Realistic Travel Throughout Ireland

Posted by Gena (Columbus, Ohio, USA) on 04/06/09 07:41 AM

Hello,

I am planning a 21 day trip for my husband and I in Aug. We are going to be in Ireland for 4 or 5 days and I am trying to figure out what we can realisticly do without killing ourselves.

We are taking the ferry into Dublin, but I really want to see the western part of the country almost more than Dublin. We are renting a car and are definately hitting Dingle. I wondered about getting a room someplace between Dingle and Galway and making that a camp to do trips to both places but is this realistic?

We are taking the night ferry to France on the last night so I still need to take that into account.

Thanks for any thoughts/advice/insight. I have drive times from google maps but my understanding is that driving in Ireland is a bit more than that time : )

Posted by Nancy

Bloomington, IL, USA

04/06/09 09:19 AM

9371 posts

No, I don't think it is realistic to base between Galway and Dingle and do them as day trips. It would make more sense to spend a night in Dingle and another in Lahinch or Doolin. That way you would have more time for the Dingle area and be able to visit the Cliffs of Moher and Galway without spending all of your day driving.

Posted by Gena OP

Columbus, Ohio, USA

04/06/09 09:23 AM

27 posts

Nancy,

About how long do you think we should allow for visint the Cliffs and Galway. Can you browse both in a day? I realize we can't do everything but get a flavor of them.

Posted by Nancy

Bloomington, IL, USA

04/06/09 01:30 PM

9371 posts

The cliffs can take anywhere from just a few minutes to more than an hour if you go through their great new visitor center. Then it's about a 1.5-2 hr drive to Galway. You could spend the rest of that day there, then drive on.

Posted by Lorraine

Newbury, VT, USA

04/06/09 05:25 PM

75 posts

We spent 5 nights in Ireland, traveling by car every day and we found this method delightful!. We arrived in Dublin 6am, taxi to B&B where we left our bags because it was too early to check in. Explored the city, saw St Patricks, Dublin castle, Trinity College and the book of Kells. Had a picnic lunch, back to the B&B for a nap and then visited pubs for the evening. Day 2: up early, taxi to rental car, off to Galway, stopping along the way at ruins, to have lunch, taking our time, stopping at places that looked interesting. Wonderful stay at Creg Castle, explored the grounds. Day 3: on a successful search to see peat logs, to the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, took ferry at Limerick, stayed at Castle Matrix. Day 4: to Dingle over Conner Pass, finding our way to Blarney, again meandering along the way. Day 5: to Rock of Cashel, ended up in Wexford. day 6: caught the early ferry to Wales. It was a wonderful trip! Yes, we do enjoy our driving trips and found the distances to be easy every day, contrary to posts I have seen here. Have a great trip!

Posted by Gena OP

Columbus, Ohio, USA

04/08/09 06:03 AM

27 posts

Lorraine, that sounds delightful! Right now I am leaning towards doing something similar - renting a car and having an end destination each night and just seeing where we go during the day. From this advice and other things I have read it sounds doable.