1st timers

Hello everyone.  We are a family of 5 traveling to Ireland for the first time in late May. We are driving since we feel this would be the most ideal way to see the most. We have rented a home in Clare four days after we land. We would love to see Belfast other areas of the north including Derry. My son and I are Rory fans as well so Ballyshannon would be a great stop. The only town I know of my ancestry is Kilkelly(Duffy). So we would also love to at least pass through there on our way to Clare.
Are we daft as you all say?
Any help or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. 
Thank you in advance

Hi John,

How exciting, your first trip to Ireland! 😍

Are you landing in Dublin? I would certainly say it's worth taking the long road and exploring some places along the way to your holiday destination! One piece of advice I can give is to take your time to fully enjoy the places you decide to stop at. 😊

Belfast and Derry~Londonderry are great cities with lots of interesting attractions to see. To start off, you could join the hop-on hop-off bus or another sightseeing tour in Belfast and explore Derry by walking all along the old city walls, perhaps even on a guided tour to learn about some meaningful sites and historical facts along the way. If you planned 1 day in each city, you could additionally pick another few attractions you would enjoy seeing.

As you're heading up from Belfast to Derry, I recommend driving along the coast and there would be two stunning coastal areas well worth exploring: the Glens of Antrim and the Causeway Coastal Route. Perhaps it would be best to pick one as you could easily spend an entire holiday in each area!

Driving from Derry to Ballyshannon should take around 1.5 hours and another 1.5 to 2 hours onto Kilkelly. Perhaps it might be worth considering staying in the area before you continue your journey to County Clare?

Best wishes
Rebecca ☘️