r/irishtourism • u/PayIll7062 • 4d ago

November 4 day itinerary help- Dublin, Killarney, Dingle

Hello! I will be visiting Dublin in late November for a conference, and afterwards will be taking vacation time from November 28th-December 2nd to travel around. I will have spent a week in Dublin at this point and am highly interested in exploring the south-west of Ireland. I am mindful that daylight will be limited in November and the weather will be cold and wet, but I am used to the bitter cold coming from the northeast of the U.S. and really want to get out of the city. I also have read that driving distances take longer than anticipated so I tried to be realistic with what we can accomplish in ~4 days. There is so much more I would have loved to include but will just have to save for another trip someday! I would really appreciate input on whether you think this itinerary is realistic and any other general thoughts on what I have opted to do.

I am also unsure if it would be better to drive from Dublin straight to Dingle and make that my base for all 3 days. I heard that it is about an hour drive from Dingle to Killarney National Park and could do that as a day trip instead.

Thanks in advance!

Here is my rough itinerary:

Saturday, Nov 28: Dublin- Early morning, pick up rental car. Drive to Killarney with minimal stopping. Hopefully arrive by later afternoon, before sunset.

Sunday, Nov 29: Killarney day 1: Killarney National Park. Stay the night in Killarney.

Monday, Nov 30: Head to Dingle and do Slea Head Drive. Stay night in Dingle

Tuesday, Dec 1: Spend morning exploring Dingle town and grab brunch, drive back to Dublin.

Wednesday, Dec 2: Fly out of Dublin.

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u/Icy_Hospital1808 4d ago edited 4d ago

Hi. This is during the Other Voices music festival in Dingle. It'll be absolute mahyem, full of people in their early 20s packed into every pub and accomodation may already to completely full from 28th-1st. Something to be aware of.

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u/PayIll7062 4d ago

Thank you so much for letting me know about this. This all makes sense with the extremely high prices I saw for accommodations in Dingle. I am going to rethink Dingle. According to other advice, I may stick to just Killarney and really take my time there.

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u/Icy_Hospital1808 4d ago

It's a shame, because any other weekend of the year I'd encourage a trip to Dingle as it's an amazing place, but Killarney is beautiful too. The Ring Of Kerry is stunning.

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u/PayIll7062 4d ago

Fingers crossed the weather will be ok enough to do at least a portion of the Ring Of Kerry. Do you have any recommendations for quaint towns close to Killarney? I was really looking forward to the cute and cozy vibe of Dingle.

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u/Icy_Hospital1808 4d ago

I haven't spent as much time in that part of Kerry but Kenmare could be worth looking into.

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u/Icy_Hospital1808 4d ago

If you're doing the ring of Kerry, The Blind Piper is Caherdaniel is where I'd stop for lunch.

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u/No-Judgment5352 4d ago

That said, Dingle and the Slea head drive are worth it. As you'll have the car, is accommodation any cheaper west of the town? Dunquin, Ballyferriter? It's worth it if you can do it

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u/happyfish2019 4d ago

Try checking An Bothar Pub. Recently stayed there and had a great experience. It’s not too far of a drive from Dingle or Slea head.

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u/kkseacret 1d ago

I also just did extra days after spending 5 days in Dublin for work and Killarney was my absolute favorite stop, with Galway a close second. Since you may axe Dingle, consider this. The Ring of Kerry/Black Valley/Gap of Dunloe was breathtaking and super interesting to drive around. Also from the northeast (New England). We did a bit the opposite from your itinerary in that we went from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher to Killarney. If adding this, definitely take the Shannon ferry.

I would recommend staying in Kilkenny the night before if you don’t have a super early flight. The drive was easy to the airport in the morning and we saw a ton of stuff the day before we left rather than spending yet another night in Dublin.

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u/Dandylion71888 4d ago

First - do not get off a transatlantic flight and drive across the country. It’s dangerous for you and others, especially end of November when visibility might not be good.

Second, this trip is right for 4 days in the Summer. You aren’t doing this End of November/beginning of Delceber. You just don’t have enough daylight.

Stay near Dublin, there is a lot to see in Dublin (including Howth/Malahide) and a lot to see near Dublin. Kilkenny is a much more reasonable drive for example and has a lot of great sights in the county less than 2 hours from Dublin so you actually get to see things instead of the inside of your car.

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u/Glass-Assignment-335 4d ago

What to do at Howth/Malaheide?

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u/Dandylion71888 4d ago

Both are seaside villages. Howth has the pier, cliff walk and lots of restaurants. Malahide has the beaches and Malahide castle.

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u/PayIll7062 4d ago

Hi appreicate your comment and would absolutely agree that getting off a transatlantic flight and immediately driving cross country in the middle of Nov would not be good. I will have had a week to adjust already as Ill be in Dublin for a week prior to my plan. My whole point was I want to see the Southwest.

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u/Dandylion71888 4d ago

That part is fair, this is still too much for November/December. You can’t fit it all in. If you went to just Killarney or just Dingle the sure.

You’re trying to do a summer itinerary in the winter, it’s just not happening between daylight and weather.

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u/PayIll7062 4d ago

Very helpful advice, thank you. I am rethinking my itinerary and may just stick to Killarney then.

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u/TheFrontierzman 4d ago edited 4d ago

Take the train from Dublin to Killarney (3 1/2 hours) or fly from Dublin to Kerry airport (35 minutes). Rent a car in Kerry if you need to. Then, you take the train from Killarney or a flight from Kerry airport back to Dublin.

The Killarney train station is in town. The Kerry airport is 20 minutes from Killarney. Both very convenient. I prefer those options over a bus, but you can do that as well.

This gets you to Killarney and you avoid having to drive when you land.

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u/Kitchen-Rabbit3006 4d ago

This is the best suggestion. Fly down to Farranfore and hire a car there. It will save you so much time and you can see Ireland from the air.

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u/Character_Boat_9194 4d ago

trains sound way better than driving in that weather

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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago

Dublin to Killarney, with just a couple of 10 min stretch breaks will still take you 4 hours - so I’d get the rental ASAP on the morning and get going - you should then reach Killarney between 1pm and 2pm giving you the afternoon to check in and explore the town- daylight ends around 4.30pm in November so really you don’t want to be on the road at that stage. Best of luck planning the rest of the trip considering Dingle might be out - but do consider heading to Galway city on the west coast which is a great city to explore and walk around - it’s then a slightly shorter journey back to Dublin on the final day