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Itinerary recommendations

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Have a spur of the moment trip planned for end december until just after new years. 8 days (not including travel days) flying into and out of Dublin.

My initial thoughts are since we arrive early on our first day, and since i was planning on doing city of dublin on the back half of the trip, was to catch a train or bus from the airport on day 1 to anthlone (to check out Ryan’s bar) and crash for the night. Moving on to Galway on day 2 am. From Galway I’m interested in heading north to Sligo and ultimately slieve league / donegal, before catching a train/bus back to Dublin. Everything outside of Dublin i was planning on renting a car for, and once back in Dublin, dumping the car and using my legs / public transportation to get around.

This is first trip to Ireland and don’t want to get spread to thin. Interested in the outdoor scenery, castles, pubs, and a spa I’ve heard of in Sligo that sounded kinda fun (seaweed bath).

Questions i have for anyone who would like to comment are:
- how much time should i allocate to each location?
- does this route make sense or is there a more feasible alternative?
- I’m aware the amount of daylight and weather needs to be taken into consideration. With that being said, does this trip sound doable, without having to rush anything?
-i was planning on 4 days in Dublin, from New Years Eve to Jan 4 when we depart. Is this ample time? To much? Too little? I was told Dublin can be rather costly, which i can handle, i just want to maximize time and value.

Any and all comments welcome and much appreciated. Thank you for your thoughts.

Posted by
856 posts

I can’t comment too much on your itinerary as I travelled by bus and train, and had a lot more time. But, I had four days in Dublin and found it was enough. I did a day trip to Newgrange in those four days, but I don’t know what will be available for you at the time of year you will be there. It was one of the highlights of my trip, though. I then used the HOHO bus to get around to the rest of the main sights, but again, not sure if they will be operating in December. I did make a stop in Athlone for a night, though as I wanted to get out to see nearby Clonmacnoise. Since you will have a car this will be an easy stop for you. I also found the Athlone castle an interesting visit.

Posted by
141 posts

I would make sure to check out operational hours of whatever it is you are hoping to visit as that could be a tricky time of year for tourist spots. If it were me I would fly into Dublin and do Dublin first and then go to the West Coast ending in Galway so you can then fly home out of Shannon. I agree 4 days in Dublin is a fine amount. I personally think Galway could be skipped but others love it. West Coast you'll need a rental car for sure but driving in Ireland is quite an experience and keep in mind the daylight hours.....I would not want to be doing a ton of driving in the dark on those roads!

Posted by
610 posts

Do you mean Sean's Bar in Athlone? It's "the oldest in Ireland". There are several Ryans in the countryside but I've never visited them or heard of them before I just searched after reading your OP. The drive to Athlone is pretty short and unchallenging, so renting the car at DUB might be okay despite a little jet lag. If you can sleep on planes, driving to Galway is easy enough. We've been to Athlone a few times, mostly by boat, and enjoyed the Castle and Sean's but I'm not sure I'd have it on an agenda for such a short trip.

I plan our trips with an hour at each "thing" (lunch, castle, garden, cathedral, etc.) unless a tour is involved that requires more time, and put some slop in your driving time so you can adlib a little bit. Be prepared for a variety of weather.

Four days should be plenty for Dublin.

I've never been there during the holidays and I'm not sure how much will be open. Google Maps, websites, and Facebook can be your friends.

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