Dublin, Galway or both in 6 days?

The west of Ireland is far more scenic and interesting than the east. You do have time to train to Galway, and perhaps take day trips from there to the Burren and Cliffs of Moher, or other nearby destinations (Aran Islands might be iffy at that time of year, but you could see). Don't assume that it will be cold and rainy - the climate is much more temperate than Chicago (there are palm trees in Ballyvaughn, near the Burren). Day tours would be a good option for you. You could take a day tour from Dublin to Newgrange or to Glendalough. I would divide my time equally beween the two cities and take day trips from there.

If you would be able to rent a car I highly reccomend the Dingle Peninsula. My husband and I could have easily spent a week there but we actually were there for 3 days. Galway reminds me of a college town and the sights did little for us. We fell in love with the gorgeous scenery, the beaches, the mountains and the charming town of Dingle. We stayed in a B & B where the cows mooing woke us each morning and we ate the best breakfast we've ever had. Check out the restraunts Rick reccomends in his guide. Old World Village and Out of the BLue. AMAZING. 3 days in Dublin and 3 days in Dingle would be alot of fun! The other thing you can do it take a day trip to Northern Ireland if you want to stay based in Dublin. We got on a 6am train and arrived in Belfast in time to catch a tour to the antrim coast, Another one of our favorite things we did on this trip. Back in Dublin by 11pm that evening. A full day but totally worth it! Beautiful scenery.

Thank you both very much for providing ideas! It is very hard to decide the best way to spend 6 full days since Ireland has so much to offer and every area has its own beauty. Dingle Peninsula is something that I was thinking about for a while, but I am still not sure it's a good idea since I will be there close to the end of November. One reason I was thinking to do Galway was because getting there from Dublin is not that hard. We can take the train and once we are are in Galway decide if we would rent a car or just take guided tours. There is still time to decide what to do, but it is hard even prioritizing to the "must see" places i put on my list!

I really like Galway. You can do that and Dublin in 6 days. I think the road in between the two goes right past one of the Monastic Settlements (can't recall the name, Glendalough is south of Dublin) There are lots of other great places too, but you won't be able to do them all in 6 days. While you're in Dublin Bus Eirenn (?) offers day trips to Glendalough (south) and Newgrange (north) that are excellent daytrips and good values. You can catch the bus from the downtown bus station. We purchased tickets the afternoon before but didn't worry about advance reservations (during May). We had wonderful weather for our visit but they had just had a really wet April.

If you are in Galway then I would consider a day on the Aran Island (weather permitting) - rugged and beautiful scenery! Also consider spending a day with Aiofe at the Bone Carving Studio. We found this to be the most unique experience of our trip. You can spend 3 hours to 8 hours designing and carving your own necklace. We opted for less complicated as our time was limited, however I would love to return and do a more complicated piece. You don't even need to be artistic! Just google it and email her for more information. Afterwards spend the time exploring the older part of the town.