Ireland in 7 Days

This itinerary would work. It would be better if you could fly into Shannon and out of Dublin to save some driving time on the first day. That might give you time to see the Burren on your first day.

Also, I would spend two nights in Dingle (my favorite place in Ireland) and give yourselves a chance to relax a bit. You could skip the Ring of Kerry or do the Ring of Kerry on the drive from Dingle to Kinsale (it would be a long day).

I second the idea to fly into Shannon and out of Dublin. And I think you should choose either the Slea Head drive or the Ring of Kerry, not both. Depending on the time of year you are planning on going, remember that a foggy day will destroy any hopes to see anything on either drive, so have some alternatives in mind. For example, the day we planned to do the Ring of Kerry drive turned out to be raining and foggy. After about a third of the Ring, we realized it was not going to improve, so we spent a great day watching lacemaking and shopping in Kenmare.

I think it will be a majority vote on this site that you fly into Shannon if possible.

I think most of us agree also that you won't/can't/shouldn't spend the night in/near Shannon. Plan on staying somewhere else after you narrow down your schedule and where and when you land.

A good alternate to the Ring of Kerry is the Beara Peninsula (RS suggests). It's a shorter drive and not as touristy and it has some great scenery.

Think about spending only 2 nights in Dublin unless you have to. You could use the extra day to add to the west coast area.

Kinsale is a cute/quaint harbor village, but could be skipped as well. And it's kind of out of your way.

Those are some options to consider for now.

And of course please allow plenty of time to do your driving. In addition to driving on the left, it can be slow on almost all of the roads you will be on....not like driving in the US.

Ciao, Judy. Two links, one to the itinerary for our recent week in Ireland, and the other to my blog/report on the trip. We didn't rent a car, but trained it, for the most part. Was also a winter trip, but still might prove helpful for your planning in some ways. Good luck!

http://moltogentileitalia.blogspot.com/2010/01/itinerary-new-years-in-ireland-2010.html

http://moltogentileitalia.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-week-in-emerald-isle.html

Hi Judy -

We did a 7 day trip last year. We had to fly roundtrip into Dublin. This was our itinerary:

Day 1 - Land in Dublin in the morning, picked up the rental car and drove to Kilkenny. One night there. I would caution you about trying to drive too far the first day, especially if you have never driven on the opposite side before.

Day 2 - Drove to Dingle (by way of the Rock of Cashel). Spent the night in Dingle.

Day 3 - Drove Dingle Peninsula. Spent the night in Dingle.

Day 4 - Drove to Galway (used the ferry), stopping at the Cliffs of Moher. Spent the night in Galway (Salthill).

Day 5 - Drove to Dublin, dropped off the car at the airport and took the bus into town.

Spent 3 nights in Dublin.

Considering our short trip I felt we spent the right amount of time in each place. I was very happy we allotted two nights to Dingle, which turned out to be my favorite place.

I highly recommend a GPS for driving in Ireland.

Have a great time!

Flying into Shannon seems like a good idea. 2 days was plenty in Dublin. The west coast was beautiful. Connemara national park is worth visiting if you want to hike and see a great view.