Struggling! Could use some help!

1. Is Day 1 arrival in Dublin day?
2. Car or no car?

car is a possibility, yes.

Not sure what you mean by Day 1 being a Dublin Day. It could be. Or we start on the west.

My wife and I spent two weeks in Ireland last September. I would recommend NOT staying in Dublin any longer than three nights because there are so many more interesting things to see in the countryside.

Remembering my two sons and their LOVE for the outdoors, I recommend seeing as much along the Wild Atlantic Way as you can. The only practical way to travel the countryside is to rent a car. Rent the smallest car that will fit your family and your luggage. Bigger is not better.

Here are a few highlights that I think might appeal to the entire family:

Dingle has plenty to do for a three night stay. Visit the Blasket museum and, if you are adventurous, take the ferry to Blasket Island.
Get tickets to St James' Church Dingle Folk Concerts. There are several performances each week. But, make sure you line up at least 30 minutes ahead of time, as the church is SMALL and the seating is in pews; first come first served.

When we traveled from Dingle to Galway, we took the Ferry from Kinvara and Ballyvaughan. It is a true shortcut and is worth the fare. Plus, your children will enjoy the view from the walkways.

Avoid the Cliffs of Moher if you will be going to the Aran Islands. Visit Inishmore. You will see plenty of cliffs when you visit Dún Aonghasa. We took an Aer Arann flight instead of the ferry which got us there an hour before the crowds. We had Dún Aonghasa all to ourselves. The seven minute flight in an eight seater will be a great kid adventure.

Consider going to Westport as a home base for a night so you can pay a visit to Achill Island. A short but strenuous hike from Keem Beach to Boycott's house is rewarded by stunning views. We had the bonus experience of seeing a herder with his flock, not putting on a show but just following his normal route. Impressive, nonetheless.

If you can stay in bed and breakfast establishments, you will get invaluable advice from your host(s). We loved the BandB experience.

This will be a fabulous family trip. Enjoy.

I’m a bit confused as to what you are wanting to do.... Are days 11-14 already planned for Ashford CAstle or can they be used to do some of the things on your list?

It would make sense to fly in and out of Shannon, then you are looking at a loop from Shannon to Dublin and back to Shannon.

If days 11-14 are already planned/booked, then consider this...

Days 1-3 Pick up a car at Shannon and book two nights at at either Bunratty or Limerick. Drive to Ardare the day you arrive - its about 45 minutes drive and drop out, relax and potter round the village before heading back to your accommodation. Next day visit Bunratty Castle is great fun as is the folk park and will fill the whole day.

Day 3 drive to say Doolin for two nights. Visit Cliffs of Moher on the way and next day (Day 4) take the ferry from Doolin to the Aran Islands.

Day 5 Drive from Doolin either dingle or Killarney for three nights. That would give a day for Dingle Peninsula and another day for Killarney and the Ring of Kerry.

Day 8 head for Kilkenny for the night , visiting Rock of Cashel and/or Cahir on the way

Day 9 head to Dublin, doing Malahide Castle on the way. This will get you to Dublin for Day 1o..

Day 11 head back to Ashford Castle.

If days 11-14 are still flexible then you can take a more leisurely route - say something like this

Days 1-3 Pick up a car at Shannon and book two nights at at either Bunratty or Limerick. Drive to Ardare the day you arrive - its about 45 minutes drive and drop out, relax and potter round the village before heading back to your accommodation. Next day visit Bunratty Castle is great fun as is the folk park and will fill the whole day.

Day 3 head to either Dingle or Killarney and book three nights there. This gives a full day for the Dingle peninsula and anther day for Ring of Kerry.

Day 7 head to Kilkenny for 2 nights, via Rock of Cashel/Cahir spend in Day 8 Kilkenny and hurling

Day 9 head to Dublin via Malahide Castle.

Day 11 head to Ashford Castle. Then Head to Doolin for the remainder of the time for Cliffs of Moher and Aran Islands trip from Doolin.

Finally head back to Shannon...

wasleys has given you two very good itineraries. My only concern is how long your elementary aged kids will be okay in a car. There's a fair amount of driving involved in going to the various places you want to see. You might want to look at one of the driving apps to see how long it will take to get from point A to B, add about 25% to the estimated time for comfort and snack breaks and bear in mind that you are unlikely to go the posted speed limit on many of the roads. You also want to think where you will leave the car when you are in Dublin. It's a difficult city to drive and park in.

We did Ireland last summer for ten days with our kids and grandkids, 6 and 9. Highlights for them were the falconry school in Dingle; (Ashford Castle has a beautiful falconry but the 6 year old was too young to hold their birds so we did Dingle’s instead where she was allowed to hold their birds) also in Dingle the rib boat ride out to the Blaskets where we saw seals, dolphins and puffins; the jaunting car ride in Killarney back to a waterfall; also in Killarney, Ross Castle with it narrow stone steps up to the top. And the big surprise was the Smithwicks beer tour in Kilkenny where the guide had them helping with the beer brewing demonstrations.

Margie, if you don’t mind me asking, hiw dis you structure your 10 days and where did you stay? I am thinking of a very similar schedule but am struggling to know where snd how long and how to get around. Thank you!

Mac, we originally started in London which was great fun with the kids. We then flew to Dublin, spent one night and rented a minivan and off to Dingle for two nights. Killarney for three, Kilkenny for two and then back to Dublin. That was about the limit on driving for the grandkids. Dublin we stayed at Buswells, Dingle was Brenner’s, Killarney we splurged and stayed at Cahernane House. Kilkenny was Butler Court. Next time we will do a more northern route because there so much more to see. I might add we stopped at the Rock of Cashel on way to Kilkenny and Glendalough on ride back to Dublin. And Murphy’s ice cream is the best! Another and, in most places the grandkids were too young to stay in the bars for the live sessions. In Kilkenny, they had live sessions that started earlier in several pubs. The kids loved the music.

Margie,thank you, where did you stay in London and how long were you there/what did you see? We are harry potter fans so was thinking the museum, a show, buckingham palace…

I am thinking we spend 3 days in London, fly to Dublin Airport, drive directly to Kilkenny for 2 days, back to dublin for 2 days for our commitment, then drive to Ashford Castle for 3 days…then drive south to Killarney for 3 days, up to Bunratty for the day and then fly out of Shannon. Seems like a lot but maybe doable?

i am trying to work in seeing some of the southwest if possible but wondering if we might need to skip and instead from Ashford Castle drive to the Cliffs and Aran Islands for a day trip, drive south stay over in Ennis, see Bunratty and then fly out of Shannon.

I wish we had more time!

Thanks to everyone for all of your insights and ideas!

We were in London for 5 days and stayed in Notting Hill in a below ground level Airbnb. I really wouldn’t recommend although it was close to the tube. We should have looked at places to stay earlier, much earlier. London was a great place for the kids, we did a black cab tour the first day for orientation (learned what the locals really think about Harry). Tower of London had a kids treasure hunt, The Globe has a family tour, we saw the play The Lion King, Terrible Thames boat ride was great with actors and geared to kids, British Museum for Greece and Egypt artifacts, Natural History Museum for dinosaurs, a kid’s tea and of course, we had to visit the world’s largest Lego store. And we just walked a lot thru the different neighborhoods. We did not have time for the Harry Potter Tour which created a bit of grief.

Ireland is bigger than you think and there’s really not much scenery to see on their highways. On the longer rides we made sure we found places along the way to turn off and explore. I think you’re smart to limit what you do. You can’t see it all but then there will be a reason to go back. I know I want the kids to see the cliffs of Mohr, Giants Causeway, Titanic Museum and Newgrange.