Can you tour Ireland without a car?

Yes. Use the train for the long city-to-city legs (Dublin to Killarney, Galway to Dublin) and a local private driver for the Ring of Kerry, the Kerry to Clare transfer, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Dublin and Galway are walkable.

Is there first class on Irish trains?

On some routes. Irish Rail sells First Class on Mark IV trains between Dublin Heuston and Cork, and Premier Class on direct ICR trains between Heuston and Cork or Tralee, which stop at Killarney. Premier Class shows as First Class in the journey planner. The Dublin to Galway line has no first-class coach.

Who are the best private drivers in Ireland?

It depends on the region. For a whole week from Dublin, Irish Luxury Tours has 155 five-star Tripadvisor reviews. In Kerry, The Killarney Touring Co. (5.0 from 104 reviews). In Clare and Shannon, Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service. In Galway and Connemara, Connemara Chauffeurs. Figures checked 30 September 2026.

How much does a private driver in Ireland cost?

Drivers quote per vehicle per day, and rates vary with vehicle, season and whether the driver stays overnight with you. Public listings for private one-day tours start in the high hundreds of dollars per vehicle. Ask every company for a written quote that includes the driver's accommodation.

Is driving in Ireland hard for Americans?

Motorways are easy. The problem is the rural roads that make Ireland beautiful: narrow, walled, on the left, often with a coach coming the other way. After a transatlantic flight, most visitors are happier being driven.

Should I fly home from Shannon or Dublin?

Either works on this route. Dublin by train from Galway is simple for an afternoon flight. Shannon is about an hour from Galway and fifteen minutes from Dromoland, and has US preclearance, so ask your Clare driver for the transfer if your flight suits.

Ladies View over the lakes of Killarney National Park

Itinerary · No car needed

Ireland Without a Car

A seven-night luxury itinerary by first-class train and private driver.

Dublin on foot, the train to Kerry, a local driver for the Ring and the Cliffs of Moher, a castle in Clare and a last night in Galway. You never drive on the left.

Begin the route Who to call in each region

Ladies View, Killarney National Park. Photograph: Karie Kuiper / Wikimedia Commons

The short answer

Yes, and it is the better way to do it. Spend two nights at The Merrion in Dublin on foot, take the train from Heuston to Killarney (direct Tralee trains carry Premier Class), and hire a local private driver for the Ring of Kerry. A chauffeur then carries you through Adare to Dromoland Castle for two nights and the Cliffs of Moher, and on to Galway for a final night before the train back to Dublin. Seven nights, four hotels, no left-hand driving.

Nights: 7, four hotels
By train: Dublin to Killarney, Galway to Dublin
By private driver: Kerry, Clare, the west
Book first: Drivers, then hotels
Driver day rate: Quoted per vehicle; ask
Best months: May, June, September

Americans who do not want to drive on the left are right. The roads that make Ireland beautiful, the peninsulas, the boreens, the coast roads through Clare, are the ones that punish a tired driver in an unfamiliar car. The answer is not a coach. It is a simple split: trains where Ireland's railway is good, and a local private driver where it is not.

The railway is good between cities. It is useless on the coast. So this route takes the train on the two long legs, Dublin to Kerry and Galway back to Dublin, and puts you in a Mercedes with a local driver for everything in between. Each region has a different company to call, and we name them below.

Rail classes and operator reviews checked on 30 September 2026 against Irish Rail and each company's public listing. We have no commercial relationship with the drivers named here.

A note from Deborah. Read her editorial perspective

The route

Two trains, one driver, no rental car

Train Private driver

Days One and Two · By private driver
Dublin Airport to The Merrion
About 30 minutes, longer at rush hour
Day Three · By train
Dublin Heuston to Killarney
Roughly three to three and a half hours
Day Four · By private driver
Killarney to Killarney, around the Iveragh Peninsula
A full day, seven to nine hours
Day Five · By private driver
Killarney to Dromoland Castle
About two hours of driving, spread across the day
Day Six · By private driver
Dromoland to Dromoland, via the coast
A full day, about six to eight hours
Day Seven · By private driver
Dromoland to Glenlo Abbey, Galway
About an hour, longer via the coast at Kinvara
Day Eight · By train
Galway Ceannt to Dublin Heuston
About two and a half hours

Days One and Two

Dublin, entirely on foot

Dublin

You will not need a car at any point in Dublin, and you would regret having one. Land, take a car to the hotel, and walk.

