Hello all, my family will be traveling to Ireland in October. We are flying into Shannon, renting a car. Our first few nights will be in Dingle. What is the best route from Shannon Airport to Dingle? We will be arriving around 6:00 a.m. in the morning. We are taking our two young kids too (3 years old and 7 months old). To break up the trip, would it be out of the way to take the Killimer / Tarbert Ferry? I do plan to stop at least one to two times on the way, especially if I am tired from the transatlantic flight.
Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, usa
56 posts
Our family flew into Shannon as well. It was great and very easy renting a car and leaving the small airport. We headed towards Limerick (N18) and then took the N21 into Tralee, which was our first stop at and Airbnb. Usually we sleep on flights but we flew Aer Lingus and it was a smaller sized plane and we just didn’t sleep at ALL!!! So, by the time we arrived in Tralee we took a 3 hour nap and woke up to eat dinner and explore. The next morning, we woke up and fixed breakfast (our Airbnb provide eggs, bacon and toast for us to cook!) and we headed to Dingle on the N86. Going in June, it didn’t get dark until 11 pm! Your daylight will be shorter. Best of luck and I’m ready to return. The drive around Dingle is amazing!
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
Use the Shannon tunnel which goes under the Shannon River just west of Limerick. There's a small toll - a couple of euros.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
254 posts
Thank you for the recommendations. So no to the ferry?
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2822 posts
The ferry would be a bit out of your way and might not be the best choice anyway if you're hitting the road after a long, and probably sleepless, overnight flight from the US. With cranky kids (and wife) to deal with you're probably better advised to just "get there" via the shortest and most direct route possible which would indeed be via the Limerick tunnel. The more direct route will take you about 3 hours of actual driving time while the diversion via the ferry will add about an hour to that.
On the other hand, if you decide that you can safely handle the more roundabout way, the detour via the ferry is a pleasant way to go on a sunny day. As one of your enroute stops consider the village of Kilkee which isn't too far from the ferry landing - a pretty little beachside town with a very nice cliff walk where you could stretch your legs and maybe enjoy a picnic lunch.
If your Dingle hosts can't accommodate an early check-in consider just booking your room for the night before so that it's ready on arrival. You're bound to be comprehensively bushed after the long day - paying for that extra night might be well worth it.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
254 posts
Thanks for the response Robert. This helps a lot.