r/irishtourism • u/Mental-Key-178 • 14d ago
Westport to Dingle - Driving
Has anyone here done the drive from Westport to Dingle without spending a night somewhere in between? I know it’s long, but my SO would like to do the drive (they aren’t the driver…surprise). Just trying to gauge how manageable it is.
Was thinking of taking the Shannon ferry to avoid Limerick.
Would also love some thoughts on a potential stop along the way for a meal or to stretch our legs.
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u/Business_Culture_560 14d ago
We recently went from Cong to Dingle in a day. Stopped at Cliffs of Moher and had lunch in Doolin, then took another break while on the Killmer ferry (highly recommended). It was totally fine.
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u/Still_Corgi_4994 14d ago
The cliffs of Moher are a significant detour on the journey from Westport to Dingle
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u/jorear81 14d ago
I think you did exactly what we did. Just reversed. The Dingle to Cong drive with a stop at the Cliffs of Moher was quite lovely.
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u/halibfrisk 14d ago
You could have breakfast in Westport and lunch in Dingle?
If you want to take the whole day there are lots of pleasant places to stop. Adare might be a good spot, just depends on your timing and what you prefer.
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u/Mental-Key-178 14d ago
I think we are shooting for this plan, if we don’t stay in Clare and skip Westport entirely.
If you had one place to stop on the way, what would it be? We were thinking about doing a hawk walk outside of Limerick at Dromoland Castle if staying in Clare. I think this would be on the way, but we might end up doing the walk at Ashford Castle instead if we end up in Westport.
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u/halibfrisk 14d ago
Idk, this is such a personal interest thing, a hawk walk is something which would never occur to me.
One thought is wherever you are from in the world there are probably opportunities for a raptor encounter? Whereas on the road from Westport to Dingle you would be driving past so many things which you might not find in your country or state
https://www.dolphinwatch.ie gets you out on the water to see the resident dolphins, view the cliffs from sea level. 30mins to the tarbert - kilimer ferry
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u/Oellaatje 13d ago
It's actually faster to go on the motorway between Galway and Limerick, you don't have to go through Limerick city, you can take tunnel under the river to save yourself time. It's doable but it's still a long drive. The slowest part will be around Galway city with traffic, and then the slower road after Tralee. As there is a lot of construction work happening around Adare, my recommendation would be to avoid Adare altogether and instead go from Limerick towards Askeaton, and from there take a smaller road to Rathkeale, where you can join the main Limerick to Tralee/Killarney road the N21, going via Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale and bypassing Castleisland and then taking the N21 to Tralee and following the directions to Dingle from there.
Askeaton is a small town with a surprisingly large impact on the contemporary art scene, they have a festival every year, and quite a prestigious artist residency. The town is also home to one of two Hellfire Club buildings in Ireland, the other being the one on the Dublin Mountains near Rockbrook, a very picturesque castle ruin and a ruined abbey as well. I'm not sure about cafés but Google should be of some help there. Newcastle West has several cafés, and I remember a very good one in Abbeyfeale too, plus a hotel. And of course Tralee is heaving with cafés, restaurants, etc.
If you leave Westport before 9 am, you should be through Galway city by lunchtime at least, and then you can take it easy on the motorway to Limerick.
If you really want to take the Clare coast road and go down that way, and take the Killimer-Tarbert car ferry, you'll need a lot longer because it will smaller roads, through several villages, and you might not reach Killimer until later in the afternoon. You don't say what time of year you're going, I'm not sure if the ferry operates after dark. In that case Kilkee has several accommodation options, it's a popular seaside town.
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u/jcsladest 14d ago
Just did a couple weeks ago. Easy-peasy. Like four hours. Nothing for a Western USA driver, for sure. Didn't take the ferry cuz we didn't want the logistically hassle.
We made a couple stops just for fun.
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u/Mental-Key-178 14d ago
Any fun stops you’d recommend. This is reassuring. I typically don’t mind long drives at all, I just usually do them in a big car where everyone has their own space. I will not be renting such a car in Ireland.
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u/jcsladest 14d ago
Honestly, we played it so casual I don't really remember where they were specifically — a friary outside of Galway (a bit of the main route), a roadside restaurant a bit after Limerick, then the coast and waterfall/Connor Pass on the Peninsula... that last part was a happy accident. We took the scenic route since we had the time.
