We are a couple in our mid-30s, flexible and hoping to make the most out of our first Ireland trip. We arrive next Saturday the 24th in Dublin, will be renting a car and this is our current itinerary:

Galway - 3 nights

Derry - 2 nights

Belfast - 2 nights

Dublin - 2 nights

Days 1-3:

Saturday 10/24 - Morning arrival in Dublin, drive towards Galway for 3 nights

• Plans include
  • Eat/shop/explore Galway
  • Day trip to Cliffs of Moher/Doolin with POSSIBLE ferry tour of the Aran islands if
  • Macnas Halloween parade on Sunday evening (is it worth it??)

Days 4-5:

Tuesday 10/27 - Leave Galway very early and start drive towards Derry, but stop in Donegal for Slieve League Cliffs and possibly drive up to Glenveagh National Park for one short hike and some views before going to our hotel in Derry for two nights. We are aware of the weekend time change and that we will have limited daylight. This is where I am debating whether we should stay in Galway only two nights and drive towards Donegal on Monday afternoon and stay there for one night to reduce the amount of driving we would do to explore that area.

• Other plans for Derry
  • Explore Derry, Museum of Free Derry etc
  • Awakening of the Walled City parade on Wednesday night (worth it??)

Days 6-7

Thursday 10/29 - Leave Derry for Belfast

• Plans
  • Visit Giant's Causeway and take the coastal route towards Belfast
  • Explore/shop/eat around the city
  • St. George's Market on Friday

Days 8-9

Saturday 10/31 morning - Drive to Dublin

• Plans
  • Visit with friend who moved there earlier this year
  • Explore city and any Halloween festivities
  • Possible day trip to Howth on Sunday

Then we head home Monday morning!

So my main questions are:

- Should we reduce Galway to two nights and add one night in Donegal? Or even Sligo?

- Are we missing any major stops along our route?

- As a couple who isn't very big into Halloween but still looking forward to the excitement, what should we do for costumes? Will we look ridiculous if we aren't dressed up?

- Any other tips are welcome! Please be kind :)

Hi! I recently moved to Cork for work, and my family will be visiting me over the holidays. We have always spent the holidays/Christmas in tropical climates so we wanted to do it differently this time.

We're hoping to spend some time in Dublin together and experience the city during the winter. We understand that places are closed between 24th and 26th December, so we were wondering whether it would be better to visit Dublin before Christmas or after Christmas. They will be here from 18th December to 4th January. My brother wants to check out the museums and the national galley if possible.

TDLR: Family visiting 18th Dec to 4th Jan. Is Dublin better before or after Christmas?

How feasible is this? Wildlife, landscape, pet, street and cultural photography focused. The bolded titles are where I’ll be staying. Starting by train, but mostly car for the trip.

Day 1- Dublin -> Galway
- Land in Dublin mid morning. Maybe a quick attraction before train to Galway.

Day 2- Galway
- Walk the town. Do the Arch, Aran Islands day trip weather permitting.

Day 3- Galway
- Bus or maybe rent car then for Cliffs of Moher & rest of trip. Check out the fields in Athenry. Not sure if I need the car for that.

Day 4- Dugort
- Atlantic Drive, Doolough Valley, Achill island, Keem Beach

Day 5- Donegal
Benbulbin, Donegal, Slieve League, Silver Strand

Day 6- Donegal
Horn Head, Glenveagh, Errigal

Day 7- Donegal-> Galway-> Dublin
- Return car to Galway, train back to Dublin. Not sure with timing, but I know most attractions I’d like to see in Dublin.

Day 8- Fly home
Dublin attractions with any time I have
1 pm flight out.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’ll be visiting Ireland in late October-early November for 15 days. I don’t have a super specific itinerary to share but I did want opinions on the places and how long I was planning to stay in them, and whether yall think I should make any changes. I will being relying on public transport because I’m pretty sure I’m not old enough to rent a car.

