Should we head to Northwest or Southwest Ireland?

Not speaking from experience, but I was having the same dilemma recently. I am traveling to Ireland in October. I had an Airbnb outside of Kenmare booked but I had second thoughts. My idea was to be in a scenic area where I could go about in a relaxed pace.

I ended up choosing to stay in Connemara in the town of Clifden. The scenery looks amazing in this area but seems to have far less tourist traffic than county Kerry. This way I can focus on a few things and really enjoy myself, rather than long days of trying cram in many sights on the ring of Kerry.

Connemara has their own national park and you also have smaller towns/villages such as Westport and Cong nearby.

My best advice is to go Northwest and, mostly, skip the well known towns. There are B&B's all over Ireland. In the smaller towns you shouldn't have any problem walking to dinner (breakfast is provided, even at many Airbnb's).

My favorite town that matched your description was Roundstone (not far from the ferry to Aran Islands at Rossaveal). The B&B we stayed in was the best of the trip and the restaurant they recommended for dinner, a half block away, was the best dinner of our trip. Ironically, I chose Roundstone because it was smaller than Clifden. I came away happier every time I successfully avoided more well-known, more tourist crowded, Irish towns.

The going rate for a B&B was about 40 euro each, including breakfast. They're everywhere. I doubt you need to book in advance, unless you see one that really appeals to you. Paying well in advance with Airbnb probably isn't necessary. I've heard Ireland has new limits on Airbnb. We were there at the end of May and it hadn't take effect.

Here's another vote for the northwest. I find there's a lot of hype about some "must see" destinations in Ireland, and many of them are in the southwest, contributing to the familiar vicious circle in which a destination becomes ever more popular (read "crowded") because it is popular. See the above comments for some specific ideas of where to stay.

as a point of clarification, when I said northwest, I was thinking Donegal/Sligo counties. I was considering Aran Islands/Galway to be more the middle. Are others considering Galway county to be northwest?

Just wanted to clarify so I dont plan my trip to Donegal based on people recommending the northwest and find the better northwest was right in Galway/Mayo :)

Just got back from County Kerry. The area is beautiful, but I would select the Dingle Peninsula over the ROK- way less busy and easier driving. I could have skipped the ROK because Slea Head is super pretty, but Kenmare (on the ROK) is the kind of town you could just stay and live in. Dingle Town can be busy, but is extremely walkable. Live music everywhere. It is also easy to find places with few, if any, people. Check out Kingdom Falconry in Dingle- Outstanding!

Haven't been to the northwest, but it seems like it's "undiscovered" and also beautiful. I see the allure.