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Ireland for the first time

Posted by on

Hello- I have read many posts on this Ireland forum, have learned a lot and have used what I learned to shape our trip. My hope is that your replies will help further shape our trip.

My husband and I are traveling from the US to Ireland for the 1st time for 10-12 days in early May (no date yet). We have traveled out of the county many times but always via cruise ship. We have planned day trips from the ship on our own but have never had an entire DIY trip out of the US on our own. Planning this is a bit overwhelming but we want to break away from week(s) long group travel. We are open to day small group travel once in a while though.

We plan on flying into DUB and out of SNN, renting an automatic car and making our way through the southern portion of Ireland. We have never driven on the other side of the road, on such narrow roads or dealt with navigating through such beautiful open landscape on our own. We would consider staying in a location for a few days and taking day trips from that point before moving on to another location to stay, if it makes sense to do that.

Our first stop will be Dublin so is it worth renting a car at the airport and driving to our destination or wait to rent until we are ready to leave Dublin? If we do the latter, is there a convenient place to rent from? Regarding travel and Ireland, is it easy to find fill stations when traveling?

Below are the places we would like to visit. Is this more than we should do in one trip? Are there major things we are missing in our journey- we love nature. Is there is a better order for us to see our wants? I know on the map it can look easier to see this before that but in reality it might be the reverse. Next to each stop I noted what we would like to see and please feel free to offer other suggestions as well.

Dublin- fly into DUB and possibly stay 2 nights or stay in a suburb of Dublin instead. Would more than likely get in around noon so maybe we could take it easy the first day to acclimate and then take in a full day on day 2. Any ideas for a few day trips from this area or should we see a few things in Dublin and move on to our other wants?

Wicklow- Wicklow MTNS Nat’l Park
Kilkenny-Muckross House and Garden
Cork- Blarney Castle, Titanic Cobh
Killarney- Torc Waterfall, Moll’s Gap, Killarney Nat’l Park
Kerry-Ring of Kerry (will this take a near full day to see), Gap of Dunloe (will this take ½ day to see)
Dingle- The Dingle Way
Limerick- ? not sure yet
Clare- Cliffs of Mohr and Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
Galway-Wild Atlantic Way
Shannon- fly home

I really appreciate the help and thank you.

Posted by
2448 posts

Yes, you do need to give yourselves time in Dublin to acclimate and get over jet lag before driving. You also need to re-check your map in order to come up with a logical order for your trip - for instance, Muckross House is just outside of Killarney, and the Bunratty Folk Park is between Limerick and Shannon (might be a good last day activity).

Posted by
1172 posts

I would not bother renting a car for Dublin. I would just rent on your way out. We did this and rented from the airpot. The airport has easy access to the highway. Dublin has excellent public transportation so it will be easy to get around without a car.

I would skip Limerick and ass a day to Dingle or Galway. You could consider the Aran Islands for that extra day.

Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road was easier than we expected. You just need to take your time and not get too bothered by the fast Irish drivers. Muckross House and Gardens is actually in the Killarney National Park. We rented bikes and did Torc falls, muckross etc. It was a great way to see a lot of the park.

In Kilkenny, the Castle and the medieval mile was fun

I would plan for a day to do the Ring of Kerry assuming that you will want to stop and take in the scenery.

Posted by
7 posts

You can do all this in your timeframe. Plan on a full day for Ring of Kerry and one for Dingle Penin.--lots of sights to stop and visit, no need to rush. Couple of suggestions: take the frequent buses from the airport to Dublin. Do not drive in Dublin. Read Rick's book to learn the sights. This might sound odd, but we had an informative and fun tour of Trinity College. Of course, there are other sights to see in Dublin--read Rick's book, see what appeals to your taste! You can rent a car to leave Dublin, but also check out the possibilities of public transport--we took a bus to Limerick, a cab to Shannon Airport, and then picked up a rental car. If you're into pubs, the Temple Bar walking area of Dublin can be great fun.

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