Comments on my itinerary - Never driven in Ireland..

Well, you are a giant leap ahead of many posters by recognizing that you need some time to get over jet lag before getting behind the wheel of a car!

Things to think through while deciding on driving. Would you be comfortable with a manual transmission or would you want an automatic? Is there any significant price difference between renting at Dublin Airport or Galway? Train to Galway and then rent could be an option. What will parking be like at your destinations?

There are quite a few video tutorials about driving on the left side on you tube. I have found the ones by driving instructors teaching how to do roundabouts particularly helpful.

A heathy dose of hesitation is appropriate, but “driving on the wrong side” isn’t that hard, and I think you’ll be fine. You’re smart to pick up the car outside of the center. If you’re ok driving manual, generally, it’s actually the easiest part of switching to RHD and the savings is significant.

Great that you are considering jet lag and don't plan to drive direct as you arrive!

But, renting the car in e.g. Galway was my first thought as well. Saves you having to drive around Dublin.

My concern would be the 4+ hour drive from Dingle to Dublin on the same day as your flight. I would feel more comfortable sleeping closer to Dublin the night before the flight, but that’s just me. You want to be at the airport by 11:30/12:00 to return the car, so you’d be cutting it really close. If you get lost or stuck in traffic it could be very stressful.

If you haven’t booked flights yet, you might consider flying out of Shannon.

I was worried when we did it, but it was fine. We picked up from airport, but you certainly compare price for train then pickup. There is a roundabout outside the airport, and my husband got his legs there and we were off. Luckily the one time my husband got it wrong, there was no one else around.
What time of year? Traffic was very light in October.

Leave from Dingle Town 7am and drive back to Dublin Airport return car for 3pm flight..

Assuming the flight is back to the US, I would leave earlier than 7AM, to give myself a bit of a cushion for any 'oops' and fueling the car before turn-in. A quick look on google shows a lot of the route is a 2 lane road so any accident ( or road work) could slow the trip.

I just did a similar trip last year; your plan is very doable. My only concern also would be driving the morning of a 3pm flight. The drive will take longer than you think, and Dublin airport check-in and security can be very slow. I would recommend staying at an airport hotel the night before your flight. I also got an automatic car from Dublin, definitely more expensive than manual but I don't know how to drive a stick and wasn't looking to learn in Ireland!

If you can drive in Chicago, then you’ve already got some seriously key skills! :)

Traffic will be less heavy in Ireland, but there is that “other side of the road thing.”. It doesn’t take that much to get used to being on the left side of the road, and oncoming traffic being on your right, while steering from the right-hand side of the vehicle. Depending on the make of your rental car, the turn signal might be on the left or right side of the steering column. We’ve had the wipers come on sometimes, while trying to signal a turn!

One important thing is to stay centered in your lane - not too far right or left. The passenger should be active the whole time, assisting the driver. If you’re doing all the driving and she’s doing all the navigating, she should frequently remind you not to go too far to the left (away from oncoming traffic but close to the left edge of the road), as well as the speed limit. Remember that will be in kilometers per hour.

Gas and brake pedals will still be on the right and left, like you’re used to at home. One of the toughest things might be remembering which side of the car to get into, if you’re driving!

As others have said, the concern is getting to the airport for your return flight. You need to be in the terminal after having returned the car at least 3 hours ahead of departure. You clear US immigration in Dublin which means two security checks plus passport control. Your route from Dingle to the airport will be on the M50 which, during rush hour, can be very much like driving on lake shore drive or the Eden expressway during rush hour. The M50 is also a toll road so know whether you’ll have a transponder or whether you need to pay after you use it. The tolls are not manned.

WOW! Thanks to all for the great suggestions. I definitely will do the automatic, as I do all the driving. I figure I'll save money on that, and I just feel safer.

I'm thinking I'll cut my time in Dingle by one day, and get back to the Dublin area. Forgot about the time to do a final gas fill, and the the amount of time on the return can be longer than plan. So thank you for that suggestion.

I'm blocking out my 2024 Thanksgiving trip and will have a car from about Saturday Nov 23, 2024 to Saturday Nov 30, 2024. I like to figure out the pieces of the puzzle ahead of time.

Thanks again Forum!
Mike from Chicago

Be aware that the backroads in southwestern Ireland are hilly, crooked and there are a bunch of ditches and bushes right up to the edge of the roadbed. It's about 200 miles from Dublin to where we stayed in a great B&B.

Ireland is a place for advanced drivers, and it was the most difficult place I've driven in Western Europe and the U.K. Fortunately my mind works both left and right and you'll be driving on the left side of the road.

But Ireland's coastline is exceptionally beautiful.

We did the same thing on our first trip to Ireland in 2017, spent a few days in Dublin then returned to the airport to pickup rental car. Be aware that the rental car facility is off the airport property so make sure your cab driver drops you there and not at the airport itself. We didn’t realize that and ended up having to take the shuttle, with all our luggage, to the car rental facility. Very easy to hop onto the highway from there, no driving in Dublin itself. Get all the insurance.

We did not find driving all.that stressful as long as you slow.down and have automatic and good navigator. Lots.of. traffic circles.and if you miss your exit just go.around again. use caution when exiting gas station or other stops it is so.easy to look.the wrong way. You will be fine. We.drove.thru a herd of sheep, met a.tour bus on a.one and half lane back.road.and our GPS had both my brother in his car and husband and I in our car cut through a farmers field.and we.all.managed.

We did something similar in September 2021. The driving was challenging especially the first day. I'm the navigator and I had to be fully engaged the whole time, but we did fine.

Happy to hear you will be closer to Dublin the night before your flight. You never know what may go wrong while driving that can delay you. We were in Ireland last August and got a flat tire that had to be replaced. It took at least 4 hours for the tow truck to arrive, getting to the tire shop, and getting the replacement tire. Thankfully we weren’t in a hurry. We returned our car at the airport when we arrived back in Dublin at the end of the trip and spent the last night at a nearby hotel that had a shuttle to the airport.