How long to drive from Dingle Peninsula to Dublin?
 

Hi all,

After going around in circles forever, we realised that we have a problem flying into and out of Shannon for our Ireland trip due to flight times on Ryan Air.

Our thought is now to fly into Shannon and out of Dublin. We have 4-5 days. The first part of the plan will stay the same - spend a night in Doolin, drive to Dingle, spend a day driving Sleahead drive and another night in Dingle.

From there though, we have to get back to Dublin. Can this be done in a day? Any great places to stop along the way to break up the drive? I've looked at the online route planners which say it will take 6 hours but I know Ireland driving times are grossly underestimated.

Thanks for your help!

Pressed post too quickly!

Should we just skip the Cliffs on this trip and go straight to Dingle? Or skip Dingle and focus on the cliffs? I would love to see both, but just typing this out it seems like an awful lot of time in the car. Thanks!

Dingle to Dublin in a day is no problem. It's not a very interesting way to pass a day.

Adare is a pretty place to stop and stretch your legs.

Just after Limerick you can divert to Killaloe, a small and interesting town at the southern end of Lough Derg, on the Shannon.

The rest of the route to Dublin is ho-hum.

Do NOT skip Dingle! And spend two nights there as planned.

To both save yourselves some backtracking and have a shorter drive to Dublin you could drive straight to Dingle from Shannon, spend two nights, drive to Doolin, spend the night, and then drive to Dublin.

Thanks Tim - I'm not sure why I didn't think of that! That does seem to make more sense.

You're welcome. If the weather is clear as you approach Dingle, drive over Conor Pass. You may not get another chance to see the sweeping views from the top.

Just a question regarding driving over the Connor Pass. Is it clearly marked so you will know you are on the right road? We will be driving from Doolin via Killimer Tarbert Ferry to Dingle. I do not see the Connor Pass on my map.

If your map isn't detailed enough, it won't show the Connor Pass road. The fastest way from Tralee to Dingle is on the N86 which starts out on the north side of the peninsula and crosses to the south side before arriving at Dingle.

Proceed west of Tralee on the N86, passing through Derrymore. When you get to Camp, turn right onto the Connor Pass road which will take you along the north side of the peninsula. The road will turn south at Kilcummin and then take you over the pass to Dingle.

To see this in detail, go to www.viamichelin.com.

TimS, thank you very much for the details.