Our current idea. Any suggestions?

My first advice would be to NOT fly half-way around the world, arrive feeling trashed and groggy, then jump in a car and drive away (on any side of the road). That's a recipe for disaster. Please reconsider this.

I found Dublin and even the Book of Kells underwhelming. I think you can skip it.

I am with David. It’s probably not a good idea to fly in from California and head straight out in a car, driving on the left. I assume you are on the Aer Lingus flight from SFO that lands in Dublin around 1:00. It will take you at least an hour to get off the plane and clear immigration. (Two other flights land at the same time as the SFO flight). Then you would have to shuttle to the car lot, Complete the paper work and head to Glendalough/Wicklow. You most likely wouldn’t get there until 4:00, and you will be exhausted. Since Newgrange is on your to do list, why not head to Dublin upon arrival, check in, recover and take a day tour to Newgrange the next day. On your second full day, rent a car from the south side of Dublin and make your way to Wicklow and points west.

For seeing the Kerry and Beara peninsulas I would suggest staying in Kenmare or Sneem. Kenmare is bigger and more central but I like the more rural and rugged areas around Sneem.

Do not skip the Book of Kells or Dublin!
Kinsale was among our favorite places in Ireland and I bet you will enjoy it too.

I would not skip Kinsale. It's a pretty medieval town with an impressive 17th-Cen. star fort to visit, Barry & Don's excellent historical walking tour, at least one highly regarded fish restaurant, and other sightseeing possibilities to keep you busy without leaving town.

I plan to stay at least one night on Inishmore. The thought is to take the earliest ferry from Rossaveel and stay at the hostel, rent a bike. There are quite a few sights on the island so I'l plan to bike around the Island all day, then hang out in the town that night and catch a ferry out the next morning.

There are quite a few ancient sights around Newgrange. I visited just Newgrange last time. This time I plan to spend a day seeing the rest. I'll go to Bru na Boinne to see Knowth and Dowth sights.

I may go back to Trim too. Last time I was there they were using money from the Braveheart film to do some restoration. It might be nice to see what they've done?

As to driving on the first day......it's not advised but it can be doable. I sleep well on a plane and have done the very drive you propose without a problem. But it's individual and a day recuperating is a good idea.....and Ireland is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

The rest of your plan sounds very good. We prefer longer more centralized stays in an area to really soak it all in with zero rush attached but you are not falling for the frantic must see everything approach that so many do. Bravo ! It's also great your are skipping Killarney as a spot to stay going instead for Kenmare - which is nice though we prefer -in ascending order.......Sneem, Waterville or Caherdaniel. But in bypassing the tourist trap of Killarney don't miss out on some of the amazing things near it....Dunloe, Ladies View, the Black Valley, Ross Castle etc. Definitely take the time to do the Skellig Ring and check out the Cliffs of Kerry which are light years more enjoyable than the tourist overrun Cliffs of Moher. Beara and Iveragh are total magic.

When you go to Dingle if you get the chance take a full day tour out to the Blaskets. It's staggeringly beautiful - non stop things to see and being able to spend time on Great Blasket wandering together (after reading about the island) was one of my wife's and my favorite days in life together. There is no description worthy.....it's another haunting, magical world. Enjoy and linger......it is awesome.

The Arans are awesome.....there is a sadness to it though as the natural life of the islands has been subordinated to tourism. We sat in our B&B there and had our landlord tear up and nearly sob saying how his family had fished for centuries but that life was gone and all he had was driving a taxi and tour bus and opening his home to make money. He was wonderful, kind and amazing....before we left we had bonded so well he sang us an incredible lament.......but it was sad to see. That being said the cliffs at Dun Anghosa - far better than Moher and the little group of real local stores at its base (as opposed to the tourist shops in town) were fantastic. It is a wonderful place.....but there is a sadness too.

Oh....and if you hit Moher early (good idea) in the day and want a better cliff experience ...fairly close is the Cliff walk at Kilkee .... wonderful......again for us far better than Moher (which are beautiful just way to overrun).

