Diving in Dublin

Ingrid · Newbie

Diving in Dublin

China Cat · Veteran Member

Ingrid, I think you should stay IN Dublin to be closer to the sights and restaurants and such. We picked up our car at a downtown location, and didn't find it too terrible to drive out of the city. The airport is on the north side of the city, so if you get the car there, you have to go all the way around Dublin to get to Kilkenny. probably that won't save you much.

We were able to easily drive from Dublin to Kilkenny the first day, and spend several hours at Glendalough on the way.

I'm not sure where you're from. My husband is a Boston driver for 20 years, so driving in Dublin didn't phase him a bit. And he caught on to the left-side driving very quickly (although he has done it before). I'm sure you can do it, it will be fine.

We were amused by all the signs inside the rental car reminding us to DRIVE ON THE LEFT. there must have been 5 or 6 of them. Including one written backwards and upside down on top of the dashboard, so it reflected up in the windshield! you simply cannot forget with all these reminder.

wojazz3 · Guru

Hi Ingrid:

My 1st trip was in November and we had a great time. You'll probably get a good amount of chilly and wet and the days will be pretty short, but you can still have LOTS of fun.

I agree with staying in the city center on your nights in Dublin, whether they be the 1st or last. You can catch the Aircoach bus into the city or take a cab. The Aircoach will get you close to the hotel, obviously the cab will get you to the door. You wouldn't use a car at all during your time in Dublin and have to pay for both rental and possibly (probably) parking. The airport is 30-45 minutes from the city center depending on traffic. It can be worse if the traffic is very bad.

I also agree that you can make Kilkenny on the 1st day, keeping in mind that the further west you live in the States, the worse the jet lag will be. I live near Denver and we have a 7 hour difference, Boston has a 5 hour difference. That's more sunstantioal than you might think. From the west coast would be worse. The roads have improved dramaticaaly since my 1st visit so it's pretty quick. You could get over to Glendalough though that would be a longer day. Be sure to get out of the car frequently to stretch and jump up and down.

Bill

China Cat · Veteran Member

I think I missed that you were thinking of driving to Kilkenny on arrival. I thoiught you meant first day that you got the car. Definitely I would take into account the effects of jet lag. It affects different people very differently. We prefer not to drive at all on the day we arrive. I actually found the shorter flight more difficult than a longer flight to Paris or Milan. Because the 5 hour flight from Boston to Dublin was too short to get any sleep at all.

If you've done it before, and know you deal well with jet lag you might be okay. If you haven't done it, or don't know how you'll feel, then it won't be very enjoyable and I don't think I would try it.

Shawn · Senior Member

I also think you should stay IN Dublin. Getting from the airport to Dublin is pretty easy. We took the Aircoach and had no problem getting to our hotel. And as Bill pointed out, you will not need a car. Dublin is very walkable, and public transit is great. You could easily pick up your car in Dublin, or outside the city depending on what company you have.

I didn't find driving to be all that difficult...I think people like to hype it up a lot when they talk about it. When you get in the driver's side on the right...it's pretty easy to remember that SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT HERE!

Glendalough can be tough find. The roads in this area are very small and not very well marked. To go from Glendalough to Kilkenny is a bit of a task, but we did it. The scenery of the Wicklow gap is totally worth the effort.

fennellkevin · Senior Member

Hi Ingrid,

I vote with the stay-in-town-and-get-your-car-on-the-last-day crowd.

We picked up our rental car on the 3rd afternoon we were in Dublin, parked it in a garage ("carpark" as they're called over there) right behind our hotel (JurysInn Christchurch), and it was there the following morning when we were ready to get on the road.

I had read some of the warnings about driving in Dublin, but really is was a fairly simple matter to get directions out of town from our starting point, and before we knew it we were driving among the beautiful green Wicklow mountains (on our way to Glendalough).

Driving on the left, with the steering wheel on the right side of the car, was something I got used to and comfortable with in stages. It was a little tense at the beginning, but with my wife giving me frequent reports on my "How's my left side?," little-by-little I got more and more comfortable. About two-thirds of the way through the first day, I felt already an 80% reduction of the initial anxiety.

