Help with itinerary. A friend & I are planning a self driving, 2 week trip to Ireland (we are in our late 50s). We will fly into Shannon May 5 and depart Dublin May 19. Is it too far to drive straight up to Clifden our first day of driving on left? What do you think about the following schedule: Arrive & stay 2 nights in Ballyshannon 1 night Aran Island - Innishmore 2 nights Clifden 1 night Killaloe (is this a good spot?) 2 nights Dingle 1 night Kenmare (Ring of Kerry) 1 night Kinsale 1 night Kilkenny 2 nights Dublin
Any suggestions are welcome!! It's mentally challenging to decide how long is needed in what places.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I think it would be too far to drive to Clifden on your first day. ViaMichelin shows it as 2 hours, 23 min, but you need to add 25% to their time to get a more accurate estimate. The stretch from Galway to Clifden can seem long, even when you didn't just get off of a transatlantic flight. Depending on your arrival time, by the time you get your bags, get your rental car, get out of the airport and maybe feed yourselves, it's going to be heading toward late morning. If you haven't traveled internationally before (you don't say), you can't gauge how tired you will be on arrival day, or how much stress driving on the opposite side will add that first day. On our first trip, landing in Shannon, we drove to Bunratty Castle (six miles from the airport). We saw the castle and folk park, had lunch at the little shopping center across the road, then spent our first night in Liscannor, a few minutes from the Cliffs of Moher (about an hour's drive away). We drove to Doolin for dinner, then went to bed early, and saw the Cliffs of Moher the next morning. You might want to consider staying somewhere closer to Shannon that first day - Lahinch, Liscannor, Lisdoonvarna, or Doolin.