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7 Nights, Itinerary Dublin to Galway and Back

Posted by (Boston) on

Hi - we are 4 retired gals looking to combine the coasts with inland village-hoping. We all want to explore Dublin, 2 of us want to see west coast, and 2 of us want to visit small towns inland. Here's the early ideas for an itinerary:

Day 1: Land in Dublin at 8am, explore and sleep in Dublin
Day 2: Get car and drive somewhere around Athlone, stopping at towns and villages along the way; sleep near Althorne (maybe along the river?)
Day 3 and 4: Sleep near Galway (maybe Doolin?)
Day 5: Start driving back to Dublin along a different route; sleep somewhere near Roscrea
Day 6: Arrive back in Dublin and return car; sleep near Dublin until we leave on Day 8; prefer somewhere with east coast views

Questions - does this make sense? Recommend any particular towns near Althorne and Roscrea to sleep? Does it make sense to sleep 2 nights in the same place on the west coast or would you recommend different places, and if so, which? We're going in late Sept and we understand the traffic around the highlights of the west coast is slow so we're not looking to go too far north or south of Galway (unless you think we "can't miss" going to X or Y. Any help is appreciated.

Posted by
2279 posts

It makes sense and you're not trying to cram too much into a short time.

Given the choice, I would use Galway as the base for two days. Galway for two nights. Spend one day exploring the Burren area to the south and the other day seeing Connemara.

Burren Day - Drive out through Kinvarra with its castle and along the north coast to Black Head and then down along the coast through Fanore to Doolin. If time allows continue south down to Liscannor. Then head back through Ennistymon, Kilfennora, Caran back to Glway. This will let you see some of the best of the Burren scenery.

Connemara Day - Head from Galway into Connemara. Travel to Oughterard, Maam Cross and Reccess. Then drop down to the tiny harbour of Roundstone and round the coast to Clifden. Do the Sky Road Drive which on a sunny day is possibly one of the best short drives in the world. Then head to Letterfrack and Killary harbour and Leenaun Then cut across country to Cong and back to Galway.

There are lots of things to stop and see on both days - I’ll leave you to do some research and discover them!

On the way from Dublin to Althlone, think about a stop at the early Christian site of Clonmacnoise on the banks of the River Shannon with its ruined chapels, round towers and carved crosses. The medieval town of Athenry with its walls, ruined castle and priory is also well worth a visit.

If coming back via Roscrea, Birr Castle is worth a stop.

Posted by
8 posts

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Have a nice day!

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