gin_beach

Hi - we are 4 retired gals looking to combine the coasts with inland village-hopping. We all want to explore Dublin, 2 of us want to see west coast, and 2 of us want to visit small towns inland. Here's the early ideas for an itinerary:

Day 1: Land in Dublin at 8am, explore and sleep in Dublin
Day 2: Get car and drive somewhere around Athlone, stopping at towns and villages along the way; sleep near Althorne (maybe along the river?)
Day 3 and 4: Sleep near Galway (maybe Doolin?)
Day 5: Start driving back to Dublin along a different route; sleep somewhere near Roscrea
Day 6: Arrive back in Dublin and return car; sleep near Dublin until we leave on Day 8; prefer somewhere with east coast views

Questions - does this make sense? Recommend any particular towns near Althorne and Roscrea to sleep? Does it make sense to sleep 2 nights in the same place on the west coast or would you recommend different places, and if so, which? We're going in late Sept and we understand the traffic around the highlights of the west coast is slow so we're not looking to go too far north or south of Galway (unless you think we "can't miss" going to X or Y. Any help is appreciated.

janisj

I'd rearrange things just a bit . . . I'd put all the Dublin days together at the beginning, then do more or less your plan but reverse Athlone and Roscrea. Spend the last night in/near Athlone/Tullamore, which are a little over an hour from DUB . . . or drive all the way to DUB and spend the last night at an airport hotel.

This will both eliminate an extra hotel stay/check in/check out, and give you an extra coupleof days to revover from the jet lag before the road trip starts.