First time in Ireland - not sure we want to rent a car. Thinking of flying into Dublin (ard 6/15) with my husband and 24 yr old daughter. Need to get to Dingle to pick up other daughter and leave Dingle prob on 25th to return to dublin and fly out on 29th. Looked at Paddy wagon tours but don't think it will work. Can't figure out buses and trains and would like to stop on the way. Any suggestions?
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Not any perfect travel solutions in Ireland:
There is no rail connection all the way from Dublin to Dingle Town (I assume you mean Dingle Town). In general, Ireland is not as well served by rail as EnglandA few years ago there were about 3 buses per day from Dublin to Dingle, the trip took eight hours and at least one or two transfers. A lot of people aren't sure about driving in Ireland so you're not alone there, it has one of the highest accident rates in the EU plus the whole driving on the other side of the road thing. But you could drive it in about five hours not including stops, something to think about.
Posted by
U-District, WA
45 posts
If you don't already have your airline tickets what about flying into Shannon? It's a lot closer to Dingle than Dublin. I don't know, but I would assume that there's some sort of bus route Shannon or Limerick to Dingle and would probably take half the time or less than from Dublin by bus.
Posted by
wichita, kansas
484 posts
Vicki, You could fly into Kerry Airport from Dublin,spend time in the Killarney area,and then go on to Dingle. Aer Aerann flies to Kerry and Ryan Air may also.
Posted by
wichita, kansas
484 posts
There is regular bus service from Kerry Airport to Killarney,about a 25 minute trip, and also from Killarney to Dingle, a little over two hours total.
You can also take the bus from Shannon Airport-Limerick-Tralee-Dingle.
A car would certainly be best but there are several excellent tours of the Dingle area where you would not need to drive and the same for Killarney.
Posted by
Boston/Riga, US/Latvia
10 posts
Without renting a car, the fastest way to get from Dublin to Dingle (and back) would be by train. The train from Dublin to Tralee takes 4 hours, and from there you can take the Tralee-Dingle bus, which takes about 1 and a half hours. Tralee has a nice park behind the main church, if you have some time in Tralee to stroll around!
Also the Dublin-Tralee train stops in Killarney, so that's a chance to stop along the way.
The site for the Irish train system: http://www.irishrail.ie/home/
Have a fantastic trip!