Please critique my itinerary for fast approaching trip in 3 weeks.

Hi from Wisconsin,
I would not use Killarney for a second. It is so over run by tourists....Just a warning.

Most everything you have seems doable. Bunratty Castle seems a bit off the track for that day and it is heavily touristed.

You will enjoy the pace yo have set out. Don't get crazy and try to pack more driving into a day. Go for a walk. Sit in a rural pub and have a drink, tea or Guinness.

enjoy,
wayne iNWI

Killarney is busy - possibly because it is a good centre for visiting attractions in the area. There is a lot of accommodation to choose from. From what you are wantinbg to do, it makes sense as a base.
Day 3 - that is a very hectic day, especially if you are hoping to actually stop anv visit the three places. You are talking about just over 300km drive and 5 hours PLUS stops... You may need to think about this and decide which stop is you main priority and which are wave as you go past. Also factor in visiting times and last entry. Don't forget finding somewhere ton park and reach an attraction and then go back to the car afterwards can take up a lot of time!

Don't underestimate how much time you need driving is slow in Ireland, especially once off the major roads.

Make sure you get a Lake View Room at the Lake Hotel in Killarney.

Hope that was not to late.

We often go there after our time in the Cottage on Valentia Island every spring the day before our flight back to Germany

Killarney is a good base to start visting the Southwest and with a car you easily find a place away from the crowd if it gets to much.

I know it's not the point of this thread, but the last post has finally led me to be able to find out how to get to Valentia Island- which I had always thought was impossible to reach by public transport.

Check this websites and find out how to get to Valentia Island by public transport:

For Tue Thurs Fri

https://www.locallinkkerry.ie/Valentia/

other day by taxi

http://www.kennedybus.ie/

Hope that helps

That timetable is what I found this morning, and was really surprised. There is even a BE connection from Killarney. Very interesting,

Apart from the Aran Islands (which are simplicity itself to reach) there are a number of the populated Irish off shore islands which have always defeated me. Time to revisit those, methinks.

Unlike most on this forum I would only ever use a taxi if something had gone catastrophically wrong, never ever within a planned itinerary. Except for the railways (where it is being paid for) I have only ever once ended up in that situation- at Tongue in Scotland where a once daily connection had been retimed the week before I went.

It wasn't me, but I was there when a family were put in a taxi once from London to Penzance at 3am, after arriving at London Euston on a 6 hours late train. My taxi was only to Southend. Goodness knows what that cost the railway company.

On Day 3, we found Cahir Castle and Cahir to be a surprisingly delightful time. Our BnB host had, pretty much, insisted we needed to visit Cahir Castle as it was not in our original plan. This was 12 years ago, but it was very much worth the time.

This year, Blarney Castle is included in a tour I am taking. I am not especially excited about that visit, although I have read that the gardens are lovely.

I agree that Killarney is a busy, tourist mess BUT the Lake Hotel is a great choice. You are out of the town and close to your sites (Ross Castle, Muckross House, Torc Waterfall). We enjoyed our stay there and do try for a lake view room. We loved the fact that they have 2 restaurants and a bar on site so at the end of a busy day we didn't have to go out again to find dinner.