Ireland- a short trip in winter. Looking for suggestions.

Doolin is great, you will love it. Cliffs of Moher are fantastic, and I really enjoyed the Burren, especially the dolmens there, very cool.

Day 3- Galway is nice and only about an hour by car. I thought it was worth my time, but if you can, I would prefer to go to the Aran Islands. It all depends ont eh weather I guess. If it is real rainy and cold, Galway would be best (more indoor stuff, museums, pubs, etc). Aran islands are trouble to get too, but worth it if even for a day. Otherwise, yes, Galway is nice. Ferries are cancelled sometimes, so maybe leave Galway in your back pocket just in case?

Day 4- I would not go to Cork. Dingle has so much to see, I would concentrate there. Besides, by cutting Cork, you cut down on at least a few hours of driving.

Day 5- Return your car in Tralee, if you can. Then take the train from Tralee to Dublin. They run roughly every two hours. This will allow you a little time to relax and "hit the ground running" in Dublin. If you can make the 9:15 train, you will be in Dublin at 2PM. Driving from Dingle to Tralee is just under an hour.

Or, if you wanted to drive, you could go by way of the Rock of Cashel, which is really cool. Dingle to Dublin by car that way is about 5 hours, so conceivably you could be in Dublin by late afternoon.

Day 6- That's a tight day, but I think that you could do those sights.

In my opinion, the best of Ireland is the small towns, rural countryside, and the people. The bigger cities are nice, but there is just something about the small towns.

PM me if you want more info.

Day 1 is not a problem. The beautiful new Cliffs of Moher visitor center is open on New Year's Day. Best pictures of the Cliffs are in the afternoon, so you might factor that in.

Day 3 could either be Galway or maybe go down to Bunratty Castle near the Shannon airport. (By the way, are you locked into flying into and out of Dublin? Flying into Shannon and out of Dublin is a better idea, particularly if you are renting a car - saves driving time and it's easier to get accustomed to the "other" side of the road because Shannon airport is out in the country, not in the city).

Day 4 - You can't do Dingle and get to Cork in a day, and I personally didn't find much of special interest in Cork, though Blarney Castle is near there. On the other hand, you can't really do justice to Dingle with what's essentially a day trip. Kinsale would be an excellent stop. You might also consider Kenmare.

Day 5 - as the previous poster suggested, head north of Cork to the Rock of Cashel. You'll pass through Cahir on the way, which has a great castle. On arrival in Dublin, take the hop-on-hop-off bus tour to get a good overview of the city. Since it will be afternoon, your ticket will be good through the next morning, too. DO NOT drive in Dublin - drop your car off before entering town.

Day 6 - St Stephens Green is just a big park, nothing special, particularly in winter. You'll want to go first to Trinity to the Book of Kells and be there when they open if you want to avoid lines. This is true even in winter - I was there in February once and was second in line about an hour before they opened. The line was immense by the time we got to go in. One other thing you might be interested in is the tour at 29 Georgian House (29 Lower Mount St), a few blocks walk from Grafton St. It's an informative tour of one of the Georgian homes.

Actually, we went to the Aran Islands on a cold, rainy day in September. It seemed like appropriate weather to understand such a bleak place. Bundle up in the pony cart, hold onto your hat, and stop at the American Bar for Irish coffee when you're done.

A nice little out-of-the-ordinary sight in Dublin is #29 Lower Fitzwilliam Street. It is a restored Georgian townhouse with a tour showing how an upper middle class family lived at the end of the 18th century. We walked there after visiting St. Stephen's Green. Try www.esb.ie/numbertwentynine for information.

That's the one I was talking about -- corner of Fitzwilliam and Lower Mount, just off of Merrion Square!

Like the others, I recommend skipping Cork.

If you go to Dingle, get a really early start so you have as much daylight as possible for your afternoon drive around the Slea Head Peninsula. From Doolin drive along the coast, cut over to Killimer, and take the ferry across the Shannon River to Tarbert. In the winter the ferry leaves Killimer once an hour on the hour. If you're late, you'll have a long wait. See here.

