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10 Day Itinerary Help for Dublin and Galway

Posted by on

Hello! I am traveling to Ireland with my husband for the first time September 2017 and looking for some help/advice on the itinerary. The first part of the trip we will be visiting and staying with his cousin who now lives in Dublin, otherwise I would not be staying in Dublin for as long as we are.

Day 1: Arrive in Dublin in afternoon (Staying with cousin)

Day 2: Explore Dublin

Day 3: Possible day trip to Glendalough - stay in Dublin

Day 4: More Dublin - Should we do another day trip?

Day 5: Train from Dublin to Galway - sleep in Galway

Day 6: Day trip to Cliffs of Moher OR Connemara - based in Galway at night

Day 7: Ferry (Rossaveal) or plane (Connemara Airport) to Aran Islands where we will spend the night on Inis Oirr (I understand this is weather dependent)

Day 8: Return back to Galway for a final night via Rossaveal ferry in the am(Oyster Festival is going on and we LOVE Oysters)

Day 9: Train from Galway back to Dublin in late afternoon

Day 10: Head home to LA in the am

Please note that we do not have a car. We contemplated making day 6 a day tour to Connemara and then day 8 we could maybe take the ferry from the island back to Doolin instead and then make our way back to Galway somehow that way. However, I heard that you can see the cliffs from the ferry but not sure it gives it the same feeling and also heard that ferry in particular makes you extremely sick? I also am unsure then how I would get from Doolin back to Galway or if that would take all day and cut into people watching and experiencing the oyster festival. All of our rooms have been booked but I still have time to cancel if something should be changed. Only thing I can't change is my train to/from Dublin and Galway.

Thank you and I hope this all makes sense!

Posted by
1172 posts

As you already posted about help with the Galway portion of your trip, are you now looking for help on the Dublin portion?

I am a little confused as to what you are looking for help with :)

Posted by
11 posts

I am looking for help on all of it :) I would love some recommended day trips to/from Dublin but I also want to make sure that doing two separate day trips (Aran Islands and Cliffs) from Galway as my home base is not something that will feel exhausting, if that makes any sense. Apologies for the double post, new to this site.

Is there an easy way to get from Doolin to Galway?

Posted by
1172 posts

As you already posted about help with the Galway portion of your trip, are you now looking for help on the Dublin portion?

I am a little confused as to what you are looking for help with :)

Posted by
1 posts

Hello ... I love Ireland and thought maybe I could give you a few ideas to think over. Dublin is an amazing city with a lot of things to see and do. I am not sure why you don't want a car but the last time I was in Doolin I met a couple who was using the buses to get around and loved it. Not sure if you had looked into that option but it would give you some more flexibility ...

Day 1 : great
Day 2: Dublin, so much to do ... If you like tours, I highly recommend the 1916 Rebellion Walking tour (1916rising.com) and the Literary Pub Crawl. The 1916 tour gives you history along with a mini city tour which is a nice way to learn your way around. I enjoyed the Dublin castle tour (worth it for the chapel and underground bit) and behind the castle is the Chester Beatty Library which is amazing. Also around the corner is Christ Church (make sure you go down into the crypts) and the best fish and chips ever at Leo Burdocks.
Day 3: Glendalough
Day 4: Newgrange!!!! if you want another day trip I would do Newgrange, actually I would do this over Glendalough and spend another day in Dublin. If you have any time left over I would go out to Howth.
Day 5: great
Day 6: I would take the bus from Galway down to Doolin and spend the night there. They have a cliff walk with a guide that goes from town to the cliffs, then buses you back. There is also Doolin cave in town or you could go out to the Burren. The best chocolate shop is in the burren, Hazel Mountain Chocolates. We bought chocolate there to take back to our kids but none of it made it home, don't tell ;) You could then take the ferry from Doolin to the Aran Islands the next day ...
Day 7: Aran Islands
Day 8: Ferry back to Galway, depending on when the oyster festival starts, you can get off the Ferry I would do some of the Connemara during the day then oyster festival
Day 9 & 10: great

I get very sea sick and the ferry can be rough going but I sat outside the entire time or stood at the rail and was fine.

Happy traveling!

Posted by
2822 posts

Unless you're especially prone to motion sickness (and travel on a particularly rough day) you shouldn't have any problem with the crossing on the ferry. They're pretty sizeable boats - 37 meters (120 ft) long and so can handle the prevailing seas without too much drama, although they all have V shaped hulls (as opposed to a catamaran hull) which will make them prone to rolling...which is what can make you feel queasy. If in doubt just take some ginger to help calm your tummy...and keep your eyes on the horizon. The ferries are weather dependent (actually they're sea state dependent) and won't operate if conditions get too bad.
Aran ferries runs a shuttle bus (for a nominal fee) from Galway to the landing at Rossaveel...not sure whether they offer a similar service from Doolin.

Posted by
238 posts

I second the recommendation of a day trip from Dublin to New Grange!!

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