7 day trip in and out of Shannon as a couple

Anyone have any ideas what itinerary I could use flying in and out of Shannon?  I wanted to drive to Donegal then proceed south but I want to experience as much as I can and not spend too much time driving. Thank you in advance.

Hi Scott,

How nice that you are planning a trip out of Shannon Airport! 

Would you like to travel along the Wild Atlantic Way or also go inland? How many days do you have in total for your trip?

You could for instance reach Donegal by following the west coast and then go back through Ireland's Hidden Heartlands 

We just so happen to have a few trip ideas where you can take inspiration to build your itinerary. Take for instance this trip in the North West or these hidden gems along the Wild Atlantic Way

Let us know what you think!

Cheers,
Antoine

Thank you! We are getting in August 2 at 630 AM and leave August 9 at noon. We rented a car and planned on traveling to Ahascragh to visit my wife's grandparents home town for fun. Her grandparents immigrated to the US when they were 20 and never returned. We planned on getting a bite to eat then head over to Westport or Clifden for the night ( not sure which one but it will be our starting point the for next day). We would like to travel along the coast if possible make it to Killareny or Kenmare by August 8th and head to towards Shannon to a hotel before our flight out. Sounds overwhelming so that's why I am looking for ideas. We would like to see the the tourist spots Kylemore Abbey, Connemara National park Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, Dingle peninsula, if time Aran islands. 
Complicated but hopefully I can get some help to see if it is doable and other suggestions on what to see as a first time visitor.
Thank you

Your itinerary looks great already, Scott!

Since you only have 6 days, I'd suggest starting in Clifden instead of Westport and following the Wild Atlantic Way all the way to Killarney.

You can then stop for highlights such as the Sky Road, Galway, The Cliffs of Moher & The Burren, Loop Head, Dingle, and the Ring of Kerry before making your way back to Shannon.

There are specific trip ideas to help you evaluate the driving time, such as the Bay Coast, the Cliffs Coast and the Southern Peninsulas. Feel free to take inspiration from them. A day trip to the Aran Islands can be an option but you might have to rush the rest of your journey.

Talk soon!

Awesome thanks for the advice.

After trying to map it out there are two possibilities. Would you leave the airport and head south to Killarney stay there ( or another place if you have a suggestion) for two days and do Dingle the day we get in from our flight and Ring of Kerry the next day? Then head North towards loop head and take the ferry to get there. After that go towards the Cliffs of Moher, Burren and stay the night in Galway. Then off to stay in Clifden to see the sky road. Wake up the next morning head out to Kylemore Abbey and Connemara national park before going Ahascragh on our way to Limerick for the night. Or just do it the opposite way from North to South. Either way it takes 6 nights which gives me an extra night leeway before I finalize my lodging. Or is this way to ambitious especially trying to leave Killarney and making to Galway seeing all of the beautiful sights along the way? A side note my wife insist that we do both Ring of Kerry and Dingle.
Thank you.

Hi Scott,

It looks like you are making great progress with your plans to visit Ireland.

Look at your two options, both honestly look great. The first option you have mentioned is excellent and allows you to ensure that you have time to see both Dingle and the Ring of Kerry.

Travelling from Shannon Airport to Killarney takes about two hours, so it's not a long trip to make after your flight. There isn't a wrong answer here, I'm sure whichever direction you choose to travel in during your visit here, it will be a success.

Do let us know if there is anything else we can help with.

Regards,
Eoin

Thank you! I have decided to try the North route with a twist. Head to Ahascragh for genealogical purposes then off to Kinvara stopping for late lunch in Galway and check in at our BB in Kinvara. Head to Burren park then and somewhere for dinner. Next day off to Sky road Clifden and Kylemore Abbey sta in Clifden. Now this is where I need help we will get up head to the Cliffs of Moher then take the coast to loop head. Ideally I would like to leave loop head head to Tralee and stay around there so it is an easy ride through the dingle Peninsula. It seems like a lot of driving to get from Clifden to Tralee. Do you think it is too much? If so where would you stay after the loop to try to get closer to Dingle Peninsula?
Thank you.

Hi Scott!

Best wishes for 2023 and sorry I didn't get back to you earlier! Your itinerary looks great so far.

The drive between Clifden and Tralee is quite long indeed, especially in one day. A more realistic option would be to only stop at the Cliffs of Moher, to go straight to the Dingle Peninsula afterwards. Removing Loop Head from your itinerary would save you 2 hours of driving time (5 hours instead of 7).

Alternatively (and if you have remaining days for the southwest), you could stay in Co. Limerick before continuing on to the Dingle Peninsula. That would still make you drive 4 hours that day but you'd have more time along the Cliffs Coast to enjoy the Cliffs of Moher and perhaps Doolin and the Burren Geopark on the way.  

I'd suggest using Google Maps to simulate the driving time, I found it to be useful to plan trips and you can save itineraries for later use.

Let us know what you end up deciding! 

Best,
Antoine

Thank you for everything we decided to keep days 1 and 2 the same but after leaving Clifden we are heading to loop head and are going to stay in KIlkee then wake up and ferry across the estuary and head to Dingle Peninsula for the day finishing in Kenmare and stay there for 2 nights that way we have a full day for the Ring of Kerry and can have a restful night in Kenmare. After that my wife really want to see Rock of Cashel so we are going to meander through Cork then off to Rock of Cashel. Our plan after that is try to get to Limerick for two nights before we head out Wednesday.  Our cell provider doesn't allow for out of USA/Canada so we are trying to figure out what to do for the week or so we are in Ireland. 

Thanks for all the help and how does that plan look? I know that the giant oval from Kenmare all the way way back to Limerick is like 6 hours of driving but I am hoping the stops in Cork and Cashel break it up enough.