Hi! We are planning our trip to Ireland and we are going to rent a car and drive to different places. Can anyone tell me how long it takes to drive from Dublin to Galway? Thanks.

Can't help with the driving; I took the train, & it was 3 hours.

http://aaroadwatch.ie says 2 hours 43 minutes. It's 135.4 miles so at our usual 35 mph it would be more like 4 hours. And that doesn't allow for stopping for food, photos, petrol, etc.

The M4/M6 motorway system is due for completion sometime in 2010. The programme has been generally opening ahead of time for the past year or so

This will bring the journey time between the two cities down to a bit over 2 hrs of (IMHO) pretty dull countryside. There'll be no practical reason for stopping to eat or refuel, or any aesthetic reason to stop and admire the scenery.

Sometime in 2010, the "you can't average more than 35 mph" rule in Ireland will - till the traffic builds up and overwhelms the system - become ancient history in major Irish city-to-city journeys

It takes three hours to travel from the western edge of Dublin to the outskirts of Galway. That's without pushing too hard.

You need to add something for travel within the cities.

I drove the opposite direction in early Oct. There are a few road construction areas and I would say it's closer to 4 hours.

The motorway from Dublin to Galway will be opening in Dec 09, with alas, a toll charge of approx $8. If you are a tourist you might prefer to drive along the old road and see some of the towns,such a Kilbeggan,which has a distillery tour.

Or stop off in Kildare, which has the National Stud, the Japanese Gardens, and a sacred well to St. Brigid...

While Kildare is worth a stop it is on the N7, the Dublin Limerick road. To Galway you want the N4/N6. From Kildare, it would be B roads to get to the N6.

Ah, that's right - I was a little off Sorry!

How about Clonmacnoise then?