Hi Michele and others!

Planning a trip to Ireland in July 2013. I have the book and it is a wonderful resource!  I have been through several itinerary revisions,  and my most recent is below.  The only thing booked is the first night in Dublin and the last night at the Ritz;  we are using points for these reservations and I reallly like the idea of having one last day to relax at a beautiful hotel and maybe visit the spa before our last day home.  Otherwise we want to visit B&Bs/small hotel venues.   I tried to develop my itinerary to accomplish several objectives: stay several days in a few areas,  to minimize hotel switches,  see a wide array of sites including castles, manor homes, coastal vistas, cathedrals, etc.,  and have options each day based on the weather. I had been plannning to visit Clare as well but decided that was too much driving for the length of our trip,  plus we discovered hubby's grandmother hails from Cork so wanted to add that in.   We are not really city people and like small towns, but will do the first night in Dublin to shake off jet lag and see a few major sites.  On any of the days below,  if the weather really blows, there is always the option of spending the day in a pub!  For this reason we prefer to stay walking distance (up to 2 miles) to a town with pubs.

I read on these boards Michele's comments about Kinsale on the weekends "traffic and people gridlock".  This is my only concern right now.  I'd like some more clarification on this.

For the Americans on the board, is it like one of our summer /popular resorts on the weekend?  i.e. Newport RI?  Cape May NJ? Bar Harbor ME? Napa California?  I personally love Newport and these other areas on summer weekends,  although some would say it's "crowded".  Yes,  most if not all rooms are booked.  Yes, there might be a few minutes of traffic (but nothing like the NY area where I live!).  Yes,  there will be a lot of people on the streets.  Yes, it is wise to say just outside of town if nighttime noise bothers you.  But,  I love the lively atmosphere of so many people enjoying themselves.     I know this may not be everyone's cup of tea,  but for me,  on vacation,  I like  it.

My only real alternative is to switch Kinsale with Killarney in the order... wouldn't Killarney be just as crowded on the weekend?  

Looking for advice.

Wed. July 3:  Arrive 9:20 am.

Sightsee Dublin / sleep Dublin

Thurs. July 4:  Pick up rental car and drive to Kilkenny.  See anything we feel we must in Dublin in the morning.

Sightsee Kilkenny town/sleep Kilkenny.  Could drive on to see Cashel if we're in the mood.  Could see Kells/Jerpoint.

Fri. July 5: 

sightsee Kilkenny area (Cashel, Clonmel, Fethard).

Sleep Kilkenny

Sat. July 6: Drive to Kinsale

Probably see Cork City and maybe Blarney on the way south.

Sleep Kinsale.

Sun. July 7: Sightsee eastern Cork (Midlton, Ballycotton,  Cobh)  or western Cork (Mizen head),

or just hang around Kinsale as the Arts Festival will be going on.

sleep Kinsale

Mon. July 8:  Same 3 options as above.

sleep kinsale

Tues. July 9: Drive to Killarney

Possibly drive via Beara peninsula.

If not,  see sites around Killarney when we arrive there (KNP,  Muckross/Toc Waterfall)

sleep Killarney

Wed. July 10: options include Dingle, Beara,  seeing rest of Killarney,  or relaxing at our lodge.

At this point, we may decide we want to hire a driver for Dingle... that's a TBD and will depend on our experiences thus far!

Sleep Killarney.

Thurs. July 11:  same options

sleep Killarney.

Fri. July 12:  Drive to Ritz Powerscourt.

Possibly via Sally Gap/Glendalough.  Or,  book a spa appointment at Ritz depending on how we want to spend our last full day.

sleep Ritz Powerscourt.

Sat. July 13:  3:45pm flight out of Dublin.  Need to leave Powerscourt by around 11.  Could leave earlier and see Glendalough on the way to the airport.