Days 1-3 Dublin, I see a lot of people say one day is enough, but I really want time to see the museums, trinity college, the parks, enjoy the pubs, etc. and I want to take at least one day trip, like to Howth.
Days 3-6 Galway, and from there I’d like to do a tour to the cliffs of moher and Connemara. I’ve also seen some tours that are the cliffs of moher + the Aran islands, but I’m not sure if that’s too much. What do you guys think? 🤔
Days 6-9 Dingle Peninsula
Days 9-12 cork

And then I’m still on the fence about the last 6 days. I would really love to visit the north. Belfast and Derry seem really fun, but I’m not sure if I should save that part of Ireland for another trip. Would yall recommend adding more days to one of the parts of the west I’ll already be visiting? Or any other towns/cities in the west/south that should fill those days instead? Or would you say that visiting the north for those last days would work well?

Thank you in advance ☺️🙏🏼

We are driving from Derry to Clifden and only have the one day for the drive. My mother is insisting I get her a souvenir from the Belleek factory while I'm there. We have non-negotiable reservations each night. I've never been to Cong and would like to visit on our way, but it seems going through Westport might be more practical. Would it be worth the extra time to make the detour or will the smaller roads between Cong and Clifden be more of a headache considering the hours of sunlight this time of year? Also, is there any sites to see going through Westport that would make it worth going that way? Neither of us golf

Hi Everyone! My cousin and I are planning our second Ireland trip for two weeks in September of next year. We went this past September for 10 days and loved it so much we are going back. We have started planning/making our itinerary and would love some feedback. We want to see as much as we can and also not overwhelm ourselves with trying to see too much. We will not have a car and be using public transportation. Any feedback or suggestions for if this plan sounds like too much or doable would be very appreciated! Thank you!

Day 1-2: Dublin, we will probably choose the same flight we did this year so we will land in Dublin around noon. So will spend about a day and a half in Dublin. We spent a decent amount of time there our first trip so don’t feel like we need to spend a lot of time, but want to go to places we missed and revisit places we loved.

Day 3-4: Dublin to Sligo by train. We really want to go to Sligo, but aren’t sure if we should since we won’t have a car.

Day 5-7: Sligo to Galway by bus. Day trip to Doolin from Galway by bus. We had one full day in Galway for our first trip and loved it.

Day 8-10: Galway to Cork by bus. Day trip to Kinsale from Cork by bus

Day 11-13: Cork to Killarney by train. Day trip to Kenmare from Killarney by bus

Day 14: Killarney to Dublin by train and leave to go back home on day 15.

I am laying out a trip to Sligo in May, I will not be renting a car and relying entirely on public transportation and taxis. I do have a list of a few things to see, but before I get too comprehensive I'm curious if there are any recommendations for day trips that might be worthwhile from that area.

I'll be there for 6 days and I am not planning on filling my days with 50 different things. I encourage recommendations like "go to this place and walk around for 4 hours just to soak it all in," as much as "this is a must-see spot that you cannot miss." I'm interested in castles, cemeteries, mythology and folklore, casual hiking, and music. I don't drink beer but can get behind some really well crafted cider.

thanks for any help! I found a few older posts here but many of those people had cars.

on my list so far (other than wandering around town):

• Sligo Abbey
• Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery
• Knocknarea
• Ballymote
• WB Yeats grave
• coastal walk around Strandhill
• Rosses Point

Hello all!
I’ve never posted but you seem to give a lot of great advice so I figured why not..

I’ll be heading to Ireland with my partner in August 2027. I’ve been to your lovely country twice but will be first time visit for my boyfriend.

We have an event in Dublin the Saturday after we land (landing on Friday morning, with this plan) so first two nights will be there. Also plan on using busses/trains for transportation. I’ve traveled around Ireland this way the last two times I was there and it worked great. Which is why I’m thinking of this itinerary. Also we likely will have 7 nights.

As I’ve said, I’ve been there before and seen a lot of Irelands beauty (Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle/Slea Head, etc)
I absolutely love Ireland and plan on always coming back. Which is why I want my boyfriend to love it just as much. I just want to make sure with this plan, that he will be getting enough out of it.
He definitely wants to do a mountain hike while there, as well as Aran islands and a castle.
So with that said, here is what I’m thinking:

August 27 - land in Dublin (arrange transportation from airport to hotel) stay in Dublin 2 nights
\- bus to Trim, tour castle.
Check out pubs etc. Enjoy Dublin

August 28 - day of event-

August 29 - bus from Dublin to Galway (stay in Galway 2 nights)
Enjoy Galway

August 30 - Aran islands from Galway city. Cliffs of Moher from ferry on way back (4.5 hours on Inismor) - I understand the water can be rough but still thinking I would like to see the cliffs from the water as opposed to doing an all day tour on a coach. We want to have more time on Inismor
I also know we can cut out the cliffs altogether and take the shuttle from Galway city to ferry at Rossaveel to Aran island as I had before. So that’s an option as well but still thinking to head directly from the city this time.
(Originally wanted to stay overnight on Inismor but with only 7 nights and wanting to head to Clifden the following day I’m not sure that would work out.)

