8 Day Ireland Trip

First off, I think your itinerary looks fine, not too ambitious, not too much driving at all. But be cautious about your estimated driving times. I add about 25% (not double) to viamichelin.com's estimates, which comes pretty close for actual driving time. It doesn't factor in stopping for lunch, or to take pictures, or to visit the restroom, or to shop. The roads that I see for your route are mostly N roads, which are like our two-lane highways. (The M roads are like our interstates.) They are nice roads, but when you get into the more rural areas they can wind around a bit. Most of the concern you read about is for when you get onto the REALLY rural roads. That's when things get narrow. And there are areas where, even on N roads, you might encounter things like sheep in the road. I think your trip looks nicely paced. Since you will be at Cashel, you might want to consider stopping down the road at Cahir Castle (my favorite in Ireland). Have a great time!

You are duplicating (almost) the 7 night trip I did. We arrived in Dublin, picked up our car and drove to Kilkenny. I was glad we were driving no further that first day, after a long travel day/night. We had lunch and walked around Kilkenny until it was time to check into our B&B. Walked back to have dinner (I just couldn't drive any more that day!), went back to the B&B and called it a night. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel on our way to Dingle the next day. We spent 2 nights in Dingle (highly recommend the Milestone House), then stopped at the Cliffs of Moher on our way to Galway. We actually stayed in Salt Hill (one night) and walked into Galway. It took about 10 minutes. The next day we drove back to Dublin, turned in the car and spent 3 nights there. It looks like you are planning 2 nights Galway and 2 nights Dublin. I felt that we had enough time in Galway (arriving late afternoon and leaving mid-afternoon the next day) to get a good feel for it. Three nights and two full days allowed us to see quite a bit in Dublin. I usually avoid one night stands, but felt that our pace was good. I don't think it is too much driving, but it will take you a little longer to get to places than you think it will. Most roads are fairly small by our standards. The drive from Galway to Dublin is the easiest. No big deal though. Going from Dingle to Galway, be sure to take the Tarbert ferry. It will save you a lot of time.

You'll have enough time to see a bit of Glendalough on your way to Kilkenny. However, on a short trip like you have I don't see the need to stop in Kilkenny. The castle is nice and the old "Butler" church is interesting but I don't think it's worth a day in an eight day trip. It's about an extra hour to Cashel if you want to be a bit of a road warrior. You can go direct to Cashel from Dublin and and miss Glendalough to save some time. The roads are fairly good. I'd recommend a day less in Galway and a day more in Dublin. On the way to Dublin from Galway, you could see Clonmacnoise which is about half way. We really liked that. On the way back to Dublin you might want to see the tombs (Newgrange/Knowth) and possibly Trim Castle. It would delay your arrival into Dublin into the early evening. In Dingle I recommend going to the trad concert at St. James Church. The worst roads we found in Ireland were just south of Galway. They were narrow, crooked and populated with people actually driving the 100 kph speed limit.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! We look forward to our trip!