Originally Posted by
Denis Carlin
Thanks very much for your help. A problem with your suggestion is that it doesn't take into account the festivals in Karatsu/Saga on the 2nd and 3rd of November, I have booked a hotel in Saga for 3 nights as Karatsu is fully booked. It makes my itinerary more awkward but it seems a shame not to enjoy those festivals, especially Karatsu Kunchi which seems pretty special.
Spending so much time based in Fukuoka would mean not going to Amamioshima, would that really be worth it?
i see. In that case, I would just move a couple days over from Shimabara to Hakata/Fukuoka (or 1-2 day to Hakata, 1 day to Nagasaki). And then backtrack from Nagasaki to Saga, instead of Shimabara-Amakusa-Kumamoto ferry and bridge route.
We did Shimabara/Unzen as a day trip from Nagasaki, renting/returning car at Isahaya, because I hate switching hotels. Totally doable but one limiting factor is the hours of operation of the rental car place.