August 31 - bus from Galway to Clifden (stay in Clifden 2 nights)
Head to Kylemore Abbey (bus or taxi?)

September 1 - bus from Clifden to Connemara national park
Hike Diamond hill loop upper - bus back to Clifden (possible?)

September 2 - bus from Clifden to Howth - stop in Dublin for lunch/pint before heading on bus again to Howth
Stay in Howth overnight

September 3 - Howth to Dublin airport (arrange transportation)

For reference, Clifden/Connemara and Howth will all be new to me.

Let me know thoughts! And is there anything I should change? And apologies for the long post. I’m very detailed :)

Thank you!

EDIT:
Thank you for all the helpful comments. With these in mind, I’m now thinking..

First two nights in Dublin.

Bus/train from Dublin to Clifden. Spend two nights in Clifden. (I know this goes via Galway)

Clifden, bus to Galway. One night.

Ferry to Inismor, stay one night.

Fly back to Connemara airport, shuttle to Galway. Spend one night.

Train/bus Galway to Dublin for last night.
Making the trip now a total of 8 nights

OR (maybe makes more sense)…

After Clifden.. Stay in Galway 2 nights, ferry to Inismor, stay one night, fly to Connemara airport/shuttle to Galway, straight back to Dublin for last night..

After all the tips I do really want to stay overnight on Inismor.

And with the hiking in Connemara national park I feel we’ll want to stay in Clifden.

Seemed the best way to fit this in was to just add an additional day.

Any thoughts? Better or worse?

I appreciate the feedback. It is helpful.

Hello all! Hoping for feedback from those that know.

Trying to plan a 5 day driving plan for my wife and older kids for next June, but want to see if we should try to squeeze Kilkenny in on our first day? (Itinerary below)

We love a good road trip, my only concern is the first day doing both Kilkenny and Cashel feels too ambitious with our late start (unavoidable due to flight).

We also prefer to keep Dublin at the end as our flights home would be about 9:30am so a bit early if we flip the itinerary and end in Galway.

We could take a day out of Galway to make day 1 Kilkenny, then day 2 on to Killarney, but will that give us enough time in Galway area?

Current plan is:

Day 1 Fly into Dublin 11:30? Start drive to visit Kilkenny Castle, Medieval mile. After that drive to Rock of Cashel and tour castle. Drive and stay in Killarney area

Alt DUB - drive to Rock of Cashel, then drive to Killarney and stay in Killarney area

Day 2 Drive the Ring of Kerry loop. Night in Killarney area

Day 3 Drive to Dingle Peninsula and explore all the things to see. and evening in Dingle area

Day 4 drive to see The Burren and Cliffs of Moher. Arrive in and explore Galway, staying for the night.

Day 5 Drive into Connemara region visit Kylemore Abbey, back to Galway to explore

Day 6 back to Dublin for two days.

Hello, I'm a 31M American traveling to Dublin for work in early November. I have 2 nights (Thursday-Saturday) at the end of my trip and I would love to do a short outing. Killarney looks cozy and historic, and of the options it looks like a great trip with only a 3 hour train ride from Dublin. I have to make a 4PM flight out of Dublin on Saturday and I think the first train our of Killarney should get me there with time to spare.

I am wondering how best to spend my one full day in Killarney. I considered doing a tour bus around the Ring of Kerry, but I would rather not rush that trip just to say I did it. Being a solo traveler and able-bodied, I can see myself feeling some FOMO if I get an aisle seat or I might get bored taking a lot of rest stops. The tour bus would take the entire day. Another option could be walking/taking a bus directly to the Killarney National Park and doing a half-day hike, like Torc mountain, then spending the rest of my day idling in Killarney. Before I get too deep in research, what do you think? Any recommendations?

