North or South or both?

Hi, I'm from the republic of Ireland and I would definitely recommend going to Belfast/the Giants Causeway -if you have the time, money and energy. Its a long trip up and back from Dublin but it really is different to Southern Ireland and worth seeing if you can -I would try travel back from the North as late in the evening-time as you can so you don't waste a whole two days just traveling up and back. It all depends on how long you want to stay in each place, you have plenty of time to explore the north and then 5/6 days is still a good amount of time to explore the south. Just use Google Maps and make sure you know the distances between each place -usually when I meet people traveling here they haven't planed road distances and are amazed that Ireland is so big. You could pick up a car on your third day in Dublin meaning that your first and third day will mainly be travel to/from Belfast and have your second day to explore the Giants Causeway and Belfast city -it would be a quick visit but that is doable. On you third/forth day going towards Galway would be great! By car is the best because buses are not very regular especially to go see Connemara. I would suggest maybe 2/3 days in Connemara/Galway because both of these places are beside each other and then maybe 3 days down in Kerry -the Dingle peninsula and the Ring of Kerry are both easy to do in a day so I'd do both as well as Connemara because you have loads of time. If you had extra time you could even stop by in Cork before heading back to Dublin. But I suppose you can't over-plan too much until you get here and see how you feel and how your budget is going, you really are doing the best thing by renting a car you can go anywhere at your own speed and its cheeper than the bus! Hope you enjoy your trip :)

10 days is not much in Ireland, driving is slow on the rual roads and you need much more time than in the US for the same distance, I would double the time to be one the safe side.

We did a 13 day trip to Ireland and started with the north, at the end we ran out of time and didn't make it to Cork at all, but drove the Ring of Kerry.

You could rent a car at the airport and go straight to Belfast, it's easy on the motorway, then continue to the Giants causeway the next day, keep on driving towards Connemara then and see how far you get before you have to be back in Dublin for your flight out, I would plan the last 1 or 2 days for Dublin.
We staied 2 nights in Doolin and took a boat tour to see the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands, the singing pubs were nice in the evening after the bus tours left, from there we drove to Killarney and did the Ring of Kerry on the way, was a long day driving with a few stopps, but doable.

In ten days you could quite comfortably see Dublin, a bit of the west coast (as you've already planned) and the Giant's Causeway. Okay, it's a bit of an "obvious tourist itinerary" but nothing wrong with that - sometimes places are popular for a reason!

Personally I'd be more inclined to do something like Cork city (the most enjoyable city to visit in the country, IMHO), Kenmare and the Ring rather than going all the way up to Galway, but that's certainly worthwhile too.

What I wouldn't do is spend a lot of time in Belfast city. It's an interesting enough place, for sure, but needn't be a top priority on a short visit.

Thanks everyone for the info. Barney_uk2, haven't read to much about Cork. What is it that you like about this city?

Yes Cork is a nice city, but there is so much to see in Ireland, and you haven't mentioned Newgrange, what you will find is that if you are off the main highways you will be constantly stopping to check the views and historical sites. A boat trip from Doolin out to one of the Aran Islands gives good views of the cliffs of Mohr, but not the same as actually being on the top of the cliffs. and the coast west from the giants causeway is also full of photo stops

What sort of things ae you wanting to do/see during your stay? What are your interests? Do you want to see the cities or spend more time touring for the scenery? Are you wanting to do any walking or is it purely sight seeing? Are you interested in historical sites? If so consider a trip to Newgrange from Dublin and also to Glendalough.

When are you planning to visit?

My choice would be Galway over Ring of Kerry which does get very busy with tourists with Dingle in the middle. You could combine this with a loop up round via Giant's Causeway and including something of Donegal. This is very much off the tourist beat but scenically is very good.

Hi Karen, apologies for the super-late reply - you've probably been and come back already. :)

Anyway - Cork is just one of those cities where every street corner seems to have something interesting or unexpected. It's quite a bit smaller than Dublin so it's easy to become quite familiar with it in the space of a few days, but there's still plenty crammed in. It's a lot less touristed, and there's very good eating and drinking.

I wouldn't say it should be a #1 priority on everyone's trip to Ireland, but if you wanted a taste of modern but laid-back Irish culture, plus lots and lots of arts and festivals, it's a good city to be in. Certainly not "postcard Ireland", but one of my favourite small cities in Europe.

I had ten nights in Ireland. Galway/Connemara and the west coast are really good. I did both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. as I've heard so much about them, and of the two, much preferred the latter. The ROK was boring after a while and I can't see why it is hyped up so much - the Dingle Peninsula was way better. If you're short for time forget the ROK and go to Dingle instead.