Recommendations for base near Donegal and itinerary wish list – November

I'd recommend taking the train from Dublin to Sligo, then renting a car there for travels to Donegal and beyond. The train is relaxing, will give you a scenic journey to one of your desired locations, and cuts the cost of an extra day or 2 of car rental. Also getting the car away from heavy Dublin traffic gives you more of an opportunity to acclimate yourself to left side of the road driving! At least that was the case with us. You may want to consider dropping the car off in Belfast after Giants Causeway although I'm not sure about border crossing rules. Belfast is a fun city, has the Titanic museum, and you can then take a bus direct to Dublin Airport from there. Enjoy your travels!

Is it okay to recommend Youtube channels? If not, I understand if this is deleted. I'm not affiliated with the channel in any way, just have enjoyed their videos.

The channel is Mark and Asya

They have lots of Ireland videos, and I find them fun and personable. They particularly like Donegal. Their videos have helped me decide what I want to see when we visit Ireland next spring.

Have a great trip!

Remember that days will be short in November, and you're trying to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. If you're not confident about driving right after your transatlantic flight (and I think you're wise to be cautious about this), you could go to Belfast by direct bus from the airport. The challenge is do you rent a car in Belfast or backtrack to the airport to get the car? If you rent in Belfast, you'll have to backtrack at the end of the trip to drop it off. Unless you want to pay the massive fee for dropping it off in another country.
You might consider dropping Belfast and the GC from this trip and focus your limited time and limited daylight hours on Donegal and Sligo. The other commenter's suggestion of renting the car in Sligo is sound. You can decide for yourself whether the fee to return it at the Dublin Airport is worth the opportunity to stop off in County Monaghan on the way.

I like to poster's comment about training to Sligo after you land at airport. This will give you a day to acclimate, which you will want as you drive through Donegal. I believe you will need to take the Dublin Express bus from airport to city centre then take the direct train from Connolly Station (Dublin) to Sligo (use irishrail.ie to book tickets.)

Glenniff Horseshoe is magnificent and a quick drive north out of Sligo town. Please note, the road around the valley of Glenniff Horseshoe is a small, windy road so just pay attention in November where weather may not be perfect.

The two towns I'd stop in for a night would be Donegal Town then Letterkenny. After Letterkenny, you can easily head up to Giant's Causeway and see the whole Antrim coast on your way to Belfast.

I would pick up your car in Sligo then drive it all the way back to the Dublin Airport for return as the airport is north of the city as you come back from Belfast. The reason is that you avoid big fees of inter-country drop offs. On your way back to Dublin airport you could stop off in Monaghan. As a Monaghan, I personally thought it was cool to see the town but it's not that interesting in my opinion should you not have the time. However, still easy to do on your way from Belfast to Dublin.

Personally, I think Co. Donegal is the prettiest county on the Island (Antrim is a close 2nd). Even in winter with rainy weather! :-) I hope you have a fantastic trip!

There is also the Bus Eireann route #23 direct from Dublin Airport to Sligo every few hours, takes 4 hours, so an hour longer than the train.

These are simply fantastic comments. Thanks for the input and suggestions. We'll likely drive to Sligio first day then head NW from there. Best to all.