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Last minute trip, itinerary help needed ASAP.

Posted by on

I'm flying in to Dublin on August 25th and Departing Shannon on Sept. 4th.

My son will be doing a semester abroad in Galway and I'm accompanying him. Originally, I planned to use public transport on our trip, but am now considering renting a car. I'm scared to drive on the left, but am now pondering the challenge.

Once consideration is that my son is going to have a lot of luggage given that he will be living in Galway for several months, plus he always packs heavy (IMHO). So public transportation would be difficult unless we go to Galway first from Dublin and drop off most of his stuff. He's allowed to move in on the 25th. That is less than ideal, as we'll also have to finish the trip in Galway. I'd rather not go there twice in order to maximize our travel days. OTOH, I'm not sure if its safe to drive around with all his stuff visible in a compact car for a week either.

Itinerary
25th: Arrive Dublin Airport, stay in Dublin
26th: Do Newgrange bus tour, stay in Dublin
27th: Train or Bus to Kilkenny where I will pick up rental car (alternatively cab to DUB airport where I will pick up rental car and drive to Kilkenny stopping at Glendalough. My son will be traveling with a lot of luggage for his study abroad. Can I take a lot of luggage on the train/bus?
Visit Kilkenny castle, sleep Kilkenny
28th: See Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle, sleep in Cobh or Caher(ir)
29th: see Cobh, Midleton Distillery, Maybe the Charles Fort in Kinsale, sleep in Cobh
30th: Drive to Killarney OR Dingle
If Killarney: See Muckross House and Ross Castle,
Stay Killarney or Dingle
31st Tour Dingle Peninsula (with Scruid Tours?) or Ring of Kerry bus trip
Stay Killarney or Dingle
1st: Drive to Galway or Shannon to return car. (If Shannon, take bus to Galway). See Cliffs of Moher enroute
Stay Galway
2nd: See Aran Islands
Stay Galway
3rd: See Galway, stay Galway
4th Take bus to Shannon, fly home

I'm open to changing just about anything in this itinerary. All input will be appreciated. Thanks!

Posted by
653 posts

When I did this same thing, I gave my largest piece of luggage to a another student who was also travelling to (in my case) London. This freed me up to travel without the 'big bag'. Is that a possibility?

Other than that I would say that I liked Dingle very much and the area north of Galway was great too. Logistics-wise, I would spend the 26th touring Dublin then on the morning of the 27th take the bus to the airport, pickup the car, then drive to Newgrange. From there you can start the rest of your driving trip.

-Matt

Posted by
29 posts

Thanks, Matt. Unfortunately, he doesn't know anyone else studying abroad.

So you would begin the driving tour out to Newgrange. Any idea where to stay out there? I had thought of taking a bus tour to Newgrange from Dublin as a day trip.

Posted by
29 posts

Is Dublin worth the several days? Is it worth the hassle? I prefer quaint country areas to cities, but don't mind the occasional urban experience.

I suppose I could omit Dublin, I could drive straight to Galway, but I don't feel comfortable driving 3 hours straight off a red eye flight.

Posted by
677 posts

If there is any way you can get him to pack light, he needs to. On a college trip of mine, every student packed differently. I was incredibly happy that I packed light because watching others schlep huge pieces of luggage around was painful. Many times they needed assistance. Perhaps he can ship a box of items over to where he is staying?

I personally like your idea (as far as ease of driving goes), for picking your rental car up in Kilkenny. I think you may find driving directly out of Dublin airport a little intimidating. My husband, early 30s and a great driver, says he is happy we drove out of Shannon to start in lieu of Dublin.

Most of your time is in smaller places so I don't think two nights in Dublin is bad, especially with a tour to Newgrange planned.

We enjoyed both Dingle and Kenmare/Killarney. Didn't really spend much time in the actual city of Killarney but the sites around the area were amazing. We enjoyed driving the ROK and Slea Head Drive but all the driving (for one person) is fatiguing.

We very much enjoyed Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher. If you like to hike, you may want to budget a good amount of time at the cliffs. We also did a ferry ride at the cliffs which was great. You may find a visit to the Burren interesting too?

Your itinerary looks great. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to help!

Posted by
653 posts

I take it back. Newgrange is quite a bit farther north than I remembered. Stick to your plans as written, especially if you aren't that interested in Dublin.

-Matt

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