What do you think about this trip for a first time visit?
Day 1 Fly into Dublin (5 AM) drive to Kilkenny, visit Cashel
sleep in Kinsale
Day 2 Cork area
Day 3-4 Dingle
Day 5 Doolin
Day 6 Galway on the way to Clifde area
Day 7-8 Dublin
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
It is virtually impossible to see Kilkenny and Cashel AND get to Kinsale in time to sleep there. You will be coming off of an international flight with probably little, if any, sleep and have to get through passport control, collect your luggage, get your rental car before leaving the Dublin area. Driving in Ireland is slower than you can imagine in some spots, particularly after you get off of the N roads. Cashel by itself will take an hour or so to see once you get there.
Day 6 is also questionable. Galway to Clifden is a pretty good haul, too, though it's a beautiful drive. It's not a day trip from Galway, and it's in the opposite direction from Dublin.
It's not clear from your list where you plan to sleep each night. A little more information would make it easier for us to tell you what's reasonable and what's not. In order to maximize your sightseeing time, have you considered doing your Dublin time first, and flying out of Shannon instead, or are you locked in to flying out of Dublin?
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
12 posts
Hi Kim,
I'm skeptical of this plan too. The distance between the towns and cities you wish to visit in Ireland will take you much longer to drive than the same distance in the US. The roads are narrow, windy, and the speed limit is lower. We got stuck on the road out to Dingle for over an hour when two big gravel trucks going in opposite directions couldn’t squeeze by each other!
Plus, there are so many interesting things to see along the way that you will probably stop and meander around a village along the way. I don't know how many times we pulled over because something looked interesting and ended up spending a couple hours there.
I spent 8 days in Ireland last May and we were rushing it to see the Southern portion. If I were you, I'd take Cork out of the mix. I’m sure I’ll take some heat on this, but I found the other areas on your list much more enjoyable than Cork. Then you can spread your Day 1 activities out over two days. Also, like the previous poster, fly out of Shannon if you can, why go back to Dublin if the need isn't there?