Ireland: please help me plan a trip

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

We are hoping to spend 10-14 days driving around Ireland in the summer. There is so much we could see and do, not quite sure how we're going to narrow it down, hence coming on here for advice. Appreciate that will probably also result in far tpo many suggestions, but fewer than Google I'm sure.
DH wants to spend a day at least in Dublin,.
Beyond that, we love walking; visiting pretty or interesting towns and villages; castles/stately homes / gardens/ country parks etc. Love being by the sea, but not looking for beaches to sunbathe on.
What are your recommendations for places we must see/do?
Ideally we'd have 2-3 nights in the same accommodation where there is plenty to see and do nearby, but the odd one nighter is ok, just don't want to move on every single day.

Thank you.

Cashel Palace Hotel looks fabulous, coffee and scones caused a twitter sensation. I want to go now, to be horrified at the price!
Beara is lovely, Ring of Kerry is quieter off season!
We collectively fell out with the Happy Pear recently, just after the Cashel Palace scone event. Paradiso in Cork is usually good for vegetarian food, if you are wavering vegan you should probably avoid the English Market. It is very meaty!

100% agree with this, this pair of knobs are more irritating than thrush. They recently got called out on peddling false claims about mushrooms preventing breast cancer and had to remove that info then they posted the most insincere apology where they just smirked through it.

Agree with Kerry, Cork, Galway - all beautiful. I really love Dingle Peninsula, very busy with tourists but still possible to find quieter beaches and places to expore.

Dublin is like any city really but I happen to like it (my family are from there) and some lovely beaches within driving distance. Grew up playing on the beaches of Bray with a choc ice on a stick. (Not a Magnum!).

West Cork - Kinsale, Bantry, Schull, Crookhave , Glengarriff.

Kerry - Kenmare, Dingle, Inch, Derrynane.

All heaven

I'd either do:
Dublin
Waterford,
Kenmare // Killarney and possibly the ring of Kerry from there
Cliffs of Moher
Galway
Then back to Dublin

Or

Dublin,
Belfast
Giants Causeway and around
Derry
Donegal

😂😂😂 so true!!!!

Oops, so busy laughing I forgot to agree that starting in Dublin, heading north and around into Donegal is the best idea!! The beaches in Donegal are spectacular, on a sunny day there's nowhere more beautiful. Then finish off in Sligo and it's just over 2 hours drive back to Dublin.

Also, I love my adopted city of Dublin!

Thanks again, really appreciate the advice.
I aways knew that Ireland was beautiful but looking into it a bit more off the back of this thread i am so excited and want to do it all! Realistically we can't, so i think I'll end up planning 2 or more trips in one go.

Are you coming by ferry, if so where will you arrive?
I have long lost relations threatening to visit next year, i might pretend their ancestors were from scenic areas!

I should imagine we'll do Holyhead-Dublin, not all finalised yet

If you head north, Carlingford is nice , a hidden gem. And the Slieve Donard hotel in Newcastle Co Down has a lovely spa if you need a spa day!

Thank you, I'm particularly keen on hearing about hidden gems!

I love the hop on hop off Dublin bus tour. Try to get on one where the driver does the narration rather than just sticking in headphones. If you get a sunny day and can sit upstairs (open top bus) it's a lovely trip around a fairly small city. Christ church cathedral is spectacular inside. Kilmainhan jail is very interesting too but you'll need to book well in advance. That might be true of most things actually.

There's excellent dining to be had in dublin. I recommend Sole (fish restaurant) if your budget is big, BigFan or HangDai for excellent, interesting Chinese, Tapas de Lola. Brother Hubbard is a great spot for lunch.

There are parts of dublin that are grotty and so many people begging nowadays. Be careful of your stuff and usual precautions of being in a busy city.

Enjoy!

