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April Trip: Small Town Feel + Celtic / Early Christian Sites...Dingle?

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Coming up soon I will be at a conference in Belfast for a week (in the Cathedral Quarter, which I love), then I have about five days to travel on my own. I would appreciate advice on where to go and how to travel (rent a car or take train/bus). Two years ago I had an amazing trip up to the north coast and this time I am thinking to head to Ireland. I have learned that I need to plan ahead for this post-conference time as I am usually too wiped out at that point to be much good at winging it.

Celtic Sites/Small Town? Solo Female Travel?
I would like to connect with Celtic spiritual sites and experience some of the the gorgeous natural locations and rich culture that Ireland has to offer, but I also crave a small town. What do you suggest? I am thinking to go to Dingle - take nature walking tours, hang out in town for art and trad music, drive or hire day tours to local sites, see the Cliffs of Kerry, etc. Does anyone know if Dingle is a good spot for a solo female traveler? Specifically I’m wondering if I can enjoy the local trad music in the pubs at night on my own...

Stay Put in Dingle or Pass Through?
I could either get to Dingle on my own (train/bus or train/rental car) and plant myself there for 3-4 nights, or take a 5 day tour of Western Ireland from Dublin (Rabbie’s has a small group tour) which would just pass through Dingle, but I wouldn’t have to plan beyond booking the tour and I would be connected with the group. I am torn.

I am considering:

  1. Driving to Dingle, with an overnight stop along the way. Seems like an 8+ hour trip from what I've read online, so an overnight might be in order. Maybe Galway or Inishmore? Any suggestions?
  2. Taking the train Belfast-->Dublin-->Galway then driving from there to Dingle, possibly taking a night in Galway or Inishmore before renting a car and heading south to Dingle. Seems like the wrong order if I'm flying home from Shannon, though.
  3. Take the train Belfast-->Dublin, then the next day train/bus Dublin-->Dingle. Four nights in Dingle then rent a car to get up to Galway/Inishmore...then fly home.
  4. Taking the train Belfast-->Dublin, then from there hiring a tour company to take me on a 4-5 day tour of some sort, probably Western Ireland. Looks like these tend to spend 3 nights in Killarny...described mainly as a tour bus town, doesn't sound super appealing. But then again, it's Ireland, and even a tour bus town in Ireland is probably really fun (I love Ireland).

I would welcome any advice on a second leg after Belfast - does Dingle sound like a good choice? Where would you go to get a combination of small town/pub culture/Celtic historical sites? Of course I could stay up north in County Donegal...I just haven’t researched it that much plus I keep coming across Dingle as a recommendation to go if you have time to go to one place in Ireland and drop in deep.

How would you recommend getting from Belfast to Dingle: train to Galway + rental car? Or train/bus through Dublin?
How would you recommend getting from Dingle to Galway - a rental car? Seems like half the time of public transit, plus then I get to take the scenic route.
If I want to stay at a welcoming small town outside of Galway, what would you recommend?

Honestly, just writing this post was helpful as it helped me clarify what my intentions and questions are. If you have on even just a piece of this (I know I put in many question)...I would much

Posted by
359 posts

Sorry, can't answer all of it but maybe a few thoughts. Think it is FANTASTIC you are trying to see historic Ireland and that you are looking for a great spot to do it from. Can't put these into a coherent whole for you but here goes.

Dingle is wonderful. Right there are the Gallarus Oratory, Dunbeg Fort and beehive huts. Plus the landscape and scenery are incredible. A day trip out to the deserted Blaskets is very moving to, though it's not Celtic/early Christian ruins ....it is a very emotional, spiritual spot connecting with the long journey through Irish history.

Dingle itself is a large busy town. Really nice with lots of options and certainly quaint and small by Belfast standards.....but it's not a small village setting. Really depends on what you are looking for. Traveling alone you might feel more comfortable there with more tourists around but if you want a true small village other great options abound.

Side note my daughter traveled alone and found the pubs a warm, safe, family friendly atmosphere. Obviously you have to be careful but she went there for dinners and music and it was fine. She didn't stay super late though.

Again sorry for jumping around. Visiting Inishmore is a full day. It's fantastic. The pre Celtic Dun Anghosa fort, cliffs and whole area is incredible and if you get there early in the morning before the day trippers it is an intense and magical place to connect. But it is a full day...plus a night if you stay there and then back to the mainland so in a 5 day trip a major time commitment. Well worth it but something to seriously consider.

Dingle to the Cliffs of Kerry are about a 3 hour drive....So 6 hour round trip. Doable and there is a ton to see near the cliffs that is Celtic and early Christian....but it's a haul....May either want to base in a town convenient to both the ROK and Dingle like Castlemaine or thereabouts or plan on a long day from Dingle.

Dingle is great but is well traveled by tourists. The Skellig Ring just off the Ring of Kerry has no tour buses allowed so is Very scenic, very quiet and is a great spot to connect to wild historic Ireland. The ancient ringforts outside Cahersiveen and at Staigue (just off the Skellig Ring on the ROK) are fantastic places to feel where and how people lived. Ballinskellig has the amazing early Abbey ruins and McCarthys castle right on the beach and the Glen is a quiet, haunted wonderful spot.

Another random thought and this wont help much.....but both options are great. My daughter LOVED traveling alone, felt safe at all times and had a great time connecting with the magic that is Ireland's history and its wonderful people. Also though the small historic tours are done REALLY well there. I would not join a big tour bus group.....we spent part of our first trip to Ireland on one and it was soul sucking and a waste......but 4-5 people with a good guide is fantastic. Sure you might get stuck w a bad traveling companion but most likely you'll get a guide who is fun, knowledgeable and can show you great stuff. It is a good option. For me though I need those alone quiet times sitting on a wall of a 2,000 year old ringfort or slowly wandering through an Abbey ruin with no schedule or time pressure to really connect.

Anyway.....sorry for the rambling. Remember driving app times are insanely optimistic...add again half as much to be safe. You'll have a great time approaching it they way you are. Like no other place in the world have I been able to feel history's long story feel so present, interconnected and still alive like in Ireland.

Posted by
12 posts

Thank you so much! You have renewed my strength in planning a second leg to my trip that I hope will be eye opening and fulfilling.

" Like no other place in the world have I been able to feel history's long story feel so present, interconnected and still alive like in Ireland." YES! This is exactly what I am seeking, you said this well.

I feel a pull between wanting to drive myself to sites and have the time to sit, wander and process at my own pace...and the pull to hire a good guide who can tell me the depth, history and context of where I am and what I am seeing. I'll skip the 16 person 5 day tour from Dublin and aim to strike a balance on my own. Maybe self tour plus day tour guides will be the right mix. I don't know where/how to hire a 4-5 person size group...I will look online - Viator/Tripadvidor maybe? I know there are tons of local guides in Ireland but I'm not sure how to find them all the way from California before I go :-)

Specifically, I wonder a day seeing some of the ROK sites you mentioned would be better done alone or with a hired day guide...mayb from Dingle?

I will aim to spend the night on Inishmore, I have read/heard from many sources that this is a powerful experience. And I may just do it on the way down to Dingle even though I'd thought it should be last as Galway is closer to Shannon, because it seems like the right order somehow.

Thank you so much! I feel like you understand the sort of travel I am after..a dropping in sort of trip with the pocket of time that I have. And I will feel comfortable going to pubs, thanks for that. It's the same in Belfast too - have always felt safe there. So different from the US!

Sincerely,
Beth

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