Our flight arrives the Saturday morning before Easter. We need to go directly to Dingle but want to avoid driving jet-lagged. Right now we plan to catch a train from Heuston Stn to Farranfore, nap on the train, and rent a car at Kerry Airport to drive the last hour to Dingle.
Also trying to decide what to do with two days at the end of the week to make our way back to Dublin. We were thinking we'd leave the car in Galway and train back to Dublin for the flight home. Is it too much to drive to Galway from Dingle in a day with a stop at the Cliffs of Moher? Should we stay in Doolin instead? We just want to enjoy beautiful scenery, hiking/biking, spend evenings in pubs with trad music, get to know some locals and relax. No must-sees on our list.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2980 posts
Your proposed itinerary will work fine, although there is an easier way to do it that will simplify your logistics if you're flexible, ie reverse the order of your travel and start by taking the express bus to Galway upon arrival at Dublin Airport, which will get you there just in time to check in to your accommodation, get some sleep and maybe explore the town for a day or two before collecting your car and heading south towards Dingle.
The drive from Galway to Dingle only takes a few hours if you take the most direct route. If it's a sunny day a prettier way to go is down the coast between Doolin and Kilkee, then crossing the Shannon on the Tarbert Ferry. That way will take you much of the day but it won't be an unpleasant one since the route is a great scenic drive with lots of pullouts along the way to enjoy the pretty seascapes and photo ops. There's a cliff walk at Kilkee that's worth a stop - it's a nice place to grab lunch too.
About the only reason to stop in Limerick would be to visit the little Frank McCourt museum there, which might be fun if you're a fan of his novels.
From Dingle you could drive over to Farranfore to drop your car and then train back into Dublin.
Either way is doable - just might be a little easier if you head to Galway first.
Edited to add: it can sometimes be a challenge to book a car with automatic transmission in some of the smaller towns (the default rental in Ireland is a manual shifter.) Suggest ensuring that wherever you collect your car that you specify an automatic .... It'll make your life a whole lot easier.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
744 posts
RyanAir has flights from Dublin to Kerry (£27) if your arrival is early enough, where you can rent a car. I've decided this is is about the same price as the train and 1/4 the time for our trip doing the same thing. We're doing a pitstop in Doolin on the way to Galway (as you propose). If you skipped Moher, you could go straight to Galway. If you spend a night in Doolin, you could do the boat version of Moher which at least avoids the traffic jam of tour buses at the viewpoint, although it's weather dependent. There's great trad music in Dingle, Doolin, and Galway, so that should not be an issue.