Cag2087

Looking for some suggestions on our itinerary for the end of April. Flights are booked (into Dublin and out of Shannon) and now we're starting on everything else.

We don’t need to see everything and don’t want be too rushed. We like both city and outdoors (love the coast/beach). We don’t want to spend all of our time driving but do travel a lot and don’t think much of a 4 or 5 hour drive.

We have two nights we're not sure what to do with. We haven’t booked stays yet so all days are flexible. We want to see Killarney National Park/Muckross but not sure if we need 2 nights. Should we add a 3rd night somewhere? Or a night in Killarney and a night somewhere between Dingle and Galway? Also any other suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Dublin (2)
Killarney (??)
Dingle (2)
Galway (2)

CindyW

You might want to spend a night in Doolin, near the Cliffs of Moher. Great music there in the pubs. That would be between Dingle and Galway, I think...It's been a few years, but that's how I remember it.

We did Dublin, Kilkenny (stayed in a cool hostel that is in a castle there and stopped at Blarney Castle), Killarney, Dingle (another hostel, all the way at the end of the peninsula), Doolin, and then drove up to Donegal and on into Northern Island. I think that we spent two nights in Killarney. If you don't get there till the end of the day, you'll want to spend a full day there, so I'd recommend two nights. You'll want to do the Ring of Kerry, and the Gap of Dunloe, which was just wonderful. Otherworldly. We found out that if we got there near sunset we could drive through (don't know if that's still the case).

Ireland is awesome! You'll have a blast!

Cag2087

Thanks Cindy!!

Maybe we should us one night in Killarney (Want to see the park/muckross. Could we do that after a night there and then drive to Dingle?) and then one in Doolin? Or since we're flying out of Shannon would it make more sense to stay somewhere closer to ther after Galway?

Padraig

The transfer from Killarney to Dingle is relatively short, so you can spend most of the day doing things at Killarney. That would mean that one night would be sufficient for your Killarney targets (but you could easily add in some more things and get value out of a second night).

If, however, you save one of the Killarney nights, you could add it to Galway. That gives you two full days there. You could use one to take a ferry trip to Inishmore (the largest of the Aran Islands) and one to tour Connemara.

Be aware that if you spend your last night in Galway, you might have a very early morning start to get to Shannon for your flight home. You might possibly do the Aran Islands visit, and then transfer to a location closer to Shannon for your last night.

Tony2phones

Dublin 2 days fine. Killarney 2 days as a great touring base for Kerry. Dingle 1 night is more than enough. Using one of those Dingle nights lets you split the trip up to Galway. Having a night in Adare/Limerick or Ennis/Ennistymon (Bunratty also an option) gives a full day for West Clare the Ciffs, Burren and or several other options before Galway.

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That said I would not be spending the night before an early flight in Galway you want to be close to the Airport on your last night so?

The option could be to drive straight to Galway from 1 night in Dingle, have a day exploring from Galway either the Connemara https://goo.gl/UL09QA or Inis Mor. Second night in Galway and explore west Clare https://goo.gl/UtW24m ending with the last night close to SNN. Ennis would be my option if you want a last night with some good bars, food, entertainment options. Bunratty if you aim for the Banquet and an early night. The Oakwood Arms in Shannon is also a good option for an early night.

Cag2087

Thanks Tony2phones for the suggestions and maps! We'll definitely do Ennis then the night after Galway and before our flight.