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Need Help - Ireland Self Driving Tour - 6 Nights / 2nd Week of Sept

Posted by (Houston, TX) on

Hello,

My family of four adults is traveling to Ireland the 2nd week of September this year. We want to do a self driving tour. We will fly into Dublin Sunday morning and fly out the following Saturday.

I need help determining where (i.e. towns) we should stay after the first couple nights in Dublin based on the (very) rough itinerary:

Dublin --- "Near" Dublin --- Galway/Aran Islands --- County Clare & The Burren --- Dingle Peninsula --- Kilkenny & Rock of Cashel --- Dublin

Any suggestions based on experience would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
CRH

Posted by
33 posts

Ireland is the most lovely country to visit. However, there's no way that you can do all that you are planning. My wife and I spent 6 nights just in Galway and the Aran Islands, and it still wasn't enough time. My suggestion is to stick to Dublin and the area around Dublin. If you want to stay out of the city, the area around Glendalough is lovely, and it's not far. Don't rush. Always assume that you will come back someday.

Have a wonderful time. Ireland is the most amazing place.

Posted by
45 posts

With such limited time you will need to scale back. Focus on 2-3 areas tops, depending on your tastes.

Honestly, 1.5 days and I was ready to get out of Dublin; however, I'm not much of a drinker and busy City life was not what I was really wanting out of my trip. The Cliffs and Burren were really beautiful but change course if the weather is uncooperative. Galway is really a lovely city to walk around in. Kilkenny has a older, mid-evil feel. I enjoyed it and really liked the Rock of Cashel (take the onsite tour as very informative). The Dingle Peninsula was what truly wonderful. Enjoy your trip

Posted by
2 posts

Good morning,

My thanks to you both, cashelguy_59 and susanelindahl. I greatly value your input!

We're really looking more for being out in the countryside, so I think we'll only spend the first day and a half in Dublin itself.

With that in mind, is there a town or two out that you would suggest using as a "base" to take day driving tours from? I know it depends on what we're wanting to see but I thought someone would have some suggestions. I was thinking Kenmare and Kilkenny...

Have a good day!

Sincerely,
CRH

Posted by
138 posts

We loved Kilkenny and wished we could have stayed another night. We left Dublin and drove to the Rock of Cashel, which is just beautiful to see, saw Cahir Castle and then backtracked to Kilkenny for the night. Not sure we did things in the right order but we had a good time! The town of Kilkenny is lovely and you can tour the castle and Smithwick's Brewery and walk around the shops in the town!

Posted by
589 posts

Agree with Kilkenny but if you base in Killarney you will be better positioned for both the Ring of Kerry and Dingle peninsula. We based in Killorglin which is on the Ring of Kerry about 10 miles north of Killarney.

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