Thanks to all who provide great advice on this forum. We are finalizing our March trip and need some advice.

We are planning on spending a couple nights in Galway... one day we will use it a a launching point to the Aran Islands and/or Connemara.

For the next day, we plan to head down to the Burren and Cliffs of Moher.

At that point, our next location would ultimately be Dingle, but it seems to be a long day to get from Galway to the Burren, Cliffs and then over to Dingle.

We originally thought to stay in Doolin for a night; are there any other places that you'd recommend that would prevent us from backtracking up to Galway, only to turn around the next day to go south to Dingle?

We are interested in staying in a castle; are there any castles that we may find in County Clare or Kerry that would make for a good stopping point?

I'd stay in Adare at Adare Manor (looks like a grand castle) and has a lovely village attached to it.

Great personel - very friendly - very helpful and good food at the rest. and a lovely breakfast in the am! Hope you get Nicole as a server - she was lovely! If you've not been to adare = consider staying there!

Adare IS very nice, but I would continue on to Dingle rather than push through to Adare .. distance/time would be pretty similar.

Other options:

http://www.dromoland.ie/ In Newmarket-on-Fergus, just slightly southeast of Ennis.

http://www.ballinalackencastle.com/ The ACTUAL castle is a ruin -- next door, but it IS in Doolin....

Bob

Thanks for the inputs... unfortunately Ballinalacken is closed as we had looked at that as a possible stop.

Bob- So is leaving Galway, stopping at Burren and Cliffs of Moher and making it to Dingle practical for 1 day? We'd want to get to Dingle before dark, so in March that means around 6p,

Yo ucould try Glin castle which is located in the town of Glin in west Limerick. Have stayed there myself (actually proposed to my wife there!) and it is very stately, comfortable and a good stop over on the way south.

http://www.glincastle.com/

Depending on how long you spend exploring, I would say Galway to Dingle is definitely do-able. You might not want to use the Connor Pass approach, though -- particularly if you are running a tad behind schedule!

In early April, 1999, driving a gianormous, Lime-Green VW Caravelle (9 Passenger Van), we departed Killarney about 8:30 or 9:00, drove up to Tarbert and took the ferry across to Killimer then drove up to Doolin. Had a latish lung there, drove out to the Cliffs, then through the Burren. We arrived in Galway about 5 or 5:30 -- just in time to see, "The sun go down on Galway Bay"

Bob

Lung, Bob?

Thanks Pastyp... looks like Glin Castle isn't open for individual reservations this year. I e-mailed them and they said they are focusing on groups and outings...

jaja -- Well, O'Connor's SAID it was Guiness Stew, but I SUPPOSE that it MIGHT have been LUNG --

In any case -- It WAS a tasty LUNCH ...

Bob

The culinary term for lung is lights. Most tourists who visit Ireland consume lights as part of their breakfast.

We're planning the same sort of trip ourselves, for our 2011 June vacation. Galway to Dingle - yes, it will be a long day, but really, it's not bad if you aren't driving before and afterwards

So it sounds like the consensus is that it's a practical (yet full) day to start in Galway, visit the Burren and Cliffs, and then make it to Dingle before dark (around 6pm)?

One of my greatest disappointments during our May trip to Ireland was not getting across to the Aran Islands of Father Ted fame. The weather was rainy and miserable on the mainland and would be so also on Aran. Once there you cannot return until the scheduled ferry ( or flight). We did get to Connemara and saw the wild ponies.
I wrote a longish trip report on our two weeks which covered the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In case you might like to read through it with photos, here is the link:
http://tinyurl.com/mmm492

Sunset is quite late in the west.In March there's a grand stretch in the evenings. On 1st March sun sets about 6:50, about an hour later by the end of March, but also the clocks go one hour forward on March 28 so it will set around 8pm then

dave_261 --

You CAN do the trip in one day.

In June of 2005, six of us rented a house in Killorglin, about 30 minutes North of Killarney and an hour South and East of Dingle. Two of our party drove up to Galway and BACK, one day. They wanted to 'Check out the College there for a possible Semester Abroad. They left about 9 or 9:30, took the Shannon Ferry across to Co. Clare http://www.shannonferries.com/ and drove through the Burren. After abit of walking about, they returned via Limerick and were back "Home" in Kilorglin for supper (about 6 or 6:30).

They DID NOT visit the Cliffs, or dawdle whilst passing through the Burren, and CLEARLY, doing so WILL add some not insignificant time to YOUR trip, but ...

YOU are only traveling ONE-WAY

Bob

If you want to spend 'time' at the cliffs or at the burren - i think that's a long day -- my best suggestion is to start very very early - do the burren (no opening time) then cliffs - they open at 9 or 10 ... then take the ferry if possible - you really don't want to be on those tiny roads going to dingle at dark! and...you'll love inch beach on the way to dingle! it's gorgeous --