I've been to Ireland once in 2014 and did a semi-similar trip (but my trip was longer, i did Cliffs of Moher/Burren, Aran Islands, Galway, Dingle, Cork, Trim, and Dublin) and i am bringing my boyfriend for the very first time. We are both on-the-go travelers and enjoy sleeping in a new place every night, just want to make sure i am not overdoing it or burning us out. Thoughts?
Day 1
Flying into Shannon from NYC (on a red eye, we plan on taking melatonin to get a full night sleep on the flight) - landing at 10am , pick up rental car, go to cliffs of moher + doolin cave and/or ailwee cave (any preference? or are the caves not worth the trouble)
lunch in Doolin
explore Limerick / dinner in Limerick
sleep in Limerick
***due to the amount of people concerned for sleep deprivation, an alternate option could be:
Day 1
Fly into Shannon from NYC, get rental car, go to Limerick hotel and nap, get lunch in Limerick, then Sunset at cliffs of Moher/ dinner in Doolin
sleep in Limerick
Day 2
wake up in Limerick, drive to Dingle
explore Dingle peninsula
lunch/dinner in Dingle area
Sleep in Dingle
Day 3
Wake up in Dingle
Do Ring of Kerry not sure on lunch yet, maybe we pack sandwiches
dinner in Killarney
sleep in Killarney
Day 4
wake up in Killarney
maybe do Killarney national park? or straight to blarney castle. probably pack sandwiches for lunch
dinner in Cork
sleep in Cork
Day 5
wake up in Cork
Kilkenny castle / Dunmore caves
sleep in Kilkenny
Day 6
Wake up in Kilkenny
straight to Dublin / returning rental car in city centre
Book of Kells / Jameson distillery (we are skipping Guinness factory because I've already gone and my bf isn't a beer fan)
dinner around temple bar area
Day 7
Early flight out of Dublin (7am)
i think if we dropped something i would be ok since i have done a similar trip already, and my bf doesn't care either way as long as we're exploring lol. i think cork was my favorite so i was on the fence about doing 2 nights in cork and ditching either killarney or kilkenny..? also i am very comfortable with driving the small country roads and am aware they can take time, I've driven in over 25 non-American countries overall (mostly solo trips)
Thanks in advance!!!!!