Whether you go as directly as possible from Dingle to Dublin or you detour to see the Rock of Cashel, again you'll need to get a very early start if you want to be in Dublin by late afternoon.

Driving in Ireland is slow. Take the estimated times at viamichelin.com and increase them by 50% to be safe and to allow for stops along the way to admire the views.

If you're based out of Doolin, you may or may not be able to make it to the Aran Islands based on the weather. If it's lousy, the ferries won't run. Either Galway or Bunratty would be a good choice for a day trip from Doolin. You can make your choice that day depending on the weather.

I was under the impression that the Aran Islands ferries don't run very frequently during the winter, anyway (once a day or less).

Meg,

Whatever you do, You absolutely do NOT want to have a car when you return to Dublin! It's complete unnecessary and a nightmare to drive and park in the city.

The earlier poster's suggestion of a drop off in Tralee would work if you're coming from Dingle. You could also simply drive the car back to the Dublin airport, drop it off, and take a bus or train into the city on Day 5.

I don't think that you have enough time to travel to and enjoy Dingle. Kinsale would be a better choice. Or you could head to Killarney and enjoy the sights in the National Park there.

I wouldn't plan on seeing many sights on Day 5. Most of the major sites close by 5 or 6, and as you note you'll be arriving in the late afternoon. The Musical Pub Crawl is a great evening option and a fun experience with traditional Irish music.

I'd be careful not to pack too much into Day 6. You don't want to be risk missing your flight. I'd go see the Book of Kells and consider it a bonus if I have time to see anything else.

I hope this post doesn't sound too negative. Ireland is wonderful (as you know) and you'll have a great time. Just be careful of planning too much driving or too many sites in one day as that often leads to a rushed, hectic and unsatisfying experience.

Thank you!

I have heard that driving in Dublin is a nightmare, but we are staying at a hotel with parking, so my plan was just to drive to the hotel, park the car and not use it again until we drive to the airport. I drive in Bostonon a daily basis, so I thought just driving to and from the hotel wouldn't be that bad?

Many people seem to think Cork is not worth it. I think we'd like to be making our way east from Doolin, so Cork and Kinsale seemed like a good idea. As much as I want to see Dingle, I don't think I want to take a 5+ hour drive to Dublin from Dingle on day 5. Cork/Kinsale seemed liek we'd get to see somewhere different and be making our way east, heading to Dublin on Day 5. Is there anything anyone could recommend beween Doolin and Kinsale that would be worth a stop? Something that is on route?

I had mixed feelings about the Book of Kells. There was such a crush of people that it was difficult to see anything. Even when one finally got close to an exhibit, one felt the need to hurry along and make room for the next person. The best part of our visit to Trinity was when we got into the reference library. We were able to eavesdrop on a tour guide herding some teenagers through. I don't know what they thought, but we found it fascinating.

Meg,

It wouldn't be too far out of your way to go from Doolin to Kinsale via Killarney. You could get a quick look at some of the national park.

Meg, Check with the hotel and see if the parking is free. Some of the hotels have parking but charge a fee which can be quite expensive if used for several days.

It's possible to drive from Doolin to Kinsale on Day 4, and then from Kinsale to Dublin on Day 5, but I don't think you'll have much time to enjoy Kinsale. You could enjoy a nice meal in one of Kinsale's many excellent restaurants, but that's about it.

It's not really on the way from Doolin to Dublin. It's on the south coast. As I said, it is doable if that's what you really want to do.

I'd consider Cashel instead though. You can see the Rock and then head to Dublin on Day 5.

Or better yet just go to Dublin on Day 4. That way you'll have a full day on Day 5 to see Dublin. You won't have much time to see sites on Day 6 as you'll need to check out and head to the airport and you DO NOT want to risk being late.