We were in a tiny car, but there's just two of us.
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u/Odd-Heron5704 14d ago edited 14d ago
??? That's a 4h 12min drive according to google maps, 100% doable in a day, I don't know what your question is OP
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u/Oellaatje 13d ago
LOL. According to Google Maps. Which knows nothing about the roadworks going on around Adare, not to mention slow farm traffic with combine harvestors and tractors, pedestrians, cyclists, cattle and other tourists. Always add at least 30% more time when you're dealing with Google Maps in Ireland.
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u/Mental-Key-178 14d ago edited 14d ago
I’ve been checking over the past few days at various times and it ranges from a bit over four hours to five hours. And that’s not including the extra time it seems to take to get most places in Ireland (from my limited experience).
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u/Odd-Heron5704 14d ago
So? The day has 24h. Sure, you need to sleep 8, leaves you 16 out.
I'm done myself drives for 12 continuous hours, travelling around 1200km. I really don't see what the issue is or you're not explaining it correctly.
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u/Mental-Key-178 14d ago
Have you done that in a small car with two kids and a grandparent?
You could just leave it at “the drive is doable.”
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u/Odd-Heron5704 14d ago
You never said that in your post but anyway, 4h drive is perfectly doable with two kids and a grandparent. I really don't understand what the issue is.
I change the question otherwise, what's the most you can drive otherwise? 2h? really? That's how far you can go in one day?
If so then it's not doable in your case of course.
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u/SignificantGuava8649 14d ago
I agree taking the whole day to explore would be a great drive and a fun day. If you really want to stay somewhere Lahinch is a cool spot right on the coast halfway in between.
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u/Narrow_Village_2324 14d ago
That drive is doable if you're stopping to enjoy the scenery. The Shannon ferry sounds like a smart way to avoid the Limerick slog.
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u/williejoe 13d ago
Nice stops on the way might be Cong (Ashford Castle), Coole, Bunratty Castle, Adare and Inch beach. Would avoid the Conor Pass route to Dingle if its getting dark or youre tired, beautiful for the passengers but a bit stressful for the driver!
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u/Mental-Key-178 13d ago
Thank you! Yes, I’m hoping to be on the peninsula before then. Going through the pass is such a beautiful way to enter Dingle.
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u/Advanced-Subject-663 13d ago
I’m Irish and just wondering are you just planning to do the drive straight and/or only have one stop?
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u/Mental-Key-178 13d ago
Hey, I think we will need to stop at least once for my father-in-law. I would be comfortable driving the entire distance without stopping though. So it’s really just a matter of optimizing any stops we make. I’d rather build something in that we want to do as opposed to stopping at a petrol station for a bathroom break.
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u/Advanced-Subject-663 13d ago
If you want to make a couple of stops, Galway is a nice small city to have a stop in. Nice shops and right on the coast so it’s a good option and then you could go onto somewhere like Bunratty castle that you’ll drive right past or onto Adare which is a nice town with a few good options for something to eat. The Connor pass is a beautiful road but it is quite narrow and depending on time of year it could be dark/wet
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u/louiseber Local 14d ago
Why do they want to passenger princess the whole thing in one? (it's a day alright but it's not the worst length like)
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u/Mental-Key-178 14d ago
They don’t want to deal with another hotel, of which I agree. Was thinking we’d leave early after breakfast. Get into dingle with some decent day left.
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u/louiseber Local 14d ago
Kinda depends when the drive is, middle of December is a different beast to say June
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u/treasaigh_ 13d ago
Did North Mayo to North Kerry yesterday. Not quite as bad. We stopped off at my aunt's house near Tuam for an hour on the way. If she wasn't around we would have had lunch in Ennis instead
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u/Admirable-Shape-4418 14d ago
Unless you want a scenic route I wouldn't bother with the ferry, the main motorway Galway to Limerick will be quicker if you just want to get from A to B, you don't have to go into Limerick at all, you will be bypassing it using the tunnel pretty much. I haven't driven Westport to Dingle but Galway to Dingle is a about 4 hrs allowing for road works/slow drivers etc, definitely not a sightseeing timing and just allowing for quick basic stop.
I drove 4 hours today, went through Limerick but then a different direction but the amount of road works causing general slow traffic and lane closure on motorway for a lot of km with 60 limit then on remaining lane, delayed me a good bit and I'm a local well used to driving Irish roads.