Southampton to Dingle...

[veravin]

Hello All!

 

My family (my husband and I, 2 kids grandparents) are doing a cruise from Southampton. On our return, we are taking a trip to Ireland for a bit. We have decided to head to Dingle to start our Irish holiday (long story but firm decision) and are trying to decide what is our best bet in terms of getting there. The place that we are staying in Dingle would like us to check in by 7 pm. I am not sure that is possible but obviously, the earlier the better would be good. I have looked at flights from Southampton to Dublin and they leave either very early (7:15) or 3 pm. Is there any chance of making an earlier flight from London? I have never been to Southampton and have no idea how long disembarking will take nor how long it takes to get to London. I like the simplicity of flying straight out of Southampton but all thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Dee

[John Bull]

Consider direct flights to Dublin from Bournemouth.

Bournemouth airport is about 28 miles west of Southampton.

According to their timetable, Aer Lingus have a flight at 12.10, which would tie in very comfortably with your ship arriving in Southampton. Disembarkation in Southampton is normally from about 7.30am, latest check-in time at the airport is probably about 45 mins before flight.

 

http://www.bournemouthairport.com/bohweb.nsf/Content/dublin

 

Two options to get to the airport:

 

Private transfer.Takes about 40minutes. I'd suggest www.westquaycars.com or www.smithsforairports.com both frequently used by CC members.

West Quay cars' website quotes £57.50, Smiths will be about the same. There's a small (about £2.50), but scandalous, drop-off charge at Bournemouth airport - I don't know whether that's also payble by taxis.

 

or

 

Taxi hop (£5 to £8) to Southampton central rail station, train to Bournemouth ( 3 to 4 trains per hour, £12.50 pp, journey time about 30mins.), then taxi 6 miles to the airport. Don't know the taxi cost, a vague guess of about £12 -15.

 

JB :)

[2irisheyes]

There will obviously be a much better choice of flights from London. If I were flying to Ireland and staying in Kerry I would prefer to fly to Cork. Have a great time.

[Cotswold Eagle]

There will obviously be a much better choice of flights from London. If I were flying to Ireland and staying in Kerry I would prefer to fly to Cork. Have a great time.

 

And I would think Shannon would be next before Dublin, too?

 

OP - JB has given you a good option to Dublin, but you still have a heck of a long way to go from there :) Good luck, have a great trip.

[John Bull]

There will obviously be a much better choice of flights from London. If I were flying to Ireland and staying in Kerry I would prefer to fly to Cork. Have a great time.

 

I'd never heard of Dingle, went by the OP's post wanting Dublin. Now I've checked out Dingle on the map - west coast!!

 

To Dingle from Dublin by road about 4 hours.

To Dingle from Cork by road about 2 hrs.

To Dingle from Kerry airport (also known as Farranfore airport) it's even closer, just under an hour by road.

I have no idea about trains in Ireland.

 

Flights to Kerry from London Luton (something under 2 hours from Southampton, private transfer about £120)

Flights to Cork from London Heathrow (about 90 mins from Southampton, private transfer about £95) & from London Gatwick (something under 2 hrs from Southampton, private transfer about £110)

Flights to Dublin from Bournemouth, London Heathrow & London Gatwick. Dublin is by far the least convenient for Dingle, though if you can hack the cost of a second flight, there are flights Dublin to Kerry.

 

Luton is awkward by public transport, & cruiselines don't normally offer a service.

Heathrow is pretty easy by National Express coach, or (more expensive) cruiseline coach.

Gatwick is pretty easy by train, or (more expensive) cruiseline coach.

 

For all airlines, but especially for Ryanair, to get a price you need to run a dummy booking, which will add on all the extras including luggage. It makes a big difference.

 

Not all flights operate 7 days per week, and I've not checked the timings

So the first thing for you to do is to brew a large pot of coffee & sort out which of those routes/airlines fit your date/time.

That's best done via the destinations section of each of the Irish airports:

 

http://www.kerryairport.ie/timetable.html

 

http://www.corkairport.com/gns/flight-information/destinations-airlines/scheduled-flights.aspx

 

http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/flight-information/flight-timetables.aspx

 

Once you've narrowed it down, come back for comments on the options that seem to suit.