My wife and I are planning about 3 weeks in Ireland, looking at around mid May to early June. We would greatly appreciate some feedback on our initial itinerary planning. We’re in our 30s and most interested in nature/scenery, history, castles, wildlife, birding, and light-to-moderate hiking. Any feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Day 1-2: Dublin

Day 3-4: Dublin to Sligo, visit Newgrange on the way. While in Sligo: Benbulben, Gleniff Horseshoe, Mullaghmore and possibly Glencar.

Day 5-7: Sligo to Galway. While in Galway: Connemara and Inis Mór / Aran Islands.

Day 8: Galway to the Burren to Cliffs of Moher. Overnight in Doolin.

Day 9-11: Doolin to Dingle. While in Dingle: Dingle Peninsula, Slea Head

Day 12-13: Dingle to Kenmare. Explore Kenmare and possibly Beara Peninsula.

Day 14-15: Kenmare to Portmagee. On Day 15 try to do Skellig Michael landing tour, or eco tour if not.

Day 16-18: Portmagee to Killarney via the northern Ring of Kerry. Gap of Dunloe and Killarney National Park.

Day 19: Killarney to Rock of Cashel to Kilkenny.

Day 20: Kilkenny to Dublin.

Day 21: Fly home.

We haven't yet started booking, so we are flexible and can make changes.

Thank you

Hi! I need some help deciding between two itineraries for my Ireland trip because I keep changing my mind lol.

I’m traveling solo black female in my early 30s, and I’ll be in Ireland for 6 days from the end of October until the first week of November…. I have to end the trip in Belfast because I have a concert to go to, so that part is set in stone.

I’m really going to Ireland for the scenery. I love hiking, cliffs/coastlines, mountains, history, castles, museums, cute towns, etc. I definitely want to experience the countryside. I like cities too, but I don’t want to spend my whole trip in a city when I only have a few days.

These are the two plans I’ve narrowed it down to

OPTION 1: Dublin + day trips + Belfast
Day 1: Arrive in Dublin and explore. I want to do Kilmainham Gaol and some of the museums/history stuff while I’m there.
Day 2: Howth + Dalkey/Killiney. I wanted this to be my coastal/hiking day.
Day 3: Wicklow Mountains day trip. I was looking at tours that do Sally Gap, Lough Tay and Glendalough.
Day 4: Train from Dublin to Belfast.
Day 5: Carrick-a-Rede earlier in the day and The concert that night.
Day 6: Giant’s Causeway/Causeway Coast + Game of Thrones tour.
Nov 4: Leave to Dublin.
I like this option because it’s EASY.

BUT I keep looking at Dingle and Kerry and wondering if I’m going to regret going all the way to Ireland and not seeing that side of the country 😭

So then I came up with:
OPTION 2: Dingle + Killarney + Belfast
Day 1&2: Dingle, 2 nights.
I’d rent a car and spend a full day doing the Dingle Peninsula/Slea Head. I want to see Dunquin, Coumeenoole Beach, Blasket area, Gallarus, do some walking/hiking and basically just take my time seeing the coast.
Day 3&4 Killarney
I want to do Killarney National Park, Gap of Dunloe, Torc Waterfall, Muckross/Ross Castle and maybe part of the Ring of Kerry depending on how much time I actually have.
Then Belfast for the rest of the trip.

So I guess my actual questions are:

For someone who cares more about scenery/countryside/hiking than nightlife, would you choose the Dublin/Howth/Wicklow itinerary or Dingle/Killarney?

Or do I scratch this completely and do something different?

My wife and I are planning a trip to Ireland in December, and we will be there on Christmas Eve/Christmas. We are intending to stay somewhere in reasonable proximity to the Dublin Airport for those last few days, where we can hunker down, cook some meals, and just enjoy each other. We are currently debating between Skerries and Ashbourne (I know, totally different).

Ashbourne would be cheaper, quicker travel time to get to/from, and seems like there would be a little more activity on Christmas Eve. But we may prefer the vibe of a smaller town.

Skerries would be more expensive but we would have a nice ocean view and definitely has a cute quainter vibe that might be nice after intense travel. The town itself looks a bit smaller and quieter, and potentially nothing open on Christmas Eve?

