Not sure what guide books you are reading but that is about the typical view of Dingle is great the rest of Ireland is ok that Rick Steves promotes. What is there in Dingle for your Mum? Most of Beara is great scenery but involves scenic drives or walking.

North of the Shannon. Clare. http://goo.gl/UtW24m South to North.  Loop head and the Lighthouse, Little Arc Church Couple of Dolphin (plural) boat trips. West Clare Railway,Vanderleur Gardens.  Inland you have Dysert O'Dea Castle or on the coast a nice bit of scenic coast up to Lahinch, Aquarim. round to Lisconnor for St Brigets Well. then the Cliffs, to Doolin and see the cliffs from below on a mini cruise, before the coastal drive round Blackhead to Ballyvaughan which has a Dolmen, ring fort with sheep dog demonstrations, pop inland for Burren Perfumery if you want a cave then you do the Aillwee Cave and let mum see the Birds of Prey part of the centre. Also in the area Cocomroe Abbey and by Gort Kilmacdua Abbey and Coole Park etc.  Kinvara has Dunguaire Castle, Oranmore Castle now has limited opening,  Then you are at Galway.

From Galway out on the N59 lots of places of interest http://goo.gl/Ek8bpw then (I won't go through) everywhere else on this map http://goo.gl/UL09QA  

Of course if you wanted to go up and over you would need a lot more time, http://goo.gl/xrDQtD gives just some points.

Whilst I do like the Dingle peninsula I am not a fan of the town or the hype!  Lots of good walks that very few visitors even think about, a solo Dolphin, an Aquarium, couple of Bee Hive huts and expensive ice cream made by an American.  would keep me busy for a couple of hours perhaps.

Sorry Welcome to the forum 

Thanks so much for everyone's feedback/help. Yes, we are flying in and out of Dublin. The plan is to take the train or fly from Dublin to Kerry. (I don't want to drive from Dublin because in the past I've got worn out from driving long distances everyday on trips and would rather shortcut some of the traveling by using a train or flight.) I was thinking Galway near the train station to drop the car because the other option in that region is Knock airport and that seems more effort because we'd have to drive from Westport (or wherever we are) to Knock Airport to drop the car and then take a cab to the train station.

Mom had read wonderful things about the Wild Atlantic Way and so that was the plan. I just started wondering if it would be lots of very long drives (to start, getting up from Dingle to Cliffs of Moher is about 3 hours) and national parks where she's not able to hike and caves that are too slippery. It sounds like we should be ok, though. I was also thinking that maybe we'd have a guide drive us for a day in that region. That might be good for seeing specific sights. Then I could do scenic drives like Sky Drive on my own.  But most of what I could find for private guides are full days. I've looked on places like Tours by Locals. I'd love to find someone local to just drive us around for maybe 3-4 hours. Or maybe this doesn't make sense? For that part of the trip, too, we weren't going to pre-book hotels, but rather see where we end up that day. We've done that in the past and enjoyed the adventure. (We're going first week of June.) 

I'm still pondering the SW after Dingle, too. I think I lean that way more. But she wants to go north. I think she thinks scenic drives may be more diverse or dramatic. In general, she doesn't care so much about the cities, but wants to see the scenic beauty.

Not sure if this will help but I took my mom on several trips to Ireland.  The last two were six years ago when she was 86 and then 3 years ago when she was 89.  The trip six years ago included a 3 night stay in Dingle.  While you are in Dingle I would encourage you to take the Slea Head Drive and take your time with it.  It is a beautiful scenic drive with a lot of stops that your mother might be able to enjoy.  The Blasket Island Center was very interesting to all of us.  If you and your mom likes museums I think you would really enjoy that a lot.  Another interesting stop in Dingle was the Henry Clarke stained glass windows in the convent near the Catholic Church.  It was a beautiful display that my mom really enjoyed. 

We also took Mom to the Cliffs that trip and if I remember the paths to the Cliffs were very good.  She did not have trouble walking out there of course we held her hand but I dont remember her having any trouble while she was enjoying the sights. The Sky Drive was part of our itinerary that year also she loved that drive along with the drive from Leenane to Westport.  I cant remember what that is called but we all really enjoyed that.

When I brought her 3 years ago we had a small wheelchair which helped us a lot.  We travelled thru County Donegal and Mayo stopping at a quite a few sights.  She really enjoyed the town of Westport and we spent quite a bit of time at Our Lady of Knock Shrine. Im not sure if you have access to one of those wheelchairs but that helped her (and us!) a lot as she was able to participate in a lot of things she might have missed.

Enjoy your trip with Mom.  I took four trips to Ireland with my mom and treasure every minute.  Im going back this fall but wont have her as a travelling companion this time as we lost her a year ago. But I know shell be raising a pint to us from up above!

Pic

We did not travel thru the Burren so I cannot help you there.  I hope to do that this trip.  I have been in that area several times just have not had the time to explore.

I looked on a map and the road from Leenane to Westport is R335 which sort of follows the coast.  I believe it is called the Doolough Valley and is site of the Famine Walk.  It was quite pretty, very remote,  just us and the sheep.  We stopped in Leenane for tea after the Sky Drive and then picked this up on our way to Westport.

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To get the best from the Iveragh peninsula you need to get off the ring and explore a little which is why folk who know the place say it takes a full day rather than the 4 or 5 hours taken by tour bus's. As you are set on two Dingle days then I would leave the Ring for another time.

See answer 5 on here for some good information in respect of visiting the Dingle peninsula http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g186610-i486-k8394970-Plan_B_for_a_rainy_day-County_Kerry.html#65874466 

Welcome back from Ireland. Thanks for stopping by to tell us how it went. I'm so glad you enjoyed Ireland and had a good trip with your mother. It sounds like you made wonderful memories there. Hope you get to return again soon. And when you do we will be here to offer advice again.  

Hi Tony. Yes, Bernadette from Carraig Nua was a lovely and gracious host. We really enjoyed our stay.

Hi Pic,

Also in Dingle, I highly recommend dining at Out of the Blue. It was probably my favorite meal of the trip. The seafood was incredible. Just be sure to make a reservation in advance. We had another stunning meal at Global Village. I had mentioned (just in passing) that mom had a recent birthday. They surprised her with dessert, candles, and singing. She was thrilled. It was completely unexpected, and it made her so happy.

Sounds great -- will have to try that also!  This place is excellent as well:  Half Door.

Geno

What a lovely article. Thank you for sharing. Aren't the Irish wonderful? They sure can make a trip full of memories to cherish. Your photo of breakfast made me hungry for a midnight snack.