Dublin to Dingle?
 

Hi there! I am traveling to Ireland from the US and landing in Shannon the first week in June. We will spend 2 nights in Adare, a night in Cabra castle, a night in dublin, two nights in Dingle, and then our last night in Shannon(just to make the flight back in the morning easy). What do you travel veterans think of us driving from Dublin to Dingle and doing so via Wicklow Way? Am I nuts to think that's do able? I noticed most estimates are 6 hours drive. Do you believe that we should just zip from Dublin to Dingle? The Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough look so beautiful. But, I don't want to over do it. Thank you for your advice:)

Leave plenty of time for the Dingle Peninsula - not a huge place but one that should be done at a snail's pace!

And in Dingle go out and meet and greet Fungi the friendy Dolphin who swam into Dingle Bay years ago and stayed around - now a cottage industry of local fishermen take visitors out to swimm and frolick with the friendly dolphin.

http://www.dingledolphin.com/

and the Ring of Kerry is just across the bay plus Killarney and area is so so cool - Blarney Castle near Cork, a really neat Dublin-like city with famous singing pubs.

Wicklow Mountains are neat but IME neater things await in the Dingle area.

If your itinerary is as written it makes poor sense.
Landing Shannon then Adare fair enough but go from there to Dingle rather than a mad dash from there up to Cavan.. You could easily do Dingle as a day trip from Adare assuming you have a rental car and have the 2 days heading from Adare to Cavan via Cahir, Cashel and Kilkenny then Wicklow and Glendalogh. from Cabra drop the car at Dublin Airport and spend time in Dublin before getting the bus/train to Limerick for your last night in Shannon.

Forget any travel times.. you will average 35mph so that 6 hours is closer to 8+ then any stops.

Palenq thank you, I think Dingle looks like our kind of place:) we'll be sure to check out that dolphin. We'll skip Wicklow and Glendalough, I figured I was trying to squeeze too much in.
Tony thank you for your insight. We chose to do Cabra castle because my boyfriend wants to go to the town of Kells and the castle has great prices compared to the other Ireland castles. So the 2 nights in Adare as our base to see Connemara, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren ....then to Kells, stay night in castle, then Dublin mostly Trinity College area and ....it sounds like Wicklow and Glendalough are out of the question. So we'll buzz over from Dublin to Dingle, any recommendations on which way to go? We'll have all day after Dublin to get there and I'd like to make it an enjoyable drive.

Is there any way you can change your return flight from SNN to Dublin? Arrive Shannon, depart Dublin. In this way you could save Cabra Castle and Dublin towards the end of the trip. Your itinerary as it is written really is a stretch.

Adare is not a base for the Connemara, fair enough west Clare and up to Galway but that would be the limit.. The Connemara starts west of Galway and covers a vast area. whilst the Dingle peninsula covers just 40 sq miles the Connemara covers many 100's Unlike Paulen and Rick Steves I have seen enough of Ireland to know Dingle has nothing unique.

As Bette has said you are stretching things with the itinerary as you have it planned.

Sorry but you asked..

Unlike Paulen and Rick Steves I have seen enough of Ireland to know Dingle has nothing unique.>

Well I have not seen much of Ireland in its entirety and what I saw in Dingle I really liked - the isolation and depopulation - I suppose yes much of Ireland seems to be like that but here is a neat little peninsula you can circle around in by car or bus or tour and see the ancient beehives or whatever.

Tony is from the British Isles so I respect his/her take but for the average tourist the remoteness and stark natural beauty of the Dingle's coast is awesome - the West Coast has many awesome places - the Burren, Cliff of Mohair, Connemara, Ring of Kerry, etc - you can't go wrong. Peat still smokes from chimneys and folks really do speak GDaellic as their daily tongue in many places I went, including pubs.

