Driving from Dublin to Galway--what are good places to stop along the way?

Question

Hi,

We're flying into Dublin and driving from Dublin to Galway--does anyone have recommendations on good places to stop? We're not in too much of a rush, and are open to the idea of staying overnight in a town on the way to Galway. Thanks for any help you can offer!

Answer 1

there isn't an awful lot to see on the road between dublin and galway in terms of scenery or history.

Athlone is the biggest town on the route and has some interesting shopping and historical landmarks and beautiful lough ree. Just a few miles outside Athlone (away from the main route) is the old monstery of Clonmacnoise which is well worth a visit.

The rest of the towns on this route; moate, ballinasloe, loughrea, kinnegad are really run of the mill irish towns with little to offer the tourist in terms of sightseeing.  The west coast; west galway, mayo, donegal, sligo, kerry is where the best scenery is to be found; not the midlands.

Answer 2

If your not in a rush,you could always drive from Dublin to Kerry and see all the wonderful things Kerry has to offer.I would recommend staying in Killarney as it's central to every thing that is worth seeing.If you didn't want to side track and stay any where else any more you could always go to the blarney stone as it's only a little over an hours drive to get there from Killarney or go to west Cork for the day.From Killarney  you could either take the Ferry from Tarbert( Kerry) to Kilkee(Clare) or your could drive and also see all the wonderful things Clare has to offer.I would recommend either staying in Doolin or Lisdoonvara,and from there you could drive straight to Galway.What every way you decide to take to get Galway I hope that you have a great time.

Answer 3

Quote "The drive from Dublin to Galway is 140 miles and will take approximately 3 hours. The N6 goes through Maynooth, Enfield, Kinnegad (take the first exit road off the roundabout just before Kinnegad town), Tyrrellspass, Moate, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Loughrea and Oranmore. Some towns are bypassed, with others the N6 goes through the main street offering a fascinating glimpse of daily life."

I do this journey almost every week and maybe it's just because I'm used to it but I really don't think there is much worth stopping for along the way although there is some nice scenery. Also the journey isn't that long so an over night stop isn't necessary but if you wanted to stay somewhere Athlone is probably the best place, it's about half way, it has good shopping and night life and is one of the bigger towns you'll pass through. Otherwise you could just stop at a B&B that takes your fancy and enjoy a bit of rural Ireland. Hope that helps!! Oh and by the way if you haven't been Galway is an amazing city!!!