Ireland in two days

I have no idea what would be cheaper. How are you counting your days? Is your arrival day counted as day 1? What about when you leave? As has been mentioned on this site recently, a "day trip" to the Cliffs of Moher from Dublin is a three hour bus ride to Galway, then a 90 min. bus ride to the cliffs (and back again), plus waiting time between buses. In other words, possible, but not very enjoyable unless you like riding in buses. As has also been mentioned recently, Blarney is not a day trip from Dublin, either. Depending on the time of year, it can take quite awhile to get to the top of the castle if it's the stone that you are after. And there are beautiful grounds to explore, too. Your two days would be just about right for a stay in Dublin itself, but not to the other places you mentioned. You could, however, take a half-day trip to Newgrange or Glendalough from Dublin if you wanted to get out into the country. (You might want to delete your duplicate post so that you get all of your answers in one place.)

Congratulations. You're the first person I can remember that wanted "to do" Ireland in two days. Personally, I don't think it's worth going for two days but I'll give you my input. The best way to get to Ireland when time is short is flying. Edinburgh and Glascow have multiple short flights but you have to contend with airport security delays. Dublin can not be appreciated in two days. The Cliffs are a good four hour drive from Dublin and the Blarney Stone is several hours from both. If you just want to check off items on your bucket list, go for it. You'll be driving like a madman but to each his own. I'm not aware of specific tours from Dublin to the COM. There may be but you'd still spend all day getting there and back. I'm also not aware of any tours to the BS from Dublin except the nominal 1 week bus tours. FWIW, if you must go to Ireland for two days I would suggest you fly into Dublin and see as much of Dublin as you can.

Have you given any thought to seeing the Antrim coast,(Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, Dunluce Castle, etc.) It is much closer than Dublin, every bit as scenic, and not nearly as many other tourists. Belfast is worth a look also.

Do you seriously want to travel all the way from Seattle to see the Blarney Stone? It's a monumental rip off tourist trap! There are so many sights more worthy of your time and money. Personally I'd skip Ireland altogether, I found it rather disappointing not to mention the abusive and ignorant reception from the locals (I am English). I'd suggest staying in Scotland and seeing more of the country or head south and visit the border areas of Scotland and England.

Like Nancy, I'd be interested to hear how you are counting your days as well and if Day 1 is when your flight arrives in Dublin from Edinburgh or Glasgow. And if Day 2 is when you depart Ireland to wherever you are headed (back to Scotland? Back to the U.S.?). If you are flying in or out on those days, then technically what you have after finding and checking into your hotel is 1 afternoon to take a quick loop of Dublin's sights on a Hop-On/Hop-Off tour bus, 1 evening for dinner & a pub crawl, and then 1 morning to squeeze in Trinity College & buy some trinkets on Grafton Street before you have to fight your way back through Dublin traffic to get to the airport to check in before the flight back. Even if you aren't counting arrival/departure days, 48hrs to tour 3 separate regions of Ireland by a bus tour is not really a great idea. 48hrs for just Dublin? Sure. You can get a small taste of the city in that time. Skip Dublin completely and get a flight from Scotland to Shannon, rent a car, drive to Cliffs and spend a night in Doolin or Galway, check out a bit of The Burren and then fly out in 48hrs...yes, possible (and if you don't want to drive, you can get a bus from Shannon to Galway and then join a day tour from Galway to Cliffs & The Burren.). And the other suggestion to skip the Republic and spend a day in Belfast & a day tour from there to Antrim Coast is also much more feasible than what you are hoping to do. And don't forget that any touring along the coast in Ireland or Northern Ireland can be affected by weather any point during the year. You don't have much time there and if it's raining heavy or foggy the Cliffs or Causeway won't be very enjoyable.

Christina -
Oof. Quite the responses. But yes, most people are making really good points. I think the best suggestions are that if you really only have 48 hours, consider flying into Belfast and doing the Antrim Coast or fly into Shannon and do the Cliffs and stay in Doolin or maybe Galway. BTW - too bad JC had poor reception, but I can say we had nothing but positive experiences in Ireland. Our hosts, whether at B&Bs or hotels, were always warm, friendly, and welcoming. The people are great!