Just curious if anyone can provide any insight or additional pro/cons to help us out with our decision.

We are two adults/friends traveling together for a fun getaway. We enjoy seeing a mix of nature and historical sights. We are here already and here’s our schedule so far:

Thursday Oct 1 - We arrived in Dublin yesterday AM and hit the ground running. Did a tour of the Gaol as we were able to secure same day tickets. Walked around the city seeing some of the famous churches and walking through the Trinity campus. Was sad to see Dublin Castle is closed until January. So we took the train out to Howth to walk the cliffs which was lovely.

Friday Oct 2 - We took it easy today with a leisurely breakfast in Temple Bar, saw the book of Kells, visited a speakeasy and had dinner at a pub.

Saturday Oct 3 - We pick up our car at 7 am at the airport and start driving to Belfast. We plan to stop at Tollymore Forest on the way and have 4pm tickets to the Titanic Experience.

Sunday Oct 4 - We are going to Giants Causeway.

Monday Oct 5 - open

Tuesday Oct 6 - open

Wednesday Oct 7 - drive back to Dublin for 3pm flight

We have no plan on where to stop to stay the night on Sunday or our route for Monday and Tuesday. We do want to visit Cliffs of Moher and Dingle but open to other suggestions. Should we stay in Galway? We aren’t interested in touring museums but wouldn’t mind visiting a castle if there is one recommended that we will pass.

Hive mind please help! We are 4 adults in our late 40s trying to decide where to spend the second to last night and final full day of our first trip to Éire. We will take the last ferry from Rossaveel 3 June to spend that evening and most of the following day on an Aran Island. Asking for your insights to guide us. Inisheer for the feel or Inishmore for the activity? Any and all advice welcome thank you.

I'm bringing a group of about 36 friends on a college mini-reunion to Ireland the second week of June 2027. We're planning an 8-day 7-night stay and booked a coach bus for transportation. The concept is to arrive at Shannon Airport and then travel to Kilkenny from where we will take day trips involving Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow and Clare. We'll be spending most of our evening in Kilkenny. Average age of the group is about 65 years old.

Appreciate any advice on enhancing the trip with things to see and do. Thanks in advance. 

Day 1: Arrive at Shannon Airport (or the day before to rest up). Depart and travel towards Kilkenny. Stop along the way to visit the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary. Break for lunch in Cashel. Upon arrival in Kilkenny, check into The Pembroke. Wander around town. Enjoy a group dinner at the hotel.  

Day 2: Kilkenny. Guided tour of Kilkenny Castle in the morning. Break for lunch. Walking tour of Kilkenny in the afternoon.  

Day 3: Wexford. Tour the Kennedy Homestead where JFK visited his family and ancestral home during his time in Ireland. Speak with an Irish member of the Kennedy clan. Lunch break. Visit the replica Dunbrody Famine Ship and the Irish Emigrant Experience. On the way back to Kilkenny, stop at the Ballykeefe Distillery for a tour by the actual owner / operator and a whiskey tasting. 

Day 4: Free Day. A free day to explore at one's own pace. Wander around Kilkenny. Take a day trip to Dublin or golf, kayak, shop, dine, pub crawl, etc. at your leisure.  

Day 5: Waterford. Tour Reginald's Tower and the Viking Triangle. Lunch break. Tour the House of Waterford Crystal (get to see “back stage” in the workshops).   

Day 6: Wicklow. Visit and hike Glendalough. Lunch break. Tour the Avoca Woolen Mills, Ireland's oldest working mill.   

Day 7: Depart Kilkenny. Travel to Clare. Tour Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. Lunch break. Visit the magnificent Cliffs of Moher before checking into the Shannon Airport Hotel for a farewell group dinner.  

Day 8: Departure day. Sad face.        

I posted here yesterday with an itinerary (which I will include below) asking for feedback and have made a lot of adjustments based on what commenters shared. Let me know what yall think!

