Ireland vacation without driving?

Nancy · Member

Ireland vacation without driving?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Nancy,

Welcome to my forum. What time of year will you be in Ireland? Tours can be cut way back in off-season. If you are going April - Sept you should be fine.

Some places to stay from which you can get day tours:

Dublin
Galway
Killarney
Limerick

For your more rural sightseeing Killarney would be a good base. You can find links to Irish bus and rail on my TRANSPORT PAGE.

Michele

tony2phones · Guru

From Galway you can get out onto the Burren and Connamara by public transport or tour bus's. Aran Islands are also accessible.

Nancy · Member

It looks like it will be august. How does this sound- three nights in Dublin including one day trip (Wicklow Mountains, or other sugestion?), then train or bus to Galway for four nights including one or two day trips (Connemara or other ) , then bus or train to Limmerick for two nights (maybe three?) with a possible stay overnight at Adare or other suggestion?). I think this is do-able without a car! Also could you comment on these possible accomodations:

Dublin - Trinity Lodge or Stauntons,
Galway - Marless House
Limmerick - clueless, can you suggest? Is it worth it to stay overnight in Adare?

Thank you!!!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Nancy,

The day tours from Galway and Limerick cover many of the same attractions. You might be better off busing from Galway to Killarney to see some of the SW instead and skipping Limerick. From Killarney you can get the train back to Dublin.

A day trip to Wicklow to see Powerscourt and Glendalough is what I would recommend.

I would do 3 nights in each place instead of 4 in Galway. That's an even split.

I assume your last night would then be in Dublin? Or are you departing from Shannon? You never mentioned which one.

Trinity Lodge and Saunton's are okay. Have you checked Brooks or the O'Callaghan hotels? Marless is fine but a long walk to the city. Instead check out Park House Hotel. It has a great location and offers 3-night specials.

Michele

Nancy · Member

Thanks for the hotel suggestions- I think we're going with the O'Callaghan Davenport in Dublin and the Park House Hotel in Galway. If we then go to Killarney for two days, we would have to either go back to Dublin for the last night, or Limerick for the last night and fly out of Shannon. Do you have a reccommendation as to which would be best? My original idea was that if we did the last three days in Limerick, we wouldn't need to do any last day traveling to be near an airport. Is Adare worth an overnight visit? Thanks so much for your feedback!

tony2phones · Guru

Limerick wouldn't be my Idea for a holiday location. Fine to pass through heading some where but not as a base. Depending on the time of your departure flight you could consider Ennis, Bunratty or Adare for Shannon.

eileenalana · Veteran Member

Yikes!! Marless House is just "fine"?? It looks fabulous online and we booked per your recommendation. Is there nothing close by for pubs/dinner/entertainment?? Just how far would the walk to the city be?? Remember.... I have a chauffeured coach not a car!! Sorry. Just asking!!!!!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Eileen,

Marles House is indeed fine and it is a very nice, comfortabel B&B. The host Mary is great and breakfast is excellent. I would estimate a 20-30 minute walk into the city on sidewalks. Just depends on how fast you walk. Marless never disappoints. However, I usually recommend Park House Hotel for those who want to be right in the thick of things. Marless is in Salthill, which is a 'burb of Galway and farther out from the city. You can catch a bus if you don't want a walk. Mary will be able to assist you with that.

As they say "different strokes for different folks". My recommendations are all good but I tailor my responses to exactly what people are looking for.

Michele

Michele Erdvig · Host

Nancy,

Limerick is not Ireland's nicest city. Adare is a pretty village but my recommendations are taking into consideration the fact that you will not have a car. That is paramount in my answers to you. With no car you are greatly hampered by where you can go.

By staying in Killarney you can visit some of Ireland's best scenery. If it were me (and since you need a night in either the Shannon or Dublin airport areas) I would do 3 nights in Dublin, 2 nights in Galway, 3 in Killarney and 1 in Dublin. From Killarney you can do day tours to Dingle, Gap of Dunloe and Ring of Kerry. Plus you have local access to Killarney National Park, Muckross House, Gardens & Traditional Farms, Ross Castle.

If you decide to stay in Killarney, you can take a train back to Dublin. Very convenient. On the other hand, going from Killarney to the Shannon area would mean taking a bus. Less convenient.

If you had a car it would be an entirely different sort of trip.

