If you had to chose between two nights in Galway or two nights in Dublin which would it be and why?
We only have 3 days/3 nights in Ireland. Want to spend a day in Dublin, a day in Kilkenny and a day in Galway (too fast, I know). Question is where to spend two of those nights. Distance between Kilkenny and either city isn't really a factor, though I know Dublin is closer. We’ll be on a limited budget. Any thoughts?
Wow...that is a lot of moving around in such a short time. As much as I liked Galway, I would suggest a night in Kilkenny and two in Dublin. Galway is quite a distance and you will be spending most of your time in transit to spend one night in each.
Galway is too far from both Dublin and Kilkenny for a day trip.
Flying into and out of Dublin airport. Using the citylink service to get to and from the airport (pretty painless, even from Galway). We want to visit Kilkenny to see the castle and because it was recommended in the Rick Steves guidebook. Would you recommend skipping it in favor of something else?
Kilkenny is nice, but I think there are equally nice places that would be easier to get to than there. Will you have a car?
We visited Kilkenny a few years ago, also because of Rick Steves books. I think it is overly hyped as a medieval site; compared to someplace like York, it is pretty minimal. You might stop there for a couple of hours if you were in the vicinity. Ireland's scenery is spectacular on the west side of the island. You could drive from Dublin to Galway in a few hours. (Check theaa.com or theaa.co.uk for mileage estimates.) While Ireland's roads are slow, keep in mind that the entire island is about the size of Ohio. If you wish to stay near Dublin, Glendalough is lovely. New Grange is also supposed to be interesting, although we haven't visited it yet. From Galway, you can visit Connemara, the Aran Islands, or you could dip down into County Clare for the Burren and a few ruined abbeys. Check out irelandexpert.com for good information. Hope this helps.
Skip Kilkenny this trip and stay nearer to Dublin. As mentioned above, Glendalough is wonderful. You can also visit Newgrange (Bru na Boinne). If it's castles you want, Trim is very close to Newgrange, too. I can recommend a wonderful B&B in Navan if you are interested.
We won’t have a car so we’ve decided to skip Kilkenny this time and see Trim instead. Still heading out to Galway but spending the bulk of our time in Dublin. Thanks for all the help everyone. It helped me plan a smoother trip!
