4 days in Ireland

Are.they full days or is any part arrival.or.departure. days? Where are you arriving from would be another factor if you might have jet lag. Do you arrive and depart.from Dublin? Would be glad to help with just a little more information please. And drive times usually need to have an extra 25% to be more realistic.

We stayed in southern Ireland for most of last month (May), which included numerous drives in and around the Cork area. There’s a lot of major highway construction at the moment, with delays and lower speed limits. That can affect the timing of drives.

Note that “M” roads are generally fast, “N” roads are usually pretty fast, and “R” roads can be fairly fast or frustratingly slow, depending on who’s at the front of the pack of cars. Many of the R roads are surprisingly narrow, with blind curves and mostly no passing possible. If there’s a slow driver up front, and any farm equipment, big trucks, or tourists in a rental car not used to driving on the left side of the road, you could be lucky to be going any more than 30 miles an hour for a long stretch. Allow extra time, and plan accordingly.

Thanks all! We fly into Dublin late on a Friday night so we'll stay there that night. I'm thinking we'll have until Wed morning for adventures then we are leaving for Scotland. Would like a few hours in Dublin to see the sights as well.

We are flying in from Frankfurt so jet lag shouldn't be an issue. Ready to hit the ground running!

SLOW DOWN and don't try and see everything in 4 days...Distances may not look that far compared with the States but will take a lot longer to cover than you might expect. Driving in Ireland is slow at the best of times. A slow moving caravan, camper van, tractor, road works or even a funeral (big in Ireland) can play havoc with an itinerary.

Also mapping times on google etc don't make any allowance for comfort breaks or meal stops. You also need to factor in time to park up and thern get to whatever attraction you are interested in. Recommended advice is to add 25% to driving times AND then add on time for stops. Don't forget locals who know the roads will drive a lot faster than a visitor

Travelling for work Nick, is very different to being a tourist on holiday. You are just travelling between two points and not stopping to sight see on the way. Ring of Kerry needs virtually a full day.
You also need several hours to begin to do justice to Cork?

Thanks much! All the comments were helpful. Looking forward to Ireland in the fall.