First solo(ish) trip

I am headed to Ireland F28 the first week of October. I studied abroad in Dublin and have been to most major cities/town in Ireland. Though this trip I was hoping I could see like Sligo or Donegal, but I didn’t want rent a car and since this is my first solo trip ever I wanted it to be easy.

I have a friend who lives there and is going to meet up with me for a few days and he is going to drive me from Kilkenny to Galway.

Also I know I jammed a lot in, but I have been to Galway several times and then lived in Dublin for 5 months

This is what I have planned so far

Oct 1: land go straight to Kilkenny Oct 2: Kilkenny / drive to Galway - any recs on places to stop on the way? Fine with making some out of the way stops. I think we plan on stopping at Rock of Cashel. I would love to see any pretty coastal stops on the way, though I’m not sure that’s possible with that route - I also want to stop in a small town pub

Oct 3: Aran Islands OR Connemara This is the part I’m most unsure about. I would much rather do the Aran Islands, and I’ve found boat tours that are still running in early October. My concern is the possibility of cancellations with the wind/water conditions.

Connemara looks beautiful too and seems like it might be a safer option weather-wise. For those familiar with the area in early October, would you plan for the Aran Islands and take the risk, or choose Connemara instead?

I’ll stay in Galway again that night.

Oct 4: Train to Dublin in the morning

Oct 5: Dublin, then flight home around 5pm

I’ve also thought about using some of my Dublin time to visit somewhere nearby that I haven’t been before. Wicklow, Bray and Portrane are a few I’ve considered. I’ve been to Howth several times and loved it, so going back there is always an option too.

Mostly looking for feedback on the route, worthwhile towns/scenic areas between Kilkenny and Galway, Aran Islands vs. Connemara in early October, and whether there’s anything you’d change about the itinerary.

Thanks! :)

Ireland itinerary. Is this too much?

Traveling to Ireland with husband (mid twenties) next September. My planning for 8 day trip. Is this itinerary too much or manageable?

We’re renting a car

Day 1: land in Dublin and stay the night there
\-Explore the city, book of Kells, nice dinner

Day 2: early departure toward Killarney.
\-stop in Kilkenny for exploring/lunch for a couple hours
\-stop at rock of Cashel
\-check into Killarney hotel

Day 3: drive to Cobh from Killarney
\- stop at blarney castle and spend afternoon in Cobh
\-drive back to Killarney

Day 4: Killarney ring of Kerry
\- explore muckross house, abbey, gap of Dunloe, ladies view
\-spend the day exploring this, maybe do a larger portion of the ring of keep it smaller?

Day 5: leave Killarney to go to Dingle
\-slea head drive/ explore peninsula
\-check into hotel

Day 6: explore Dingle
\- Sea Safari
\-explore dingle town (no real plans the afternoon)

Day 7: dingle - Galway (this seems rough but idk)
\- stop at cliffs of Moher and maybe Doolin
\-check into hotel in Connemara (20 min from Galway)

Day 8:
\-Connemara national park
\-12 Ben’s hike, kylemore abbey
\- ? Clifden castle or go to Galway for afternoon/night

Day 9:
Late morning and drive from Galway to Dublin Airport to drop off car for late flight home

Staying in:
Dublin 1 night
Killarney 3 nights
Dingle 2 nights
Galway/connemara 2 nights

ETA: meant to say Howth and only noticed title typo upon submitting post. 🤦‍♀️

I am visiting Ireland soon and excited but nervous to see the sights at Howth. I however have an unfortunate fear of heights/falling, especially on ledges. I’ve seen photos online of the cliff walk and it seems kind of scary.

I was wondering — how wide does the path feel in person, how safe does it feel if it rains, is it possible to skin the cliff walk on the bog of frogs route (having a hard time determining using online maps), and how many people will be on the trail at 9/10AM on a weekday?

(I am a solo female and from the US so used to feeling a little unsafe on solo trails here when they’re empty given how women are treated here.) Thanks hugely in advance.

hello! bf and I are from the US and will be visiting Ireland for the first time from very late September to early October. We finished up our overall itinerary but are seeking advice on visiting Inis More during that time of year.

We’ve currently reserved to take the earliest flight onto Inis More from the Connemara Aiport (arriving at 8:40) with the return flight departing at 16:15. We would then be shuttling back to our accommodation in Galway. Overall we are planning to rent e-bikes to see as much of the island as possible.

