Planning 30th anniversary trip!

How many days do you have?

I forgot that detail! We are planning 10 or 11 days.

How would you describe your budget/spending desires?
a) Heck, it's our 30th wedding anniversary, we've done okay in life, and we want to have a very special trip.
b) Middle of the road; no real splurges, but not a shared bath with 4 other b&b rooms
c) Shoe-string; saving every way we can is critical.

We are middle of the road! We have done a Rick Steve's tour before but my husband really wanted to do a trip at our pace. So this trip, we really just want to have fun and enjoy what each day may encounter. I just want to start making reservations for hotels/B&B soon. (PS Kissing the Blarney Stone is NOT a priority at all!) Thanks ahead of time for any thoughts you may share!

Have you considered flying into Shannon and out of Dublin and taking in some of the beauty of the west and southern coast? That way you could include Dingle, Kinsale, Adare, Doolan, Westport and Cobh and come into Dublin from the south from Waterford.

Also depends on how you like to approach the trip - trying to get ALL the big places in - staying at B&B 's in different towns each night or settling in to a couple areas and really soaking in the place. If the later you might consider renting a home/cottage in a good location for a week, then exploring other areas with a B&B night on the "end days" of your trip. That way you maximize your time and often massively cut down on driving time, check in and check out times and can feel really settled, calm and can operate at you own pace. Also its way cheaper than a B&B a night.
We had more time but for an example of 11 days of our trip we spent our first two nights on the Aran Islands (peaceful, fascinating and loads of history) then settled in for a week at St. Finans Bay on the Ring of Skellig for a week. This wasn't the best centralized location but we wanted the coastal wild historic Ireland stay. You might want to consider something nearer Killarney. Killarney itself if you want the city or a cottage near one of the amazing towns near the Ring of Kerry.

Even from where we were we had quiet days visiting small nearby towns like Portmagee, Waterville, Sneem, Caherdaniel etc. We had tons of time each day to explore castles, the cliffs of Kerry (better than Moher), ancient Ringforts, famine houses, deserted Abbeys and still have time to explore a town, enjoy a relaxed welcoming pub and have time at home to relax, reflect, walk and enjoy the very local scenery and people. Then we had "BIG" days, climbing Skellig Michael, driving the Ring of Kerry w loads of fun stops, a fun long drive through Dingle out to the Blasket Islands and a great foray into Cork. No hassle with a new room each night.
Then after that amazing, relaxing and fun week we spent a few B&B nights visiting wonderful Wicklow seeing on the way the Rock of Cashel, going up to Bru Na Boine, seeing the lighthouse and the Saltee Islands w the birds and visiting Glendalough which if you love history is a GREAT magical spot.
Anyway in 11 days you aren't going to see all of Ireland. Don't try. The joy is in the land, the people and having the time to find your little miracle moments. Ours were finding a little Ogham standing stone, having swans land right near us and spending time there feeling the past and present come together....or meeting a wonderful older woman and her dog and being invited to her home for tea and scones...or a misty day at Ballinskellig exploring McCarthys castle ruins by ourselves and feeling closer to the 16th century than the 21st. Racing around trying to cram everything in would have robbed us of that.
Anyway enjoy so much ! Just one approach of many valid ones. We skipped some of the "big" sites and don't regret an instant since we connected to history, the land and the people in a way that touched our soul and will always live with us.

As a previous poster noted, I would consider flying into Dublin and out of Shannon to maximize your time visiting.
I love Dublin and would for sure spend at least 2-3 days here. There are great museums, churches etc. For me, a not to be missed in Dublin is Kilmainham gaol.. buy your tickets ahead of time.

From there you could head to Kilkenny, stopping in the Wicklow mountains in your way and maybe event are in Powerscourt. Kilkenny castle and walking the medieval mile was interesting. Spend the night in Kilkenny
From Kilkenny, many go to the Rock of Cashel. We unfortunately had to skip this but it is on my list for next time.
I know you said that Blarney was not high on your list but the gardens are truly gorgeous. You could then make your way to Kilkenny or you could stop for the night in Kinsale.
Many on here seem to think that Killarney is too touristy but we really enjoyed it. We stayed at the Lake Hotel 2 nights nd highly, highly recommend it. We biked the National park, took in a sheep herding demonstration, did Muckross house and farms and Torc waterfall etc. There is some great hiking in the area as well if you enjoy hiking.
We really enjoyed the Ring of kerry and stopping in many of the villages along the way. Although we did not take the boat out to Skellig Michael, we did tour the museum and loved that area.
Dingle is a must in your list. The scenery is gorgeous, great music etc.

The Cliffs of Moher were well worth a stop as well in our eyes.

In the end what you will find is that Ireland is gorgeous.. every turn in the road, we kept commenting on how beautiful it was... what stuck with us though is the people. The Irish are the friendliest people you will ever meet. Make sure to take the time to visit the pubs, small shops etc and talk to the people.... We all left a piece of our hearts with the Irish!

Darlinda,
I haven't been to Dublin, so I can't offer advice on that city/area. Hope to get there myself some day. I have also not visited Newgrange (sp?), but it looks fascinating and would be a must-see if I ever get back to Ireland.

Since you mention liking historical sites, definitely don't miss the Rock of Cashel. Nancy who posts on the Forum put us on to the Rock of Cashel, and we are thankful. Kinsale is a lovely sea-side town to visit, and we can highly recommend the Old Presbytery Inn (we liked the downstairs room with the little balcony overlooking the private car park (nice, quiet). Dingle is a must, as is Connor's Pass (or O'Connor's Pass....I can't remember). Cliffs of Moher and The Burren are lovely, then a stop in Galway (visit Key Street for lunch and street performers), then head up to the Connemera region ( Sky Road is listed in the National Geographic 500 Journeys of Lifetime book, and it is lovely). While in that area, see Kylemore Abbey.

If you would like to splurge a bit, do as we did with a mix of b&b stays, then two historic castle overnights. We stayed two nights at Dromoland Castle (absolutely lovely walled garden and we also rode the provided bikes around the lake), then we also stayed two nights at Ashford Castle (in Cong up near the Connemera region) where we did the Hawk Walk thru the School of Falconry at Ashford. (Google to see YouTube videos of this experience). Ashford Castle was the original home of the Guinness Beer family and is truly grand and lovely. Two night stays in places like this allow you to enjoy your splurge and also relax a bit with grand Irish hospitality in a lovely environment. Check websites for two-night specials or inquire if the specials are not posted. Ashford seems to have really raised its prices since it was purchased several years ago and is now one of the top 5 hotels in the world. It was lovely when we were there, but they did a huge renovation, so I can only imagine how grand it is. It's an easy walk into the village of Cong from Ashford, where we enjoyed a modest pub meal one of our two evenings..

Depending on the route you take, you might also like a stop in Adare (cute little shops in thatched roof buildings) and stop for coffee at Adare Manor (if you don't slurge to stay there). Lovely historic building and beautiful grounds. The Bunratty Folk Park is also a lovely place, and as an Irish cousin told me: It's likely the best example of what daily life was like when my grandmother was a young girl. We loved meeting an Irish Wolfhound there, too :)

I was also amazed a how the terrain of Ireland changed so much, with just an hour or two's journey. It's all lovely!

It's easy to plan a route using Google maps and estimated driving times (but add an extra 30% or so to the drive times to allow for random stops or slow roads). And, of course, it is easy to Google the various sites to get a sneak preview to determine if they are attractive to you and your family.

Happy Anniversary, and what a lucky daughter you have to be able to experience this special trip with you!