6 night Ireland itinerary- skip Galway or Cork?

Posted by alexfain16 on 12/21/18 04:37 AM

My wife and I are traveling to Ireland for the first time for St. Patrick's Day in 2019. We will be there for 6 nights, flying into and out of Dublin. Our first 2 nights will be in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. After that we will head out, and our plan was to hit a few sights on the way to Cork/Kinsale and spend a night, then on to Dingle for a night, and then Galway for a night before heading back to Dublin for our last night (have to catch an early flight). We'll be doing the Slea Head drive and seeing the Cliffs of Moher in there as well. I'm starting to feel like this is too much and we should cut something out. Everyone raves about Dingle so I'm wondering about 2 nights there, but we would have to skip either Cork/Kinsale area or Galway.

I would greatly appreciate input as to which town to skip, and any other tips you may have! Thanks in advance.

Posted by Anita

RIchmond, BC,Canada

12/21/18 05:42 AM

933 posts

This is far too much ground to cover with the time you have. With only six nights you really only have five days, and it looks like your first one is in Dublin, and you have to return there to fly home. If you were to drive straight to Dingle from Dublin it will still take you a few hours so you won't have a full day one you get there. Then you would want a full day to explore the area so you have to spend at least two nights there to get one full day of touring. Then the drive from Dingle to Galway is also a few hours, plus the stop at the cliffs and maybe somewhere else along the way will use up another day. I think at this point you would only have one full day left by the time you get to Galway. My suggestion would be to focus on either the east or west coast, or just the top half from east to west. Either way I would skip Cork. If you aren't interested in spending much time in Dublin other than for St. Patrick's day then I would suggest cutting out the southern section of your trip. You will see much more if you limit your focus. From Dublin you could go to Newgrange, then head to Galway and make a stop at Clonmacnoise and some other spots on the way. Once in Galway you can easily see the Cliffs of Moher, Burren, Connemara or even a day trip over to Inishmore. But, if you want to drive all the way to Dingle and back you will spend a lot more time in the car, and essentially have a green blur tour through the window of the car.

Posted by Carol now retired

Lynnwood, Washington

12/21/18 10:37 AM

8880 posts

You are on the right track in thinking that you need to edit your trip and take out some locations on this trip. Stop and think about what really interests you, not what others tell you are “must sees.” What do you want out of your trip to Ireland?

Posted by radailey

12/22/18 05:07 AM

4 posts

This is totally doable if you have the energy. I myself did a trip like this that lasted two months. So here are your options spelled out plain.

A. I want to see an industrial town in Ireland.
(Choose Cork and skip Galway)
B. I want to see a costal town with a laid back vibe and nightlife
(Choose Galway skip Cork)

Personally I would go to Galway. It is gorgeous and unique. Cork is like an Irish Chicago, but you could be into that.