Steve's 23 day Ireland Itinerary

I have never been to Ireland, and do not know anything about Rick's 23 itinerary there. But I can say that, while I like many things about Rick's books and his approach to travel, his suggested itineraries are NOT one of them. He has 1 and 2 nights stays almost exclusively, so you on the move every other day or so; 3 weeks of this gets VERY tiring. For his other suggested itineraries in countries I am familiar with, I'd cut a few destinations out of each, and expand the time in some places, even on a "busy" itinerary.

Ireland is small, and while driving can be crazy slow in some places, it should be fairly easy to choose maybe four or five locations and do day trips from there instead of moving all the time. Fewer overnight locations could allow you to rent a cottage, giving you more space and less food cost, since you could cook for yourself.

Here is the itinerary with the overnights in parentheses. Too many 1 and 2 night stays for my liking. If you don't mind a longer driving day every few days you could do as suggested above and use 4 or 5 different bases with day trips (3-5 night stays), much more relaxed way to travel. Day 1: Fly into Dublin, rent car, Glendalough (sleep in Kilkenny) Day 2: Kilkenny with side-trip to Cashel (Kilkenny) Day 3: Waterford (Waterford) Day 4: Explore Wexford (Waterford) Day 5: Cobh (Kinsale) Day 6: Kinsale (Kinsale) Day 7: Muckross House and Farms (Kenmare) Day 8: Ring of Kerry (Dingle) Day 9: Dingle Peninsula loop (Dingle) Day 10: Blaskets, Dingle town (laundry and rest, Dingle) Day 11: Cliffs of Moher, Burren, Dunguaire Castle banquet (Galway) Day 12: Galway (Galway) Day 13: Aran Islands (Aran Islands) Day 14: Tour Connemara and County Mayo (Westport) Day 15: Drive to Northern Ireland (Derry) Day 16: Side-trip to Donegal (Derry) Day 17: Explore Derry, then drive to Portrush (Portrush) Day 18: Explore Antrim Coast (Portrush) Day 19: Belfast (Belfast) Day 20: Drive to Valley of the Boyne sights, return car (Dublin) Day 21: Dublin (Dublin) Day 22: Dublin (Dublin)
Day 23: Fly home

Steve's 23 day Ireland Itinerary Who's Steve?

Frances, I'd suggest not following Rick's "suggested Itineraries" too closely, as they're often overly ambitious and not well suited to the average traveller (unless they want a "blitz trip" without actually being able to spend much time in the places they're visiting). You might find it helpful to pick up a copy of the Ireland Guidebook, as I'm sure it would be really helpful in planning your trip. Start by making a list of the places you want to see, but try to ensure that you don't fit too many locations into a limited time frame. Stay at least two nights in each place. You might also have a look at the Itinerary for the RS Ireland in 14 Days tour, as that will provide a good framework to start with. Good luck with your planning!

I have been to Ireland four times, always driving myself, sometimes solo. I don't mind moving around, but I would find this schedule exhausting. Some thoughts: 1. I can't see any reason to need two nights in Kilkenny. It's just not that interesting, and you can see the Rock of Cashel on the way to somewhere else instead of backtracking. 2. No reason to stay in Waterford at all, much less two nights. 3. Day 11 isn't very possible. It's a long drive from Dingle, and you can't do the Cliffs and the Burren AND get to Galway in time for a castle banquet. 4. The Aran Islands are always iffy, and there is only a single day allowed in this itinerary. Bad weather or rough water (even on a seemingly OK day) can cause ferries to be canceled. Unless you can potentially spend the night there, it might be best to skip it. 5. You don't say when this trip is scheduled, but if you intend to see Newgrange (part of your Day 20) during peak tourist season, you need to get there as early in the day as possible. Only so many tickets are given out each day, and tour buses can take lots of them. Driving from Belfast would mean you would have to leave early.

Agree, this schedule is too much in my opinion. I would get a map of Ireland and pinpoint maybe four or five areas and do day trips for each. Been there many times and as Nancy says, add twenty five percent onto driving as to what guides tell you. It is my favorite country but need to be aware of back roads with sheep, tractors, etc.

If there's any way you can work it into your itinerary I would definitely plan to spend a night or two on one of the Aran Islands, especially if you like to get out in nature and walk. I loved it there, so wild and beautiful. Of course that would be weather dependent.

I would ditto Nancy's comments, particularly: Skip Waterford altogether - even when they had the factory tour, it wasn't worth two nights and only worth one night if you're a crystal fan. Have a backup plan for Arran Islands (I bet Rick's tour has a backup plan) in case the ferries aren't running. There's always a good chance they won't be. I imagine Rick's tours probably plan to try twice. If they can't get there, they probably skip ahead and try once more later. If they still can't make it, they probably just miss it.