Kat

I am traveling to Ireland in two weeks. I will be in Dublin the first and last day of travel. I am planning to visit Cork and Galway the three days in between (by train). Because it is off season, I am concerned that I will not be able to see the Aran Islands. Does anyone know the best order to travel from Dublin, should I go from Dublin to Cork than Galway or Dublin to Galway to Cork? Also will I be able to see the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher?

Dave

Kat, <BR> <BR>There are two ways that I know of to get to the Aran Islands, Island Ferries (www.aranislandferries.com) and Doolin Ferries (http://homepage.tinet.ie/~doolinferries). <BR> <BR>Island Ferries does have a scheduled daily winter service from Rossaveal (with bus transfer to/from Galway if necessary) to Inishmor. The fare is 15IRP return. They do not seem to offer inter-island service in winter. <BR> <BR>Doolin ferries departs directly from Galway on Tuesday, Thursday, and in winter. They also offer service from Doolin, but I don't know if it runs in winter. <BR> <BR>In either case, you should keep in mind that ferries may not run in bad weather, so you'll need to be flexible, especially in getting from Aran back to the mainland. <BR> <BR>Dave

Dave

Kat, <BR> <BR>I just reread your post and realized that you'll only be traveling for three days, correct? If so, I would recommend that you pass on visiting the Aran Islands. It takes a full day from Galway, and while Inishmor is a great place I don't think it would top my list of places to visit in November. You also run the risk of being stuck on Inishmor if the weather turns nasty and the ferries stop running. <BR> <BR>I would also suggest that you visit either Cork or Galway rather than both, but that's up to you. As best I can tell from www.irishrail.ie, traveling by train from Cork to Galway requires going through Portarlington (backtracking nearly to Dublin), and will probably take at least 4.5 hours plus connection time (very rough estimate). <BR> <BR>There are some nice day-trips you can take from Galway that I believe would be a better choice. I two two of these offered by a company called Lally (http://www.net-tech.ie/lally-coaches/); there is another company which offers almost identical tours. The tours depart from the Galway tourist office and visit either the Cliffs of Moher/Burren or Connemara. I took, and enjoyed, both. <BR> <BR>Dave

Cathy

Kat, <BR>I would agree that you should limit yourself to Dublin and either Galway or Cork. The alternative I would suggest is Kilkenny which is easy to get to from Dublin (on the Heuston line and has relative few train delays). There is a castle and some interesting shops and it can be done in a day trip without having to worry about trains etc back to Dublin. Be prepared for long delays travelling by car as the traffic jams are getting worse. But do remember that the train system is not as advanced as the continent. <BR> <BR> <BR>C

kam

Definitely agree that you should just plan to see Galway and Dublin and not bother with Cork or the Aran Is. especially if the weather is poor. Daytrips from Galway are more interesting than those from Cork.

Cindy

I lived in Ireland in 1998 and wholeheartedly agree with the posters above. I did visit both Cork and the Aran Islands. The Arans are great, but it is a full day trip. I would recommend sticking with Dublin and Galway, but I would definitely take one of the trips out of Galway to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey if you have time. Kylemore was one of the highlights of my time in Ireland.