Hello everyone. I have just come back from my road trip in Ireland. It was a wonderful trip and everything went just fine (well, to be honest we went through little problems we could overcome with the help of Irish people).

As I'm not an English speaking person (as you can guess by the way I write) this report of the trip will be short but I hope useful to others planning their own trips. Without your help the trip wouldn´t have been the same.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP AND GUIDANCE.

Well to make a long story short this is my report...(related to this topic http://ireland.activeboard.com/t50925809/17-day-car-trip-help-needed/?page=1&sort=oldestFirst)

About the itinerary

DAY              PLACE                                                                                      We visited               

WED 01        Fly to Dublin (from Buenos Aires) 

THU 02         Arrive in Dublin (Dublin)                                        SightSeeing 

FRI 03          Dublin --> Kilkenny (Kilkenny)                               Pick up car at airport/SightSeeing Kilkenny          

SAT 04         Kilkenny (Kilkenny)                                               Rock of Cashel/Cahir Castle 

SUN 05        Kilkenny --> Kinsale (Kinsale)                               Blarney Castle                

MON 06       Kinsale (Kinsale)                                                   SightSeeing Kinsale/Charles Fort 

TUE 07        Kinsale --> Kenmare (Kenmare)                            Route by the sea (Clonakilty/Skibereen/Glengarriff)     

WED 08      Kenmare (Kenmare)                                              Beara Peninsula 

THU 09       Kenmare --> Tralee (Tralee)                                  via Kilarney/MuckRoss House/Castle      

FRI 10        Tralee (Tralee)                                                      Dingle Peninsula 

SAT 11       Tralee --> Ennis (Ennis)                                        Cliffs of Moher/The Burren                            

SUN 12      Ennis --> Westport (Wesport)                              Sky Road/Clifden                 

MON 13      Westport (Westport)                                           City Tour/Kylemore Abbey/Croagh Patrick 

TUE 14       Westport --> Sligo (Sligo)                                    City Tour/Yeats Museum         

WED 15      Sligo (Sligo)                                                         Drumcliff 

THU 16       Sligo --> Dublin (Dublin)                                      Carrowmore/Drop off car at airport 

FRI 17        Dublin (Dublin) 

SAT 18       Flight out 

Some things we had planned to see en route we couldn´t because of the weather. Although it was very cloudy and rainy most of the time, it was sunny enough to take beatiful pictures of most of the places we visited.

About the B&B and hotels

In Dublin we stayed in two differentes hotels. We stayed at the Ashling Hotel at first (it's a few blocks from Pheonix Park) and at the Wynn's Hotel at the end of the trip (it's located near O'Connel Street and the river). Both hotels were good.

In Kilkenny we stayed at Carriglea B&B (http://www.carrigleakilkenny.com). It's located a few blocks from the Kilkenny Castle but in a very quiet place. It was very comfortable and a place I'd recommend to anyone staying in Kilkenny. 

In Kinsale we stayed at the Carlton Hotel (it was 2 miles away from Kinsale). Was ok but I would take another option.

In Kenmare we stayed at Abbey Court (http://www.abbeycourtkenmare.com). It is located about 10 minutes walk from the center of Kenmare in a beatiful and quiet place. Brendan, the owner, is very helpful and friendly. 

In Tralee we stayed at Ard na Coille B&B (http://ard-na-coille.com). It's located a bit apart from the center but it was very comfortable and the owner, Sorcha, was lovely and helpful.

In Ennis we stayed at Sleepyhollow B&B (http://www.sleepyhollow.ie). It's located ten minutes walk from the center of Ennis. The room was a bit small but Elizabeth (the owner) was a  lovely person to meet, so if you don't mind the space, I'd recommend this B&B to anyone.

In Westport we stayed at Adare House (http://www.adarehouse.ie/). Although it was ok was the place where we spent less time with the owners because the B&B was almost full all the time, so they were really busy.

In Sligo we stayed at the Sligo City Hotel. We booked this hotel the same day we arrived at Sligo because we had a problem with the booking we had done with another one. It was in the center of Sligo but in a very quiet street.

About the car 

We had rented the car on-line at Dan Dooley's one month before the trip. I had booked a Class-B car (Ford Fiesta or similar) but they gave me a Compact Diesel car (Megane Coupe). So it was wonderful. It was easy to pick-up the car and as easy to drop it off.

I mean, they did it simple for the customer. It was a good experience, so I'd recommend Dan Dooley's to anyone.

About the driving on the left...

It was not as scary task as I had first thought but I was really a bit stressed when I had to drive in the cities in narrow streets with cars going in both directions (I didn't drive in Dublin). Fortunately I did well cause I didn´t crash the car nor scratched it either.

We didn't have GPS but with the map given with the car and the itinerary printed (used AA Route Planner) it was enough (I had bought a Michellin Map that I didn't use at all). This is an on-line version of Michellin Map that gives useful information (http://www.viamichelin.com/) 

About the trip...

As Michelle (and others) always says 'You can´t see everything in one trip, you have to chose'. This, unfortunately, is an awful truth. You are always short of time. We stayed 2 nigths in each place (in Ennis only 1 night) and there were things we didn't see because of the weather or lack of time. 

About the People of Ireland

Last but not least it was really a pleasure to meet people that were always kind, helpful and ready to do anything to make you feel at home. We had a wonderful trip mainly for the people of Ireland.

Thank you very much to the forum for all the help you have given me to do this trip. It was GREAT !!!