Driving Ireland Solo
 

Hi everyone,
This is my first post, the first of many no doubt, as I'm embarking on my first trip overseas from Oz in August. The Ireland leg of my trip will be three days in Dublin and then a hire car for 7 days. Driving on the left hand side of the road won't be a problem, but map reading will. At least I'll only have myself to argue with! I'm wanting to travel to perhaps Galway from Dublin and then down the west coast to the south east and back to Dublin, still in one piece hopefully. Any suggestions? Or would it be preferable to leave Dublin and head south first? I'm hoping to find some lively pubs (hey, I'm an Aussie!), some great scenery and not spend too much time in the car with the limited time I have.

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. What seemed like a dream to me a week ago, is now quickly turning into a reality after reading everyones stories and suggestions

Driving in Ireland by yourself is really not an issue. Remember this is a small, largely rural country with very little traffic. Its quite hard to go far wrong and there's always someone to give info if you do. Just remember that although distances are short average speeds are also low - so don;t count on covering a lot of ground per day.

I find that it helps get directions for my trip from a route planner in advance. I write down the directions...each leg of my drive on a separate sheet of paper. That keeps it pretty easy for me to head in the right direction without the assistance of a navigator.

Just a few pieces of advice for driving in Ireland:
Main, through routes have improved considerably in the last few years, with several new by-passes avoiding former troublespots. Still not a lot of motorway, other than M1 to Dundalk (now complete) and M50 not-quite-complete Dublin orbital ringroad. The rest are a few stretches of by-passes. I wouldn't try to average more than 40 mph. Side roads, on the other hand, are still largely narrow and winding, but little traffic. 30 mph is a reasonable average, except in some hilly parts of Kerry and Cork where 20 mph is more realistic.
Get an up-to-date map. Ordnance Survey Holiday Map (4 parts) is good at 1:250,000. Collins and Michelin do a clear one-sheet map of Ireland.
Road signs are reasonably clear, though dual Gaelic-English names can be confusing at times. Distances are given in kilometres, while speed restriction is in mph.
Diesel is 20% cheaper than petrol, at around 80-85 cents per litre, cheaper in Dublin.
Route west from Dublin to Galway (N6) is good, as is N7 to Kerry, with several bypasses.

I forgot about the rest...I really think the best of Ireland's scenery is on the west coast, so I'd head straight over to Galway and spend as much of my time as possible along the west coast.

The western part of Ireland is the most scenic and you should spend as much time as possible in Counties Galway, Clare, and Kerry. There are awesome sights everywhere but this is where one finds the true Ireland.

3 days in Dublin is plenty and you'll be yearning to hit the road. I have driven solo and it's no big deal. As mentioned, driving speed is reduced but I guarantee you'll slow down anyway and take pics at every bend. I know I did. Some bridges were very narrow, so a compact car would do best.

Pack wet weather gear because you'll encounter rain, mist, etc. August is one of the wettest months but that will not damper the beauty of the land. I didn't see sunshine for my first 3 days but no matter. A wet Ireland is still awesome.

I recommend staying in b&b's instead of hotels. They are cheaper, friendlier, and they come with a great big Irish breakfast. The Irish toursit board has a book loaded with B&b's throughout the country. You can request it and recieve it in a few weeks. It saved my life as I drove around and decided to spend the night somewhere.

Have a pint for me. David

From one Aussie to another:

I lived in Dublin for 3 months and drove around too.

Ireland is tiny compared to Oz. In fact, you will regard the roads there (from one town to another) as more "rural roads" compared to what we are used to at home. Don't get me wrong, the conditions of the roads are OK, it's just the one-laners and the width that really surprised me.

Driving in Ireland is also quite stress-free. I would never do so in Dublin ( no point!) but defianately suggest the hire car for the rest of the Emerald Isle.

Here's a quick tip. Bring some post-it-notes, write short directions on it (after consulting the maps) and stick it on your steering wheel. Much better than trying to read out of the map whilst driving!

Have a GRAND time :):)

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. I will adhere to each one of them. So it's settled...Galway here I come. Travelling at low speeds will obviously take some adjusting to, but so will driving a manual car. If anyone sees a small Toyota kangaroo-hopping out of Dublin you'll know who it is. Great advice about the wet weather gear also. A wet summer is definitely not what I'm used to.

I will be staying in B&Bs along the way (B&B accommodation came with my car rental package) and an investment in a good map and sticky notes is my first priority.

No doubt I'll have a pint for everyone!

Cheers

You should be fine on your own since you are used to left side driving. Remember though, August is Ireland's biggest tourist month and it's a little surprising to see someone say that driving there is stress free. For instance, one of the first things you will see as you cross county lines are how many people have died on the roads and how that number is trending as compared to the previous year. Ireland is really pushing road safety, but it is clearly a concern.

I agree that most of the back roads have fairly low traffic, but if you are touring to see some of the major sites (Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, Ring of Kerry etc) you will pass countless tour buses and countless tourist cars enoute. There are moments that the roads are very narrow and you have to drive on to the "shoulder" to make way for the passing vehicle. The drive up Connor Pass is very narrow and there are a few places that are just too narrow for two vehicles. At that time of year, the road will be fairly crowded. The good news is that buses are not allowed to use the road. The road between Killarney and Kenmare is beautiful, but again very narrow and gets a huge amount of bus traffic. Speaking of which, Killareny will be very crowded in August, mainly with toursists and I would suggest a different town to stay in. The outskirts are beautiful, but the town it self will be packed.

Again, you will be fine driving, but don't be in a rush. If you lean towards the less touristed areas in the SW (Beara, Mizen, Sheepshead etc) you will probably have a little less stress. Like I said, I don't believe driving in Ireland during it's highest tourist season is stress free but it's certainly do-able. Just be careful and try to never be in a hurry.

Bill