Tentatively arriving in Dublin Jan. 18 in the morning

NEW ITINERARY

1 Travel to Dublin
2 Dublin
3 Dublin to Cliffs of Moher (Stay in Doolin)
4 Doolin to Killarney National Forest (Stay in Killarney for remainder of trip)
5 Day trip to Dingle, back to Killarney for dinner and sleep
6 Torc Waterfall
7 Kerry to London

Original Itinerary:

1 Travel to Dublin
2 Dublin
3 Dublin to Galway to Cliffs of Moher
4 Galway to Killarney National Forest
5 Killarney National Forest to Cork
6 Cork to Waterford to Dublin
7 Dublin to London (stay for days 7-9)
9 London to Dublin
10 Dublin to Home

Hi all! My husband and I are going to Ireland for my 30th birthday at the end of March. I am looking for some feedback on my rough itinerary. I really tried not to pack too much in as that’s the most common piece of advice I see on this sub. The first few days are pretty busy because as the Cliffs of Moher and the Slea Head drive are our non-negotiables. I tried to slow it down after that though.

Day 1
Land in Dublin 10:15 AM
Check into hotel/explore Dublin
Keeping this day very loose in case we are tired. Flying in from Toronto.

Day 2
Pick up car from Dublin City Centre
Drive to Galway (take our time, hit any stops along the way)
Spend the rest of the day/night in Galway

Day 3
Early morning trip to Cliffs of Moher
Spend rest of day/night in Doolin

Day 4
Drive to Dingle
Spend the day/night in Dingle

Day 5
Slea Head Drive
Spend the rest of the day/night in Dingle

Day 6
Drive to Killarney, explore National Park/Gap of Dunloe
Possibly stay in nearby castle about 30 minutes from Killarney

Day 7
Partial Ring of Kerry?
Explore Killarney
Night 2 in castle

Day 8
Drive back to Dublin
Drop car off
Spend day in Dublin

Day 9
Full last day in Dublin

Day 10
Fly home!

Hi everyone,

Me and my family (4 of us total) are going to Ireland for 10 days in mid October. Here’s our current itinerary (It’s a work in progress- tips and recs are very much appreciated!). The only thing that isn’t flexible Dublin in first 2 days, and flying out of Dublin on the last day! My uncle has driven there a couple of times, so driving is not the concern :)

Day 0-Fly in to 🇮🇪
Day 1 & 2- Dublin, doing the “classic tourist-y” things
Day 3- Drive to Killarney, stop at the Blarney Stone, hang around Killarney and/or see parts of the Ring of Kerry
Day 4- Driving around Ring of Kerry, sightseeing
Day 5 & 6- Travel to Doolin and go on a boat tour there, Cliffs of Moher
Day 7- Galway (We found a cool castle airbnb, so this is a bit of an adventure day)
Day 8- Ballyshannon (We have family there so we are staying with them)
Day 9- Stopping in Gilford (Where some family was born, so we have to see) and then going to Belfast
Day 10- Fly back🇨🇦

Thanks in advance! If there’s anything we should cut back on in terms of time, anything to skip, etc, please lmk. It is a super packed schedule 😮‍💨

I'm so excited for my Ireland trip and wanted a realistic check of my itinerary in October :) I hear that Google Maps is useless for driving time, is there any way to estimate arrival times?

Day 1: We're arriving from Edinburgh to Dublin @ 10AM so jetlag shouldn't be much of an issue. We were planning to rent the car at the airport straight away and make our way to our first hotel stop, which is castle hotel in county Kilkenny. Depending on drive time and how we feel, we were thinking of spending some time in Kilkenny before checking in late afternoon.

Day 2: Rock of Cashel, evening in Cork

Day 3: Cobh/Cork

Day 4: Muckross Abbey, Dingle

Day 5: Slea head drive, Dingle

Day 5: Checking in to a castle hotel in county Clare for a more relaxed day, maybe we'll do falconry or something on site

Day 6: Cliffs of Moher and Doolin, was planning on sleeping in Galway

Day 7: Galway

Day 8: drive back from Galway to Dublin, not sure how long this should take or if it's realistic to spend an afternoon somewhere along the way back. I'd like to get to Dublin just in the evening.

Day 9 and 10: Dublin

Day 11: Flight back

Basically the plan is do 1 night Kilkenny, 2 nights in Cork, 2 nights in Dingle, 1 in a castle in county Clare, 2 nights in Galway, 3 nights Dublin. What do we think?