 

JB :)

[2irisheyes]

There is of course Kerry Airport at Farranfore - about an hour's drive from Dingle. Not sure if it is just Ryanair who flies there from London Stansted. If so, they can be a bit of a pain on the baggage front. Although they have some quite good fares, by the time charges for bags have been added (and the per bag weight is low) it mounts up.

[English_in_Spain]

I have no comments to add to help the OP but feel I must post :o

 

I am a frequent reader of the posts here on this board as I lived in England all my life until 2004 and am interested in the questions asked.

 

I have to comment that John Bull, Cotswold Eagle and Globaliser are so knowledgeable and helpful to visitors to the UK. They are better than any travel agent I have ever come across.

 

Well done all three of you.

 

 

[veravin]

Thanks to all who posted. I will look into things. I have been looking at flights to Shannon, Cork and Kerry as well as I would actually prefer to go from there for obvious reasons of distance. The trouble is that the earlier flights tended to be much more expensive. There are 6 of us so an increase of 20 or 30 pounds adds up! I did not know about the Bournemouth option so I will definitely look into that!

 

Thanks again - I will keep you posted. I will definitely be after help in determining transfers!

[veravin]

Just reviewed the Bournemouth option. It looks as though WestQuay cars can provide a 7&8 seater for around 80 pounds and the flights (including luggage) would be about 370 pounds. This is pretty reasonable! Thank you so much John Bull! I will continue to look at the flights from the other airports but this is a very good option.

[scottbee]

Flights to Kerry from London Luton (something under 2 hours from Southampton, private transfer about £120)

 

I would budget a bit more to get from Southampton to Luton. Used to travel Southampton-High Wycombe quite a bit (and a bit shorter), and I can't remember it being under 2hrs when you factor in traffic.

 

However, I would suggest you also look at the BHX/BIRMINGHAM airport as well, which has direct hourly rail service from Southampton Central, and flights to Dublin, Shannon, Cork, Knock on Aer Lingus, and Dublin on RyanAir as well. Seems illogical at 1st, but when you consider the train goes from Southampton and stops at BHX airport....

[Mairnealach]

Hi,

 

How are you getting from the airport in Ireland, whichever one you choose, to Dingle? Is it by car or public transport? A car would be much the best option and would also allow you to explore the Kerry countryside during your stay. I spent a holiday in Dingle some years ago and it is a pleasant, small town. However, the surrounding mountains and coast line are incredibly beautiful.

 

To get to Dingle from Dublin airport, for example, by public transport would necessitate taking the number 747 bus to Heuston railway station which would be the best part of an hour. Then a train journey to Tralee, changing at Mallow, which would last just under four hours. And finally a seventy minute bus journey from Tralee to Dingle. It is not something I would recommend and, depending on your arrival time in Dublin, may not be possible to do in one day.

 

Dermot

[VMax1700]

Have you looked at rail from Southampton to Bristol and then fly to Cork with aer lingus. flight leaves 12.25 pm (just after noon) and arrives in Cork at 1.45 pm. Plenty of time to drive to dingle.

[Mairnealach]

Another possibility would be to fly with Aer Lingus from Bournemouth to Dublin. Then fly with Aer Lingus again from Dublin to Kerry airport. There is a flight departing Dublin at 19:00 and arriving in Kerry at 19:55. You would not make the 7pm check-in at your accommodation though.

[Mairnealach]

Have you looked at rail from Southampton to Bristol and then fly to Cork with aer lingus. flight leaves 12.25 pm (just after noon) and arrives in Cork at 1.45 pm. Plenty of time to drive to dingle.

 

This is an excellent suggestion to consider. There are direct trains from Southampton to Bristol Temple Meads station. You then get the Bristol Flyer bus from Temple Meads to the airport. This takes thirty minutes and there is a bus every ten minutes.

 

http://flyer.bristolairport.co.uk/

[John Bull]

Hi,

 

How are you getting from the airport in Ireland, whichever one you choose, to Dingle? Is it by car or public transport? A car would be much the best option and would also allow you to explore the Kerry countryside during your stay. I spent a holiday in Dingle some years ago and it is a pleasant, small town. However, the surrounding mountains and coast line are incredibly beautiful.

