jalibird

In September my husband and I are going on a business trip to Galloway, Ireland and we have just a couple of free days at the end of our trip. We have to decide between Dublin or the Ring of Kerry (would choose to stay around the Kenmare area). Unfortunately, during these free days, the Ryder Cup will be happening around and in Dublin and because there are no rooms and no hotels left, we would have to stay at a hotel halfway between the airport and the city. On the other hand, there would be less hassle getting to the Dublin airport on our way back to London (our gateway back to the U.S.) whereas we would have about 90 km of driving from Kenmare to Cork airport. Still, I hear the Ring of Kerry and surrounding area is stunning and not to be missed.

I hate that I have to choose between the two because we've never been to Ireland. Can anyone out there help??? Your input and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Budman

For the most bang for your buck, stay in Kenmare and avoid Dublin. I would also consider the Dingle Peninsula instead of the Ring of Kerry, but with 2 days, you could possibly do both.

Barbara_in_FL

I agree with Budman! Nothing against Dublin, but if all I had was a couple of days, I would go with the gorgeous scenery. We visited Dublin briefly when we were there several years ago, and I would love to return someday, but I don't regret spending most of our time out in the countryside.

mari5

Neither: I would agree with Budman. The Slea Head Drive out of Dingle is gorgeous and less traveled than the Ring of Kerry (where often one can do the entire LONG ride behind tour busses.) Kenmare area, as well as Dingle is beautiful and you COULD go on back to the Shannon Airport area on the second day(the last night). It's a major airport for U.S.
Dublin can be saved for another trip, and with accommodations the way they are with the Ryder Cup etc.. I'd opt for the western coast of Ireland.

halcyon

We will be returning to Ireland in October for the 7th or 8th time....
I totally agree with the previous comments. Stay on the west coast and fly from Shannon if possible...The Ring of Kerry is beautiful, but I would definitely recommend Dingle as a 1st choice...Even the restaurants are great...Explore the whole pennisula! Hopefully you will have a car rental. September also will be less crowded. If weather permits, take the Conor Pass from Tralee to Dingle..

Where2Travel

I'd also recommend spending your time somewhere in the southwest of Ireland.

Which London airport are you flying home from? There are flights from Shannon and Cork (either of these should be okay for you if you are in the southwest) to LGW but I'm not sure about to LHR. London airport transfers are a time-consuming and expensive hassle and so this is worth thinking about too.

Edmundus

You can fly from Stanstead Airport near London to Kerry Airport by Ryanair (www.ryanair.com). Hire a car there and you can do Killarney National Park,Kenmare,Dingle and perhaps even the Beara Peninsula in a few days.

JuneAnn

While we really enjoyed Dublin, the ring of Dingle was very special so I would choose that...however, driving time between areas can be very lengthy. I would seriously consider your time schedule first and then pick a destination. Areas look pretty close on a map so the roads can be small & narrow thus take more driving time into consideration.

HannahHall

Ring of Kerry or Dingle! Forget Dublin.
You can also stay in Killarney! Great town!
Be sure to visit the Ladies View.
Have a good trip.

Alternative Route
You can visit the area around Clifden-- (not far from Galway) beautiful mountains. This is my favorite area, especially route R335--breath taking!
Have fun on your trip--once you go to Ireland you will want to return--then you can see Dublin.

wojazz3

Hi jalibird:

I can't tell from your original post if you will have much time to see much in the Galway area during the business part of the trip. If not, you could also just stay in the Galway. Just south and west is Co. Clare with the Bureen, Cliffs of Moher, Lough Derg slightly to the east. To the north and west is Connemara which can easily fill a couple of days. You could take the 10 minute flight and spend a night on one of the Aran Islands. You could catch a flight to London from the Galway airport.

If you only have two days, you'll spend at least the 1st half of the 1st day driving to Dingle or Kenmare, though you could go by some pretty nice scenery doing so. If you took the scenic route south along the Clare coast, it would take a full day driving including stops.

Just some thoughts.

Bill