Ireland

The best way to get around in Ireland in general is to drive. Are you set on flying into Dublin, or might you consider Shannon, on the west coast? The drive from Shannon to Dingle is listed at just under three hours, but you'll want to add 25% to that time to be more realistic. You could fly into Shannon, see what you want on the west coast, drive up to Belfast, and then depart from Dublin.

Not against flying into Shannon. Still want to check out Dublin and really don't want to drive.

Unless you want to take buses, public transportation is somewhat limited on the west coast. If you land in Dublin you can take a train to Galway, and then a bus from there to Dingle. You can find bus schedules at www.buseireann.ie.

Hi Jeanne

Ireland by bus can be fun but in my opinion you miss a lot of what Ireland has to offer. You miss the Real Ireland. If your going for a week then I can see the logic of taking a bus, but 12 days on a bus? Ugh!

Here is my advice and you can take it for for what it is my opinion..

Dublin is a waste of time unless you like large congested bleak cities. Northern Ireland Belfast in particular is very nice and needs more than a Day to appreciate...

My suggestion for 12 days is to see as much of the West of Ireland as you can and maybe if your feeling ambitions go up through Donegal (where I was born) and then into Northern Ireland and Belfast.

My feeling is that you waste a lot of time in Dublin. Most people I talk to say they got to Dublin and couldn't wait to get out. Don't get me wrong, I am not slamming Dublin I just feel that for a vacation it is better to live with out seeing it unless your travels take you near it.