Thank you for all the advice!!! So a day trip to Connemara in the morning lunch in Galway and the Cliffs in the afternoon on the way home to Adare isn't a good plan? Staying in Adare 2 nights was an attempt to see those areas without having to check out and in again, especially after a flight from the states. Flying out of Dublin isn't an option.....should we stay somewhere along the southern coast on our way from Dublin to Dingle? I hoped to stay in Dingle 2 nights before we had back home instead of having to move again. Is the Dublin to Dingle the real stretch in this itinerary or is it all just a mess:) I have a little over a week to move things around if I need to. Thank you again!

Land Shannon head north to Galway rather than South to Adare. Galway can be used as a base for Clare https://goo.gl/UtW24m and Connemara https://goo.gl/UL09QA

Galway to Cabra along the M6/M4 then Dublin (you don't need the rental car in Dublin not sure where you plan to stay but possibly outside the city, Bray is a good option and easy access to Glendalough/Wicklow.

Then 5 hours minimum just driving across from Dublin to Dingle. see the one dolphin eat some american ice cream and listen to some just for tourists music. To be fair the peninsula is worth a look and does have some decent scenery,

Last night in Shannon (Oakwood Arms?)

https://www.google.com/search?q=ding...=1600&bih=1075

Yes indeedy - the Dingle Peninsula has some nice scenes - not the ancient beehive huts scattered along the coastal ring road.

Tony thank you for the scoop. I'll switch our res to Galway for our first two nights. We have the rental and planned to stay at the Schoolhouse in Dublin and just park our car there. So, Dingle sounds like it will just be a one nighter....I booked our last night in Shannon at Oak Wood. After Dublin heading south through Glendalough/ Wicklow, on our way to Dingle(we're going dammit, ha, ha) where should we stay in the south for one night? There wasn't anything in particular that we wanted to see. We're not interested in the Blarney castle or Cashel. What do you think of Cork?

Kilkenny is a popular option either overnight or just a visit maybe Cahir for the Castle and Swiss cottage. The Shortest route from Glendalough to Dingle is back onto the M7 towards Limerick, maybe aim for Adare for the night.

Cork is an option but a little out of the way. I like Blarney and it makes a decent overnight so you can see the castle grounds and the view from the top (no need to snog the rock)outside the 10 till 4 tour bus hours. Cobh also ticks my box, Kinsale is the tourist option.

If you do opt for the Cork area rather than other's then drive the coast road towards Killarney and take the detour over the Healy Pass on the Beara Peninsula.

I loved Cork as much or more than Dublin - cork in many ways is the capital of Irish traditions - and the signing pubs are justly famous - spent a nice night in one when I stayed there.

This is terrific! We will take the drive you suggested Tony. Thank you for that. Palen we'll be sure to stay in Cork, I think my family is from there so this is all working out perfectly. I am even more excited about this trip thanks to all the great advice.

and if going to do Blarney on the way into Cork the local rumors that locas go up at night and relieve themselves on the Blarney Stone are completely unfounded! Try to block that out of your mind if trying to buss the stone for Good Luck as many do, bending over backwards when I was there to do it.

Hmm Mr Tony2phones "I have seen enough of Ireland to know Dingle has nothing unique."
and Blarney Castle is unique ? LOL
In Dingle town you have a world famous dolphin / pubs with brilliant music / high class restaurants / Harry Clarke beautiful Irish stained-glass / famine burial sites / excellent shops like Lisbeth Mulcahy: The Weavers shop etc

and your comment "Then 5 hours minimum just driving across from Dublin to Dingle. see the one dolphin eat some american ice cream and listen to some just for tourists music." is so slanted you forget Dingle town is the gateway to the Slea Head Drive and according to Failte Ireland "The Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula offers one of the most spectacular views on the Irish coastline, wouldn't you agree"

PS the people who make the excellent ice cream are Irish American and a Dingle native also has a ice cream shop

Personally I would leave out Blarney (it is considered by many as a tourist trap) and do Kinsale - beautiful town

