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[tippins_rufio]

I will be traveling to Ireland from approximately March 9-18 with 3 companions. Our arrival date isn't set in stone yet, but the 9th is a good estimate. Our tentative plan is as follows:

Arrive in Dublin, rent car and drive to Cork.
Spend 1-2 days in Cork (friend lives there)
Drive to Limerick, spend 1 day
Drive to Galway, spend 1 day
Drive to Sligo, spend 1 day
Drive to Belfast, spend 1 day
Drive to Dublin, stay there until departure

We have a few sights we definitely want to see along the way, including monolithic sites, a few castles, Tollymore Forest and Giant's Causeway, but overall we are planning to come and go as we please. My question is whether any of these cities deserve more than 1 day (obviously other than Dublin) and which should we consider skipping? I have a few ideas of places to cut, but I wanted opinion from those in the know. Please help!!

[kathryn77]

Hello!
That's quite a hefty itinerary you have there but it's probably doable....my first concern though is whether you know about driving in Ireland? Some of the routes between places make for a long commute as they're not motorways, and also the road signage in Ireland isn't the best, so get a good map! And secondly, how much you're wanting to see in each city...as there'll be lots of scenery etc you'll likely want to stop at as you're driving - for example, from Dublin to Cork, I'd recommend going over the Wicklow mountains - beautiful. And there's the highest pub in Ireland, Johnny Foxes

From Limerick to Galway, I'd recommend a detour to the coast of County Clare, and drive round Loop Head - the scenery is so dramatic.

If you're going to Belfast from Sligo, I'd go via Donegal and head for Derry and go across the coast at the top, as that's where you'll get the giants causeway and Carrick-a-rede rope bridge before heading down to Belfast. I've not been to Sligo or Limerick I'm afraid so can't really comment - your Cork friends may know more...I do have an Ireland blog though which you can see from the link below, which might help with some of your other planning