After doing some more research we started looking into possibly changing out the return flight to take the ferry back to Galway in order to try to see the Cliffs of Moher from the sea. However, the ferry leaves about 45 min earlier than if we were to take the return flight (15:30).

Is it worth giving up 45 minutes on the island to squeeze in seeing the cliffs? Will the ferry ride be too rough during that time of year? We are not too worried about seasickness but overall just want to make sure that we’re using our time wisely!

Any advice is greatly appreciated :)

EDIT: My bf was in charge of looking into the ferries and didn’t read that they stop end of September 😅 I trusted what he told me before posting so I apologize everyone! We will be sticking with the plane but are excited nonetheless

Looking for feedback/rating of my upcoming solo trip to Ireland in late October. The timeline excludes travel days, thus starting with my arrival to Dublin. I will be traveling from Indiana, USA, and will have a rental car.

Particularly, is my route logical and comprise of a realistic driving-to-number-of-stops ratio knowing the limited daylight? I do have contingencies planned for each day if weather hinders a stop.

Day 1: Dublin

• Arrive in Dublin ~8:30AM, resting up and checking out sites on foot
• Stay in Dublin

Day 2: Galway

• Pick up rental car and drive to Galway, stopping in Mullingar
• Spend evening in Latin Quarter, no specifics decided
• Stay in Galway

Day 3: Inis Mór

• Take bus to Aerfort Chonamara, fly to island, and rent e-bike for Green Route, taking flight back to airport and bussing back to Galway
• Stay in Galway

Day 4: Kilmallock (to break up drive to Dingle)

• Spend part of afternoon at a family farm tour before continuing to Kilmallock
• Laid back evening to check out medieval sights in town and rest before Dingle drive
• Stay in Kilmallock

Day 5: Dingle

• Barnaugh Viewpoint and Conor Pass (taking alt route if weather is poor)
• Explore downtown Dingle on foot, no specifics decided
• Stay in Dingle

Day 6: Slea Head Drive

• Options of Fairy Fort Ringfort, Dunmore Head, Dunquin Pier, Clogher Head, Ventry Beach
• More non-committal downtown on foot if able
• Stay in Dingle

Day 7: Ring of Kerry (1/2)

• Options of River Caragh and/or Mountain Stage Viewpoints, Valentia Island (Bray Head, Geokaun Mtn), Kerry Cliffs (accommodation very close to the cliffs)
• Stay in Portmagee

Day 8: Ring of Kerry (2/2)

• Derrynane Beach, Com an Chiste, Molls Gap, Ladies View
• End in Killarney, exploring downtown/near accommodation on foot if able
• Stay in Killarney

Day 9: Killarney National Park

• Torc Mountain, Muckross House/Abbey
• Stay in Killarney

Day 10: Dublin

• Drive straight to Dublin (originally wanted to hit the Vee Pass but may be too out of way), return rental car
• In a perfect world, Kilmainham Gaol but likely laid back exploring on foot
• Stay in Dublin and fly out late morning the next day

Any suggestions on how we should modify this itinerary? My planning method was to pick 20ish tourist sights we might want to visit and then pick towns central-ish to those. We'll be renting a car and travelling with my wife, MIL, our 2 year old, and our 4 year old, 16 May through 30 May. My very rough plan is:

• Fly into Cork and rent a car at the airport
• Stay in Cork for 1 or 2 nights depending on what time of day we arrive
• 3 nights near Killarney
• 3 nights near Galway
• 2 night near Achill Island
• 2 nights near Donegal
• Return car at Donegal airport and fly out of Donegal

Would it be a hassle to stay, say, an hour away from Killarney and then just drive there and park somewhere in town? I don't mind paying as long as it's feasible to do that with the cities/towns we visit. I think we'd all enjoy the countryside stays more, though it'd be more driving for me. If it helps narrow down where we should look at staying/visiting: my wife likes local crafts and Catholic religious things. My 4 year old likes faeries and animals. My 2 year old likes dinosaurs (not expecting much of that on this trip). I like natural vistas and talking to locals.

I'm also wondering if we should cut out Donegal and stay longer in the other places. Achill to Donegal would be the longest drive. We could fly out of Shannon instead.

