Flight from Dublin to Kerry

Your question was interesting, so while I don’t have personal experience with a Dublin to Kerry flight, I have taken buses to/from Dingle (connecting in Tralee), and flown on Ryanair (not within Ireland, though), and was curious whether flying was truly a superior strategy. As you mentioned, you’ve got two hours on buses to reach Dingle from the Kerry Airport after your 1-hour flight. Figure on getting to the Dublin Airport 2 hours before your flight, and now you’ve got three hours of sitting/riding on a plane and buses, plus two hours at the airport.

Maybe you’ve already done additional research, and have done all the math, but I went to the Rome2Rio.com Website, to check what it indicates. It gives an assortment of transportation options, and also rates the “best” and “cheapest” of them. It suggests that a 8:30 AM train from Dublin for 2 hours, changing to a train at Mallow for another 1 1/2 hours to Tralee, with a 1-hour bus to Dingle is the best option, costing $35 to $52 total. That’s 4 1/2 hours of “riding,” although on a train, you can get up and stand or walk a bit, and don’t have to be sitting all the time.

It indicates the flight version takes just under an hour in the air, as you said, then a 20 minute bus to Tralee, then waiting there until the Dingle bus that takes an hour departs. Getting to the airport at 7:45 AM for a 9:45 flight, with transfers to the bus stations and transfer times, gets you to Dingle at 3:30 PM, for $63 to $83 total. You’d be on that same Bus #275 the last leg from Tralee to Dingle, either way. Riding time less than 2 1/2 hours total, but waiting time adds quite a bit to the whole day.

So, it appears that flying is a bit more expensive, and does save an hour of “riding” time, but the time it takes to get to the airport, get thru security, wait for the flight, get to the bus station in Kerry, then wait to transfer to the Dingle bus in Tralee, the flying option actually takes more time, too. I can see why Rome2Rio suggests that Train+Train+Bus would be better than Plane+Bus+Bus, overall.

To add to what Cyn wrote, Ryan air often changes flight timing (just had a Liverpool-Dublin flight changed by an hour) and flights are often delayed which might complicate your travel plans (although buses can be delayed as well). Any ride through Ireland is pretty scenic.

The RyanAir flight would only be a time-saving option if you were already at Dublin airport anyway (ie having just arrived on an international flight) and the timing worked in your favor. Having to then rely on public transportation to get over to Dingle wouldn't be particularly efficient. Better to rent a car at Kerry airport if you'd be comfortable driving. If not, and if it's got to be public transport and tours then you might be better off just basing yourselves in Killarney which has many more day trip and tour options to choose from, including several that include Dingle Town and Slea Head Drive. It's a lot simpler getting to Killarney as well - going by train or bus is pretty straightforward, and getting into town from the Kerry airport is only 20 minutes by taxi.