Thank you all for your responses I am currently studying in Spain and I have a long weekend in December, so I thought I'd travel to Scotland and Ireland. I will have to fly back to Spain from Dublin... The two days are two full days I would probably arrive in Dublin late at night and then spend two full days there...

December makes it even less possible to do what you propose, since the daylight hours will be very short. Fog is a great possibility at the Cliffs at that time of the year, which would make it a wasted trip. Spending a couple of days in Dublin, with perhaps a single side trip to Newgrange or Glendalough, would still work.

I think you're attempting the impossible there Christina. On the best way to travel, flying is the only way to go. I would suggest spending your 2 days in Dublin (this time), trying to do the Cliffs of Moher or Blarney Castle will take up a full day (at least), spend your 2 days in Dublin (lots to see) would be my advice, but hey it's your break. Of course you will be made most welcome here and get a great reception, enjoy it whichever way you go.

This board is full of seasoned travelers who have a good idea of what is reasonable to do in two days. There is absolutely no way to do Dingle justice in part of one day! In any event, the OP asked about doing Dublin, the Cliffs, and Blarney in two days, not Dingle. And since the OP is a student, it is less likely that she would even be able to rent a car.

Christina, Let me start by saying this boad is full of pessimists so don't be discouraged. I would say if you can rent a car after a half day in Dublin, you would be able to get to the Cliffs in 3ish hours. I'd even recommend staying in the tiny town of Doolin near the Cliffs. I have a great B & B rec. Toomullin House. Also, the town of Doolin at night has awesome live music at one of their two pubs. I would then say you should use your second day driving down the west coast to Dingle and see what beauty (to me) the western coast of Ireland has to offer. If you skip that and drive all the way down to Cork (where the Blarney Stone is) you may not get the same bang for your buck since its just one "thing" vs. Dingle having more than one. Also, Cork has a ton of traffic so that's something to think about. From either Dingle or Cork its going to be 3-5 hours of driving back to Dublin depending on traffic. If driving is out of the question I'd say stick with Dublin and the Cliffs or trad ethe Cliffs for Northern Ireland things other posters mentioned.

Well, this pessimist travels to Ireland quite regularly to see family. Nancy seems to go quite a bit and John actually lives there. This trip is in December, not July or August when you have daylight until 10pm. Even if you leave Dublin at noon & fight the hideous traffic around the city to get out, it does not take 3ish hours to get to Doolin & the Cliffs. Try closer to 5ish hours making good time and only slowing down once for a farmer puttering along on his tractor or the flock of sheep blocking the road once you get out West. That puts you at the Cliffs just as it's starting to get pitch black outside. So now you are bumping the Cliffs to the next morning when you are supposed to be heading to Dingle Peninsula. Now if she wanted to skip Dublin and fly from Spain to Shannon Airport & head over to Doolin & The Cliffs, sure. But as I already mentioned, Cliffs are really only good to visit if the weather is cooperating. In December she's way more likely to encounter fog, bitter winds and possibly some icy sleet at the Cliffs. Doolin is way over hyped on this board. If I was a student on a weekend winter trip, hanging in Doolin listening to Trad w/ the old folks is the last place I'd want to be. You can find Trad just about anywhere in Ireland - Doolin hasn't cornered the market. You'll find more than enough Trad in Galway and Dublin along with more active nightlife given the many university students in both cities. Plus both make a decent base for 1 day trip out into the countryside if the weather cooperates. Belfast also makes a great 2 day visit with lots to learn about the Troubles, seeing the murals and popping over to the Giants Causeway on a day tour (again, only if weather permits good viewing, otherwise park it on a pub stool after a visit to some museums). Save Dingle, Beara or Ring of Kerry for shoulder season or high season visits when you have the extra daylight hours.

I'd vote Dublin only. Fly is the quickest - if you can it'd doubtless be Ryanair (but I haven't checked). Ferries are a bit awkward to get too I think.

Christrina....Well, you definitely have gotten lots of advice here... I am also a 'seasoned traveler' and would suggest that a few days in Ireland is better than 0 days...as far as seeing the Cliffs in the winter, that is what I did, and it was amazing. Yes, there was mist and fog and wind and it was a wild experience, and some of my favorite photographs that I have. I really don't care to see it in the bright sunshine....so, if you don't mind that, go for it.