Dingle in April 2011

Thanks, Ken, Appreciate the comments. In the recent past, I've driven for weeks at a time in Scotland and England, but always with a navigator who kept me on the right path and shared the expenses; so, besides the expense, the issue is the expectation of concentrating so much on the route that I miss the scenery. That's why I thought I'd "leave the driving to them" this time - besides I love trains! I will check into busses to/from Dingle -- good point. Cheers,
Courtney

Everyone always seems to respond that you need to drive in Ireland, but I went there for 2 months without driving once and did just fine! I stayed 8 days in Dingle without a car actually. There are buses to take from Tralee that will take you to Dingle, but they do not run very often (Sundays are particularly bad) so you should check the schedule online http://www.buseireann.ie/
Dingle was my favorite place. I wouldn't miss it!

Ah, Tanis - good news! Sorry- let me pick your brain, please, if I may: +Did you fly into Shannon or Dublin and train/coach/bus into Dingle? +Recommended Dingle B&B(s), tours, sites, pubs, etc.? Next trip to Ireland I will WANDER, so any thoughts on other places would be very much appreciated. My designated-navigator and I have driven all over Scotland, Northern England and Iceland, but now I am on my own and looking forward to doing the staring out of the window while the scenery passes. Thank you for assuring me this WILL be possible in Ireland. May your Holidays be bright,
Courtney

Dingle is beautiful but I don't think it's very accessible without a car. You could get to Tralee by bus from Shannon but I'm not sure of the details. There is also a long train ride with several changes (I think) that would take you from Dublin that could get you to Tralee. You could then get into Dingle by bus from Tralee. Many of the sites are best seen driving and you could hire a tour or driver in Dingle. Without a car, I'd personally skip Dingle. Driving in Ireland isn't bad. The only horrible roads I've found are just south of Galway. I bet that by the time you get done with the bus and train tickets going to the out of the way places you could get close to the cost of a car. Another option is to do day trips out of Dublin with various tour companies. Then, go to Galway and or Belfast and do day trips there. The tour operators would probably let you stay overnight if you wanted to and pick you up the next day or so to take you back to your base. Of course, there's always one of the tour groups that cover Ireland. Rick Steve's has one and it would get you to the high points including Dingle.

I have flown into Shannon and then taken the bus on to Dingle. Bus from Shannon Airport takes you into Limerick-then change to bus for Tralee and then another bus to Dingle. I spent the night in Tralee and then took the bus on to Dingle the next day.
Dingle would not make a good base for day trips as it only has a few buses in and out each day. Galway or Killarney would probably be better if you want to see the usual sights: Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher etc. but I would definitely spend a couple of days in Dingle. There are several tours there that you can take around the peninsula and weather permitting , a boat trip to the Blasket Islands.

Hi Courtney, I flew into Dublin, and then I actually went a few places before I made it to Dingle. So I went to Dingle from Killarney, transferring in Tralee. I didn't take the train very often at all because I found the bus to be a lot less expensive, and I was there for 2 months so I needed to save money! I stayed in a hostel in Dingle, so no B&B rec's for you. In terms of tours/sites I took a car tour of the slea head. It is hard sometimes if you are only one person booking a tour like that, but I just ended up paying a bit more. You can also bike, but I'm not very good on my bike so I avoided that. If you can find someone to take you up to connor's pass, that was a great view, but only available with a car. You can take a nice walk out to the lighthouse where you can watch for Fungi the resident dolphin (don't be concerned when you walk through gates on someone's property to get there. It's okay!). I also took a boat tour on the atlantic that was called the eco-tour. I'm not sure which tours run in April, but I enjoyed that tour a lot. They also have a blaskett island tour that seemed interesting. There are (I think) 52 pubs in Dingle, and all of them are good!! Just wander around and listen to the ones that have the best music that night. The locals are very helpful in directing you to places/tours/etc. It is beautiful in Dingle. When I win the lottery, that is where I will summer!! Despite Dingle being beautiful, I don't know if I would reccomend staying there for your whole trip, unless you really just want to stay there and aren't wanting to go see other sites. It is difficult to get in and out of dingle with public transit, so you might want to go somewhere else (like Galway) to see some other sights!

Thanks Pat and Tanis, Shannon it is - just checked Continental's fares from Colorado Springs (100 miles from home) to Shannon in early April - $616 return! A stop in Tralee sounds neat, plus the advice about considering a hub other than Dingle. Appreciate all your helpful suggestions. Thanks. I CAN'T WAIT! Happy Holidaze,
Courtney

last year went to ireland for two weeks. no car, only buses and trains. mostly buses. landed in dublin, spent the night. train to powerscourt. saw the gardens, lovely. train back to dublin, bus to kilkenny, spent two nights, almost my favorite city in ireland. bus to cork, taxi to kinsale. it was a sunday, it took all day, stayed two nights. bus to dingle, through tralee. stayed three nights. my favorite city easily. stayed at milestone house a great b & b outside of town. well within walking distance. bus to galway, through tralee again and somewhere else i have forgot. seriously, that took all day. stayed galway three nights, saw the islands and the cliffs. train, finally, to dublin, spent two nights then flew back to seattle. i never have driven in europe over 15 years of visits. it always has been very easy between the trains, trams and buses. ireland is more challenging, but can be done, and with fun. the people will make this your favorite vacation. drink some guiness, and enjoy the music. have fun, be safe.

I've been to Ireland twice, both times with a rental car. Next time I'm taking the bus. We fly to Shannon and go to Killarney, then to Dingle, using them as a base for further exploration. We've stayed at the Countess Road B&B in Killarney and the Green Mount B&B in Dingle. Both were great but the Green Mount is more expensive. I can spend several days in each town without ever getting bored or running out of things to do. Have a great trip!

Dear Jeff and Larry, May your Christmastide be bright. Thank you for your good suggestions and comments - bus it shall be, and a dawdle in Dingle, too! Cheers,
Courtney

merry christmas courtney. the bus in ireland is almost as efficient as the train in western europe. have fun. if you go to kilkenny, go to little andys pub and tell them the couple from seattle sent you. we left to a standing ovation on a saturday night around 1:00. sure we had dropped $400 over three nights, but that place rocks. have fun, be safe.

Thanks, Jeff, FIRST I'll ask if they remember you, THEN, depending on their reply, I MAY tell them you sent me...... On the bus map it looks like there is a route from Dingle that goes around the Peninsula a bit - true? Cheers,
Courtney

It case anyone is interested, I found an answer to my "is there a Dingle Peninsula bus" question on the Dun Chaoin Hostel site:
Bus-service from Dingle only runs Monday and Thursday mornings at 8.50 and afternoons at 12.45. If coming from Dingle Tuesday, Wednesday Friday-Sunday you will need to get a taxi which will cost a minimum of €20 Courtney