Arrive in Dublin and spend a day or 2 in the city and pop down to the 40 foot and Dalkey village…if you’re of a literary bent take a walking tour of the city, and for history buffs Kilmainham Gaol is a must, the guided tour is wonderful. Then head down to Waterford and visit the copper coast, there are plenty of options stay in Dunmore East or Dungarvan. If you’re splashing out take a look at The Cliff House hotel in Ardmore. Then head off to West Cork via Kinsale and Clonakilty. West Cork is spectacular. Next head towards Kerry and whilst people knock Dingle and Killarney as.too touristy, both places are busy and fun towns, with lots of music venues. Then I’d make the drive to Connemara and stay around Clifden /Roundstone. The Ardagh hotel is a little gem, but there are plenty of other great spots and the beach at Mannin Strand is world class. Finally I’d visit Westport and have a crack at climbing Croagh Patrick. Plan your drives and give yourself enough time to get from A to B. I’d also prebook a few hotels/B&Bs and restaurants, I think the days of going to the tourist office and being fixed up with somewhere are long gone. I’m a huge fan of donegal, sligo and the Aran isles (off the Galway coast it’s about a 10 min plane ride…v exciting and a bit different) but you may need a longer holiday to do justice to these places and fit in a coastal tour. Good luck.

Thats about 3 holidays worth!
Im really ancient, lived in England for a few years, but apart from that I have lived in Ireland. There are still places I have not seen, I only saw the 40foot last year!

Dublin is great, IMO.

We went on a hop on hop off bus tour. Guinness brewery was interesting, it's where I had my first and to date only pint of Guinness. Delicious.

Kilmainham jail was very interesting and atmospheric too.

We had lunch in a cafe called The Jam Factory. I thought it was an actual Jam Factory. Nope, jam as in a guitar playing session ! I'm not that cool.

Walk up the main street which is O'Connell street and see the Monument of Light.

Have a random conversation with a young guy on his way to a a La Crosse game (or what ever the Irish name for Le Crosse is)

Watch out for the trams.

Go to Hannover Quay for steaks.

Bentleys in town for sea food.

Dublin is not a shit hole.

😂😂😂 I think you mean hurling?

I love Newgrange - it's older than Stonehenge.

Just placemarking to plan a trip too.

If you choose to go into Donegal, Doagh Famine Village is one of the most eccentric and equally brilliant museums I have ever been to. It mostly consists of a guided tour that is fascinating, shocking and hilarious in one go. Plus it also helps it is set in the most stunning scenery in the Inishowen Peninsula. Well worth a visit!

The North Coast Drive from Glens of Antrim up to Portstewart is gorgeous.

We are on our road trip around Ireland right now!!
We packed loads in as a first taster of this beautiful country. Flew to Dublin. One night. Did hop on off bus tour and evening wander around Temple Bar. Drove through Wicklow mountains , Glendalough etc to Waterford.
Then on to Bantry Bay
Beautiful drive up to Cahersiveen.
Then onto Bally Vaughan The Burren etc
Now in Westport for a couple of nights Drove around Achill Island today. Stunning views even in the rain .
Back to Dublin for flight home weds.
yes a very full itinerary of driving but oh my gosh. It’s fabulous. We share the driving and have lots of stop offs to explore on the journey.

We used Dorling Kindersleys Back roads of Ireland book for inspiration. It’s been so useful

We’ve loved every minute. We did pass on the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre which was rammed on the Sunday and there were awful traffic queues through Galway on Sunday afternoon. But ..
The roads are really well maintained, people are so so friendly and helpful. Roads very quiet generally and road users so considerate and calm. Honestly it’s been a joy ! We will be back.
Tips…. Don’t book car hire through Ryanair, do it direct with the hire company

@Lilyann60 thank you, sounds like you're having an amazing time, enjoy the rest of your trip.
We will take our own car on the ferry but a useful tip for others reading this, thank you.

Just realised that sounds a bit callous - a museum about famine being hilarious. It's hard to explain without being there, it covers wider aspects of rural Irish life too and the tour guides are very engaging if that makes sense!

That sounds interesting and different! Thank you!

I’m not a fan of Dublin, but it’s purely a cost thing for me, it’s just so expensive, but I’d definitely say worth a day there. Get a tourist map and go round all the key tourist spots. The immigration museum has been voted on of Europes top tourist destinations.

Giants Causeway is also worth a trip. Not far from there is Bushmills. The Old Bushmills distillery is divine for food. It’s been a few years since I was last there but I’d definitely go again. You need to prebook, they do set settings.

The beauty of Ireland is there are old castles & stately homes everywhere you go and it’s not that far to drive most places. Doing a trip like yours I’d probably drive down the east coast and up the west, you will get lots of scenery and places to stop off.

i am a huge fan of a small village called Cong, it’s on the Mayo/Galway border, it’s where the filmed the Quiet Man movie. I just fell in love with it when we visited.

a lot of places will probably have events on through summer, so check out local things to do or event places to see if there are any events your keen on attending.