Chris,

You mention that your wife likes castles and countryside and you like pubs (no shortage of them anywhere in Ireland!). But what are your sons interested in seeing? With only a week or so you should definitely stick to either the east or west. Believe it or not, by seeing a smaller area of Ireland you will actually see more and enjoy it a lot more. So far I'm leaning toward recommending you fly into and out of Shannon but get back to me with your son's interests first.

Michele

Chris,

I think arriving and departing from Shannon will be best for you this time. You can easily see the southwest and part of the west. Just plan your itinerary carefully to take best advantage of your time. Try to have a few multiple-night stays from which you can do day trips. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Michele

Chris,

This site will be so helpful to you, all of these people are knowledgable and Michele is an expert.  You will NOT find another site for other vacation spots like this.  I was scared to death about our first trip - we had never been over seas and this group convinced us to "wing it" except for the first and last night and we had a BALL!!  I asked everything from A-Z and probably to the seasoned traveler the questions were funny but.....you want t o have the best trip possible....ya know?

Anyway, we also wanted to see castles and scenery.  We found the west coast the most wonderful.  We loved the cliffs of Moher - wish we would have had all day there.  Dingle was so beautiful as was ........oh i can't think what the other peninsula is down south......gorgeous!

I wish we would have gotten more north to galway and beyond.  But we'll go back.  Make sure to write about your adventures when you come back.  Right now i can only live vicariously thorugh all of you.

THANKS to all who have replied.  It has been very helpful and has put my wife at ease by hearing stories from real people and not marketers.

THANKS