Am doing Ireland in late February and have 2 questions. I'm landing in Shannan on a Sat and want to start by doing the Dingle Peninsula. First, is a drive to Dingle reasonable time-wise after just getting off the plane? And second, does the town of Dingle have a good selection of B&B's/entertainment in the off-season? Or would it be better to stay in a larger town like Killarney and drive to Dingle? Thanks.

ggroppi,
I will be in Dingle in February too. The drive is about 2.5 hours from the airport. Not bad. I've driven it before and made it just fine. Our B&B wasn't ready, so we went to town for lunch. After that I crashed for a couple of hours.
Lot's of good B&B's. Emlagh Lodge is open. Greenmount, Captain's House and Emlagh House are not. Benner's is a good hotel in town. I was given a good rate at both Benner's and Emlagh House. @$38.00 per night per person.

Good pubs are everywhere. O'Flaherty's, Murphy's, Droichead Beag, McCarthy's.

I love Dingle! So much to see and it's so beautiful.

Hope this helps!

ZJ

Thought I'd better clarify, that my arrival dates in February are during the first week of the month. I was told that Greenmount House was renovating during that time, and Emlagh House & Captains House were closed in February.

"...is a drive to Dingle reasonable time-wise after just getting off the plane?"

Assuming you are not talking about flying into Shannon from the UK, I would not drive anywhere without a good night's sleep to recover from jet lag. Even if you have done it before, you need to be alert while getting used to driving on the other side of the road.

I would say the drive is doable, just make lots of stops to get out of the car. In our 3 trips into Shannon over the years, we have always driven a couple of hours from the airport without any problems.

I went to Ireland for my honeymoon in 2002 (you can see our pics at http://dmperez.com/travel/ireland). We landed at Dublin and immediately got our car and headed to Kilkenny. I say the drive from Shannon to Dingle is doable, especially during broad daylight. There are lots of great B&Bs in Dingle town, and if anything, just head up the road into the peninsula and look for the Ballymore House (http://www.ballymorehouse.com), which is where we stayed. It's out of the town, but the service was top notch.

I'm also traveling to Ireland in February -- does anyone have suggested itinerary for 7 days and 6 nights. We fly in and out of Shannon. Thanks!

We are in Dingle in February also, want to share a pint?

Wrong month, we will be in Dingle in January!

Lucy,
We're doing 7 nights, but this should help.....
Day 1 Fly into Shannon, drive to Galway

Day 2 Connemara tour another night in Galway

Day 3 Drive to Doolin, tour Burren & Cliffs of Moher, staying 1 night.

Days 4,5 & 6 Dingle, with Slea Head Drive, Connor Pass. My favorite!

Day 7 Drive to Bunratty & stay 1 night near Shannon airport.

Hope this helps!

ttt

ggroppi, We were just in Dingle a few weeks ago. We landed in Shannon after traveling from Denver and made it okay in 2 1/2 hours the same day. We stayed in the Dingle Marina Lodge in our own apartment, 90Euro a night for 3 people and it was very nice, right across from the Marina. Also the cill bhreac house and the Walsh Townhouse are very nice and priced resonable. Honestly Dingle is such a wonderful place it would be a shame not to stay at least one night there in my opinion.