail line between Galway and Dublin. There is a lot to see there (castle, Sean's pub), and you can do a day trip by boat/bus to Clonmacnoise (https://www.vikingtoursireland.ie/public-sailings/clonmacnoise-cruise/). Two nights there would be adequate, I think.
You can do a day trip to the Giant's Causeway from Dublin, as well as from Belfast. When I did it from Belfast, there were folks already on the bus from Dublin. In Dublin, we really enjoyed this bus tour around the city (with tea!): https://www.vintageteatrips.ie/dublin-afternoon-tea-trip/. We did the 11:30 tour and had plenty of time for other activities after.
If you go to Belfast, definitely do the Black Cab Tour that RS recommends. It's a little canned, but it's very informative and interesting.
For a short trip with no car and little travel experience, I recommend traditional B&B or hotel accommodation. You'll find loads of recommendations on this site and in RS's guidebooks. Book ASAP, of course.

Another suggestion would be to head south after Galway, using bus or train to spend a few days in Killarney (do a coach trip of the Ring of Kerry, do a bus, jaunting car and boat trip to include Gap of Dunloe, or a trip to the Dingle Peninsula). Then bus to Cork for a few more days. You can catch a bus to Cobh (Titanic Experience, Heritage Centre), and also Kinsale (food town also Charles and James Forts) Both are very attractive small towns on teh water and nice to explore on foot. Then catch the train back to Dublin.

Renee, there's a similar thread as yours asking about travelling from Galway to Dingle, https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/galway-to-dingle-4a3d79ec-4ecf-4849-987d-f7130775bf3c. It discusses Begley's Tours. I don't know anything about that tour company but the responder did. It might be worth looking into for you too.

In any event, if you give us an idea of what you are interested in (city, rural, museums,activities, etc.) people might be able to give you more specific suggestions.