One week in July itinerary help - thanks!

Your arrival day looks pretty aggressive. That's a long drive even without jet lag. Driving in Ireland takes longer than you might expect. How about putting your Dublin days at the beginning of the trip, which would allow you to recover from jet lag. And it would be great if you could fly out of Shannon so you don't have to spend a day driving back across the country – not the most interesting part of Ireland, in my opinion.

Other than that, I think your plan looks really good. Definitely try to stop at the Rock of Cashel or Glendalough. And if you can avoid driving back across the country, I would suggest using part of that day to visit the Burren. It is a fascinating area of limestone plains with amazing wildflowers growing in the cracks, and some interesting Neolithic tombs.

Thanks for the help. I was thinking about flying out of Shannon and it is probably worth the extra ticket price to not drive back to Dublin if we do see Dublin first. Is it best to go back to the airport to rent a car in Dublin?

How about this?

Day 1: Land in Dublin at 11:30am, to Dublin
Day 2: Dublin
Day 3: rent car, drive to Kenmare with stop in Cashel
Day 4: Kenmare & Killarney National Park
Day 5: Drive ROK to Dingle
Day 6: Dingle
Day 7: Drive to Cliffs of Moher, then Doolin
Day 8: Drive to Shannon and fly Shannon to Edinburgh 11:05am

You still have the issue of renting a car. I've always gone back to the airport to rent a car and about the earliest I could get on the road was around 10. You have a couple of hours to get to Cashel and another 2 hrs to Kenmare. Do you plan to see anything is Cashel? It's doable but very busy. Have you ever drive on the left before? That will slow you down for the first day or two.

In my personal opinion, it's not worth spending one night in Dingle when you plan on driving the next day to Doolin. The Dingle to Doolin drive is about 3 hours if you go across the ferry and hit a few spots in the Burren.

Unfortunately, I'm lumping you into the group that post here want to see the entire UK in 10 days. It can't be done. My personal recommendation is that you need to commit at least 10 days to a "highlights" Ireland trip. Two weeks is a decent visit.

Thanks, in Cashel we want to visit the Rock of Cashel and it looks like a great way to split the drive up. Also, we are planning two nights in Dingle. While we aren't in the 10 day UK group, we are in the 3 week UK/Ireland group and totally understand why people feel the way they do. Hopefully you can see we are not trying to do everything and want to stick to a few of the highlights that appeal to us most.

Hi! I'm an American living in Ireland.

I'm with the others, that's some aggressive driving you're planning. Know that the maps are often VERY wrong and I'll explain why:

Google maps and others figure out times based on posted speed limits. Their are speed limits of 80 to 100 kmh on many country roads, and trust me you can NOT drive that far on these roads. For example, from my house to Dingle it tells me it's 1 hour 15 minutes and it's about 2 hours if not more. On top of that, you'll see a pretty bridge and stop to take a photo. You'll see a beautiful view and stop to admire it. You'll see a cute village and pop in somewhere for a coffee and.... you're now terribly behind schedule.

Why not do Dingle OR the Ring of Kerry? They're both beautiful peninsulas! Take your time to enjoy Ireland. Or skip the Cliffs of Moher and instead do The Kerry Cliffs while you're in that area near the Ring of Kerry.

The number one comment I hear from tourists who I interview for my blog is "I love the people, here!" The number two comment I hear is "I hate all the driving!"

Slow down! Enjoy Ireland!

Susan

"Slow down! Enjoy Ireland!"
Excellent advice. The understandable temptation will be to blitz thru the countryside trying to see as much as you can in a limited amount of time, but if there was ever a place meant to be savored it's Ireland. Slow down. Relax. Enjoy.

Thanks everybody. No problem, we would love to slow down, but honestly out of Dublin, Kenmare/Killarney NP, Dingle and Cliffs of Moher, Dublin is the first thing we would skip. Of course I don't expect anybody to suggest that, but we are way more interested in countryside than cities, even one as great as Dublin.

Also, if we plan to do both Kenmare and Dingle, why not drive the Ring of Kerry to get to Dingle? I realize we could go more direct and then just spend more time that day in Dingle, but it seems like a great opportunity to do both. Of course we would leave early, take our time and make several stops along the way.

Again, I understand what people are saying and will continue to look for ways to slow down. Here is how I would prioritize the places we want to visit.
1) Cliffs of Moher
2) Killarney National Park
3) Dingle
4) Ring of Kerry
5) Dublin

So presuming we have one week to work with, how might one slow down and enjoy the most keeping in mind we are totally open to flying out of Shannon, but are landing in Dublin.

Thanks!

My husband and I did our first trip to Ireland 2 years ago for 8 nights and then off to Scotland (highly recommend taking a day trip to St. Andrews while in Scotland). We drove a lot and it takes much longer than you think because half the roads are only 2 lanes. Dingle was my favorite place - we skipped ROK and I still don't think we missed anything. Only 2 hours are needed at the Cliffs unless you are really into hiking. I was like you in thinking no big deal to skip Dublin. I was totally wrong. We only had 1 day in Dublin and wished we had planned longer. There is a lot to see in Dublin - get on the Hop On/Off bus. No need for a car in Dublin. I do recommend skipping the Guinness tour - it's not worth the time as it's basically a self guided tour reading monitors. I had thought we would actually see a small portion of the brewery. (We didn't do the Jamison tour, but I cannot imagine it's any better than Guineas)

We're heading back in June with our 3 adult children - we are skipping Dingle because of how far away it is. This trip will be at a slower pace.

Ouch!

My heart is aching from that comment above by ? pmorris ?-- they "skipped the ROK (Ring of Kerry=Iveragh peninsula) and didn't miss anything."

Hmmmm..... to each his own, but for me, saying you didn't miss anything when you don't even know WHAT you missed, is a bit...awkward. The great thing about The Ring of Kerry (which is a road around the Iveragh Peninsula) is no one is making you stay ON the main road. If you drive Kenmare to Dingle via the "highway" you'll see nice views and nice highway art, but its a pretty fast road. Yet if you drive via the RoK road you can spin off one kilometer to Derrynane, often rated a best beach in Ireland and home of Daniel O'Connell Historic House; try the Skellig Loop and enjoy fantastic views of Skellig Michael from shore, as well as enjoy Valentia Island & Port Magee (both lovely and much less touristy than the road around the RoK or the road to Dingle town since tour buses aren't allowed on the Skellig Loop road).

Keep in mind "DINGLE" is a town AND a peninsula. So many of the beautiful parts of Dingle are well past Dingle town (such as Coumeenoole Strand & Clougher Strand). Be sure to look at a good map of Dingle peninsula as you plot that part of your trip. Maybe research where the Dingle bus tour from Killarney stops, and stop at different points!

If you haven't booked a place in Dingle, yet, another to think about is Milltown House B&B. At the least check out their website; good info, photos & videos....

Hope this helps!

Susan in Waterville

I think your second itinerary is fine. It's a little fast paced but doable. I did a similar trip for 10 days and loved it. The driving can be stressful, but it's also enjoyable because the scenery is so beautiful. I am not the biggest fan of Dublin, but it has some cool things to do and you're flying in there so it would be crazy not to stay there the first two nights. It will give you a little time to get used to jet lag before you start driving. I am assuming you are young and enjoy a fast paced trip, so I say go for it.