My advice is to ignore the comment from Tony2phones. As an American who has visited Ireland five times, I can tell you that no matter how much time you spend in Dingle, it won't be enough. The place is pure magic. It is wild and unforgettable. Music for tourists??? It is almost the only place in all of Ireland where I found authentic music, not the "Riverdance" and "Danny Boy" stuff. In all of my trips to Ireland I've never visited the Blarney castle and I'm proud to say that. I will never get enough of the Dingle Peninsula, though. Great Blasket Island, the Slea Head Drive, Kilmalkedar Monastery, Ventry Beach, Inch Beach, the lesser known Kinard (Cin Aird) Beach where you can find crystals embedded in a cave, the walks, the pubs, horseback riding in the hills around Dingle town, the peaks of Conor Pass...I could go on and on. Bottom line, Dingle is like no other place on earth, and you should spend as much time as you can there. :)

"To be fair the peninsula is worth a look and does have some decent scenery,"

Just ignore me.

hard to ignore you when you make sweeping comments "I have seen enough of Ireland to know Dingle has nothing unique."

Accurate advice is what potential visitors want when they are considering visiting Ireland

We loved Ireland and now years later what I remember the most is Dingle Peninsula, Slea Head Drive & Conor Pass for such beauty! I can still smell the peat fires in the pubs and see all the stone fences.
Dromoland Castle is 16 minutes to Shannon Airport and a great place to stay! http://www.dromoland.ie/?gclid=CjwKE...AVPhoCl07w_wcB

Sneaking in to bookmark!

http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/

If you can only squeeze in one site in Wicklow do this. Just beautiful.

"I have seen enough of Ireland to know Dingle has nothing unique."> well what is unique - everyplace is unique in its own way but to imply that the Dingle Peninsula is ordinary is well hard to believe said not in jest! Others and me above take umbrage at that nonsense.

But PalenQ it seems Blarney Castle is unique for Tony2phones ..
Maybe the guy is a Michael Jackson fan ? :) :)

Years on TA have taught me that Dinglites can't read..

Where did I say Blarney Castle was Unique? I said I like the location. I like Dingle Peninsula but better scenery, better beaches even better Ice Cream can be found elsewhere. And judging by this thread friendlier folk.

Enlighten everyone.. What can you find on Dingle that can't be found elsewhere?

What can you find on Dingle that can't be found elsewhere?>

Fungi the Dolphin!

No one goes to the Dingle for beaches if you are judging it by that - water too cold anyway and wild dolphins running amok! Better ice cream probably elsewhere. It's not just the rugged peninsula but its history of being depopulated during the Potato Famine and ever since sparsely populated.

You've probably left already which is a bummer but one thing I know for sure is you are going to be very sorry you did not spend more time in Kerry & less in those other places. Your route was spread too thin, seeing too many areas in a short trip. I'm from the States but lived in Ireland for 6 yrs, traveled through all of it many times over & you can't do enough in a short trip but should focus on an area. Didn't see this in time, I could have helped you lay out a solid plan and Dingle area is precious. Kerry is phenomenal with tons to see, beyond the tourist traps but even the tourist traps can be great to see. Shannon to Galway & down the coast to Kerry & Cork if the time. Always best to fly into one & out of the other, you will double back for one leg but it's in a plane not a car. I'm sure you will enjoy yourself anyway.

I take Niall O'Dowd's (Niall is the founder of IrishCentral as well as of Irish America Magazine and the Irish Voice .. Niall was awarded an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin for his work on the Irish peace process.. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University journalism school.) opinion over Tony2phones any day

'A day in Dingle is close to heaven for this Irishman'

"Still west of Dingle is Slea Head drive a magical tour around some of the most beautiful scenery in the world immortalized in Ryan's Daughter. "


http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/...-Irishman.html

Let's give Tony2phones a break - he misspoke and later said so. Enough already.

sorry
PalenQ but his smug comment "Years on TA have taught me that Dinglites can't read.."
needed to be replied to...

Yeh but it is IMO pretty good tongue-in-cheek satire I think though out of taste to whatever authentic Dinglites may still be living. Anyway from his posts in general he/she/it seems a pretty good bloke/lass/?.

Satire ?
I thought his comment about spending a night at Blarney Castle was satire :)
"
Like some clarification oh where he would find
better scenery, better beaches even better Ice Cream all in one place
"but better scenery, better beaches even better Ice Cream can be found elsewhere.