Southwest Ireland

You'll get a lot of different opinions about driving in Ireland. I, for one, love it, though it can be challenging in places. There are lots of day tours available that take in the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula if you don't want to drive. Kenmare is a cute little town in a beautiful area at one end of the Ring of Kerry. It's not all that far to Kinsale or Cork from there, either. Because you are concentrating on the southwest, landing in Shannon makes a lot more sense for you.

I'm researching a family trip to Ireland for spring or early summer 2012. The areas we would like to cover include blarney/midleton on the east, thru central cork county near millstreet over to Beara, ROK, and dingle on the west. We will stay in Killarney for 6 nights as our base. We will use a chartered coach for two trips east as an organized event for all, and then rely on several private tour companies based in Killarney. So my suggestion would be to base in Killarney and take guided day trips to see SW Ireland. Dan

Kenmare, Kinsale, Dingle (town), Skibbereen, Bantry, and others are all wonderful towns to stay in. I love to drive in Ireland, but many people do not. If you're nervous about driving, but still want to do it, driving from Dublin is probably easier than from Shannon just because the roads from Shannon will be much twistier and in some locations narrower. So that would argue for landing in/departing from Dublin. But (IMO) the drive from Shannon is more scenic, which would argue for Shannon. Since I'm comfortable with driving in Ireland I'd choose Shannon. There are definitely tours that can take you to/through the Ring of Kerry and/or Dingle Peninsula. In fact, if you're driving a car, you will see many tour buses, even in September. And if you're driving these loops in a counter-clockwise direction, you might find yourself stuck behind a bus (or many) for much of the drive.

Kenmare is very well located, if you want to stay in one place it's a good choice. It is convenient to the Ring of Kerry. That said, the town struck me as a little too cutesy. I would suggest that you consider spending a portion of the time in Ennis, more of a workaday town that to paraphrase Rick, does not pander to the tourist dollar while not exactly shunning it either. Ennis is convenient to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, and you could do a daytrip to Galway from there, too. Driving in Ireland is not bad at all. Driving on the left is not an issue only issue might be that getting an automatic has gotten a lot more expensive. Driving in the southwest is no different than the southeast, or the interior (Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel), as far as I remember. If your travels are going to be in the southwest only, you absolutely should fly into Shannon. (However, Dublin is a nice city to visit and worth 2-3 full days). We were there in April, which was uncrowded in 2002 anyway. Not sure about mid-September these days. Outside of summer I doubt that traffic jams will be an issue in that part of the country.

Contrary to what another poster said, the drive from Dublin is not easier than the drive from Shannon. Either option is all on N roads (once you get out of Dublin), but the drive is twice as long from Dublin than Shannon (by time). In addition, Shannon airport is out in the country, in an area with very little traffic. Dublin airport fronts onto a very busy, multi-lane street. It's much easier to get used to driving on the "other" side of the road arriving in Shannon.

Landing in Shannon is going to be easier for you Max, Limerick (if you're going directly to Kerry you will have to go by Limerick whether you are coming from Shannon or Dublin, you will bypass the city so you will hardly even know you've been there) is only about 10 miles from Shannon Airport and will take about 15 minutes to get there and through, Dublin Airport is 120 miles (2 hours) away from Limerick although you have motorway/dual carriageway directly from Dublin Airport to Limerick. I would definitely suggest hiring a car (automatic), you will be here in mid-September, outside the busy holiday season so traffic shouldn't be a problem, once you remember to drive on the left hand side and go left on the roundabouts it'll be a piece of cake, no need to be nervous about it. Having a car will give you great flexibility. On where to stay. I guess a lot will depend on where you want to do most of your touring, I'd be inclined to go for Kenmare, unfortunately I can't recommend any particular cottage. Of course I'd be very disappointed if you landed in Shannon and didn't spend at least a day touring West Clare, the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Spanish Point, Quilty and on down to the Killimor ferry which would take you across to Kerry, by the time you arrive here the Cliffs of Moher will hopefully have been designated as one of the Seven Wonders of Nature (decision time within the next 2 weeks). Enjoy your stay with us.

I agree with Nancy about where to fly into and the driving. Shannon is much easier to practice your driving. Southwest Ireland is beautiful! Have a great trip.

I believe I am the "another poster" referred to by Nancy @Bloomington. I don't know if has been the particular routes I've driven (I've driven many N roads as well as other lesser roads), but in my experience the drive between Shannon and the southwest is trickier (but more scenic) than between the southwest and Dublin (whch of course is scenic in itself). Note that in my original post I said I would pick Shannon over Dublin, but that's from someone who is comfortable driving in Ireland (my near collision notwithstanding!). I agree with John@Dublin that if you're flying into SNN you should see the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Lahinch, etc. Truly beautiful country. I also agree with VS@Palo Alto about Ennis. This was a bit of an unexpected find for us on our last trip (though we had driven through it many times). Really liked it, and have recommended it to friends. Lots to do in town, plus accessible to places out-and-about. You're gonna love Ireland.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned! One word of caution -- I would not drive in Dublin or through it if you could avoid it. The traffic is really bad.