first night stop after Dublin Airport

Sherry - We drove to Kilkenny after arriving in Dublin. This was after a LONG trip with 2 plane changes from the West Coast. It was no problem driving that far, but I was glad I wasn't going further than that. I'm not sure how much of a detour Glendalough would be, but getting out and walking around might help revive you so you can continue the journey to Kilkenny.

Have fun!

I've flown into Ireland several times, always arriving in the morning, and I can tell you from experience that you'll be so excited to be there and seeing things that the fatigue won't hit you until much later. On my most recent trip, we flew into Shannon and drove all the way to Blarney on the first day, stopping along the way at a donkey sanctuary in Liscarroll. We went to sleep fairly early (8:30 or so), but we felt fine all day.

Kilkenny isn't that far, even if you stop at Glendalough. You should be fine. If you do find yourself getting tired before getting that far, though, Avoca is a cute little town not far from Glendalough. The oldest woollen mill in Ireland is there, too, and you can walk right into the workshop to watch them weaving.

I agree totally,that is why I said she should make her own decision based on her past experiences and how she felt on her arrival and not drive just because someone said,"you'll be fine." Especially after she said that only last month on arriving in Europe she was more tired than usual.

Dublin to Kilkenny is only about a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive. You'll be fine.

Sherry, Do what YOU feel is best for you. Just because someone else was fine is no guarantee that you will be the same. I have spoken to several people who said driving for several hours after arriving was no problem-the only thing was-someone else was driving and they were merely passengers. It is much better to stay in the Glendalough area than to drive on when you are tired and become a statistic. Plus the distance between the two is slight and the time can easily be made up when you are fresh. Remember,this is a vacation, not a marathon.

Pat, of course Sherry should do what she feels is best for her. However, as Tom says, it's only a two hour drive, broken up by walking around at Glendalough. (And in my case, I was the one driving, not a passenger - and I am speaking from personal experience, not reporting what someone else told me.) A lot depends on the age of the travelers, how quickly they become used to driving on the other side of the road, and on their overall travel style - including whether they actually like to drive. When I travel internationally I fly out of Chicago. My drive home from the airport is about two hours, so driving that far after flying is not a big deal to me. YMMV

I also was the driver, not the passenger, both in Ireland and when we flew to Frankfurt and drove immediately to Freiburg in the Black Forest. Travel time for all of us varies. Are you traveling from the East Coast? Midwest? West Coast? Traveling from the East is far easier than from the West. On my 3 trips so far, and on my upcoming trip, I have/will have 2 plane changes. It makes for a long travel day. I do try to sleep on the plane and have been able to make those drives upon arrival. Everyone has a different experience.

I don't know where Sherry's SJ location is, so it's hard to know where she is flying from.

Be careful driving. Drinking and driving is a big problem in Ireland.

We just came back from Ireland two days ago and we spent two nights in Dublin and then went to Kilkenny for the third night with a stop in Glendalough first. Having the extra night in Dublin to get over the jet lag was a good thing. Getting out and walking around Glendalough kind of woke us up again and got us restarted.

Kilkenny is like 2 hours from Dublin, although the hard part is getting out of Dublin. Glendalough is pretty much on the way, through the Sally Gap.

I can't think of a better place to start than Kilkenny, Ireland's most "Irish" city.

If you're looking to stay somewhere near Glendalough, I recommend Rathdrum. It's a small town, but quaint and cute. There are some nice pubs, one with great slightly more sophiscated pub food. We stayed at a great B&B there--Stirabout Lane B&B--our favorite B&B during our 10-day trip.

like many have said, kilkenny is very close to dublin. you could probably do it. i stayed last september at the ritz powerscourt, it is amazing. not crazy priced, but not cheap. it has a gordon ramsay's that is ok. the gardens at powerscourt are first rate. worth a couple of hours at least. maybe a nice place to spend the afternoon and night, then head off to glendalough in the morning. have fun, be safe.

Just be flexible/we stayed in Naas/lovely little town I think south of Dublin/just drive until you feel you need a break and find a B&B/there are so many on the way/we are all different/we went to Shannon and then to Dingle and stayed up until 2 Am after flying from Newark and had no problem/went to Paris on another trip and just melted down/again do what is best for you

What am I missing? Glendalough looks to be further out than Kilkenny on my maps. Kilkenny is where we plan to spend the first night.

Kilkenny is in the area of a 30-45 minute longer drive than Glendalough.

Joe, take another look at your map. Glendalough is almost straight south of Dublin, then from there, Kilkenny is southwest. If you are taking the highway, it does look like Glendalough is out of the way, but it's really quite a bit closer to Dublin than Kilkenny.

Powers Court Gardens has accomodations I think and that would be a short drive from Dublin. You could head on to Glendalough the next day--not far from PCG.

We went last year-got in around 8 am but by the time we rented the car and got out of the City limits it was probably after 10 am.We did both Glendalough and Powerscourt-took the Military Road .Stayed that night in Avoca-actually a bit down the road from there-at a B+B called Koliba-great place.We then got to bed around 8pm.If you make it to Kilkenny we stayed at an excellent place called Dunromin.We like to try to do outdoor things our first day,get to sleep early and then pretty much be on the right time frame the rest of the trip.As has been said-everyone is different.A few years back my sister and I drove from Dublin to Sligo on our first day-about 4 hours-plus that was our first time driving on the opposite side of the road.That was probably a bit much !

When we landed at Dublin airport, in June, at 10:30am, we went to The SandyHills B&B in Rush, which is just north of Dublin and about 15 minutes from the Airport. The next day we started our tour. While we did Dublin the next day, the route is on M1 just above the M50, so it is easy to get around Dublin and to where you are going. If you haven't driven in Ireland, it may be better to use that first day toning up around a smaller town. Use a GPS as you never know when you need a last minute detour. We had to detour around a fatal accident on the N25 and had no problem. The narrow roads are no different that around where I live except many roads in Ireland do not have a shoulder. My road does not have one so it was very similar. Two cars can pass, but watch your mirrors and be careful. Only one road was a single lane and the opposing car (the garda) backed up.