Ireland Favourites

I loved Healy Pass on the West coast of the island. Really neat and winding road in the mountains. Evan

We had 7 nights in Ireland and I can tell you our route. We arrived in Dublin, picked up a car and drove to Kilkenny. It was not too far from Dublin, so doable on arrival. We spent one night there (walked around Kilkenny, toured the castle, etc.). The next morning we drove to the Rock of Cashel, then on to Dingle for 2 nights. From there we drove North to the Cliffs of Moher (using the ferry saves time), then on to Galway. We spent one night there. Actually, we stayed in Salthill, but we could walk to the old town area of Galway. The next day we drove back to Dublin and spent 3 nights there. I think you can see plenty in 7 days, especially with a car.

On our first trip, we had six nights. We landed in Shannon, saw Bunratty castle, then spent night #1 in Liscannor, five miles from the Cliffs of Moher. The next day we drove through the Burren to Ballyvaughn, then went south, taking the ferry between Killimer and Tarbert, spending night #2 in Killarney. We attempted the Ring of Kerry the next day, but it was too foggy, so we spent the day in Kenmare, then drove on to a little town south of Cork, called Ballinhassig, where we spent night #3. The next day we saw Blarney castle, and Cahir castle, then drove to Cashel (night #4). We saw the Rock of Cashel the next morning, drove through the Knockmealdown Mountains, and visited Kilkenny, spending night #5 near New Ross. The following day we drove back into Waterford and saw the crystal factory, then headed up the coast, spending night #6 south of Dublin in Newtownmountkennedy. On our final day in Ireland, we drove into Dublin, took the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, did a little shopping, then headed for the airport. In subsequent trips I've spent more concentrated time in several areas instead of ranging so far.

Bob, with only a week you're not going to have a lot of time for touring more than perhaps two or three spots in Ireland. IMHO, it's well worth the trip but there are a lot of places to choose from. One of my absolute favourite locations is Dingle, but unfortunately it's quite a distance from Dublin. Other areas that I really liked were Galway with a day trip to the Aran Islands or the area around Lough Corrib and Cong (where the movie "The Quiet Man" was filmed in about 1952). Spending a night in Ashford Castle would be a memorable experience! I'd suggest spending at least a few days in Dublin, as there's lots of history there and it's a wonderful city. Driving in Ireland can be SLOW, as there are a lot of narrow, winding roads. A GPS unit along with a good Map would be a good idea, especially as I noticed that the English portion of some road signs was spray painted black. Happy travels!

I can tell you that my trip to Ireland would not have been the same without Skellig Michael. Stay in Portmagee and take the boat trip out to the island. After you get back, hike out to Bray Tower before dinner. It will be the highlight of your trip.

dingle is awesome but probably too far away for just one week. two nights dublin probably good, temple bar district very cool. day trip to powerscourt gardens and surrounding mountains and monastery. kilkenny two nights, great town, excellent food. day trip to rock of cashel. possibly kinsale couple of nights or galway. visit cliffs of moher or islands from galway. kinsale beautiful but not alot going on there. have fun, be safe.

I would say that Dublin only needs one full day unless you are into the night life, then you could spend a lot of time there. Dingle was the most amazing place I have even been and I have been everywhere is Europe. It is truly like time has stopped there! Killarney was also beautiful, plenty to do, the food was amazing, and the people were so kind.

When I was telling you about our one week itinerary I neglected to tell you what I liked the best - Dingle and the area around it. Dingle is awesome! I enjoyed all of Ireland, but Dingle is worth the effort to get there IMO.

Went in Aug 2007, great weather,arrived in Dublin, took the on and off bus trip around Dublin, best idea.Got to see alot of the city we would not have found. On Monday headed to Powerscourt, great day, great lunch there, then on to Tramore, beautiful beach area, betting and carnival rides,overnight B&B. Then Lismore, saw the Castle & town, then Cork, just a ride around, too busy. Spent the night in Clonakilty, beautiful area, great town, gorgeous B & B. Ballinskellig was next, gorgeous B&B on the water, looking out at Skellig Michael,great dinner, beautiful scenery, took the ferry. Next day was Tralee, the Cliffs of Mohr, spent the night in Doolin at a brand new B&B with a great view of the Cliffs, dinner and shopping in Doolin. Friday hit the Cliffs again, drove to the Burren, walked all over, visited Lahinch golf club, my brothers choice, then Aillweee Caves, an amazing trip, spent the night in Galway at Glenlo Abbey, wonderful dinner in their restored train restaurant. Alas it was Saturday and time to fly out of Shannon, thanks to my brothers superb driving we really did cover a lot of ground.

Gleninchaquin Park and the Healy Pass on the Beara - nice hiking and so quiet! Ireland was our first attempt at driving left and my husband did great - we had an OS map and had no trouble finding our way. Dingle Peninsula is a must see for me. So much less touristy than the Kerry Peninsula. Enjoy!

Thanks for all of your input! I think we may be adding another week to our GB trip and will try to see some of YOUR favourites!!

Everyone has covered most of the best places but I want to add Belfast. I thought it was an amazing city whith lots of history to see[INVALID]the murals are so thought provoking, the black cab tours cover the history very well

Donegal. My mother's home. Not just a beautiful part of Ireland, but somewhere for your bucket list. Not enough space here for why! Start with Donegal town and soak into the rest.

Please keep dear Donegal a secret, Roger :)

I would just add that if you do want to do Skellig Michael, that you mind the time of the year you're going. The trips are completely weather-dependent. The boats are small (only 12 people), and the sailors do not go out in bad weather. You find out the morning of your trip (8am) if you're going or not. I think it would have indeed been a memorable experience for us, but it wasn't meant to be. We had read that the boats go out through the end of September, and a few days ago we drove from Kinsale to Portmagee, but the weather turned and we missed out! Next time. (BTW, we ended up doing the ROK, which we had not planned, and comparing it to the Dingle loop, we much preferred the latter. It was shorter, but with stunning views of the coast. We even drove down a short, windy road to a wild beach and because of the weather, we were treated to some spectacular surf. The sun was out and it was stunning - one of my favorite places during our Ireland trip).

On a sunny day, a hike and a picnic at the Blarney Castle grounds was my favorite.

My favorite places were Galway, Blarney Castle park, Killarney and Newgrange. The best experience was visiting pubs, listening to a "trad session" and enjoying conversation with the greatest bunch of people anywhere.

I would have to disagree with the people who said you won't have time to go to Dingle, etc. We flew into Shannon, saw the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, and spent the night in Ennis. The next day we drove to Dingle and spent 3 nights there. Then we stopped at the Killarney National Park on our drive to Kinsale. We spent 3 nights in Kinsale (easily could've changed this to 2 nights). Then we stopped at Cahir and Cashel on our way to Dublin (our least favorite place in Ireland). You can DEFINITELY see a lot of the country in 7 days without feeling rushed. We didn't think the road conditions were bad at all (other than the curves) but a GPS will be your best friend! Have a great trip! :)

Agree with above post, you can see a lot of Ireland in a week. If possible, fly into Shannon and out of Dublin or the other way around. If not, you can still have a great time and not feel rushed. We have done this numerous times. Favorite places are Dingle (skip Ring of Kerry), Cashel, Newgrange, Cobh. Dublin is only worth a day to me. Skip Waterford, I don't even think they have a tour anymore and I thought it was too industrial. Only big suggestion is to book your first night B&B. Rest of the time we would just wing it and find a place around 4 o'clock or so and then have early dinner. It is not worth trying to get a place in the dark. Enjoy.