My Husband and I will be flying into Shannon and I'd like to head straight to Kenmare. Is that too much of a first day drive? We are pretty energetic.

Thanks

We're doing it on Friday, with travel on Dingle Pn along the way. I think it'll be extremely aggressive esp after the flight, but we're young and can hopefully manage it...just stop for breaks more often.
If you're going directly to kenmare, it might not be as bad as what we're doing.
But I think most people recommend short trips and less driving from Shannon after the flight. Good luck and get some sleep on the plane!

Not at all -- it's about 3 hours. Here's a website to help you plan your route -- it takes you thru Limerick, Adare, and Killarney. Stop at Lady's View for coffee/snack and a nice view.

http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/routes/

It's about three hours, give or take. On the left, of course. Mind the jet lag, and stop if you need to, to avoid any accidents. Perhaps Adare would be a nice hour or two stop along the way? (not a destination to my eye, but ok for a stretch and a look)

amy, that is aggressive. I did a lot of driving my first day and started to get tired at about 2pm -- took a 2-hour nap and shower, and was good to go till about 10pm. Good luck.

It's at least a 3 hour drive without going around the Ring of Kerry but if you can sleep on the plane, I would go for it. Since you'll be closer to the Cliffs of Moher you could do that as an alternate

Hi gharrell:

viamichelin puts it at 2:47, so I would add at least 30 minutes of driving time to that provided you don't get lost at any point. The road around Limerick is pretty easy to follow in that direction and Killarney isn't too bad.

One thing to keep in mind is that, if you live on the east coast, the exhaustion is not as bad as it would be coming from the west coast. We fly from Colorado, which is a 7 hour difference and we can feel it when we arrive.

I suggest a couple of things. As Clifton says, Adare would be a nice stop, but should not be your only stop. The hardest part of the drive is Killarney to Kenmare which is narrow and full of bends. Additionally, depending on when you get there, you are likely to meet a bunch of tour buses coming in the opposite direction. You want to be very alert during that section. I would stop in Killarney for a caffeine break and a jog around the car or two.

Have fun!

Bill

gharrell, It is a bit far on your first day. But if you do it I would suggest taking the N22 Cork Road from Killarney instead of the N71 through the mountains (N71 is torn up with roadworks at the moment). The N22 is a highway with a straight fast shot to Poulgorm Bridge. Then take the R569 to Kenmare. This road is smaller and more country but you will not have much traffic on it. This is a much quicker route from Killarney to Kenmare.