We will be driving from Dingle to Galway on Sat. June 1st. I just found out there's a car ferry available for part of the trip (Killimer to Tarbert).
https://www.shannonferries.com/timetable-June
Although I've been looking at maps and routes, I'm stumped if this is ferry is on the way from Dingle to Galway or would we have to take a longer route to get to Killimer. It sounds like a fun and worthwhile 20 minute trip.
Thanks for any help!
Plot this out on Google maps and you will see this is on the direct route from Dingle to Galway. It is slightly less distance than going via Limerick but may take a bit longer. It is a much more interesting route especially if you plan a whole day for it as you can amble up through County Clare and the Burren (with its limestone scenery, this is completely different to the rest of Ireland) and all the small villages. You can also add in Cliffs of Moher too.
Going via the ferry is the prettier way to go, especially if you elect to continue up the coast along the N67 - one of Ireland's great scenic drives on a sunny day.
There are plenty of potential stops along the way to break up the long drive and generally allow you to make a pleasant day of it. Kilkee is a great place for lunch or a coffee. and there's a pretty cliff walk there that you'll likely have all to yourselves in contrast to the crowds at Moher.
A stop at the Burren is a good suggestion.
The coastal route will fill up a whole day, whereas the inland route via Limerick will take about 4 hours - it's not terribly scenic but it's the more direct way to go if you just want to get there as quickly as possible . .. or in the event that the weather turns sour that day.
Thank you so much for your detailed information! This really helps. This forum and the experienced travelers’ support have been so helpful!
We took this ferry just a couple of weeks ago as we drove from Dingle to Galway.
It was seamless, and it helped that we had pre-purchased our ferry ticket online. The ticket is not tied to a specific crossing and is good for one year. I think we left Dingle by 8:30 am and made it to the ferry for the 10:30 a.m. crossing northbound.
We loved the scenic longer drive up the coast to Galway.
FYI: After the ferry crossing, we stopped in Lahinch for lunch en route to the Cliffs of Moher. We found only two restaurants in town. Both served fried fish (nothing grilled). One seemed very slow and a server was not friendly, so we went to another spot. It was very slow too, taking 40 minutes for food to arrive after ordering. Both of those spots had mostly outdoor dining. Dress warm.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!
Our original plan was to fly into Shannon (from Newark airport overnight flight ) Drive to Dingle…then Kinsale … then Galway. After doing more research, I switched the order to driving to Kinsale first (2 nights), then Dingle (3 nighrs), then Galway (3 nights)
A few people mentioned dropping Kinsale and adding more days to Dingle and Galway.
I’m not sure what we should do. I’m an overthinker . Lol!