By private driver · Dublin Airport to The Merrion

About 30 minutes, longer at rush hour

Ask the hotel to arrange a car to meet you in arrivals, or book the transfer from your chauffeur company, so the week begins with the same people who will drive you west.

Morning
Georgian Dublin
Merrion Square, the National Gallery (the permanent collection is free), and St Stephen's Green, all within ten minutes of the hotel.
Afternoon
Trinity and the old city
Book the first timed Book of Kells Experience slot online, then walk west to St Patrick's Cathedral. On a fine day, take the DART to Howth for the cliff path instead.
Our three-day Dublin itinerary, hour by hour
Evening
Two dinners worth the flight
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud both hold two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. Guilbaud is inside The Merrion.
Dublin's ten best restaurants

Where you sleep

The Merrion, 2 nights

Our preferred Dublin hotel, and the one we have stayed in.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Collecting a rental car at the airport for the Dublin nights. You will pay to park it and never use it.

Day Three

The train to Kerry

Dublin to Killarney

The best long journey in Irish rail. Three hours or so of midlands farmland turning, near the end, into mountains.

Rowing boats moored near Ross Castle on Lough Leane, Killarney — Ross Castle, Lough Leane. Photograph: Giorgio Galeotti / Wikimedia Commons

By train · Dublin Heuston to Killarney

Roughly three to three and a half hours

Take a direct Heuston to Tralee train, which stops at Killarney and carries a Premier Class coach (listed as First Class in the Irish Rail journey planner). Other services change at Mallow. Book on irishrail.ie and choose your seat.

Morning
A taxi to Heuston
Ten to fifteen minutes from Merrion Street. Arrive twenty minutes before departure; the platforms are simple.
Afternoon
Killarney station to the lake
Your Kerry driver meets you on the platform. Drop the bags, then a gentle afternoon at Ross Castle and the lakeshore, ten minutes away.
Evening
Dinner at the hotel
After a travel day, eat where you sleep. Tomorrow is the long day.

Who to call

The Killarney Touring Co.

Book the station pickup and tomorrow's Ring of Kerry together, so one driver has both.

5.0 on Tripadvisor from 104 reviews, Travellers' Choice 2026.

Contact The Killarney Touring Co.Tripadvisor reviews

Where you sleep

The Europe Hotel & Resort, 2 nights

On the lake, ten minutes from the station, and the easiest Kerry base without a car.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Booking a train that changes at Mallow without checking for a direct Tralee service the same morning. The journey planner shows which are direct.

Day Four

The Ring of Kerry, with someone else driving

Kerry

This is the day that decides whether people are glad they did not rent a car. The Ring is narrow, busy with coaches, and at its best when you are looking out of the window.

By private driver · Killarney to Killarney, around the Iveragh Peninsula

A full day, seven to nine hours

Private driver-guide from your hotel door. Ask for the Skellig Ring detour on a clear day.

Morning
Leave early, go against the coaches
Coaches circle the Ring anticlockwise. A private driver can reverse it or leave ahead of them, which is most of the difference.
Midday
Portmagee and the Skellig coast
Lunch on the harbour and the view out to Skellig Michael. Boat landings on the island are a separate, weather-dependent booking made months ahead.
Afternoon
Kenmare and Ladies View
Coffee in Kenmare, then back over the mountains past Ladies View into the national park.

Who to call

The Killarney Touring Co.

Local, fully customisable, and reviewers specifically praise the crowd-avoiding route.

5.0 on Tripadvisor from 104 reviews, Travellers' Choice 2026.

Contact The Killarney Touring Co.Tripadvisor reviews

Or book a private Ring of Kerry day on Viator

Where you sleep

The Europe Hotel & Resort

Night two in Kerry. Book the spa for the end of the day.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Doing the Ring on a coach tour from Dublin. It is a very long day, and much of it is motorway.

Day Five

Kerry to Clare, by way of Adare

Killarney to Dromoland

There is no sensible train from Kerry to Clare. This is the leg a private driver was made for: a transfer that becomes a day out.

