Cork or Galway?
 

We have an 9 day trip planned for the end of September and we are trying to decide which city to spend more time in, Cork or Galway. I have been reading as much as I can on this forum and others since we decided to go and had thought that Galway was the obvious answer as so many people recommend it, however, since then I have started really looking at things to do in both places and I've got pages for Cork and very little for Galway. What am I missing? I would like to visit the CoM and Loops Head, possibly one of the Aran Islands while we are out there, but if the weather is bad and we can't do either of those then Galway doesn't seem to offer much else. The other option is to do one night in Galway and spend the rest of the time in far southwest Ireland (between Dingle and Cork).

Here's what we're looking at:

Day 1: arrive in Dublin, drive to (option 1) Cork, (option 2) Galway

Day 2: drive to Dingle

Day 3: stay in Dingle

Day 4: drive to (option 1) somewhere between Dingle and Galway?, (option 2) somewhere around RoK?

Day 5: (option 1) somewhere between Dingle and Galway?, (option 2) somewhere around RoK?

Day 6: (option 1) drive to Galway, (option 2) drive to Cork

Day 7: (option 1) stay in Galway, (option 2) stay in Cork

Day 8: drive to Dublin

Day 9: Stay in Dublin

Day 10: leave

So really what my question comes down to is which place is more fun - Galway or Cork? Including the surrounding area.

There is a place near Cork I like, Kinsale. A very very colorful little town/village

I haven't been to Cork, but I just did a week trip to Ireland a couple weeks ago with a similar itinerary: Dublin - Dingle - Galway - Dublin

Galway is a great city and base for driving elsewhere. It also has a fun latin quarter (The Pie Maker is the bomb!!! went there twice in one day). We originally wanted to do Aran Islands, but I was kind of sick then, so instead we drove around Connemara just north of Galway, which has just stunning, rugged, mountainous terrain. It was different from the other parts of Ireland we drove through (Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula). But be careful if you go, I got bit up by midges there! Just stay in the car!

I don't see why you can't fit in Cork in your itinerary for just a couple nights. These towns are great and charming, but I couldn't stay in one for more than a couple nights, but that's because I'm a bit restless, and I love to see as much as possible with my time.

If this is your line of thinking, I would do: Dublin - Cork - Dingle - Galway - Dublin.
Day 1: arrive in Dublin
Day 2: Drive to Cork
Day 3: Cork or surrounding
Day 4: Do RoK on the way to Dingle
Day 5: Dingle Peninsula
Day 6: Drive to Galway
Day 7: Aran Islands or Connemara
Day 8: drive to Dublin
Day 9: Stay in Dublin
Day 10: leave

This gives you two nights each in each city (except the first stay in Dublin). I didn't love Dublin, the highlights were definitely the driving on the west coast. Also don't base your schedules on weather, more often than not, you will see rain!

The reason for the riggidity in the beginning of the schedule is that we are going to the Dingle Food Festival that weekend. We arrive to Dublin on a Thursday and will have that night free to go wherever (either Galway or Cork we think) but since we don't want to backtrack the time after the food festival is where things get tricky. So we'll be in Dingle Friday and Saturday nights and after that will have Sunday through the next Saturday to explore. That's why I'd like to know which is the better area to spend four days. North of Dingle or South?

Galway is more of a base than a destination. It is a logical base for visiting Inishmore with Dun Aengus, County Mayo, and the Cliffs of Moher with the Burrens. Its pedestrian mostly area feels Irish the way the visitor might expect. This is even more so in Dingle with Irish music flowing out of pubs in the evening.

In that case, would it be possible to arrive in Dublin at 8:45am, drive to Doolin and catch a boat trip to one of the Aran islands on the same day? I'd like to do the CoM walk but that starts early in the morning so I'd rather do that the second day. How long does it realistically take to drive from Dublin to Doolin? Also, can anyone give me an account of how long it will take to deplane, get the rental car, and be on the way?

Cork has Blarney close by, Kinsale and Cobh which I really like. You could also go to Midleton.

Don't forget Wicklow.

Are you driving after a transatlantic flight? Dublin to Doolin is over 3 hours, maybe around 3.5 hours. Too far to go after an overnight flight.

Honestly, I don't really understand why everyone keeps saying that. three and half hours isn't very far to drive and since I'm able to sleep anywhere I fully intend to sleep on the plane. I understand the roads are different and I'll be driving on the opposite side, but it's not as if I'll have been up for 48 hours straight or anything. I have pulled all-nighters before. I really just want to know if it would be possible to do both the CoM walk and the Aran Islands in a day and a half.

CoM (presuming the Cliffs of Moher) and Aran Islands would have to be two separate days. Just look at the boat schedule to any Aran Island. They leave around 10-10:30 and leave the island 16:00-17:00 for a short day trip. Also starting from Doolin to Aran Island is more impacted by the weather than from Rossaveal.

I am not going to tell you whether you can/cannot sleep on the plane. This depends on your plane schedule and your body behavior. For many people, flying to Ireland means flying during the middle of the day. For me, even if there is a plush bed on board, I can't sleep 10am-4pm home city time.

A little observation about driving from my spring trip. I saw two traffic close calls driving from the Cliffs of Moher to Killimer. One guy pulled out of a restaurant on the left ahead of us. He started driving on the right side of the road until he saw traffic coming down his lane. He quickly pulled back to the left side. A little later, a car ahead of us put on the right turn signal to enter a parking lot. He moved to the right lane and continued to drive almost hitting the cycling coming at him. They both put on hard brakes to avoid a collision. You got it? If you drive on the right side of the road, you instinctively move to the right most lane before making a right turn. But in Ireland, that is the oncoming traffic lane!

Thank you for clarifying that! The flight I'm taking is overnight so I shouldn't have any trouble sleeping (if I can sleep with a two year old in my house, I can sleep anywhere), but I now see why a lot of people have issues.

I have been reading and re-reading all I can about experiencing driving on the other side of the road so I appreciate your stories in relation to that. The best part of having the car will be that if I find I need to stop at some point, we can find somewhere else to stay.

<eaw4r8 on Aug 24, 16 at 10:01am
Honestly, I don't really understand why everyone keeps saying that. three and half hours isn't very far to drive and since I'm able to sleep anywhere I fully intend to sleep on the plane.>

It all depends on where you are flying from also. A five hour time difference does not bother me. I fly straight through and arrive really good. If I was a west coaster and had connecting flights then I would worry.

That's very true. We are 6 hours behind, but again, the flight leaves North Carolina at 8pm and arrives in Dublin at 8:45am. Being that it's a 7.5 hr flight, I should have plenty of time to rest up before heading off into Ireland!

While we enjoyed a day in Kinsale (the walking tour was great) and the Titanic Museum in Cobh, Cork was one of the few places we wished we had skipped during our 5 weeks in Ireland. We spent one full day sightseeing there and didn't love anything.
We did like Galway; also spent a day sightseeing there, great vibe.

Since I had relatives leave for America from Cobh it was very interesting to me. A lot of history with that. The Titanic stuff wasn't even there when we went twenty years ago.

abram, why did you wish you had skipped it? What about the area surrounding Cork, would you have preferred to have been in a different part of the country or you just didn't care for the day you spent wandering around Cork itself?