Dingle to Galway via the ferry route

According to viamichelin.com, it will take you about 3 hours to drive from Dingle to the Cliffs of Moher, 1 hour to drive from the Cliffs through the Burren to Ballyvaughan, and 1 hour to drive from Ballyvaughan to Galway. (Increase these time estimates by 50%. Driving in Ireland is slow, especially on secondary roads.) If you add 1 hour to see the cliffs, 1 hour for lunch, and some time in Listowel, it will take you at least 10 hours to make this trip--probably longer.

I did this trip in 2002 and it worked out great. Of course, you need to be realistic as to how much time you will have at places. For example, You could spend a whole day hiking in the Burren, but we drove through it and made one stop-the Portal Dolman (we could have stayed a little longer or made more stops, but it was pouring down rain so...) According to my journal: We had breakfast at 8:00 (in Dingle) and then headed out and were in Galway in time for dinner. Other than that, I didn't keep track of how long to get to each place, but we rode the ferry, stopped at the Cliffs, visited Doolin, drove through the Burren and (because we didn't spend long there due to weather) we had time to go to a craft fair in a little town on the way to Galway. We enjoyed this day in spite of the weather (it was the worst day we had on our month long trip-it rained off and on all day, sometimes hard) We didn't spend hours in any one place but I didn't feel super rushed either. We could have left a Dingle a lot earlier as well. Have a great trip.

Carole, my wife and I did this trip in April, and yes, you can do it in a day. We left our B&B in Dingle at 9:30 am, took the ferry at Tarbert, stopped at the Cliffs of Moher for an hour, toured through the Burren with a couple of stops at prehistoric sights, and arrived in Galway at 5 pm. One possible problem will be a delay crossing the ferry at Tarbert. Simply put, you get in line and wait your turn to make the crossing. Depending on when you're there, you could find yourself waiting 1+ hours. Have a book handy, relax, and best of all, arrive as early as practical.

We did the same thing in April, minus the stop in Listowel and we just drove through the Burren. We left Dingle around 11:00 a.m. and we were in Galway by 5:00ish. I think you should be able to do this in one day.

Certainly doable in a day. Do realize though that drive times are actually longer than those shown on maps. Therefore give yourself plenty of time so you can see all that you want to be. It will be a full day.

It's doable, but as others have noted, quite a full day. I did this drive last year but included a stopover for a night along the way. If you have the time to stop, it might help you to stay rested so that you can fully enjoy the sights.