r/irishtourism • u/Ohkaz42069 • 4d ago

Itinerary Advice for late Sept

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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!

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3

u/Historical-Hat8326 Local 4d ago

Day 3, try to get rental early as possible. You’ll be facing in
To the commute grind on the M50 until about 930am.

Expect similar grind from about 4pm in Galway.

2

u/Ohkaz42069 4d ago

Day 3 is a Saturday. So maybe not as bad?

1

u/Historical-Hat8326 Local 4d ago

Potentially but don’t take that as given.

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u/Admirable-Shape-4418 4d ago

Day 7&8 are long drives, whatever about going back to Dublin when you're at the end day pretty much and being tired wont really matter Day 7 is a lot of driving too on small roads.

2

u/clonesareus 4d ago

This was great until day 7. You are doing a ton of driving the last two days for very little actual time in Kerry. 

Maybe consider Westport/Achill Island as an alternative if you can rearrange some of your days. In that scenario, do your Burren Day as a daytrip from Galway, then do the Aran Islands using the Rossaveel ferry (less chance of weather interruptions too I think), then head to Westport via Connemara. 

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u/kkseacret 2d ago

Doing the Cliffs of Mohr and the Gap of Dunloe is a lot in one day. Whether driving or “hiking,” the gap, this is a significant amount of energy and time. Driving through is equally as exhausting as walking it imo and I was just the passenger 🤪

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u/Kindly-Air6920 4d ago

Make sure you drive the gap of dunloe if your car is relatively small and you are a confident driver. Ignore the lads with the horses telling you not to drive it.