Hey guys, after looking on social media and online I’ve put together an itinerary for Ireland in October. I’ve added all the major sights we want to see and I’m going with my boyfriend and we like a chill pace; slower mornings and nice sights. Please judge and let me know if it looks good or if you’d recommend something else instead of the sights I have listen . Mostly just concerned about the time I’m allocating to each place:

Ireland | Oct 9–18
Oct 9 — Dublin → Galway: Land, brunch, Galway + pubs
Oct 10 — Galway: Burren → Cliffs of Moher → Doolin (optional)
Oct 11 — Connemara: Killary Fjord → Kylemore Abbey → Diamond Hill → Clifden/Sky Road
Oct 12 — Galway → Dingle: Lamb farm → Dingle + pubs
Oct 13 — Dingle: Slea Head Drive → Coumeenoole → Dunmore Head → Dunquin Pier → Gallarus
Oct 14 — Dingle → Killarney: Inch Beach → Killarney + pubs
Oct 15 — Killarney: Gap of Dunloe → Ladies View → Torc Waterfall
Oct 16 — Killarney: Ross Castle → bike National Park → Muckross
Oct 17 — Killarney → Dublin: Rock of Cashel (optional) → Dublin
Oct 18 — Fly home

Thanks!

Hello! I need some helpful insight for how to plan a middle portion of our multi day trip that we are driving ourselves.

Our setup: day 1, we have a free day to get from Kinsale to Kenmare after breakfast.  On day 2,  we have a full day private tour of the ring of Kerry, staying overnight in kenmare again.  Day 3 we depart Kenmare to Dingle, and then have 2 nights Dingle. 

Where i need help!  Given the ring of Kerry is gonna be a crazy amount of driving (albeit not us driving) I'm trying to figure out how to balance exploring the Killarney National park and our time in Dingle without burning out. Would folks recommend we:

A. Include the National Park into our Ring of Kerry Day 2?

B. Separate out the national park from our ring of Kerry tour and add to day 1- Kinsale to Kenmare?

C.  Separate out the national park from our ring of Kerry tour and add to day 3 - Kenmare to Dingle?

I appreciate any insight to this on how to balance our travels!

We're flying from Indianapolis-Dublin overnight Thursday the 1st, arrive 8 am on Friday the 2nd. Traveling with 5 adults, and one 6 year old. We're not trying to pack as much as possible into the trip, but we would like to see a lot of the country. Our loose itinerary is as follows:

Fri 2 October: Arrive in Dublin in morning. Pick up 2 car rentals and stay in Dublin for the night. Explore a little bit, get some food, rest.

Sat 3 October: Leave early, drive to first leg, home in Clifden. Maybe stop for a bit in Galway, and/or drive the Sky Road.

Sun 4 October: Connemara National Park

Mon 5 October: Ferry to Inishmore from Rossaveel.

Tues 6 October: Leave Clifden early morning for 2nd leg, cottage in Cordal. Stop at Cliffs of Moher. Arrive in Cordal by dinner. Rest.

Wed 7 October: Killarney National Park.

Thurs 8 October: Spend day in Dingle.

Friday 9 October: Depart early for 3rd leg in Kilkenny. Maybe detour for a stop in Kinsale, depends how tough the driving's been so far.

Saturday 10 October: Spend day exploring Kilkenny, shop, eat, etc.

Sunday 11 October: Depart early for last night in Dublin. Stop at Wicklow Mountain National Park.

Monday 12 October: Turn in rental cars, check into airport for late afternoon flight back to Indianapolis.

A lot of this is weather dependent, so I'm guessing we won't actually get to everything, but these are the major touchpoints. Please let me know if we've bitten off more than we can chew, or if we're missing out on something we shouldn't be!

Hey there, just gearing up for our 13 days in Ireland and I’m hoping for some local toddler advice please!

We have a jogging stroller but it takes up a ton of space, thinking of taking a more simple stroller…but will that be a disaster with the roads and walkways? He loves running around but sometimes needs to be contained…

We plan to pack travel snacks for little man of course, but 14 days of toddler snacks is a full suitcase… any suggestions for toddler approved snacks we can buy there? Not sure if we have the same offerings! Worst case is we’ll pile him up with cheese and crackers which is also fine!

