Ireland June 2019

Hello Holly,
We have visited Ireland a few times. Here are some suggestions:

Try to fly into Shannon if possible, so you can skip the Dublin to Galway bus.

Are you sure you can visit Dingle on a tour from Killarney? You may need to base in Dingle town to see the Dingle peninsula.

Spend a few nights in Kenmare. It is convenient for both ROK and the Beara Peninsula.

You can do your day 7 and day 10 plans on the same day. One A.M., one P.M.

Dublin is not that exciting IMHO - use those days for more exploration of west coast scenery.

We prefer to stay in one place 2 or 3 nights, depending on what we want to see. It is not that difficult to change locations
if you are an efficient packer. Consider nights 1-4 for Galway, 5-7 for Dingle, 8-10 for Killarney, 11-13 for Kenmare.

Check Google maps - it might be more efficient to fly into Shannon and home from Cork if possible.

Hi Cynthia, thank you for the suggestions. I will look into flights to Shannon. From my early research not that many flights to Shannon or Cork from Seattle. We usually fly Icelandair.
It will be great if we can fly out of Cork.
Sorry i was not clear about the day trip. I am thinking day tour from Killarney to Dingle.

Am pretty sure that non-stop flights from Seattle only go in and out of Dublin. Flying into Shannon would be great but would require a connection somewhere, thus complicating (and extending) the long transatlantic ordeal. Better to just get it over with as quickly as possible by booking a non stop. Might also investigate flights out of Vancouver to see if connections and fares are attractive enough to justify the short train ride north.

Given that your preference is to rely on public transportation and to book day tours I think that your proposed itinerary looks good.

That said, your logistics would be greatly simplified, and your flexibility and freedom of movement would be greatly enhanced, if you rented a car upon arrival in Galway. Don't know if that's something you're willing to consider but it's what I would recommend. Would probably be cheaper than booking all of those day trips too.

By staying in Galway and Killarney (and in June at that) you'll be in the middle of the tourist crush - still manageable the way you've mapped it out, but it would make for a much more pleasant overall experience if you could base yourselves away from the urban centers ... which again would require a car.

Rather than taking the bus from Dublin to Galway you might consider the train. Good service, comfortable seats, and maybe a better chance of napping after the long overnight flight.

There will be plenty of day tour options from both Galway and Killarney - look at the "things to do" drop down menu on Trip Advisor to get an idea of the options and associated costs. There are several companies offering day trips from Killarney to Dingle. You might also visit the Ireland forum on TA - there's some pretty good expertise there too.

Strongly second.....if at all possible rent a car. Being tied to Galway and especially Killarney at peak tourist times....honestly I'd far rather stay home. Rick Steves rates Killarney as one of the top ten tourist traps in all of Europe.....for very good reason. If you want to stay in or near a Holiday Inn and a McDonald's while surrounded by literal hoards jostling to buy some ludicrous leprechaun-y thing then Killarney is the spot.

Even without a car you could stay in Kilorglin or Kenmare, which will be busy but at least give you a semblance of being in Ireland....and still be able through public transport visit many of the great things that neighbor Killarney......and avoid that city.

Galway is a pretty city and a good base but it is a very very very busy clogged overrun city then. There are so many smaller places that offer plenty of pubs, restaurants, things to do with access to public transportation. There are scores of examples. One.....Castlemaine. Wonderful small town with plenty of pubs, restaurant options and excellent access to the Dingle peninsula or Ring of Kerry either by car or by public transport. There are loads of other and better options.

Please though consider the freedom of driving a car and if not please, for your sake, especially at that time of year consider alternatives to Galway and especially Killarney. It isn't fun then and it sure won't give you much of anything approaching the Ireland most hope to see. We are in Ireland now and by force of circumstance had to drive through Killarney......didn't even have to stop and it was the only low point on an insanely good trip.

Thank you all for the advice. Unfortunately i won't be renting a car. I will be nervous driving in unfamiliar roads and it will be just my 11 year old daughter and I. I read a lot that cars are the best way to explore Ireland. That's why i am a little skeptical if I can tour Ireland without a car. I choose Galway and Killarney because of the convenience of transport and tours. But we will be out all day so i don't think the crowds in the town will bother us. (Are the crowds in Killarney worse than the crowds in Versailles?). Will look at TA for things to do.
Thank you, all.

Holly here are links to a couple of local private tours we took while in Ireland. I drove for most of the trip but greatly appreciated being a passenger for a day on the Ring of Kerry and a half of a day out on Dingle for the Slea Head drive. We hired Paul Brown for the RofK drive, a whole day in his van, just my wife and I. It was awesome. http://www.kenmaretaxitours.com/home.html We stayed in Kenmare for a couple of days and Paul picked us up at our B&B in Kenmare. He does Dingle tours and others as well and is a great guy, good story teller, and will cater to your wishes. On Dingle for the Slea Head we did a half day with Denis Ryan.
http://dingletours.com/ We could have easily done a full day and wish we had planned it that way. If Denis is not touring any longer I know Paul Brown has a friend that also does Slea Head and Dingle tours, email Paul and ask him if interested. Since you will not be driving these two tours would be excellent choices, not exceptionally inexpensive, but clearly worth every penny..euro...spent. Paul probably would pick u up in Killarney if arranged that way. I love early planning!!!

That's good advice about considering a private driver for at least a few of your travel days. Another private guide who's highly regarded by others on the forum is Tony McGann - based in Doolin but who seems to cover western Ireland from Donegal to Cork. Use the search function at the top of the page for prior posts regarding his services, contact info, etc. Likewise for the others mentioned. Any of them would provide much more personalized service versus bus tours.

FYI = Aer Lingus is supposed to start flying out of SeaTac. I don't remember when they will start flying from SeaTac, but the information was in the Seattle Times a few months ago. I believe the date was early next year but you could probably get specifics with a bit of googling.

Most of our Ireland trips have been in June. The June crowds aren't too bad since European schools are still in session.

Thank you. This is very helpful. I will check out the private tour link. I'm looking for tours with a little bit of activities like cliff walk not too strenuous. I always want to try kayaking too, so looking for tour company who are willing to take beginners.