 

To get to Dingle from Dublin airport, for example, by public transport would necessitate taking the number 747 bus to Heuston railway station which would be the best part of an hour. Then a train journey to Tralee, changing at Mallow, which would last just under four hours. And finally a seventy minute bus journey from Tralee to Dingle. It is not something I would recommend and, depending on your arrival time in Dublin, may not be possible to do in one day.

 

Dermot

 

Hi Dermot,

With six fares, guessing that'd be quite expensive as well as wearysome.

It's four hours door-to-door by road, & if one of the party is happy to drive then hiring a large car/van (look on rental websites for people-carrier or minibus) would probably make sense. Also transport for the OPs time in Dingle & onward travel.

 

Might be less worthwhile with a closer airport.

 

 

Re VMax's Bristol airport suggestion. Direct train from Southampton 7.52 or 8.15 gets to Bristol Temple Meads 9.52 or 10.23, 20 minute taxi ride to the airport (prob needs 2 taxis, but probably plenty available) should give enough leeway for that 12.25 flight.

Best to use unassisted early disembarkation (haul your own luggage from the cabin) but worth the effort if costs & other logistics work out.

 

Just my thoughts

 

JB :)

[veravin]

We will be renting cars for the drive to Dingle. I will look at Bristol, I had not considered that. As for doing a connecting flight, I found that anything with a connection at an airport raised the price quite considerably. I did find a flight from Stansted to Kerry that would get us in to Dingle around 5 or 6 but it was going to cost about 500 dollars more with the more expensive transfer and flight. Thanks again for the new suggestions, off to do some calculations...

[veravin]

Silly question John Bull but how do you know when the train runs? I cannot see the schedule that far in advance and when I try a Saturday in April or May, I am not seeing the times that you are.

[John Bull]

Silly question John Bull but how do you know when the train runs? I cannot see the schedule that far in advance and when I try a Saturday in April or May, I am not seeing the times that you are.

 

I was using random weekdays, you'd not mentioned it was a saturday. Yes, timings on that route are different on a saturday (and as elsewhere in the UK there's very limited services on a sunday).

The timetable only goes out about 12 weeks, currently to 6th May. Later in May will probably be the same - needs confirming from under 12 weeks ahead, but your time window and the frequency of the trains means you can confidently book flights now from Bournemouth or Bristol.

 

Just to be sure we're singing from the same hymnsheet, my source is

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

and suitable direct trains to Bristol Temple Meads on a saturday are 8.10 (arrives 9.48), and 8.27 (arrives 10.29).

With early disembarkation & a 10 minute taxi ride to Southampton station, you should make the 8.10 train, which will give you a wider window at the Bristol end.

Taxi or the Bristol Flyer bus to Bristol airport mentioned by Mairnealach will depend on your time window.

All subject to latest flight check-in, which I'm guessing will be around 45 mins before flight time.

 

JB :)

[veravin]

Decided to go with the Bristol route. Hopefully will be able to get off the boat in time!

[John Bull]

Decided to go with the Bristol route. Hopefully will be able to get off the boat in time!

 

Thanks for letting us know.

Time-wise, that looks like an excellent choice, you're likely to be in Dingle by late afternoon :)

 

Aer Lingus' website quotes their latest check-in time as 45 mins before the flight.

Suitable direct trains (using Sat 11th May) are 8.10 or 8.27 or 9.10.

The 9.10 arrives at Bristol Temple Meads at 10.48, unless there are delays that's a tolerably comfortable window to get from station to airport, but an earlier train would give you more peace of mind & you'd certainly have time to use the Bristol Flyer to the airport instead of a taxi.

Those times on the National Rail website confirmed on the website of the train operator, http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/

 

I'd recommend unassisted disembarkation, even if you are allocated an early time-slot for regular disembarkation. This gets you off the ship ahead of the herd, no risk of problems locating all your bags in the terminal, and a guarantee of plenty of taxis. A max 10 mins/£10 by taxi from any cruise terminal to the station.

This way, you should be able to make the 8.10 train - but no worries if you don't. :)

 

JB :)