I’m staring at some cheap direct flights in late June. I’m torn between trying to drive a route around the countryside going west to north and back to Dublin or splitting my time between Dublin and Belfast and just doing a train. Never driven on the left but if I don’t get out of the big cities I’ll probably regret it. Any thoughts from you experienced travelers?
Posted by
RIchmond, BC,Canada
933 posts
You can easily see the countryside via guided day trips from both cities. From Dublin do the popular Newgrange trip and it will include other locations such as the Hill of Tara and Monasterboice, or take one to Glendalough. From Belfast do a day trip up to the Giant’s Causeway. This way you will see both the city and the countryside without the stress of learning to drive on the left, and getting lost. You don’t have a lot of time, so making use of the guided day trips might be the most efficient use of your time.
Posted by
8246 posts
We have been to Ireland three times, all visiting ports on cruises, however, we have covered the eastern area of the island from The Blarney Castle, Dublin up to Belfast and the Giants Causeway.
All that was wonderful, but my Son and his friend rented a car and spend a week driving to areas in the SW and West and loved it.
The visited the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. That was the highlight of their drive.
They did comment on driving in those areas, that roads are frequently narrow with sheep sometimes in the way. Don't expect to travel that fast on Ireland's roads in the west.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
468 posts
We did our Ireland, or rather mostly Northern Ireland trip in 2015. We arrived in London to stay with a friend, then we all took the train up to Belfast. We spent a day there, then the train to Derry, where we spent three nights. While in Derry, we rented a car and went into County Donegal. Fantastic and wonderfully scenic, historical, and personal trip but for us the driving was stressful. But that is just us, probably. We also loved Scotland in 2009 but the driving drove us crazy and resulted in a really big fight between the other couple we were with.
Posted by
Maryland
24 posts
Everyone has their preferences, but I was not enamoured with Dublin and would spend no more than a day or two there in favor of the smaller towns of Ireland's west coast (and Belfast, sure). Central Dublin seemed to be overrun with drunken Brits on hen/stag weekends. However, since it seems you have an Irish name I'm sure you'd enjoy the EPIC museum. I really love Irish trad music, and aside from the Pipers Corner, I had a hard time finding an intimate pub for hearing musicians play in Dublin, whereas you'll find plenty of them up and down the Wild Atlantic Way from Galway to Dingle and Kenmare. In any case, I think you would miss a lot of the charm of Ireland if you only take trains and only stay in cities. Train from Dublin to Belfast or to Galway, sure . But if you enjoy driving and are not generally nervous behind the wheel, and have a passenger who can help remind you about things like "hug the curb!" as you're making left turns/"far lane!" as you make right turns, then the transition isn't bad. On many rural roads, there is only one lane anyhow, with little pull-out spots every 100m or so for when two cars need to pass, so it's not like you're going to wander into oncoming traffic. We spent most of a week in Dingle on Rick Steve's recommendation and did not regret it. Only regret was wasting time going to Killarney NP and much of the Ring of Kerry (drive from the Cliffs of Kerry to Waterville, however, was amazing ... quite a rollercoaster ride).