Driving in Ireland

We were in Ireland this past May. My husband did the driving and he still has PTSD to this day!! We drove to all the places that you mentioned above. We also like our "road trip" style vacations. I think of all the places we drove the Ring of Kerry was the worst; in fact, my husband turned the car around as we were going to the Gap of Dunloe. The roads are windy and very narrow ; there's little space to pull the car over especially when the humongous tour buses are approaching. Interestingly enough, the tour buses have the right of way. The tour buses drive counterclockwise so some people drive clockwise to avoid getting stuck behind them. Others drive in the same direction as the tour buses so as to avoid having to pull over for them. My advice would be to find a tour for the Ring of Kerry and let them drive you.

Thank you for your reply. Were there any areas that you enjoyed the drive - whether Belfast north or along the east or south coast?

Our thought is that we could bus or rail to an area and then rent a car to see that area.

Another possibility is to take a bus or train to an area and hire a local guide / driver. Road trips are not enjoyable at all if the driver and or passenger is on pins and needles even part of the time. Trust me -- I know. Just offering food for thought.

We really liked driving along the Dingle Peninsula. My husband also suggests don't drive in Dublin. We did not take the rental car into Northern Ireland as we didn't have time and anyway the rental car company discouraged it. We also did an organized tour with Galway Tours from Galway that took us to one of the Aran Islands and then to the Cliffs of Moher. With this tour you can see the Cliffs from the vantage point of the ferry boat as well as on land.

We rented a car at the Dublin Airport and drove to the far southwest of the island. The main highways are no problem getting down there.

But the side roads are pretty curvy, rough and often there are ditches right beside the pavement. Or there are hedges growing to the edge of the road.

Driving on the left side is no big deal to me. But I'm a far better driver than most. But if you're a really good driver, go for it. A car is the only way you can really get into the backroads and experience the real Ireland.

We drove in Ireland for 15 days. I've driven all over NZ and the roads in Ireland are definitely more stressful but only in certain areas. Definitely some of the more stressful driving we've done but we did enjoy it. You will need to get the car insurance with the car rental agency as no credit card companies' insurance will cover Ireland due to the propensity of 'incidents' aka: accidents (at least this is what our CC companies told us). Be mindful of the hedges alongside the road. They are not just fluffy bushes but conceal a stone wall. And usually the stone wall is right next to the road under all the pretty greenery. The more complicated roads are on the Wild Atlantic Way (basically the whole west coast such as Gallway, Dingle, Kerry, Doolin, etc.) but not all are trecherous and the drive is simply stunning. There are plenty of places to pull over to enjoy a view (and release some stress.) I would encourage you to do it especially since you've tackled the opposite side of the road already. Just take your time on the country roads and, maybe don't plan for hours long drives. :-)

Our worst experience was driving over the Connor Pass in mist. It had been a dull day but we hadn't expected the mist as we left Dingle. It soon got so bad we could hardly see more than a couple of yards in front of the car. Husband was muttering under his breath all the time "I'm not enjoying this.... whose bright idea was this..." Fortunately we didn't encounter anything coming the opposite way - perhaps they all had more sense than to attempt the drive in those conditions?

Most roads are OK BUT there are some that are narrow windy and lined with stone walls or tall hedges - usually in the more rural areas away from the towns. Unfortunately these also tend to be regarded as 'scenic' routes - thinking Gap of Dunloe here. The main danger is other motorists. IT is surprising how many people are unable to reverse too, especially those that have just passed a suitable place to pull in and let people past. You do need to keep your wits about you and be aware of surroundings, possible passing places and drive carefully.

