Ireland Travel Forum

We'll be flying into Dublin in March and plan to stay there for a day before taking the train over to the west / south part of Ireland. We want to rent a car for 4 days to see the sights before flying out of Shannon.

I need some help working out some details - particularly what city or cities to stay in that will make it easiest to visit the following areas:
Galway
Cliffs of Moher
Dinlge Bay
Ring of Kerry
Cork
and possibly Waterford

Yes, I realize this is a LOT for 4 days, but we're determined to make it work!
?
Should we stay in one city (possibly Limerick) and do day trips from there? Or, should we split it into two cities - one on the west and one on the south? If so, which cities would you recommend to stay in (keeping in mind this will be our first time driving in Ireland so the easier it is to drive & park in the city the better)? We will drop off the car at the Shannon airport when we fly out, but the initial city we stay in needs to have a car rental place for us to pick up the car.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

There is usually quite a bit of discussion on the drive vs. not drive issue. Personally, I prefer not to drive. You don't state where you're coming from, but I'm assuming it's not the UK or a place where they drive on the "other side".

The roads in Ireland can be quite narrow, and it would be difficult to park in some places.

Staying in Dublin, Galway, and Cork gives you a good base. I personally took a tour put on by the railroad to Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, Burren, etc which I thought was fabulous (and I *HATE* organized tours). Starts early in the morning, return to Dublin late, around 8 PM. The link for the railway tours are below.

http://www.railtoursireland.com/

While Irish locals may take the train for granted, I truly *loved* riding the train to Cork and being able to sit down and enjoy the beautiful green pastures. When you're driving, you're too busy to be able to enjoy the trip.

I was impressed by the bus service too ... http://www.buseireann.ie/

From Cork we went to Kinsale (this was chosen by a person from Cork, *beautiful*) ... we also went to Blarney to kill the stone ;=)

You can also, if you wish, take a tour, and instead of returning to Dublin - in my case - I could have stayed in Galway. I think luggage would have been OK as the rail tour is assisted by a small coach which accomodates around 16 people or less.

And while in Dublin ... don't miss going to St. Stephen's Green in the morning - quite a treat!

Bring your raincoat and umbrella!

ooops ... it was near Halloween - no we did not kill the stone, we kissed it.

Driving is the est way to see Ireland BUT only if you feel confident about it.

Roads can be narrow and winding, and it is not easy to overtake slow-moving traffic (and there is quite a lot os that). You should expect every journey to take longer than it would seem from the map, sometimes much longer.

Be aware that you will be charged a premium (probably quite a hefty one) for one-way car hire.

This site will give you printable, detailed routes and estimated timings, so you can work out how feasible your plans are:

http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp?database=I

Essential reading before you drive:

http://www.iol.ie/~discover/driving.htm

http://www.irish-car-rental.com/road-signs-ireland.html

I'd stay in more than one place as you travel: Galway, maybe Cork and/or Kerry, somewhere near the airport for your last night (depending on flight time). Ireland is full of 'bed & breakfasts' and in March you will have no problems finding somewhere to stay although it's best to book in advance, so you don't waste valuable daylight searching at the end of each day.

The official tourist info/accommodation site is down as Itype, but is worth checking out when it's mended: www.discoverireland.ie

An alternative is http://www.goireland.com/

Thanks for the tips. I think we will drive and just take our time. Part of the adventure for us is going to be driving...and we'll take the bad along with the good.

Any tips on which 1 or 2 cities would be the easiest for us to stay in to be able to travel to all of the places we want to see??

Thank you

Erm......I think I'd go to Cork on the train, stay overnight. Stay somewhere around Killarny for the second night (Dingle, Ring) then maybe a longish trip up to somewhere in/around Galway for the last 2 nights (depending on when your flight leaves).

Or base yourself somewheremid-way bwteen Limerick & Galway for the last two nights (e.g. the Burren area) and do trips from there.

I think you'll have to miss Waterford.

It's a fair chunk of driving. In March, it will be dark by about 8.30pm.

My broken record rotuine:

You are trying to do too much and will spend all of your time driving if you really intend to visit all those areas. At the MOST maybe do Ring of Kerry and the Cliffs...or Galway and the Cliffs.