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Need Help planning 15 day itinerary self-drive

Posted by (South Florida and Western North Carolina) on

My daughter and myself (85 years old) will be traveling to Ireland in May for the first time ever. My daughter will be the driver.

We would appreciate any suggestions, additions or changes for this itinerary. We are concerned that Day 4, Day 6 and Day 8 may be too ambitious.

Please comment on this 15 day trip, arriving from Miami into Dublin, Saturday, May 11 at noon, and departing Sunday May 26 at 4PM.

Would it be better to travel west from Newgrange to Galway and do the trip in reverse? Since online tickets are not currently available for Newgrange, it is necessary to arrive there before 9:00 AM.

  • Day 1, Saturday. Arrive Dublin Airport at noon. Check in Hotel. Ride Hop on Hop off Bus. Stay in Dublin 2 nights.
  • Day 2, Sunday, Ride HOHO Bus, Visit Trinity College, Book of Kells, Christ Church Cathedral.
  • Day 3, Monday. Rent car at airport, Visit Trim Castle, Hill of Tara, Monastairboice. Stay near Newgrange 1 night.
  • Day 4. Tuesday. Visit Newgrange, Knowth. 8:30 AM – noon Drive to Glendalough. Visit 3 hours. Stay in Kilkenny 2 nights.
  • Day 5. Wednesday. Visit Kilkenny Castle, St Canice, Black Abbey, Smithwick Brewery
  • Day 6. Thursday. Visit Rock of Cashel, Hore Abbey, Jerpoint Abbey, Cahir Castle. Stay in Kinsale 2 nights.
  • Day 7. Friday. Explore Cobh, Cork, Charles Fort, Kinsale Crystal
  • Day 8. Saturday. Visit Killarney NP, Muckross House. Stay in Dingle 3 nights.
  • Day 9. Sunday. Explore Slea Head Drive, Blasket Island Center, Dingle town, Gallorus Oratory
  • Day 10. Monday. Open
  • Day 11. Tuesday. Visit Adare, Cliffs of Mohr. Stay in Doolin 1 night.
  • Day 12. Wednesday. The Burren, Dunguaire Castle. Stay in Galway 3 nights.
  • Day 13. Thursday. Ferry to Aran Islands
  • Day 14. Friday. Explore Connemara
  • Day 15. Saturday. Visit Clonmacnoise. Stay in Trim
  • Day 16. Sunday. Depart Dublin to Miami, 3:55 PM

Thank you.

Posted by
8319 posts

My hat's off to you for doing such detailed planning. But it's virtually impossible to see everything on one trip, and that itinerary would be very difficult to follow.
Have you considered finding bed and breakfasts in about 4 central locations and doing day trips to visit some of the sights you've identified?
We used to rent cars and drive to many cities as far as we could make in our allotted time. We long since switched to traveling slower and better. Most of our trips are two weeks and 3 weekends now. We limit ourselves to two new cities or regions and one old, familiar city.

We visited Ireland 11 months ago, and we mainly stayed down on the southwestern coast at a great B&B. It was quite beautiful country, and we loved the people.

Posted by
1585 posts

It seems to me that you could consolidate your time in and around Dublin at the beginning and the end of your trip. I would spend the first 4 nights in Dublin or its environs and take a day trip to Newgrange one day and another day trip to Glendalough. Since the Newgrange visitor center is closed, I would recommend the Mary Gibbons Newgrange tour since the guides are knowledgeable archaeologists. It also relieves you of the worry of needing to get there early enough to insure a ticket. I also don't think you could do Newgrange, Tara, Glendalough and get to Kilkenny in one day and enjoy yourself. You could save Trim castle for the morning you leave for Miami. Since your plane is late afternoon, you'll still have plenty of time to get to the airport, return the car, etc. On Day 5 you can pick up the car from either the airport or one of the south Dublin rental agencies and head to Kilkenny.

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