Waterford to Galway 2013 - best road

from_atozinc · 23-12-2013 4:55pm #1

I have to do a drive from Waterford to Galway

I know we have google maps etc, but im just wondering what route has the best roads

I did this journey years and years ago and I remember the roads were crap, obviously roads have been built since, so just looking for the route with the best roads.

corktina · 23-12-2013 4:58pm

there are shorter ways but good roads....M9/M7/M50/ and then the M4/6 road. Motorway all the way

Supergurrier · 23-12-2013 5:01pm

Best roads is motorway to last roundabout before Kilkenny then direct toportlaoise then north through nothing but dual carrigeways to m6 and on to galway

road_high · 23-12-2013 5:01pm

from_atozinc wrote: »

I have to do a drive from Waterford to Galway

I know we have google maps etc, but im just wondering what route has the best roads

I did this journey years and years ago and I remember the roads were crap, obviously roads have been built since, so just looking for the best route.

Best road is probabaly go up the M9 to Naas (an hour or less)-Sallins-Clane-M4-Toll-M6 to Galway. Wouldn't be the shortest distance but is the best road and probably wouldn't be a whole lot longer timewise (maybe shorter, even).

Other options are
1.
N24 Tipp (awful road) to Limerick-M18-Galway.

2.
M9-N10-Kilkenny-N77 Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6. Mix of good/bad roads. N80 and N77 can be a right pain with no hard shoulder/overtaking for miles on end. Very frustrating.

3.
M9-N10-Kilkenny-N77-Durrow R430 top Borris-in-Ossary-old N7-Roscrea-N65Birr-Portumna-N65-Loughrea-M6-Galway.

Sully · 23-12-2013 5:02pm

Best road, in my opinion, is to go motorway all the way. Waterford -> Dublin -> Galway.

Cabaal · 23-12-2013 5:05pm

Sully wrote: »

Best road, in my opinion, is to go motorway all the way. Waterford -> Dublin -> Galway.

Its def the best road but it adds 30min atleast to the journey time, not to mention tolls you have to pay for

TheBoffin · 23-12-2013 5:09pm

Personally I use:

Galway to Limerick
Limerick motorway to cork
Hop off at cahir
Cahir to clonmel
Clonmel to waterford

Its out of the way but better on the diesel.

FYI you will have a toll at the tunnel in Limerick.

road_high · 23-12-2013 5:28pm

TheBoffin wrote: »

Personally I use:

Galway to Limerick
Limerick motorway to cork
Hop off at cahir
Cahir to clonmel
Clonmel to waterford

Its out of the way but better on the diesel.

FYI you will have a toll at the tunnel in Limerick.

I don't get this one...you go from Limerick to Cork on the crap N20 and then all the way back up the M8 to Cahir and back to the N24. Sounds like an extra 2.5 hours solid travel just to avoid 40 mins of N24

:D?

SleeperService · 23-12-2013 6:28pm

Avoid the n24 at all costs, home of the country's greatest dawdleballs and plain stupid driving.

road_high · 23-12-2013 6:41pm

SleeperService wrote: »

Avoid the n24 at all costs, home of the country's greatest dawdleballs and plain stupid driving.

Agree would drive ya insane. Even on the sections with hard-shoulder you usually get a dawdler or two hogging the white line at 70-80 kmh holding up a stream of others behind. And it goes through town after town.

flutered · 23-12-2013 6:45pm

waterford to mitchelstown, mitchelstown to limerick, limerick to galway.

MuppetCheck · 23-12-2013 7:18pm

road_high wrote: »

I don't get this one...you go from Limerick to Cork on the crap N20 and then all the way back up the M8 to Cahir and back to the N24. Sounds like an extra 2.5 hours solid travel just to avoid 40 mins of N24 :D?

Exactly, you'd be well past Ennis by the time you're through Cork the other way.

Going via Kilkenny is an option I have used a few times when I know the N24 is busy (Tip towns a PITA at busy times) or when the ongoing works are actually going and it's possible to claw back some time on the motorway meaning it's usually the quickest.

MuppetCheck · 23-12-2013 7:19pm

flutered wrote: »

waterford to mitchelstown, mitchelstown to limerick, limerick to galway.

Shocking Road though.

mgbgt1978 · 23-12-2013 7:23pm

TheBoffin wrote: »

Personally I use:

Galway to Limerick
Limerick motorway to cork
Hop off at cahir
Cahir to clonmel
Clonmel to waterford

Its out of the way but better on the diesel.

FYI you will have a toll at the tunnel in Limerick.

There is no motorway between Limerick and Cork....

MuppetCheck · 23-12-2013 7:33pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

There is no motorway between Limerick and Cork....

Croom bypass at night:D

bazz26 · 23-12-2013 7:43pm

Definitely avoid the Waterford - Mitchelstown - Limerick route. Thankfully I only have to travel a few miles of that road daily to and from home but generally it is narrow, twisty and of poor quality, not to mind the frequent agricultural traffic you encounter on it with limited opportunity to overtake.

road_high · 23-12-2013 7:54pm

Think the M9 Kilkenny north exit-Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6 is probably the quickest. Least you have decent stretch of motorway at each end, only one toll at Ballinasloe. Very good after Tullamore now too and Durrow-Portlaoise is the old N8 (now N77) which had many decent stretches of road and now a good bit quiter.

from_atozinc · 23-12-2013 10:40pm

road_high wrote: »

Think the M9 Kilkenny north exit-Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6 is probably the quickest. Least you have decent stretch of motorway at each end, only one toll at Ballinasloe. Very good after Tullamore now too and Durrow-Portlaoise is the old N8 (now N77) which had many decent stretches of road and now a good bit quiter.

OP here.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go with the above.