I say this to the driver: get the center-dividing-line of the roadway closer to you than you think it should be. We Americans are used to seeing road-markings on the right of the car from a different perspective. So, at first, it will seem to you that you are already plenty close, when the truth is that you need to get closer if you don't want the person sitting to your left to keep saying "get over!"

But it's really not as bad as it seems once you get a little practice under your belt.

Hope this is useful,

Kevin

Ingrid · Newbie

Thanks for your replies. Just to clarify, our trip is actually starting several days before we arrive in Dublin. My husband's sister lives just outside Brussels so we'll be flying to Brussels first and spending 4 days with family, then flying via AerLingus to Dublin. I hope by then we won't be feeling the affects of jet lag.

As we continue to create our itinerary, we found that there are some really interesting sites in County Meath, North of Dublin. Also, we've found out that Dublin is a lot more expensive than the outlying towns. My husband found a really pretty B&B called Belcamp Hutchinson, I think in Malahide, and he really wants to stay there because it's really beautiful from the internet pictures. It also has great reviews on tripadvisor. So it looks like we will stay there and take a Bus to Meath, and take a bus into town. Not sure where to rent our car yet..still working on that.

One more question, are we crazy to try and do the southern route around to Shannon in 10 days? It seems we will be driving 3-4 hours a day..does that sound pretty accurate?

Thanks again,

Ingrid

yesiree · Guru

Malahide is a great location. It's close to the airport and a very quick and easy DART (train) ride into city centre (just make sure you pay attention to which northbound trains are going to Malahide and which are going to Howth).

Days will be very short in November...even shorter if it's a cloudy day, so I wouldn't recommend covering too much ground. If you want to do something in the south/southwest, be strategic and take the main roads to a certain point and then get on the side roads or coastal roads from there. It would not be a good idea to try driving the coast from say Kilkenny to Waterford to the Ring of Kerry to Shannon.

Driving from Malahide to County Meath is very manageable...as is Malahide to Kilkenny. It's really city centre that can be a challenge...even the highways around Dublin are okay, just keep getting behind vehicles going about the speed you feel comfortable at and follow them until your exit...roundabouts and right turns can be tricky too, but you'll get the hang of those.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ingrid,

Everyone has given you such excellent advice. I agree that Malahide is a good suburban choice for doing Dublin and Meath.

You will probably be driving 3-4 hours each day (or more), depending on your route and where you overnight stops may be. If you can, try to sprinkle in a few multiple-night stays along the way. It will break up the monotony of packing up each day and moving to a new accommodation.

Are you departing from Shannon?

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Michele

Ingrid · Newbie

Thanks again to everyone and Michelle for your replies. It has been wonderful advice.

We are indeed planning to fly out of Shannon.

Here is our list of intended cities/stops. Dublin then onto Kilkenny (with maybe a stop in Glendalough. Next to Waterford. Waterford to Cork. Cork to Killarny/Kerry area. We really wanted to do the Dingle Peninsula drive and the Ring of Kerry but I'm not sure we can do both but a friend tells me that Dingle is a "must do". After Dingle onto Limerick. Limerick to Galway area. I know we want to spend a couple days in Galway area and then to Shannon. All of that in 10 days but I know one of our concerns is trying to pack in too much with limited daylight hours. Our other thought is to fly in and out of Shannon and skip Dublin all together and concentrate on the above itinerary minus Kilkenny/Dublin.

Which of the above areas do you think merits a 2 day stop?

Shawn · Senior Member

Ingrid,

We just had our first trip in July and felt like we should probably make sure we saw Dublin. Dublin is alright, but it is just like any other big city. It is loud, dirty, more expensive, and the people are not as friendly as in the country side. I would've gladly traded some of the time we spent in Dublin for more time in Dingle. We only had a day and a half in Dinge and it felt pretty rushed. I would like to return to Dingle for at least a few days and really soak it all in. Also, if you're already going to Cork...you kind of have the 'big city' thing covered. Though, I did enjoy the history we learned in Dublin, I would enjoyed more time on the west coast.

Shawn

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ingrid,

I'm with Shawn on this one. With only 10 days fly into and out of Shannon. It will simplify your trip and allow you to do and see what you want. There are always things that get cut from any trip when time is limited.

Some places for more than one night: Galway, Killarney or Kenmare, Dingle. Sprinkle them in between the one-night stays.

Michele