Sounds like a great trip.....glad you are seeing Newgrange and Glendalough.....both are utterly fantastic.

One last thing....stick to your guns and don't hurry......never feel compelled to rush on to the next thing..... just linger, explore, talk to the locals and ask them for ideas and find the magic. For us getting awesome home made scones and sausage rolls at a non descript little store in Ballinskellig or having a local mention his neighbor had a henge (like Stonehenge) in his field we could visit (sure enough right there just not a tourist destination for some reason) were as or more special than racing to some next thing on an itinerary or must see list. The utterly unique wonderful people.....the scenery and the haunting history is everywhere to discover as long as you give yourself time to do so.

Have a great trip !!!!

I wouldn't disagree with a single word of the estimable ewewoolknit. (We relied on many of his comments while planning a May 2018 trip.) We especially can echo the recommendations for Kenmare, Cliffs of Kerry (over the Cliffs of Moher if you must choose). (If you are interested in an excellent B&B in Kenmare, send a PM and I'll reply with a link to one that we particularly enjoyed.) Time/interests permitting, a day-trip driving the Beara Peninsula is sure to be memorable; it's immediately adjacent to Kerry and the start is a short drive from Kenmare. Finally, FWIW, we made the drive south to Wicklow after several days chilling in Dublin and still managed to make several wrong turns on our first day in the car, without jet lag.

Thanks for all the great advice!

We will consider not driving the first day, but we normally do it without a problem when we visit western Europe. We (well, hubby) drove a 9 person van from Heathrow to the Cotswolds right after landing. But, since we are leaving our daughter home we may take the safer route and stay put a night. We'll have to discuss that.

I love all the specific advice! Thanks for taking the time to help me with your ideas.

If you go to Dingle, don’t miss stopping in at the Dingle Music shop. They also have concerts there two nights a week that are awesome!

We sleep on the way over and have never had a problem driving after a long flight from the west coast whether it is on the left or right side. We drove out of Heathrow after a long flight...no problem. BUT...we definitely SLEEP in order to do this. Susan and Monte are experienced travelers (having seen their many posts) and I am sure they can handle driving after a long flight. I know that just about everyone else will disagree so thought I'd offer this other opinion. You have to know yourself and your own abilities with great caution for safety.

Do not miss the Gap of Dunloe or enjoying a pint at Foxy Johns in Dingle.

Why not spend the first couple of days in Dublin. (I was there for the third time last week.) Plenty to see in Dublin and you don't need a car. When you are ready to leave for other parts of the country, then rent the car.

I suggest Kilmahan Gaol, Archeology/History museum, Trinity Library and the Book of Kell's, among other things.

Kenmare is awful. I can't imagine a more touristic place. We were there three nights. I wouldn't go back for anything.

Gap of Dunloe is on the list- I'll add the pint!

Dublin is still up for debate. Just not sure if we want a big city, but then also hate to miss something good since we are right there!

I'm thinking we will not stay in Kenmare, so I need to find a good spot in order to see those sites around the National Park.

A work in progress!

Thanks for the ideas!

I usually plan to get acclimated after landing for a night or two before moving on. I can normally sleep reasonably well on the plane. With four hours or more, I feel I can have a good day. I still want to be safe and not rely on my ability to drive on the first day. Nothing ruins sleeping on the plane worse, for me, than knowing "I have to" sleep.

In all honesty I was underwhelmed by Dublin BUT that was 22 years ago.

The only thing I truly enjoyed was seeing the Book of Kells which so few tourists knew of at the time. No crowds at all.

Definitely pre RS commentary.

Completely different way of seeing it then and I still laugh thinking about my friend gasping when she entered the library.

A book lover she turned and uttered, “ bury me here.!”

Spend a night in Dublin just to get over the jet lag.
Walk in St Stephens green. Get your rental car the next day and head off to Glendalough. That was The Ireland I imagined. From there to the Rock of Cashel and from there to Kinsale