Michele

eileenalana · Veteran Member

Thank you, Michele. I meant no harm. Hope you didn't feel that way!! I LOVE this site and log in every day to see what is new!! You -- and your fellow bloggers -- are awesome!! I have been helped so very much by all the suggestions. My apologies if I offended anyone. Marless House for two nights it is for us!!! 52 days and counting.... can't wait!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Eileen,

No offense taken. wink

I know you will enjoy Marless House. Tell Mary I sent you.

Michele

eileenalana · Veteran Member

WHEW!!! Thanks, I feel better!! I certainly will let Mary know!!

EngagingKate · Senior Member

Nancy,

I'm new to responding on this forum (though I will admit I've been lurking for a good long while now wink

). Of course, you probably don't need me to tell you this, but I thought I'd go ahead and throw in my two-cents worth, based on our travels in Ireland.

I love the advice that Michele is giving you about basing in Killarney for 2 or 3 nights. There is so much to see from there! Of course, I'm a little biased, because that's one of our favorite areas of Ireland. The day trips that she has mentioned (Dingle, Gap of Dunloe - we REALLY love this, especially if you can walk it, and Ring of Kerry) would be exactly the ones I would suggest for you. If you're not on a guided tour of Ireland and don't want to drive, this is a great way to see some really gorgeous parts of the country.

Someone else mentioned (I'm sorry, now that I'm in answering mode, I cannot see who mentioned it...) that you can get day trips out of Galway as well, and some of those are also fabulous. The trip out to see the Connemara region, including Kylemore Abbey, is a really good one. You can also catch a bus in Eyre Square or Salthill to go to the ferry dock at Rossaveal and visit the Aran Islands (there are also flights out to the islands, if you prefer that mode of transport). We love Galway City itself as well. It has a very lively downtown area with great restaurants and traditional music sessions regularly (especially in August, when you said you'll be there).

I just wanted to encourage you to go with public transport if you're not comfortable hiring a car and driving yourself. Just be patient, as the trains and buses are always as prompt as we'd like them to be... I'm guessing you'll have a wonderful holiday in the end. How bad can it be? You'll be in Ireland!!!

Enjoy your trip! Slan,

Kathy Nelson

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EngagingKate · Senior Member

I actually misspoke there on my last post... hmm

I meant to say that public transport in Ireland is *not* always as prompt as we might like it to be!

Oops.

Kathy

Michele Erdvig · Host

Kathy,

Welcome from being a "lurker" to a forum member. And thanks for the additional info for Nancy.

Michele

Nancy · Member

Thanks for all the comments!! We haven't the stops yet but to change topic for a moment, I'm very confused by the train rail ticket options! There are four of us, two adults and two more, age 19 and 16. and I'm trying to figure if we'd need standard or premier tickets, and whether we would benefit from a special pass, i've seen so many listed, Irish Explorer Rail & Bus Pass, Eurail Youth Pass (I know that's under 26) , Eurail Flexipass etc. I have a feeling you need to be taking the train alot to benefit from these, but if you could clear this up for me or direct me to a clear website I'd appreciate it. I've already visited irishrail.com and other sites as well as read several gulde books. The train connections we are mostly considering are:

Dublin to Killkenny
Dublin to Galway
Galway to Limerick (taking your advice not to stay in Limerick but we may end in Adare and fly out of Shannon )

The train rides are all two or two and a half hours. And if we don't benefit from those special passes, is it best to buy tickets online in advance? I've read that you can often end up standing but I don't know if this is just a local commuting problem, or whether it applies to the longer rides I'm interested in. (Do I sound confused to you?) Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you Michele and friends!! - Nancy

Michele Erdvig · Host

Nancy,

Definitely book your train tickets online even if only a day in advance. You will get a discount by doing so. Since you have settled on Kilkenny, Galway and Limerick you will be able to take the train all the way. With the four of you, taking a taxi from the Limerick train station to Adare would probably be best.

You will need to crunch the numbers to see what will work out best for your trip. As for standing room only, that might occur during special events or rush hours. This might be helpful for explaining passes: http://www.railusers.ie/passenger_info/ticketing.php#explorer
http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/dart/customer_service/ticket_info.asp

Kilkenny is a great little city. How many days will you have there? Be sure to get a walking tour from the tourist office. You can easily spend a day seeing everything. It will be worth hiring a driver for a day to see some of the surrounding countryside such as Jerpoint Abbey, Kells Priory and the scenic R700 south to Inistioge and Woodstock Gardens.

Michele