Hi, we are heading to Ireland for 8 nights in mid October. We were originally planning to do a full road trip around the country but now we're considering just simplifying to Dublin and Galway and doing day trips from there. Do you think we'd regret not seeing the southwest (Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle, etc.)? Not sure if we'll get bored staying in those two spots. We're an early 30s couple with varied interests across culture, nature, sites, etc. I'm comfortable driving the narrow roads.

• Sat Oct 10: Land around noon → Dublin. Casual site-seeing and flight recovery
• Sun Oct 11: Dublin site-seeing
• Mon Oct 12: Dublin. Glendalough half-day or Malahide and Howth (not sure)
• Tue Oct 13: Drive Dublin → Galway late morning. Latin Quarter, Spanish Arch
• Wed Oct 14: Galway. Connemara day trip (Clifden, Sky Road, Kylemore Abbey, Killary Harbour)
• Thu Oct 15: Galway. Cliffs of Moher + Doolin + Burren day trip
• Fri Oct 16: Galway. Free day, Salthill Promenade. Weather buffer for either day trip
• Sat Oct 17: Galway Saturday market, drive to Dublin to sleep before flight
• Sun Oct 18: Fly home late morning flight

My sister (40f) and I (43f) are traveling to Ireland for both our first times, next May/June. I have put together our rough itinerary, and have edited it back quite a bit after reading a lot of advice given to others about packing too much into a trip.

I'm wondering if this pace seems reasonable, or if I should get my editing pencil back out?

We are not much interested in distilleries or drinking related tourist attractions, but are certainly interested in have some pints in local pubs. We are also hoping to catch some sort of local sporting event somewhere along this itinerary (Rugby, hurling/camogie, association football, or gaelic football).

6.5 hour flight from Boston, east coast, US

Day 1, Friday

Land 8:30, get through customs, pick up rental car and drive north to Drogheda

Explore town, grab an early dinner, go to bed early

Day 2, Saturday

Leisurely morning, check out around 9:30, attend yarn spinning workshop nearby, 10:00 - 14:00

After workshop depart for Downpatrick.

Explore town for the evening, visit St Patrick's Grave.

Day 3, Sunday

Drive to Killyleagh to explore where our great-grandfather was born. See where else the day takes us.

Back to Downpatrick for the night

Day 4, Monday

See anything else in Downpatrick/Killyleagh area we want before leaving.

Start drive to Ballyfarnon, Kilronan Castle.

Open to stops along the way.

Enniskillen for lunch?

Check into Kilronan Castle between 16:00 - 17:00. Explore grounds.

Dinner at the castle or pub nearby for dinner

Day 5, Tuesday

Up early and drive to Benbulbin for Forest Walk, goal is to start around 9am.

Depart for Westport.

Lunch in Westport

Finish drive to Galway

Explore Galway for the evening

Day 6&7 are interchangeable if needed. Tentatively hoping to catch a sporting event one of these nights.

Day 6, Wednesday

Take ferry to Inis Mor

Rent ebikes and explore island (or hire guided tour)

Ferry back will pass by Cliffs of Moher

Back to Galway ~ 18:00

More Galway exploring

Day 7, Thursday

Set out for Kylemore Abbey, Connemara Region, Sky Road loop.

Back to Galway for the night.

Day 8, Friday (This might be the most aggressive day)

Depart Galway for Doolin , drive through the Burren on the way

Explore Doolin for a bit

Drive to Kilkee for lunch

Take Shannon Ferry from Killimer to Tarbert

End in Dingle for the evening

Day 9, Saturday

Rent e-bikes (alternative drive) and do Slea Head Loop.

Later afternoon, early evening go on Dingle Sea Safari

Back to Dingle for the evening

Day 10, Sunday (this is also a contender for most aggressive day...)

Depart Dingle, final destination is Dublin

Stop at Rock of Cashel

Kilkenny for Lunch

Drop rental at Dublin airport by 16:00

Check into hotel and explore Dublin for the evening

Day 11, Monday

Explore Dublin. Hop on/hop off bus?

Day 12, Tuesday

Fly home

TIA!

**Update: after reading so much feedback about moving slower and getting familiar with a smaller area, we have officially blown up this itinerary and will now focus on only 3-4 locales for longer stays, rather than moving around so much. Now looking at staying somewhere around Belfast (but not in Belfast), then Donegal or Sligo, Galway, and then back to Dublin.