Ireland During Thanksgiving: suggestions, comments, concerns?

On a whim a few years ago, I decided to spend the Thanksgiving in Dublin. The weather at that time of year tends to be on the cooler side, but not cold. I found it rather comfortable (but then again, I prefer cooler temperatures). Expect at least some rain at any time of the year in Ireland, you can't avoid it, although the east is slightly less rainy than the west.

"Things not to miss"? Well, that depends on your preferences. Do you like history, art, natural scenery, night life, shopping? Ireland's got it all, but not all in the same locations.

Given you are only taking 7 to 10 days for the entire trip, and you are uneasy about driving, why not fly open jaw into Shannon, base yourself out of Galway and take day tours (Connemara, Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, etc.) for half your trip, then take an easy 3 hour train ride across the country right to Dublin and do the same from there for the other half of the trip - fly home from Dublin. You could still rent a car in either of these cities for 1 or 2 days if you prefer to do some of the countryside touring at your own pace.

7 to 10 days is a very short trip. You won't see all of Ireland's highlights in that amount of time as driving takes much longer than you think - so pick and choose a couple of counties to explore. Also, changing accommodations every day (or every other day) takes up a lot of time that could be better spent sightseeing.

I don't know how old your mother is, but she may enjoy a less frenetic pace. And you might better enjoy your time with your mother if you aren't stressing about reading road maps and packing/moving from one B&B to the next.

Kristina, Ceidleh's has some very good ideas,especially about flying into Shannon and out of Dublin or visa versa. A car is not at all necessary,in fact is a handicap,in Dublin. Most of the city can be seen by either walking or using the hop on hop off bus. There are several tour companies offering day trips out of Dublin so you could see the sights both north and south of Dublin. www.buseireann.ie and www.irishrail.ie both do good tours. Dublin to Galway is a three hour train ride.

There are also tours out of Galway to the Cliffs of Moher,Burren,etc. If you are hesitant about driving and there is something you would like to see it would probably be better to hire a private guide for a day or two than to try and rent a car for the same length of time. It costs almost as much to rent for two days as a week. The peace of mind having someone else doing the driving is as the MasterCard commercial says,"priceless." The person doing the driving gets to see little but the road directly ahead.