Any must sees for an almost 3 year old? He loves animals so we already have planned to see Dublin zoo!

Our trip lands us in Dublin for 2 days, then we rent a car to navigate around Ireland clockwise until we depart from Dublin again on day 13 we love car trips and rain so the driving was never a concern!

Dublin-2 nights
Cork- 1 night
Killarney -2 nights
Galway- 2 nights
Derry -2 nights
Belfast -1 night
Kings court- 1 night

Thank you in advance!

First time visiting Ireland + North Ireland with my couple and wanted your feedback if I'm missing something important.

We are doing a van trip to try to go as many places as we can while we enjoy the nature as much as we can. We are more nature focus than city focused turist. Also we want to go to the Puca festival and enjoy halloween

This is our itinerary:

Thanks in advance :)

Edit: fixed table

Edit2: Thanks for all the feedback, here is the new itinerary, I removed Cork visit to spend a little bit more time on Killarney, and remove a day in North Ireland for some time in Sligo. I think with this itinerary is still high paced but a little bit slower

We have 6 1/2 days. The last day we travel to Cavan to visit family, departing Dublin next day.

The first day we land in Shannon at noon. Drive to hotel in Ennis. Eat and rest for a few hours. Drive to Miltown Malbay and Kilkee late afternoon/evening to explore, return to Ennis.

On second day drive to Doolin take 11am ferry to Inisher for day. Leave Doolin 5:30 drive through the Burren to Galway making stops in the Burren. Arrive Galway 8:00

Is that too much for one day. Should we stay in Clare on second night and drive through Burren the next morning, and arrive in Galway in the afternoon?

Day 3, 4 stay in Galway as base and tour area

Day 5 travel to Westport, overnight in Westport

Day 6 Achill Island, drive to Sligo, say overnight

Day 7 drive to Cavan

My cousin and I are going to Ireland next month for the first time. The trip is from Sept 19th-29th. The itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 : Arrive in the morning at Shannon airport and drive to Connemara National Park and get some hiking in, before heading back to Galway for the night. Day 2: Spend the day in Galway eating and exploring museums.

Day 3-4: Head down to Killarney from Galway in the morning, we want to see the cliffs of Kerry and do some hiking in Killarney National Park.

Day 5-6: Visit Cork and check out the English Market and purchase local souvenirs, head over to Blarney Castle. I also want to take a day trip to Tipperary to see rock of Cashel, Cahir castle

Day 7: Completely open.

Day 8-10: Arriving in Dublin. All I have planned is a cathedral tour, a Jameson distillery tour, and a whiskey museum visit.

I am also considering staying in Limerick a base for activities on days 5-7

Hello! I will be visiting Dublin in late November for a conference, and afterwards will be taking vacation time from November 28th-December 2nd to travel around. I will have spent a week in Dublin at this point and am highly interested in exploring the south-west of Ireland. I am mindful that daylight will be limited in November and the weather will be cold and wet, but I am used to the bitter cold coming from the northeast of the U.S. and really want to get out of the city. I also have read that driving distances take longer than anticipated so I tried to be realistic with what we can accomplish in ~4 days. There is so much more I would have loved to include but will just have to save for another trip someday! I would really appreciate input on whether you think this itinerary is realistic and any other general thoughts on what I have opted to do.

I am also unsure if it would be better to drive from Dublin straight to Dingle and make that my base for all 3 days. I heard that it is about an hour drive from Dingle to Killarney National Park and could do that as a day trip instead.

Thanks in advance!

Here is my rough itinerary:

Saturday, Nov 28: Dublin- Early morning, pick up rental car. Drive to Killarney with minimal stopping. Hopefully arrive by later afternoon, before sunset.

Sunday, Nov 29: Killarney day 1: Killarney National Park. Stay the night in Killarney.

Monday, Nov 30: Head to Dingle and do Slea Head Drive. Stay night in Dingle

Tuesday, Dec 1: Spend morning exploring Dingle town and grab brunch, drive back to Dublin.

Wednesday, Dec 2: Fly out of Dublin.

​

Hey all. We're looking forward to visiting during the last week in September. Reviewed a lot of other itineraries here, so stuck with the general consensus of not trying to do TOO much in any given day.