Waterford > Dublin > Galway seems a bit extreme. And now on recollection, that horror road I drove years ago was through Tipp town.

from_atozinc · 23-12-2013 10:41pm

road_high wrote: »

Think the M9 Kilkenny north exit-Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6 is probably the quickest. Least you have decent stretch of motorway at each end, only one toll at Ballinasloe. Very good after Tullamore now too and Durrow-Portlaoise is the old N8 (now N77) which had many decent stretches of road and now a good bit quiter.

OP here.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go with the above.

Waterford > Dublin > Galway seems a bit extreme. And now on recollection, that horror road I drove years ago was through Tipp town.

road_high · 23-12-2013 10:51pm

from_atozinc wrote: »

OP here.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go with the above.

Waterford > Dublin > Galway seems a bit extreme. And now on recollection, that horror road I drove years ago was through Tipp town.

Woeful road, avoid it at all costs myself.
Depending on time of day, should be 30 mins to KK, 1 hrs 20 mins plus to the M6 junction at Kilbeggan then another hour or so West to Galway.

road_high · 23-12-2013 10:58pm

Google maps is suggesting the cross-country route via KK-Roscrea-Birr-Portumna-Loughrea-M6 and that's the way I'd usually go myself from Kilkenny to Galway but if you don't know the road it can trying (especially this time of year) with uneven road surfaces especially after Birr to Portumna.
Advantage of that one of course is you come off the M6 before the toll.

from_atozinc · 23-12-2013 11:44pm

road_high wrote: »

Woeful road, avoid it at all costs myself.
Depending on time of day, should be 30 mins to KK, 1 hrs 20 mins plus to the M6 junction at Kilbeggan then another hour or so West to Galway.

So just to recap. Is it :

M9 and N 10 to Kilkenny > Durrow > Portlaoise > Tullamore > Kilbeggan M6 exit

road_high · 24-12-2013 12:00am

from_atozinc wrote: »

So just to recap. Is it :

M9 and N 10 to Kilkenny > Durrow > Portlaoise > Tullamore > Kilbeggan M6 exit

Yes exactly. Think btw I'd make sure take the KK north (2nd) exit off M9 i.e. Kilkenny/Durrow one as the KK ring road can be a pain with all it's roundabouts and town-dawdlers!

from_atozinc · 24-12-2013 12:03am

road_high wrote: »

Yes exactly. Think btw I'd make sure take the KK north (2nd) exit off M9 i.e. Kilkenny/Durrow one as the KK ring road can be a pain with all it's roundabouts and town-dawdlers!

Ok ok, thanks.

So don't bother with the N 10 at all ?

road_high · 24-12-2013 12:11am

from_atozinc wrote: »

Ok ok, thanks.

So don't bother with the N 10 at all ?

It's a little confusing, the N10 runs from the exit 9 off M9 Kilkenny south via the Kilkenny ring road and then out to the M9 again to exit 8.
So yes you will be on the N10 but the new part built to link Kilkenny with the M9 at the northern end. Durrow is sign-posted off exit 8 northbound (2nd KK exit) so follow the N10 and back towards KK and then the N77 for Durrow. It might sound complicated but it's not at all and once you drive it once it will make total sense.

TheBoffin · 24-12-2013 1:10am

Sorry I wrote that last one on the go without double checking my map

I went:

Galway to Limerick via M18
Took the M7 East at Limerick
Then on to the M8 southbound to Cahir
From Cahir on to Clonmel, then on To Waterford.

Someone did tell me afterwards that I would have been better off Skipping the M8 and heading for Durrow, on to Kilkenny and down the M9

Its by no means fast, just better roads and better diesel consumption. It took me just under 4 hrs while the durrow/kilkenny route takes about a little over 3 hrs.

I will be taking the Durrow/KK route the next time.

from_atozinc · 24-12-2013 9:28am

road_high wrote: »

It's a little confusing, the N10 runs from the exit 9 off M9 Kilkenny south via the Kilkenny ring road and then out to the M9 again to exit 8.
So yes you will be on the N10 but the new part built to link Kilkenny with the M9 at the northern end. Durrow is sign-posted off exit 8 northbound (2nd KK exit) so follow the N10 and back towards KK and then the N77 for Durrow. It might sound complicated but it's not at all and once you drive it once it will make total sense.

It is confusing alright.

When leaving Waterford and heading up the M9, and bar all the talk

, what exit number do I take off the M9 - exit 8 or exit 9 ?

linny · 24-12-2013 9:55am

exit 8

from_atozinc · 24-12-2013 10:06am

linny wrote: »

exit 8

Is exit 8 = arrow in the attached picture ?

road_high · 24-12-2013 10:09am

from_atozinc wrote: »

Is exit 8 = arrow in the attached picture ?

Exactly, now ya have it. See how it brings you nicely near the top of Kilkenny avoiding most of those annoying round-abouts! Safe travels...

from_atozinc · 24-12-2013 11:31am

road_high wrote: »

Exactly, now ya have it. See how it brings you nicely near the top of Kilkenny avoiding most of those annoying round-abouts! Safe travels...

Lovely, finally I get it, im a thicko : )

Thanks for all your replies road_high

Supergurrier · 24-12-2013 12:18pm

road_high wrote: »

Google maps is suggesting the cross-country route via KK-Roscrea-Birr-Portumna-Loughrea-M6 and that's the way I'd usually go myself from Kilkenny to Galway but if you don't know the road it can trying (especially this time of year) with uneven road surfaces especially after Birr to Portumna.
Advantage of that one of course is you come off the M6 before the toll.

Don't go that way the roads are awful and its so backwards and twisty it will even confuse your Google maps

Waterford to Galway 2013 - best road

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