Well, I'll start by saying you'll probably never have the perfect anything. I do a lot of wedding ceremonies and receptions (musician) and the 1st thing I tell them is to get it out of their mind that the event will be perfect. It's the imperfections that make it charming. That said ......

You are traveling to Ireland during the highest tourist season and you are going to all the places that have the highest tourism. As long as you understand that and anticipate dealing with crowds and traffic, you will be fine. The itinerary is certainly "do-able".

The first thing I notice is that you will only be spending two nights in two locations (Dublin & Dingle). The good news is that most of the driving you have to do from place to place is not terribly far. Dublin to Galway is about 4 hours of actual driving, Doolin (if you stay there) is about 4.5 hours of driving and ferry travel.

If you must go to Blarney, you would want to be there early in the day as this is one of Ireland's greatest tourist traps and the infrastructure to deal with crowds there is minimal. By the way, some people love Blarney, I don't happen to be one of those.

Personally, I would slow down, and try to hit a few places that are less crowded in the process. My thought is to drop Kinsale. It's nice town and beautiful area but you've given it only one day and by the time you get there, you'll probably just have the evening and then have to leave in the morning to head back to Bunratty.

You could increase your time in Co. Kerry by staying in Kenmare perhaps and seeing the Beara peninsula, a much less crowded option. As you go south from there, things become even less crwded.

My new thing is to suggest mixing up your stay just a bit. Dingle, Doolin, Kinsale, Kenmare/Killarney are all lovely places, but they are all major destinations along the tourist trail. There is no reason not to stay in any of them, but perhaps, maybe not all of them. Lehinch instead of Doolin, Ennis instead of Bunratty, Castlegregory instead of Dingle, Clonankilty or maybe Baltimore instead of Kinsale, Glengarriff instead of Kenmare. In other words, try picking one place that really is a village. It's just a thought and you could have a great time not doing that, but it may give an addition perspective that you might have missed otherwise.

Bill

Michael,

Congratulations on honeymooning in Ireland and welcome to the forum! You have received very good info so far from Marsha and Bill.

First-timers to Ireland always want to do and see it all. Even though it is a small country you will not be able to zip around. Average speeds will be 35 mph. Although you will go faster in many places, if you average it out for your whole trip that number is the one to use. Give yourselvs time to actually do the sightseeing too. Many people forget that it may take an hour or two or three to visit certain sightseeing attractions. Also, it is your honeymoon and you will want down time for just enjoying each other without the stress of keeping to a busy schedule.

Since you can't really go east from Dublin without hitting the Irish Sea, you need to figure out what your "must sees" are for the rest of Ireland. I am with the others in eliminating Kinsale and Blarney from the itinerary. Also consider Bill's advice about the crowded aspect of the southwest.

Only you know whether you would prefer more uncrowded areas or really want to stick to the tourist trail during high season in Ireland. If you want to avoid the crowds you will most likely go on a northern semi-circle rather than the southern route.

Talk with your fiancee, look at a map of Ireland and come back to us so we can help.

You definitely need firm reservations once your itinerary is in place. Give it another go and make it as "perfect" as possible.

Michele