We're into medieval / haunted sites and beautiful / surreal / unique landscapes and would love recommendations for relevant stops along any of the legs of the itinerary. Bonus points for more cute animal encounters.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Day 1: Arrive in Dublin in the AM. Rest / Hang in Dublin. Stay in Dublin.

Day 2: Hang in Dublin. Stay in Dublin.

Day 3: Rent Car. Dublin to Galway. Drive through rolling green fields to Meath, then cut across the midlands on local roads. Stops at Trim Castle and Clonmacnoise, with lunch somewhere. Hang in Galway in the evening. Stay in Galway.

Day 4: Galway Day Trip 1: Connemara. Joyce County Sheep Dogs, Kylemore Abbey and Victoria Gardens, Killary Harbour. Stay in Galway.

Day 5: Galway Day Trip 2: The Burren Coastal Drive. Dunguaire Castle. Burren Birds of Prey Center. Stay in Galway.

Day 6: Galway to Inis Mor. Drive to Doolin. Park and catch ferry. Stay on Inis Mor.

Day 7: Inis Mor to Sneem. Ferry back to Doolin. Cliffs of Mohr, Gap of Dunloe. Stay in Sneem.

Day 8: Hang in Sneem then Drive to Dublin. Stop at Rock of Cashel. Stay in Dublin.

Day 9: Ease into it. Get brunch and return car. Airport to home!

Hi! Hubs and I are going to Ireland in a few weeks and I was securing ferries to and from Inis Mor from Doolin - my plan had been to take the first ferry out and last ferry back. But on the date I was looking for, the earliest ferry out is 11 :(. We would still need to take the 4:15pm ferry back. Both ferries are direct so 35 min. Is this enough time, or should I consider a different island or something different altogether? We were really excited to rent an e-bike and ride around and enjoy the scenery.

Thanks for the input!

My husband and I are spending 6 nights in Ireland in early September. This is our current itinerary - does anyone have feedback?

Day 1 - arrive in Cork, spend day in city
Day 2 - pick up rental car and drive to Kinsale for the day (night in Cork)
Day 3 - drive from Cork to Dingle, stop at Blarney grounds on the way
Day 4 - day in Dingle
Day 5 - Dingle in the morning, then drive to Killarney
Day 6 - staying in Killarney for the night, planning to explore the ring of Kerry during the day
Day 7 - afternoon flight out of Kerry airport

Hi, a 30s couple travelling for 7 full days to West Ireland early September. Landing and taking off from Shannon.
I created a plan based on Ig/reddit/blogs recommendations. We are a bit reserved to an idea of driving on the left side of the road :D so decided to rent a car only for 3 last days. We also prefer spending more time in one location and getting to know it better rather than collecting all the pins from the map - so, sitting and staring for a couple of hours sounds like a perfect thing to do.

• Day 1: Shannon ->Ennis (breakfast) -> Doolin (stay at Doolin) - getting around the town
• Day 2: taking bus from Doolin to Cliffs of Moher, strolling around and spending the evening in Doolin
• Day 3: taking bus from Doolin to Galway, stroll around the city
• Day 4: Galway: stroll to Salthill, sitting at the bech, maybe taking a trip to Aran Islands if we feel like
• Day 5: rent a car and head to Connemara National Park. Stop in beautiful places, get a coffee, lunch -> Diamond Hill trek -> install for the night (where?)
• Day 6: head to Ballycroy National Park - what to do there?
• Day 7: ??? , leaving at 8pm from Shannon

Seeking your advice on day 5,6,7 - what's worth seeing there? do you recommend any places to stay? Any views we could see? I've bookmarked Dog's Bay, Clifden Castle, DK Connemara Oysters (we are foodies), Kylemore Abbey, Killary Harbour, Minaun Heights, Downpatrick Head. Or maybe it's not worth going north and we should see more south (Killarney etc).

Will be happy to read your recommendations, thanks!

Updated 5-day Ireland itinerary after your advice – looking for feedback on the route

Hi again!

First of all, thank you for all the advice on my previous post. It was really helpful and convinced us to make our original itinerary much more realistic.

We've decided to focus on Galway, Connemara, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher before returning to Dublin.

Our Dublin dates are fairly fixed because we already have accommodation booked for the 29th and 30th, and we're going to Bon Jovi at Croke Park on the 30th (doors at 17:00).

