Travel options from Dublin to Donegal Town

Dublin airport is on the north side of Dublin, so why not just rent the car at the airport and drive to Donegal? Even though the roads are a bit slower, it still isn't that far to drive (150 miles, 3:30) ---all of Ireland is smaller than the state of Ohio and it is much easier to get around when you have a car. For actual distances and fairly accurate driving times use theaa.com. Order the orange Michelin map from amazon.com or they might have it at a local book store so you can plan your route.

You might want to stop at New Grange and visit there the morning after your arrival day. You could explore the Donegal and Sligo areas, or you might want to visit County Galway for Connemara and a boat trip to the largest Aran island. Another good planning site is irelandexpert.com.

There is a fourth option to consider and that is to take an Aer Aerann flight from Dublin to Sligo and pick up a rental car at the Sligo Airport. I "think" that the only place to pick up a rental car is at the Sligo Airport. The cost for a morning flight leaving Dublin is only about 45 Euro for the two of you. The airport at Sligo is located at Strandhill which is about 6-8 miles outside of Sligo and will give you a chance to drive on the left before actually getting on the highway. I have driven the road from Sligo to Donegal Town a couple of times and MOST of it is a nice two lane with paved shoulders and not much traffic-driving time about 30-40 minutes. The train ride from Dublin is nice but you will need to take a taxi to the airport from the train station to pick up the rental car. I have never taken the bus from Dublin to Donegal but having ridden buses over a good portion of Ireland that would be my last option.
This is a great part of Ireland,mostly overlooked by tourists in their rush to see the west of Ireland. Wonderful scenery and much less crowded. You should enjoy it.

Oh, I was kind of hoping someone would tell me the drive from Dublin to Donegal Town isn't a treacherous one! When my husband and I drove around the Ring of Kerry and Rock of Cashel many years ago, I remember being absolutely entranced with the countryside and the freedom of the car, but also remember the locals warning us about not taking certain roads they deemed too nail-bitey, especially for Americans not used to driving on the left.

I can totally appreciate the other response about flying into Sligo, but I really don't like small planes; big ones are about all I can handle.

As you can tell, I'm a bit of a nervous traveller, though well-travelled! Thanks to both of you for your answers; they were extremely helpful.

We rented a car from the Dublin airport and drove to Sligo. It was fine, and since the airport is out of the city on the northern side, it is not terribly scary getting on the road from there.

I second the suggestion to visit Newgrange on your way out from the airport after renting the car. It's not very far from the airport and it will give you a chance to get used to the car, but then stop and have a break. You can also have lunch there before or after your tour, depending on timing (go early (by 10 or so) to make sure you get a tour time--they fill up quickly). You can also (or instead) visit the round tower and Celtic crosses at Monasterboice on the way there or back--worth a 30-minute stop.

I didn't think the driving was precarious, but we all have different thresholds for anxiety, so YMMV.

I agree with Lexey having just returned from driving in Ireland. We didn't find it to be treacherous driving in the countryside. Some roads are more like single car garage driveways but most people were polite and alert. I borrowed the book "Back Roads Ireland" from the library which gave a lot of ideas for things to see on the way or more scenic roads to take. Before we left, I saw a post that strongly recommended renting a GPS - we did and it was extremely helpful. Signage is limited/nonexistent/constantly changing when found.

We arrived late morning and drove directly from the Dublin airport to Newgrange and toured Newgrange and Douth, had dinner and went to sleep which worked well for adjusting to the time zone. (You would need to make sure you have your passes reserved for the tour time that you want - Newgrange Lodge arranged this for us when we arrived but we were traveling in the shoulder season.) The Boyne Valley area where Newgrange is has a nice heritage tour route and sites are included on the OPW heritage card.

While the rental car is more expensive from the airport, it gave us more freedom to explore.

Wow, this is so helpful, hearing all of these votes for Newgrange! I'm certainly aware of Newgrange, but hadn't yet put together that it would be on our route to Donegal Town. And I had no idea that there was a lodge there - that sounds perfect. I'll want to stop at Monasterboice also, loving the Celtic crosses and holy atmosphere of sites we've visited in Ireland previously. I clearly need to get into a guide book, especially since we've got five days to slowly wander from Dublin up to Donegal! It's very helpful to know that we don't have to go through the heart of Dublin when leaving the airport; I REALLY wouldn't have wanted to do that. Thanks for all of this help!

Any thoughts on a favorite place to stay in Donegal Town? Hopefully within walking distance of things?

~Jan

I just returned from Ireland. The roads have all been upgraded over the past few years and are not like you remember. Much easier to navigate. I would definitely drive from Dublin airport. We stayed at the Arches B&B a couple miles outside of Donegal Town, on Lake Eske, and it was very modern, clean, comfortable and nice. 65E for a couple per night. A good value and a nice B&B. Couldn't find anything decent within walking distance of town. A couple years ago I stayed at Waters Edge B&B in Donegal Town which was very nice but I had trouble contacting them this time. The Maldron Hotel Parnell Square in Dublin was very nice and a good value if you are looking there.
Hard to believe but I had one of the best Italian dinners I have enjoyed at La Bella Donna in Donegal Town. It was REALLY good. There is Traditional music in the pub next door. A fun night.

Thanks for the tip about the B&B in Donegal Town, Brian; I'm going to check into it online today. As for Dublin, we're doing that part as a business trip, and my husband's company is paying for the hotel, so we'll need to stay where they put us. The Italian place sounds wonderful! It's our habit to "add to our pizza collection" by trying at least one pizza on every trip, leading to a tuna pizza in Mexico and an egg-in-the-middle, weirdly-cut pizza in Germany. Perhaps this restaurant could fulfill that mission for a second night as well.

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement about the roads! This nervous traveller is now not only NOT nervous, but actually excited about the freedom of toodling around beautiful Ireland.