My husband and I are considering the following after we arrive in Dublin the morning of May 9th:
May 9-12 Galway
May 12-14 Killarney (or Dingle?)
May 14-16 Kilkenny
May 16-18 Dublin (flight leaves at noon on 5/18)
Is this too long in each city? Originally, we were going to rely on public transport but we may rent a car instead. Thank you for your help.
Just my opinion: spend less time in Dublin, more time elsewhere. So either do a Dublin thing upon arrival, then only return the day prior to position for the flight home, or upon arrival in Dublin, get on to Galway, etc, and "do Dublin" at the end of your trip. I would suggest the latter idea as "better", but again, simply my opinion.
There is good transport from Dublin to Galway and it might make sense to use this - it also solves the problem of potential jet lag and trying to drive off a transatlantic flight, especially if you haven’t slept well.
Consider a one way car hire back to Dublin (or Kilkenny and then take the train back to Dublin). Depending on what you are wanting to do/achieve in each of the places, you may find public transport restricting and also it will take longer to travel between overnights.
You’ve chosen three good places to stop and there will be plenty to do and see in each to fill the time.
The outlier here is the trip down to Killarney. You really can't do that without renting a car. You can easily accomplish the rest of your itinerary via public transport - then relying on local day trips and tours to see some of the surrounding area.
A few suggestions: Upon arrival at Dublin airport consider hopping on the Express Bus directly from the airport to Galway - takes about 3 hours and delivers you to the center of town. From there you can explore the town and book day trips to the Aran Islands, around the very pretty Connemara Loop drive, and maybe down to the Cliffs of Moher.
You could then take the train back into Dublin, connecting there for the trip down to Killkenny, finishing up with a few (or several) days in Dublin for explorations of the city plus day trips north to the Boyne Valley and Newgrange and/or south to the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. Lots to see and do in the city. Can use the "Things to do" feature on TripAdvisor for ideas regarding attractions in the city.
There would also be the option of a day trip via train or bus up to Belfast - a very pretty city with lots to see and do, including the world class Titanic Museum at the old Harland & Wolff shipyard where they built the great ship.
For a 10 day stay that would be my suggestion - trying to include Killarney might be a bit of of a stretch given your limited time.
You can do all of this easily via train, but I think you should change the order as the train to Killarney is about four and a half hours from Dublin, much longer if you try to get there from Galway. Forget trying to get to Dingle by public transit with the time you have. It will eat up most of a day. My suggestion, and what I did after much research, is to go from Dublin to Killarney first, and get the earliest train you can so you still have time left in the day when you get there. Then stop in Kilkenny on your way back, then go on to Galway before returning to Dublin. This will break up your journey into shorter segments, and if you manage to get going early each day you will maximize your time on the ground. I don’t think you are spending too much time in each place, there is a lot to see in all of them, and using public transit cuts into that time somewhat. Look at the train schedules, and figure out what time you will arrive in town and check whether there will be some kind of tour you will be able to join to get to some of the places you will want to see. Some companies offer half day tours, which might work for you.
Lots of good ideas here--I agree that there is plenty to do in each area. Remember that you really will have no time for anything other than breakfast on the 18th if you are getting to the airport for a noon international trip.
I like the idea of heading to Galway on public transit that first day. The Connemara Loop was lovely. I still regret not purchasing a print at the Whitethorn gallery in Clifden.
We loved Kilkenny, a very doable day trip from Dublin, although staying a night or two provides some time to relish the atmosphere. (We loved Mena House BnB, a hefty walk from town.) The Boyne Valley/Newgrange was really fascinating, so could be added if you based in Dublin an extra day, or had a car on the way to Galway. We went to Knowth on one trip and Newgrange on another (flight was delayed, so first trip we could only do one before heading north for our reservations)
We also really liked our time on the Dingle penisula and environs, but maybe put Dingle/Killarney, Cliffs of Moher on a future wish list. Frankly, I found the Buren more to my interest than the Cliffs. All would make a good future visit.
Any extra days allotted to Dublin would allow for day trips, as mentioned. For only 9 days, the least amount of accommodation shuffle will allow more time to enjoy.
Our first trip to Ireland was about 10 days. We covered a lot of ground by car, loved it, but wish we'd had a little more time to absorb each location. (We were also 15 years younger.) We rented a car at the airport, went to Knowth, (before delayed flight we had a night scheduled outside Knowth) headed up to Donegal County where we were based for a few days, drove down to Dingle with a couple of nights along the way. We flew from Cork to England for a few days before flying home to Washington. Our 2nd trip was closer to 3 weeks.
