Driving tour of Western Ireland - Suggestions?
 

Going in September...flying into shannon on a friday morning, flying out of dublin on Tuesday. We were thinking galway for sure but that it so far. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

We just got back and Slea Head Drive was one of the highlights of our trip. Also the ferry to Innishmore from Doolin is lots of fun.

So you have four nights from what you saying. If you are flying in from the States on Friday, you will probably be pretty tired. You could go to Galway that day or perhaps go west to the coast to catch the Cliffs and Burren. My suggestion is not to to the Cliffs and then head on to Galway, but some can handle jet lag better than others. There are plenty of places to stop in between to get out and stretch.

If you wanted to spend a day in Galway city, that would probably be Saturday if you went to see the Cliffs on Friday. I think going to Dingle, and seeing Galway and going to Dublin is too much for four days. You could opt for a day trip to the Aran Islands (you can book those from Galway) and see Galway again on Saturday night. You could also do a day tour of Connemara - a figure 8 route that takes you out to Clifden and back - a full day.

Sunday would be the day to drive to Dublin. Figure it's about 3-4 hours drive The trip is getting quicker as more bypasses exist. In between there are interesting places to stop. You could go to Clonmacnoise which is a fascinating early Christian settlement on the Shannon. Going there would lengthen the drive considerably. Athlone has an interesting castle. The old Lockes distillery in Kilbeggan is along the way though whiskey is no longer distilled there. Trim castle to the NW of Dublin is an option along the way. You certainly couldn't do all of these, maybe two in between.

Monday would be Dublin. A hop on hop off tour is a good way to get an overview. The Guinness Storehouse is a popular stop, but be aware, you won't see any of the brewery, just a museum to Guinness. The Graivity Bar at the top has a nice view of Dublin. It's E14 and inludes a pint ... that's apretty expensive pint. Some people love the location though. If you get your ticket online, it's 12.60.

Kilmainham Gaol is a moving experience. Dublin has a number of great old churches, St. Patrick's, Christchurch and St. Michan's with it's naturally mummified remains in the basement. Trinity College and the book of Kells is interesting and of course lots and lots of pubs.

That should be a start. You don't have a lot of time and driving in Ireland is much slower than the States. Hope this helps.

Bill

Thanks very much for the comments. We definitely dont plan on doing it all...just getting what we can out of the time we have. Good note on the driving being slower than we might expect...we'll definitely factor that in.

If nothing else, just be very careful on that 1st day with fatigue. I really can sneak up on you. Oh yeah, have a blast!

Bill

We did a similar (Fri.-Tue.) trip Feb. of last year; but it was into Shannon and home from Shannon. Checked into Rose Cottage B&B in Ennis 9:30 AM Fri., took a nap and hit the City at lunch time: Didn't drive: used BusEireann!

Sat., we daytripped to Galway and did some shopping & touring (Galway double decker bus tour). We went back to Ennis for supper & overnight.

Sun., after 11:00 AM Mass we went down to the Queens Hotel for Carvery Lunch, after which we went next door to Cruises Restaurant & Pub where a pick up Trad Irish Music session was just getting underway. We stayed there about 3-hours.

Mon., we daytripped to Lahinch on Bus Eireann (via Ennistymon): found some great bargains at the ITB Shop at the top of the main drag.

Tue., Carmel Daniels fixed us an early Irish breakfast so we could get the 8:30 AM Bus to Shannon.

Don't make it too late in Sep! There's a Matchmaking Festival centered in Lisdoonvarna that peaks around the first of October.

Thanks again. I read about the matchmaking festival...is that worth a trip? Sounds pretty fun...definitely unique.