You can preview road conditions and routes yourself by using the Street View feature on Google maps, which we've found to be an especially helpful strategy when heading out on any of the more rural roads (the R and L roads on the map). You can, for example, preview Slea Head Drive around the Dingle peninsula to see what you're in for before heading out for the day.
We've always found the local drivers in the rural areas to be patient and considerate. When meeting opposing traffic on a narrow road where there's only room for car to pass, the other driver has usually already pulled over and is waving me thru in the time it takes me stop and consider my options.
If you've already driven in NZ then I'd say you can certainly handle driving in Ireland.
You can save yourself the long drive across the island by hopping on one of the daily flights from Dublin to the Kerry airport near Killarney (and Dingle) on RyanAir. There are 2 per day in each direction, and there are rental car outlets at the airport there that might ease your logistics somewhat.

I think your thought of using public transit to get to where you can is smart. We used public transit in Dublin then took a train to Cork and then bus to Cork airport where we picked up a rental car. From that point we drove to our next destination but for the most part once we arrived at the place we were staying (Kinsale, Dingle, Galway) we walked or used public transit if it was available (Galway). My husband was also apprehensive about the driving and I refused to drive. He did the driving but yes he also still has some PTSD from it. The roads are narrow, windy, and speeds we felt were high. Plus it seemed like in some areas the tall bushes/hedges of some homes/farms obstructed our view so we would come around a corner and someone would be speeding by us but felt like they were in our lane. When we drove from Dingle to Galway we split up the drive by taking the ferry boat (it takes cars) across the Shannon River. Again, anything to break up or limit our own driving worked for us on our trip!

Yeah, that is a long, stressful drive. I drove from Galway to Dingle in one day (my first day behind the wheel in Ireland). I've got pretty steely nerves for driving, had already done lots of "wrong side" driving in foreign lands. But I'll admit, when I finally I parked the car in front of our lovely B&B in Dingle late that afternoon, I was completely wrung-out and needed a minute to depressurize; when I finally pried my white-knuckled fingers from the steering wheel and stepped out of the car, I wanted to kiss the ground.

Take the driving seriously. You can do it, but it's going to take a lot out of you.

I am actually in Ireland right now. It is my first time here and first time driving on the left. BTW Rick’s book has been invaluable! I flew into Dublin Weds, rented a car and drove right to Dingle then up to Doolin, yesterday then today arrived Galway. I am almost 65 and traveling by myself. Dec is nice, not much traffic, not many tourists but weather has been great though chilly. To answer your questions: I would not take public transportation to places like Dingle and Doolin and expect to rent a car. They’re small towns, no trains, maybe busses and I doubt they have car rentals. And to rent that way would cost a fortune even if you could. I say either rent a car for the whole trip or do a tour for the whole trip. Once you get to places like Dingle you can likely join a tour or find someone to drive you around Slea Head loop. It is everything your husband is scared of (narrow road, huge drop off, etc) I could drive down to the Christmas market in Galway but chose to get a taxi to avoid trying to find parking and a cab is not expensive. So things like that locally you could do. The drive to Dingle from Dublin was mostly freeway/wide roads until close to the end. But a lot of county roads are very curvy and often narrow. If your husband absolutely can’t do it then join a tour. But if he thinks he can overcome-do it! I think it’s fun. If he knows anything about driving a manual I would say rent one. They are usu smaller cars and you will feel more comfortable about that. The one I have tells me when to shift up or down so all you need to know is how to use a clutch. It’s no big deal having the shifter on the left. It also corners very well. I have learned that the roads may say 80km/hr but I am realizing they leave it up to your judgement. If the are a lot of curves coming it might say slow down but it doesn’t give a reduced speed. You do what you need to do. If you feel you are going too slow for the people behind you, Ireland has many places to pull over, or just go slower on the side of the road to let them pass. Worst areas to drive? My experience is limited but I would say Slea Head. A friend of mine says Ring of Kerry. I didn’t do Connor Pass but sounds like something you should avoid. Also you can reserve a hotspot to put in your pocket so you don’t use your own data for google maps or similar as GPS. Called wificandy. I picked it up and will drop off at Dublin airport. Have fun it’s a great country to explore.