route planning in Ireland

Sorry, I meant Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare. I have ordered Rick Steve's book with map, as well as the Complete Road Atlas of Ireland. With luck, those should help. Might also get a GPS!

If you really meant 30 MPH and 200 KM, then that's roughly four hours of driving per day. A bit more than I generally like to do, but, without and itinerary, it's hard to say.

Ignore that first reply.

There are precious few freeways in Ireland.

You can't automatically add a factor for stops since stops have different reasons that range from five minutes to five hours.

All mapping software (including that in an automotive gps -- but not those in aviation or marine units) can be off in time either way for a variety of reasons, but is fairly accurate for distance.

I figure 35 mph average in Ireland, based of a fair amount of experience, but often blow my estimate completely -- again, in either direction.

I have been using the route planner at Discover Ireland.com and playing with different alternatives.

I agree that 4 hrs. driving is a bit much and am trying to avoid it. Our itinerary is still a work in progress but is usually a combination of country roads and red roads (they look to me as if they would be the equivalent our state routes). We have no desire to drive on freeways.
so far...
-Dublin to Ballinamore vis New Grange(2 nights in Ballinamore)This will be one of our longest days
-Ballinamore to Kilkenny (2 nights in Kilkenny)long day...
--Kilkenny to Dungarvan (via Cashel, Caher and Lismore)
We're going to do the Beara and Dingle Peninsulas and skip the Ring of Kerry which sounds as if there are too many tour buses. Probably stay in Kenmare along the way. Haven't figured out the details between Dungarvan and Dingle
After Dingle we'll go up to Tarbert and take the ferry to Clare, Rock of Cashel, etc. and stay one night on the Aran Islands, see the Burren and come back down to Shannon for flight home. Again... details not worked out yet.
Does all of this seem workable?

You list Cashel twice. Were you thinking of doing it when you go to Kilkenny or when you are back in Co. Clare? Keep in mind that those country roads often wind around and narrow down to 1-1.5 lanes in places. That's where you will get slowed down a lot, especially when you encounter sheep in the road. The signage for those roads is pretty awful, too. You'd be better off to stick to N roads (like our two-lane highways) where possible. Sometimes in Ireland roads that look like shortcuts are just the opposite.

Here's a route planning website that I used successfully a few years ago.

http://www.aaireland.ie/ Click on "Route Planning" on the left.

Driving 200 km is like driving from Dublin to Sligo. According to this website, it would take about 3 hours. I have been a passenger on this very car trip and with only stops for gas/food/etc. it took at least 4-5 hours not only because a non-native driver was driving more, um, "carefully" than a native driver, but also because of road construction, which you can count on in the summer (like pretty much everywhere else). It was a long day, so I would suggest cutting down your mileage quite a bit.

If you ask an Irish person how long it would take to drive to the next town or some sort of destination, they'll say "10 minutes for me, but 20 for you" because they are so used to the driving conditions as well as being on the left. Plus, they're not as interested in soaking in the scenery as we are! :)

Yes, I see your point. We have the same issues in coastal Maine. The tourists drive us crazy in the summer. I'll look up that website.

When in doubt, plan conservatively and don't expect to drive too far each day.

Why don't you post your draft itinerary so we can eyeball it for you? It's hard to give advice in the abstract.

day 1 -arrive dublin -drive to New grange
day 2 - drive to Ballinanore/Leitrim (family)
day 3 Ballinanore/Mohill/Aughavas
day 4- Ballinanore to Kilkenny
day 4- Kilkenny
day 5 Kilkenny to Cobh via Cashel and Lismore
day 6- Cobh to Kinsale
days 7, 8 & 9 South West (skipping ROK)
day 7- Kinsale to Dingle via Bantry and Killarney National Park
day 8- Dingle
day 9 - Dingle
days 10 & 11-Cliffs of Moher and Burren
10- Dingle to Lahinch via Tarbert ferry
11- Lahinch to Kinvarra
days 12, 13 & 14 Connamara- Mayo
day 12- Kinvarra to Leenane via Westport
day 13 - Leenane to Oughterard via Clifden
day 14 - Oughterard to Shannon
As you can see, we have skipped cities in favor of more rural areas.