Hey Bob,

You've pretty much confirmed for me that the Knock excursion from Galway will be in the rental car rather than a tour bus.

And congrats on the thousands of driving miles in Ireland. I'm only in the mid hundreds myself  but I'm sure my comfort level will increase with time and experience driving the Irish roads.

On our last trip we found a great deal for a week at a gorgeous self-catering thatched-roof cottage near Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, but it required long daily drives to get to all of the places that we wanted to visit. We were spending sometimes eight hours or more in the car each day, usually arriving back at the cottage well after dark and totally exausted. (It didn't help that our cottage was located at the end of a mile-long dirt road just barely wide enough for the car, with hedges on one side and a rock wall on the other. We often wondered what we would do if we encountered another vehicle going in the opposite direction as there were no lay-bys.)

Unfortunately the stress and fatigue of three of us being cooped up in the car all day caused more than a couple of nasty squabbles. 

On our next trip we're planning to stay in B&B's in each of the areas we want to visit, so that should cut way back on the long drives to-and-from the areas we want to see. A little more expensive, but it will allow us much more time for exploring, relaxing, and just hanging out in the pub with some of the nicest people on earth.

Thanks for the info!

KC