Advice on my Ireland trip-solo traveler

For efficiency, I would not come back to Dublin if what you want to do is visit Dingle. I would leave Dublin go to Galway and do the Cliffs etc and then find my way to Dingle. After being done doing/seeing what I want to do on the West coast, I would make my way back to Dublin.

We loved Dingle and I think solo travel anywhere in Ireland would be great as the Irish are just the friendliest people you will ever meet.

It is a long trip to Dingle from Galway on public transport. I think it will take just as long from Dublin as it does from Galway. You have to ask yourself, "Do I want to invest my time in transit or do I want to be exploring Ireland?" I totally understand not wanting to drive! I suggest you look to Northern Ireland instead. There are plenty of interesting places to see besides Dingle. Good (and short) transport options from Dublin to the north and plenty to see.

If you are leaving in a few weeks, I am a little surprised you don't already have accomodations etc arranged.

There are a number of ways to get to Dingle and there are wonderful guides for driving Dingle.....which is so worth it. Just arrange in advance as they can get booked. It is absolutely worth every effort to go. What's great is they are VERY flexible. You can ask them to stop along the way at something you see - you like - and they will happily accommodate that. Near Dunquin there are a few fantastic home based bakeries - they are incredible ! The views are insane and worth every effort.

Also if you have time and are into real Irish history, culture and wildlife (not leprechauns and plastic shamrocks) a GREAT day can be a day long boat trip to the deserted Blasket Islands. On the way out you can see dolphins, including Fungi, basking sharks, whales, birds by the ton, seals and then unsurpassed scenery. Then Great Blasket itself with the ruins and the amazing history that is so present......Just an incredible......and for me life changing day. It's an all day thing but absolutely one of the best things to do in Ireland. Ask for Billly's boat at the docks......he's fantastic.

The Arans are spectacular but be aware if you peek under the surface there is a very real underlying sadness. Their way of life is gone......replaced by catering to tourists. They are warm and welcoming but we sat with our B&B owner and had this proud man tear up talking about the end of a way of life and how he is reduced to "begging" - trying to get tourists in his tour van or taxi service......and how he has been "un-manned". It is hard to see and to hear about ...... but the islands themselves are beautiful. The cliffs there at Dun Anghosa are far more wild and pretty in my view than the tourist clogged Cliffs of Moher. But be aware......if you're sensitive to the culture destroying aspects of mass tourism the Arans have a real sadness to them.

You'll have a great time going solo. The Irish as said are so warm, fun, welcoming and engaged in making you truly happy and a part of things it's almost overwhelming. For us Dublin has some interesting stuff but the joy and very real magic of Ireland is outside of it and is people based. We aren't super outgoing but the smallest effort is rewarded many fold. But as stated I would not go back and forth to Dublin. Dingle and the west are so worth it but you don't want to waste days going back and forth. Stay in the west. Also be forewarned Galway is a nice city....... it's a city. A good base ......but again a city with all that entails.......if you like that great. If you want a small town Irish experience you will not get it there.

Have a GREAT trip !

I did a solo trip to Ireland many years ago using a bus/ train pass, but I had three weeks and was able to cover a lot of ground. If you only have 9 days on the ground then I would split the time between two, possibly three, places to base yourself and do guided day trips from. Dublin and Galway are not far apart by train, and there is a lot to see and do from Galway that could easily use up four days. Then if you spent your remaining time in Dublin you could spend a couple of days just seeing the city, and then pick from the many guided day trips on offer for the rest of your time. If you really want to see Dingle then I would recommend doing it as a day trip from Killarney as getting to Dingle by public transport is quite time consuming (which is why I didn’t do it). Getting to Dingle from Galway will likely use up a whole day, and you don’t have a lot of days so why waste them sitting on a bus. The train from Dublin to Killarney is about 4 1/2 hours, but there a lot of options for day tours from Killarney. From Killarney you can get the train to Galway,but that is also going to be a long travel day. If it were me, I would pick either Dublin/Galway, or Dublin/Killarney. If you try to do all three then you are really only going to have a couple days in each place. Google the guided day trips from each place and see what appeals to you.

Where you choose to go in limited time (the perennial difficult problem of travelers!) should be determined by what you are interested in seeing. In this case, I would say that if you are interested in Irish music, then I would include Dingle in your itinerary. The music scene in the small town of Dingle is fantastic and probably unlike anywhere else in the world. On the other hand if one Irish jig sounds like any other one, then I'd give Dingle a pass.