Hello all, I'm traveling to Ireland in late May with a group of four adults. We have round-trip tickets to Dublin, and will be renting a car. Does this itinerary sound reasonable, or is it too ambitious? Arrival Day 1 - Dublin, full day (Dublin) Day 2 - Dublin, with side trip to Bru na Boinne (Dublin) Day 3 - Glendalough, Gardens of Powerscourt, Kilkenny (Kilkenny) Day 4 - Rock of Cashel, Kenmare (Kenmare) Day 5 - Ring of Kerry, Dingle (Dingle) Day 6 - Dingle Peninsula (Dingle) Day 7 - Return to Dublin (Dublin)
Departure Thanks for your help!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Looks great to me, as long as you know you won't have a full Day 1 in Dublin (unless you arrive on Day 0). Your flight most likely arrives in the early morning, but by the time you get through passport control, get bags, find the rental counter, do the paperwork, get the car and get going, it will be at least late morning. That leaves you an afternoon and evening. Bru na Boinne can be a half-day, but it needs to be done in the morning, so that tour buses don't take all of the tickets for the day. Dingle to Dublin, with time to turn in the car, get through security and US customs (done in Dublin before you leave), and get to your gate, might be really tight. You might want to think about staying somewhere closer to Dublin on that last night.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2775 posts
I agree with Nancy. As long as you don't mind being in the car a lot, and assuming you are planning to rent a car, this itinerary will work fine. I'm not fond of driving, but in Ireland, the scenery is so beautiful and there are lots of interesting places to stop, so I enjoyed it.
Posted by
OP
Hartford, CT, USA
5 posts
Thanks Nancy, I was hoping you would weigh in. Our arrival is early morning Day 1, but we won't rent the car until Day 3 on the way out of Dublin. Our return flight is actually mid-afternoon on Day 8, so we won't be in such a rush back from Dingle (will be a long day nevertheless, and we're considering return by train if the rental return penalty isn't too bad). One follow-up: Would you skip Dingle if the forecast was really rainy, and potentially substitute a day/night in Kinsale on the way back? Thanks again,
Ryan
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
If it's rainy/foggy, you won't see anything on Ring of Kerry - same with the Slea Head Drive by Dingle. Kinsale would be my preference, if only because of its proximity to Cobh and Cork - lots to do there if it's rainy.
Posted by
OP
Hartford, CT, USA
5 posts
Thanks Carroll. Yeah, a lot of car time. That's why I'm holding out the possibility of a train return if we're just tired of the road.
Posted by
wichita, kansas
484 posts
Tralee is the closest train station to Dingle and it would probably be difficult to leave a rental car there. Train trip takes about four hours and there is a 7:20 train to Dublin that gets into Heuston Station at 11:15 where you can catch the AirLink bus, or a taxi, to the airport.
Personally I would want to spend the last night some where closer to Dublin in case of bad weather, road construction etc. At that time of the year it is about 10:00 P.M. before it gets dark.