Your chauffeur will be waiting in the arrivals hall at Dublin Airport with a name card, or can collect you from your Dublin City address. Your flight is tracked electronically, so the pick-up timing adjusts to match your actual arrival, and you get one full complimentary hour of airport waiting time, which means a delayed flight doesn’t cost you anything extra.
You’ll travel in a Mercedes Benz E220 Executive Class with capacity for up to 3 passengers with luggage. The vehicle and chauffeur are fully licensed and insured under the Irish Government Transport Authority. It’s a three-hour drive to Ballygarry House Hotel and Spa in Tralee, Kerry, so there’s time to properly decompress before you arrive.
Three hours is the realistic journey time from Dublin to Tralee. The route runs south on the M7 and then west through Limerick and into Kerry via the N21. The Kerry countryside from Abbeyfeale onward is worth watching for, particularly on the approach to Tralee when the Slieve Mish Mountains come into view on your left.
Ballygarry House is on the edge of Tralee town. It’s a country house hotel rather than a remote estate, which means you’re within easy reach of the town centre, Tralee’s bars and restaurants, and the road network for exploring the wider peninsula. The spa is a strong reason to arrive early enough to make use of it before dinner.
Tralee is the gateway to the Dingle Peninsula. The town itself has the Kerry County Museum and the Rose of Tralee festival in August, but for most visitors it’s the jumping-off point for the Dingle Peninsula, one of the most dramatic stretches of coast in the country. Dingle town is about 50 minutes west, and the Slea Head Drive from there is a narrow, scenic loop that takes a couple of hours at a comfortable pace.
The Blennerville Windmill is five minutes from the hotel. It’s the largest working windmill in Ireland and sits at the edge of Tralee Bay, which has good flat walking along the bay shore if you want to stretch your legs after the drive. The Tralee-Blennerville Steam Railway runs from the town to the windmill in summer if you’re travelling with children.