Adare Manor and its formal gardens, County Limerick — Adare Manor, County Limerick. Photograph: Jerzy Strzelecki / Wikimedia Commons

By private driver · Killarney to Dromoland Castle

About two hours of driving, spread across the day

One-way private transfer with a lunch stop. Your Kerry or Clare driver can quote it; ask both.

Morning
North out of Kerry
Leave after a late breakfast. The road north through Limerick is easy and quick with someone else at the wheel.
Midday
Lunch at Adare
The village of thatched cottages and Adare Manor. Book lunch or afternoon tea at the Manor in advance.
Adare Manor, our notes
Afternoon
Into the castle
Forty minutes on to Dromoland, fifteen minutes from Shannon Airport. Walk the estate before dinner.

Who to call

Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Clare based, so the driver who collects you today can also take you to the Cliffs tomorrow and to Shannon at the end.

4.8 on Tripadvisor from 31 reviews.

Contact Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Where you sleep

Dromoland Castle, 2 nights

A real castle, a quarter of an hour from Shannon Airport.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Trying to do this leg by bus and train via Limerick. It works on paper and costs you the whole day.

Day Six

The Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Clare

The Cliffs are Ireland's most visited natural sight, which is exactly why you want a driver who knows when to arrive.

By private driver · Dromoland to Dromoland, via the coast

A full day, about six to eight hours

Private driver-guide from the castle door.

Morning
The Cliffs before the coaches
Arrive at opening or late in the afternoon. Your driver will know which way the day is going.
Our Cliffs of Moher guide
Midday
Lunch in Doolin or Lahinch
Seafood, and a pint if you are not the one driving. You are not.
Afternoon
The Burren
Poulnabrone dolmen and the limestone pavement, the stretch of Clare most visitors skip because they are tired of driving.

Who to call

Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Same driver as yesterday; ask for the Burren back roads, not the coach route.

4.8 on Tripadvisor from 31 reviews.

Contact Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Where you sleep

Dromoland Castle

Night two at the castle.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Arriving at the Cliffs at eleven, when every Dublin day tour does.

Day Seven

Up the coast to Galway

Clare to Galway

An hour and a bit of driving, a city of pubs and oysters at the end of it, and a hotel on the lake just outside.

The Spanish Arch on Spanish Parade, Galway city — The Spanish Arch, Galway. Photograph: Robert Linsdell / Wikimedia Commons

By private driver · Dromoland to Glenlo Abbey, Galway

About an hour, longer via the coast at Kinvara

Private transfer, with a stop at Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara if the day allows.

Morning
Kinvara on the bay
A slow coffee by the harbour and Dunguaire Castle.
Afternoon
Galway on foot
The Latin Quarter, the Spanish Arch and the Long Walk. The city centre is small and walkable.
Where to stay in Galway
Evening
The Pullman
Glenlo Abbey's restaurant in two original Orient Express carriages gained its first Michelin star in 2026. Book ahead.

Who to call

Connemara Chauffeurs

If you add a night, they are the local call for Connemara and Kylemore.

4.9 from 36 ratings on its private Connemara day tour (Peek).

Contact Connemara Chauffeurs Ratings on Peek

Or book a private Galway driver day on Viator

Where you sleep

Glenlo Abbey, 1 night

A country house on a lake, ten minutes from the city.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Staying in the city centre with luggage. A lakeside estate with a taxi into town is calmer and easier.

Day Eight

The train home, or Shannon

Galway to Dublin

Two good ways out. Choose by your flight.

The Claddagh basin with the Long Walk houses behind, Galway city — The Long Walk, Galway. Photograph: Mlhynes / Wikimedia Commons

By train · Galway Ceannt to Dublin Heuston

About two and a half hours

Direct InterCity trains run through the day; there is no first-class coach on this line. A taxi from Heuston to Dublin Airport takes around 30 to 45 minutes. Flying from Shannon instead? Ask your Clare driver for a transfer of about an hour from Galway.

Morning
A late breakfast, a mid-morning train
Galway to Heuston, then straight to the airport for an afternoon transatlantic departure.

Where you sleep

Dublin Airport hotels, if your flight is early

Only if you fly before noon the next day.

Check availability

What people get wrong

Leaving the final train to the day of an early flight. For a morning departure, go back to Dublin the evening before.

Private drivers

Who to call, region by region

Chosen on the strength of their public reviews, their fleets and how local they are to each stage of this route. We have no commercial relationship with any of them and have not travelled with them ourselves. Ask every company for a written quote per vehicle, including the driver's overnight costs.

