How far is Dublin from Cork? It will be our first trip to Ireland in April and we were told it is about an 8 hour drive? We will be in Ireland for 7 days. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm not sure about the drive time, but if you will be in Ireland for a week, I would say hit the city for a day or two and then get out of there. You'll find the real Ireland in the country. I'm a big fan of the Dingle Penninsula. SUPER!

depends what part of Cork - the city, East Cork, West Cork? From Dublin city to Cork city it takes about 3 and a half hours to drive.

I'd advise taking the train from Dublin to Cork - the express does it in three hours - and then picking up your hired car in Cork city so that you can take off and explore west Cork and Kerry. It's much more relaxing than driving, plus you get a chance to see some of the countryside. You can find a train timetable at www.irishrail.ie . Try to avoid taking the train on a Friday evening - very crowded.

Driving from Dublin to Cork will take about four hours on a good day, but with bad traffic it could take up to five (six if you stop for lunch) - and you might find some of the roads a bit daunting - especially getting on to the M50 ring road and (Irish readers will know all about this) the dreaded Red Cow roundabout. Remember you're on holiday - do you really need that kind of hassle?

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I'll skip Dublin for this trip. If I had more time I would go to Dublin.

I would not skip Dublin. You really should see it for at least a day or two.

Dublin is a very popular city for tourists and there are lots of things to do there.Go to www.ireland.ie or the main tourist office in Suffolk St for details. There is also a tourist office in Dublin Airport.In a recent article in Business Traveller it pointed out the number of bednights spent in hotels in various European citiesondon 115 million,Paris 31,Dublin 20,Rome 14,Berlin 11,Madrid 10,Barcelona 9,Vienna 8,Amsterdam 7, and Munich 8.