Hello
I am starting a trip with 3 others from Dublin in July with a rental car. We are already booked for 2 nights in the Kilkenny area and 2 nights in Dingle area. Traveling from Dingle, we plan to head west then up and around N. Ireland to see at least the Antrim coast and Belfast (ancestral homelands) before Returning to Dublin. From Dingle we will have 6 days to do this. There is much to see in County Clare and Connemara. Here are my questions. Will we need to book a night in Galway or will this drive, with stops of course, take less time than it looks on the map? Will we have time to go to the Aran Islands? Then will we be able to make it to Donegal area or is it better to cut through the middle. I am now wishing I had 3-4 wks. Any help will be appreciated.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I'm not really following your timing (6 days to get from Dingle to Dublin, but do you need to book a night in Galway or can you do it all at once? Can you clarify?), but I can tell you absolutely that any drive in Ireland takes considerably MORE time than it looks on the map. With six days after Dingle, you can easily get to Donegal, or get to the Aran Islands, or both, but when you add in Antrim and Belfast your timing is going to be tight. You really need to check out the times from one place to another and decide what you have time to get to, and still have time to see what you want. I use www.viamichelin.com and add at least 25% to their estimated times.
Posted by
OP
san Francisco, CA, USA
8 posts
OK, I'm sorry to be so vague. We will leave Dingle and head to the Cliffs of Moher and the sites in that area. Will that take the whole day so that we will need lodging in Galway or somewhere nearby? If not, where would be the next best place to stop for the night as we head towards Donegal and the north?
Thank you
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
The drive from Dingle, even if you take the Killimer-Tarbert ferry across the Shannon, is going to be around four hours to the Cliffs of Moher. Plan to spend at least an hour at the cliffs (possibly more, depending on what you want to see of the visitor center). Then if you drive through the Burren, it would make a pretty full day by the time you get to Galway, so it would be a good place to stop for the night. Rossaveal, not far from Galway, is one of the places that you can get a ferry to the Aran Islands. And Galway is a decent base for doing some exploring of the Connemara area. If you wanted to see Kylemore Abbey you could go straight up from Galway instead of taking the coast road through Clifden, then you could continue on northward.
Posted by
OP
san Francisco, CA, USA
8 posts
Thank you for the help. I appreciate it. Here is another question. Is it really doable to drive from Portrush to Belfast, along the coast in one day and actually see it?
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Portrush to Belfast is definitely doable in a day. Even if you take the coast road all the way, the distance is less than 100 miles.
Posted by
OP
san Francisco, CA, USA
8 posts
Fantastic. Thanks for all the help. I love this site.