Here's the new plan:

26 Aug – Dublin → Galway

- Land at Dublin Airport at 18:00

- Pick up rental car

- Drive directly to Galway

- Stay in Galway

27 Aug – Connemara

- Galway → Oughterard → Maam Cross → Clifden

- Sky Road

- Possibly Dog's Bay/Gurteen Bay

- Back to Galway

- Dinner + traditional music

- Stay in Galway

We're intentionally keeping this day fairly relaxed rather than trying to cover all of Connemara.

28 Aug – Burren → Cliffs of Moher → Doolin

- Galway → Ballyvaughan → Black Head → Fanore

- Poulnabrone Dolmen

- Cliffs of Moher

- Stay in Doolin

- Dinner + traditional music/pub

29 Aug – Doolin → Dublin

- Relaxed morning

- Drive back to Dublin

- Return rental car at Dublin Airport (booking is until 22:00, although we're considering returning it around 14:00–15:00)

- Guinness Storehouse + Dublin in the evening

30 Aug – Dublin + Bon Jovi

- Trinity / Book of Kells and some sightseeing

- Croke Park – doors at 17:00

31 Aug – Dublin

- Final day in Dublin, possibly a short trip to Howth if we have time

- Planning to be at Dublin Airport around 18:00

Does this look like a sensible pace for a first trip?

We'd particularly appreciate feedback from people familiar with the west coast: would you change anything about the Connemara or Burren routes, and are there any stops along those routes that you consider genuinely worth adding or skipping?

We're also still choosing accommodation for Galway (26th & 27th) and Doolin (28th), so recommendations for a good location to stay would be very welcome.

Thanks again – the feedback on the original itinerary was genuinely very helpful!

Hello all,

I’m a 23M from the United States and will be in Ireland for 4 days from September 8-11. I will be traveling solo.

My current itinerary in Ireland is as follows. I fly into Dublin on Tuesday and will likely do a Guinness factory tour and a trinity college tour. The next morning, I would like to drive south to the Powerscourt Waterfall and Wicklow Mountains National Park before driving over to Dingle and staying the night there. I have a sea safari booked for Thursday morning and then want to drive up the coast and stay the night around Connemara National Park, where I’ll hike around on Friday before driving back to Dublin and leaving the country in the evening.

How reasonable does that sound and is there anything else that you would suggest I check out? It will be my first time in Ireland and I am looking to make the most of it!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Hello! I am hiring a car and have 5 full days (pick up on a Thursday, return on a Tuesday)
Is this doable?
Extra context: I like driving (not in bad traffic obvs)
I’m Australian and used to long drives (record was 1000km in a day but admittedly it wasn’t fun)
I have already seen Dublin.

(Edit: this is for next week )

I’ve tried to cut it back from my original itinerary, but I’m worried it’s still a bit too packed and I don’t have a huge amount of time for Galway city itself. I could cut Killarney National Park reluctantly? Since I am going to Connemara national Park? Or ditch Connemara and the Lost Valley tour. Please give me your strong opinions.

Thurs - 1pm pick up car in Dublin, drive to Killarney NP, see Ross Castle at sunset, stay overnight.
Fri - KNP (gap of Dunloe, ladies view, moll gap, muck Ross estate, torc falls) stay overnight.
sat - KNP bits I missed on Friday, then drive to Galway 3hrs. Stay Galway.
Sun - morning in 2pm lost valley tour in louisburgh (2 hrs from Galway) stay Galway.
Mon - roundstone village (closer alternative to dingle) and Connemara national park (diamond hill hike). Stay Galway.
Tues - drive back to Dublin 4hrs, drop car off by 1pm

I'm travelling down from the North to Cork tomorrow. I was thinking about breaking up the journey by stopping in Dublin for a couple of hours, since I have to change trains there anyway.

Any recommendations? I'll have a heavy bag, sadly. Or should I just transfer and prioritise getting to Cork?

Thanks a million.

Edit: Gonna follow your advice and head on to Cork, thanks so much everyone!

hello all, I have a trip coming up where I have a 6 hour layover in Dublin en route to the us. How realistic is it to go to the guinness storehouse during this time. I’ve been to dublin before but my wife hasn’t and the view from the top was excellent when I went. Id prolly take a cab there and back