How long does it take to drive around Ireland?

Question

My husband and I are traveling to Ireland this summer. I am trying to figure out how long it will take to drive around Ireland, starting and ending in Dublin.

Answer 1

Just a wee bit more time then it tis to fly, Lassie. Have fun

Answer 2

I used a three wood and it took 4 months to drive around..Had a great time, but ended up at 489 over par.  lots of 19th holes too..

Answer 3

When I went, I did not go to Northern Ireland. To go from Shannon to Dublin it took five hours then we went down to Kerry which was another 4-5 hours. So you can drive all the way across the country or up and down in less than a day. My friend's parents went for a whole month  and did hte same thing. I only went for a week.

Answer 4

I recently did a trip similar to what you are describing.  Started in Dublin, staying Thursday through Sunday.  Left Sunday afternoon and worked our way to the west coast (Connemara, Dingle, Galway, Kerry Co. etc), down through Cork to Waterford, Wexford and back up to Dublin...did it all in 16 total days.  

We saw quite a bit, took our time (stopping often) and stopped every night  around 5 to find a B&B, some dinner and of course a nice pub or two for a good craic.  We had no reservations anywhere or a specific itinerary, we just knew places we wanted to see and visit.  I would do the trip all over again in a second; am I'm hoping to soon.  I wouldn't try to do the driving from Dublin to Dublin (12 days) in anything less than 9...too much to see and do.

The best advice I can give is to keep in mind the maps are very deceiving.  It may say that your next stop is only 45km away and logic would say that would be about a 30 minute drive or less.  That 45km may take longer than an hour depending upon what part of the country you are in and how good the road conditions are.  The roads are wide open, but quite windy and bumpy...I LOVED DRIVING!!!

Enjoy your trip!

Answer 5

If you are planning to drive mainly around the coast i.e. going from Dublin to Belfast to Derry to Sligo to Westport to Galway to Limerick to Kerry to Cork to Waterford to Wicklow to Dublin would, I estimate, take about 20 hours driving - most of the legs mentioned would take between 1 and 2 hours.  However if you are going into centres you could add another 15 to 30 minutes.

Of course this suggests you miss many other places on the coast such as the coasts of Donegal and Clare and the whole of the midlands.

Ultimately I would suggest spend 1 night in Dublin, 1 in Belfast, 1 in Donegal, 1 in Westport, 1 in Galway, 1 in Kerry/Cork (or 2 if the weather is good!) and 1 in Wicklow if you have a week to spend.

Enjoy!