Ireland in 3 days

You want to visit Belfast and Giant's Causeway to/from Dublin in one day?

You don't think that's possible?

That’s is a lot of ground to cover, so I wasn’t sure if that’s what you were actually saying was the plan. I wouldn’t attempt it. It looks like there are 14/16 hour organized day trips that do it, but it’s very little time to stop and see what you’ve gone up see. I loved the Antrim Coast and Giants Causeway but I wouldn’t attempt it as a day trip from Dublin. Perhaps others will have differing opinions or other suggestions.

I don’t think public transportation is overall the most efficient way to get around an Ireland.

The places you've mentioned are in many different areas. You do need more days to fit your interests in. If you can find tours that cover it all, and you have energy for a few whirlwind days, go for it. I think it's too much for 3 days. Maybe train to Cork, visit Cobh, overnight, and then take a tour of the Ring of Kerry the next day. The Ring of Kerry takes about 3 and a half hours without stopping, so you could take the best part of a day to enjoy stops as well.

When you say "do Belfast" what is your goal for visiting the city? One or two museums?

With limited walking ability, I would find some good videos to enjoy of the Causeway and call it good. There is a fair amount of walking from the parking lot. We got there late in the day and I was tired hurrying down to the Causeway before they closed. I don't know if the Causeway has accommodations for walking challenges. Were you planning to take a tour? There may be a tour that takes in a stop in Belfast and the Giant's Causeway. I suggest spending the full day in Belfast, taking in a museum and a taxi tour of the city, I don't know if Rick's book still has information on the taxi tours.

Belfast and the Giant's Causeway by public transport will become much easier when Belfast Grand Central opens sometime before Christmas as at that stage Dublin to Belfast trains will become hourly.

You change trains at Grand Central (when it opens) for the hourly train to Derry- as far as Coleraine. At Coleraine you change onto the bus 402 to GC- that runs every 15 to 30 minutes.

There is also a new all year bus 221 which runs from Belfast Laganside Bus Station, and picks up at Donegall Square in Belfast and Ballymena. For you Ballymena is probably the best interchange point (also on the Derry line).
But for anyone staying in Belfast the 221 is a very useful new bus. It replaces a former once a day high summer only bus.

For all NI timetables see Translink- https://www.translink.co.uk/

Yes the Cork to Cobh train line is very scenic - frequent connections into the hourly Dublin to Cork train, so that is straightforward.

So that is pretty easy without a tour.

These are very long distances and most are not day trips from Dublin without being on a tour of some sort. How are you going to see the rings of Kerry without being in a vehicle?

We did a one day tour from Dublin a few weeks ago with Wild Rover tours. Pick up at 7 am & back around 8 pm. It was great. Went to Belfast. Black cab tour or Titanic museum then on to a castle ruin and then Giant’s causeway. There is a bus to take you from the parking lot to the causeway for $1 Euro I believe. We walked.

They also do 1 day tours to the Cliffs with other sites put in. We found Ireland is not as easy as other European countries to see via train or public transport. The private bus systems are not very reliable. Had bad experiences with Dublin coach big green bus. I would highly suggest not using them.

Thank you all for confirming about how long the distance will be. I was afraid of that. I think the train to Cork and taking the train to Cove would be a nice trip for us. But I did want to see the Cliffs of Moher even if we have to eliminate the Ring of Kerry. Has anyone done that from dublin?

The Cliffs of Moher by public transport is train to Galway then Bus Eireann #350 every 2 or 3 hours (the bus is headed to Ennis)- journey time is 2 hrs 12 minutes from Galway.
Then a further 1 hour on to Ennis for a train back to Dublin

So-
(on a weekday)
Train depart Dublin Heuston 0545 Galway arrive 0836- https://www.irishrail.ie/getmedia/81529cec-6419-43db-9b2d-4563775766e6/06-Dublin-Galway.pdf
or 0925 arrive 1150

Bus depart Galway at 1000 arrive 1212, or 1300 arrive 1517- https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/350

depart Moher back to Galway at 1321 or 1521 arriving at 1537 or 1739

or at 1517 or 1714 for Ennis arriving at 1614 or 1811

Ennis depart by train at 1725 or 1911, switching trains at Limerick and Limerick Junction, arriving Dublin Heuston at 2105 or 2156.

https://www.irishrail.ie/IrishRail/media/Timetable-PDF-s/Heuston-timetables/02_dublin-limk-ennis.pdf

Any which way this is quite a long day but that is just the size of the country.

You can do the Giants Causeway as a day trip from Dublin with Paddywagon tours. It's a long day, for sure. I took the tour from Belfast, and there were people on the bus who had come up from Dublin. They were given about 90 minutes in Belfast before their return to Dublin. It may be that not all the tours stop in Belfast. The tour also went to the Dun Luce Castle ruin (very cool, pretty accessible, short walk from where bus lets out) and the Dark Hedges from Game of Thrones (super yawn).
There is a way to see the GC without a lot of walking. There is a bus that drives up and down the hill from the visitor center. It's €1 per trip. Of course, getting out onto the GC does involve walking over the basalt, which is very uneven. The GC is spectacular, but I find the Cliffs of Moher more jaw dropping.
Paddywagon (as well as Wild Rover) also offer day trips to the Cliffs of Moher and Ring of Kerry from Dublin. Doing three long day trips like this sounds awful to me, but it's not impossible. I would absolutely not attempt to do any of these by public transport.
Another tour company to take a look at is Railtours Ireland. They have day trips and multi-day tours. Maybe you'll find one that suits you:
https://railtoursireland.com

In 2019 a friend took the Cliffs of Moher day trip from Dublin. I think it was Paddywagon. The trip left Dublin around 7.00 AM and returned around 8.00 PM. It included a boat trip to see the Cliffs from the water. It was a rough day on the water. People got sick on the boat. People got sick on the bus ride back. Just something to consider.

Thank you all so much for your imput. I figured this would be a daunting task. It is the end of a 2-month vacation through France Italy Switzerland England and ending in Ireland. We will then be going back with Cunard on a cruise to New York from Southampton. So just thought since we were here we might as well get Ireland in since I'm sure we're never going to be back to Europe because we are in our '80s? Lol

Personally, I would not attempt to get to the locations that are all so far from Dublin. I can certainly understand the desire to see these locations as they are all stunning, but I would not want to spend such a long day on a bus. Plus, the weather could put a major damper on it all. I was so looking forward to my train ride from Dublin down to Killarney, but it was raining that day so it was all just a green blur. Have you thought of doing a day trip to Newgrange? It would include other sites, and is much closer to Dublin. Another possibility would be a day trip to Glendalough. The guided day trips are the best option when you have little time as they will get you to more than one sight without having to worry about bus and train schedules.

Thank you all and thanks Anita fir the 2 suggestions. I will researchtgem