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Route Feedback - Dublin to Glendalough to Cashel

Posted by on

Hey all, We are flying into Dublin July 5 and spending 1 night there before heading to a rental that's right between Cashel and Tipperary. These dates can't be changed at this point. Planning to go through Glendalough on the way, then on to the rental near Tipperary. Google maps says 3 hrs, 20 min. We don't want to arrive at the rental late at night, it's a tower castle and we want to enjoy our 2 nights there.

Is this too long of a day/drive? Should we skip Glendalough? Does Glendalough get super crowded? We're not morning people, there's no possible way we can get there "early." :-)

Also would prefer not to be on big freeways the whole time. Any ideas on how long it would really take to get from Dublin to Tipperary? We would probably need to stop for lunch, or if we saw something interesting along the way. We've driven on a few Europe trips but it sounds like driving in Ireland might be different/slower. Thanks.

Posted by
2980 posts

" ...it sounds like driving in Ireland might be different/slower."
Yeah - it is. The general advice here is to add another 30% to any drive time estimates you see on the mapping apps, and we've generally found that to be about right. Rural roads can be narrow, traffic slow, and the risk of some sort of impediment slowing things further (sheep crossings, tractors on the road, cattle being moved from one field to another, etc.) is always a possibility.
Glendalough is certainly be worth a stop, but it does get crowded once the tour buses start to roll in around 9:30 ... which is when the visitor center opens. If you can manage an earlier start you'll have the place all to yourselves.
A particularly scenic drive to get there is along the Old Military Road (the R115 on the map) that winds its way thru the Wicklow Mountains. It features some pretty spectacular views on a sunny day.
I'd say that your proposed drive is quite doable even with a later start. With the longer summer days it's not going to get dark until after 10 PM if that's your concern.

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