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October Itinerary - Suggestions Please

Posted by on

Hi All, We will be taking our first trip to Ireland in October. We will fly into Shannon and rent a car (talked my husband into an automatic even though it was more money!) and drive around staying in B&Bs. I'd like to know if the Itinerary is reasonable and not rushed, some sightseeing suggestions, and would like some local eating recommendations if you have them.

Day one: Drive from Shannon to Rock of Cashel and then to Kinsale for the night.
Day two: Leave Kinsale driving N71 to Kenmare
Day three: Ring of Kerry (night #2 in Kenmare)
Day four: Leave Kenmare for Dingle
Day five: Dingle Peninsula (night #2 in Dingle)
Day six: leave Dingle and drive to Doolin (via Tarbert ferry) stopping at Cliffs of Moher
Day seven: Doolin to Shannon via the Burren, maybe Galway, Ennis

Thank you for any suggestions you have!

Posted by
3122 posts

I agree you are wise to spend a little extra and drive an automatic. Driving on the left side of the road is pretty easy to adjust to, but personally I wouldn't want the added coordination challenge of driving a stick.

For just a short trip, you are also wise to focus on just one region of Ireland, i.e. the southwestern coastal areas. Some people might advise choosing either Ring of Kerry or the Dingle peninsula, not both (Rick Steves favors Dingle). That would allow you more time to spend somewhere else, such as Galway -- which is not really on the route from Doolin to Shannon via the Burren.

Are you flying home from Shannon on Day 8? It looks like you're cramming a lot into Day 7, but the "maybe" is sensible -- you can adjust according to how much energy and time you have by that point in your trip.

Posted by
1413 posts

Be aware that some venues and perhaps ferry schedules go to "winter" hours on October 1....just make sure you do thorough research. (We found this out the painful way)

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