Our family of four will be flying from Toronto to Dublin and staying in Ireland for 8 nights. After spending one night in Dublin we will pick up our rental car. We will drive to Galway where we will stay for 2 nights. Next, we will drive to Dingle where we will spend 2 nights. We were originally going to travel to Killarney and spend 2 nights but have changed our minds. I still have accomodation booked BUT I think we would rather drive to West Cork area and stay in Clonakilty for 2 nights before heading back to Dublin for our last night. My concern is if Clonakilty is too much of a drive from Dingle. Does this itinerary sound doable? Dublin → Galway → Dingle → Mizen Head → Clonakilty → Dublin?
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
2018 posts
Why not just go to Galway directly from the airport, see what you want to see there and pick up the car when you're done? Then drop the car in Cork and take the train to Dublin. This is a lot of driving for the short amount of time you have in Ireland. You don't say when you're going, but the days are very short in the winter in Ireland.
Posted by
Irving
3605 posts
There’s a 3h direct bus from Dublin airport to Galway that departs hourly. The day you leave Galway is the day you want to rent a car.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1197 posts
Short visits often try to include Dingle, and although we've done it, I think your better off skipping. The one way rental fees can be sizeable, so do the homework.
It's smarter to spend your last nights in Dublin and head directly from the airport to the hinterlands, depending on sleep, jetlag,etc. The first night in Dublin will probably be a haze, so moving on will make sense, especially if you're not driving.
Posted by
578 posts
Sage advice from Mary Pat.
Brad
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
3084 posts
Dingle → Mizen Head → Clonakilty
That is over 260Km ( or 160 miles plus). You need to allow at least 5 hours for the drive (driving in Ireland is slow - much slower than you might expect). And you then havbe to ADD ON TIME FOR STOPS. You are looking aat a full day just to do the drive.
Why Mizen head, which isn't one of the more inspiring peninsulas to drive. Cutting this out would reduce the driving time to a more reasonable 3-4 hours plus stops.