Ireland and Normandy

Extremely difficult to go by car between Ireland (an island ) and Europe. you are going to have to cross the ocean/sea somehow- by boat or plane. maybe I dont understand your question

I don't know of any tours that combine Ireland and Normandy. And since you have the UK between them, while you could go from France to the UK by rail, you can't go by rail from the UK to Ireland. Your best bet would be a budget flight between France and Ireland, renting a car in each place.

As for best time of year, everyone has their own opinion. I can't speak to Normandy, but either spring or fall are good times for Ireland. The crowds are smaller and the weather is good, generally speaking.

John,

Some further information would be helpful. Are you planning to visit both places on the same trip? How long have you got for the trip?

I generally prefer either Spring (May/June) or Fall (Sept./Oct.) shoulder seasons for travel.

I don't know of any tours that combine both locations, but you could look at the tours section here for individual tours in Ireland and France. If you're primarily interested in D-Day sites in Normandy, BattleBus Tours is HIGHLY recommended! They offer day tours to various historic sites.

If you prefer to tour on your own, using open-jaw flights would be the best method (inbound Dublin, outbound Paris). The quickest way from Ireland to France is via budget airline. I don't generally advocate rental cars as the primary transportation method, as the trains are much faster and more efficient (and no worries about parking, high fuel costs, tolls, tickets, etc.). I tend to use rental cars to reach specific sites, and I did rent a car in Normandy on my last visit.

Good luck in completing your "Bucket List"!

You can take a ferry from Rosslare, Ireland to either Cherbourg or Roscoff.

http://www.irishferries.com/routes-times-rosslare-roscoff.asp

I thought these were car only, but it looks like they have foot passenger fares.