Nationwide, from Dublin

Irish Luxury Tours

Based in Dublin. Best for: One driver-guide for the whole week.

The strongest review record we found for multi-day, chauffeur-driven tours starting in Dublin. Reviewers consistently name their individual driver, which is the sign of a small company where the same person stays with you all week.

The record: 5.0 on Tripadvisor from 155 reviews, Travellers' Choice 2026.

Ask: Whether the same driver covers every day, and whether their overnight costs are in the quote.

Contact Irish Luxury Tours Tripadvisor reviews

Nationwide, from the southeast

All Ireland Chauffeur Tours

Based in Waterford. Best for: Planned multi-day trips with help on the itinerary.

Reviewers repeatedly describe the office planning the whole trip around them, including rescue plans after a failed agency booking. A good choice if you want the driver company to help shape the route as well as drive it.

The record: 108 Tripadvisor reviews, ranked first for transportation in Waterford.

Ask: Which driver is assigned, and what happens if weather forces a change of plan on a coastal day.

Contact All Ireland Chauffeur Tours Tripadvisor reviews

Kerry

The Killarney Touring Co.

Based in Killarney. Best for: Ring of Kerry and Dingle days from your Killarney hotel.

A local, luxury MPV operator whose reviewers praise exactly what matters on the Ring: knowing how to avoid the coach crowds and adapting the route to the light and weather. Also runs transfers to Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Kerry airports.

The record: 5.0 on Tripadvisor from 104 reviews, Travellers' Choice 2026.

Ask: To run the Ring anticlockwise, against the coaches, and to include the Skellig Ring if the day is clear.

Contact The Killarney Touring Co.Tripadvisor reviews

Clare and Shannon

Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Based in Shannon. Best for: The Kerry to Clare transfer, the Cliffs day and Shannon Airport.

A family chauffeur business of some forty years with a fleet of Mercedes E and S Class saloons and V-Class people carriers, based fifteen minutes from Dromoland. The natural call for the Clare days and a Shannon departure.

The record: 4.8 on Tripadvisor from 31 reviews.

Ask: For an S Class or V-Class by name, and a driver who knows the Burren back roads rather than the coach route.

Contact Pat Keogh Chauffeur Service

Galway and Connemara

Connemara Chauffeurs

Based in Galway. Best for: Connemara, Kylemore and the Burren from Galway.

Galway based for over fifteen years. The company states its drivers are licensed by the National Transport Authority and certified as National Tour Guides by Fáilte Ireland, which is the standard to ask any Irish driver-guide about.

The record: 4.9 from 36 ratings on its private Connemara day tour (Peek).

Ask: For a Galway to Dublin transfer as an alternative to the train on your last day.

Contact Connemara Chauffeurs Ratings on Peek

Review figures as shown on each public listing on 2026-09-30. Ratings change; read the most recent reviews before you book.

Train or driver

First-class rail against a private chauffeur

	Irish Rail	Private driver
Best for	City to city: Dublin, Kerry, Galway	The coast, peninsulas and anything between towns
Comfort	Premier Class on direct Heuston to Tralee and Cork trains; standard on the Galway line	Door to door; you choose the stops
Luggage	You carry it to the platform	Never touch it
Scenery	Midlands farmland, mountains near Killarney	The Ring of Kerry, Clare coast, the Burren
Cost	Low; book on irishrail.ie up to 90 days ahead	Quoted per vehicle per day; the main cost of the trip

Our verdict: take the train only where it runs city to city and saves you a long drive. Everywhere the scenery is, hire a driver.

Book first

The order to book in

1
Your driver company
Good driver-guides book up months ahead in summer. Choose one company for the whole week, or one for Kerry and one for Clare, and fix dates first.
2
The four hotels
The Merrion, The Europe, Dromoland Castle and Glenlo Abbey.
3
The two trains
Heuston to Killarney (a direct Tralee train, Premier Class) and Galway to Heuston. Irish Rail sells online up to 90 days ahead.
4
Dinners and timed tickets
Chapter One, Guilbaud, The Pullman, and the Book of Kells Experience.

Prefer a driver for the whole week? See our seven-day luxury itinerary, built around one driver from start to finish. Staying longer in the capital? Where to stay in Dublin without a car.

Common questions