First time to Ireland

For those of us who relate to distances in the U.S. Ireland is the size of a postage stamp. Anybody driven across just Texas lately? We drove all over Ireland for a week and got a wonderful taste of Ireland. Spent a full day in Dublin and the rest on the road. Driving was easy (very light traffic outside of Dublin). Just remember, Right Shoulder To The Center Line. I put it on a post-it note on the dash. Saves thinking at critical times!

Only a week makes it tough, but you can do a very enjoyable week. We drove from Dublin to Monasterboice, Newgrange, and then southwest thru Kilbeggan, Tullamore, Birr, Roscrea and Blarney. There is a very comfortable B & B on the Roscrea Rd at Clonkelly(Minnocks). You can easily hit Blarney and then, because you only have a week I would skip Waterford, Kinsale and the Cork area and head for Kerry or Dingle. For your last night there is a B&B near Shannon called Innisfree. It is about 10 minutes easy drive from the airport and very near Bunratty Castle and the Creamery Restaurant, a good place to eat. Innisfree is on-line as well as Bunratty Castle

On our first trip, we had a week. We flew into Shannon and out of Dublin. During the week we visited Liscannor, Doolin, the Burren, Killarney, Kenmare, Blarney, Rock of Cashel, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Dublin. We basically made a swing along the southern coast.

I like the southern and western coasts the best. we did Dublin to Kilkenny to Kinsale to Ring of Kerry to Dingle and loved it. It is a beautiful, magical country.

I guess everyone is different, but I would not say the driving in Ireland is easy. I found it very stressful. The roads are really narrow and the driving is really slow. Other than a few main highways, you will only be going 30 mph. Keep that in mind when you are planning your itinerary.

I'm partial to the south, but either way you'll have a great trip. It really depends on where your interests lie.

Definitely stand by your instinct and avoid overfilling your itinerary. You'll never see everything that interests you in a week; you just have to prioritize your "must-sees" and leave other things for your next trip.

This is easier to do if you restrict yourself to a couple of cities. Rather than seeing your #1 site in four or five different cities, spend your time fully exploring two or three cities. That way, you can focus your next trip on those cities you haven't visited yet.

Best of luck.

My parents love County Donegal in the north and have visited it several times. Usually flying in and out of Shannon, "along the way" we like Dingle, Galway, Westport. We did some amazing deep sea fishing in Westport, for polluck and mackeral (real easy, low key stuff, we're not expert sportsmen by any means).

I think for your first time in Ireland, the southwest will give you the best taste of Ireland. Also weather in March tends to be slightly better in the south, wind being the most dominant factor "as wild as a March Hare" this saying also refers to the weather!
On www.budget-ireland.com you can book a rental car without a one-way fee between Dublin and Shannon Airports. This could reduce the cost by a good bit for a car hire.
I presume you'll be in Ireland for St Patrick's day on the 17th March? No matter what city you're in that day it should be exciting!

Hi Jan,
On our trip to Ireland we did not go to the northern areas so I cannot speak to them, but we loved the Southwest, especially Dingle. We loved this area and it is close enough to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren area since you are flying out of Shannon. Good luck and happy travels!

Spent 3 1/2 weeks in Ireland in Sept 2008. From Dublin round the coast to Belfast with some day trips inland. Wonderful scenery. Try the south - Kinsale to Baltimore - the latter a small quaint place with a harbour and wonderful views of islands. Upo the west coast, try Galway for a town - big enough to be interesting, small enough to see in a short time. Sceneray all the way is absolutely wonderful.

Most people go South. I liked Newgrange, Cashiel, Blarney, Killarney and Galway best but I haven't been North and haven't visited a monastic settlement yet.

We spent 5 days in the south,2 days in Galway and 3 days in the north before going to Dublin.My favorites were Newgrange,Dingle,Galway, Giants Causeway,Antrium Coast drive and Belfast.Both north and south have great places so Id say read up and see what interests you the most.