Road Trip Around the Emerald Isle in 12 days

This itinerary closely follows our adventure in Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a few small tweaks for extra enjoyment. This is a quick-moving trip, designed to maximize your visit and leaves very little downtime for making friends or relaxing. Hopefully you can find some inspiration and adjust for your own preferences.

Day 1: Belfast 

-Arrive in Belfast and visit the Titanic Belfast Museum. Its open every day from 10am to 5pm. 

-Stay in Belfast or the surrounding area

Day 2: Drive to Dublin (2.5 hours from Belfast)

-Along the way, stop at the Bro na Boinne Visitor Center and Newgrange. This is an archaeological site featuring a prehistoric monument built during the Neolithic period. It is one of the oldest known monuments in the world, built around 3200 BCE, which makes it older than the Egyptian Pyramids! You will need to pre-book a ticket and take a guided tour. 

-Stay in a hotel in Dublin near the city center

 Day 3: Dublin

-Pre-book the morning tour of the Guinness factory, complete with a breakfast pint of Guinness following the tour. It takes about 2 hours for the self guided tour, with each level bringing unusual interactive displays and interesting facts. There is a cafe near the middle for a mid morning snack or coffee break. Once you make it to the top level for your free pint of Guinness, enjoy the 360* views over the city. Special treat: watch the Netflix show, House of Guinness, before your visit! 

-Meander along the streets to Temple Bar, and admire the Dublin Castle along the way. Stop in here for another pint and a wee song before moving along to explore the surrounding streets. Dublin is super walkable and has an enjoyable atmosphere. 

-From there walk to Trinity College. Pre-book your tickets to see the Book of Kells in the Trinity Library. This is one of the most well preserved and beautiful works of art form the medieval period. 

-Stay in the same hotel in Dublin this night OR drive south to Wicklow for the night and add a hike in the gorgeous Wicklow Mountains National Park on the morning of Day 4. You may even add another day to your trip for this adventure and stay two nights here.  

Day 4: Drive to Mitchelstown, Co. Cork (2.5 hours from Dublin)

-Along the way, stop at the Rock of Cashel. Do the tour, I promise its worth it for the views inside of the well preserved chapel! Built around the 12th century, this was the original seat of the High Kinds of Muster and which was later donated to the church and used as an abbey. 

-Stay at Barnahown Bed and Breakfast. Ciera is amazing, and the accommodations are perfection! There is a great preserved colonial town nearby with several restaurants and shops, and the views of the surrounding mountains are stunning. 

Day 5: Drive to Cork (45 minutes south, except your stops will add some time) 

-Along the way, deviate to Midleton for a tour of the Jameson Distillery. You should book this in advance. The tour is so interesting and you’ll get to try some breakfast whiskey. Are you sensing the theme? The grounds here are also lovely and the history is very interesting. 

-In the afternoon, you may choose to visit the Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. Be warned, the crowds can be extreme and this won’t be a quaint intimate visit like Cashel. The castle was built in 1446, and legends say if you kiss the Blarney Stone upside down, you will receive the gift of eloquence. 

-Stay in Cork or the surrounding area for the night. 

Day 6: Drive to Killarney (1 hour from Cork) or Dingle (3.5 hours from Cork)

Now, this could get tricky because there are several amazing peninsulas jutting into the North Atlantic Ocean that come highly recommended. Sheep’s Head Way being one such place, which got cut out of my itinerary because of time. It is quite a drive, completely out of the way, so it depends on your love of road trips and if you can add extra days to accommodate these miles. If you choose, map out some rad peninsula drives and let me know how you love it! If you’re okay to skip these, then continue to Killarney or Dingle from Cork. 

-Stop at a pub in Killarney and enjoy the atmosphere in town, then choose to either stay the night in Killarney and wander around Ross Castle, or move on to explore the Dingle Peninsula and stay in Dingle for the night. This depends on how much driving you want to do. If you skip Dingle, you’ll see other cliffs and views coming up!

Day 7: Drive to Kilkee (2.5 hrs from Dingle and a bit less from Killarney) 

-Along the way, you’ll get to take a car ferry across the River Shannon which is a treat. -Drive to the Kilkee Cliffside and take the cliff walk for some of the best views in the whole world. Seriously, this is way better than the Cliffs of Moher. Firstly because there are hardly any crowds, and second because there aren’t any barriers protecting you from falling off the cliff, so you can get really close to the edges and explore unhindered. Obviously you will want to stay on the trail, but the experience feels so much more authentic when there are no fences between you and nature. Continue south just a little further to Loop Head Peninsula, which was one of the filming locations used in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. You’ll see why this location was chosen for its massive rock formations and dramatic otherworldly views. The town is so adorable too, and a lovely, quiet place to stay the night.

-Stay in town or in the surrounding area- try to book accommodations with an ocean view! 

Day 8: Drive to the Cliffs of Moher (1 hour drive from Kilkee) 

-And what a lovely drive it is- full of places to stop for pictures! Okay, I know I just said that Kilkee Cliffs outrank these, and they do, but did you really even go to Ireland if you don’t see the Cliffs of Moher? Its iconic so you have to go. Try to get there early because the crowds are no joke. You’ll need tickets to enter the Cliffs of Moher scenic area, where there is a visitor center, cafe, some shops, and two lovely paths leading North and South on the cliffside. It is really stunning in real life, even if the fencing blocks the best photos. There is a south viewpoint and a north viewpoint outside of the ticketed area that are good as well. You can also choose to take a boat ride and see the cliffs from below. We did not get this chance due to weather on our trip but I think it would probably be the best way to experience the area if I could do it again. 

-Stay at one of these options: either Doolin (20 minutes) on the coast, or make your way back inland to Gort (1 hour). We highly recommend the scenic route through the East Burren Complex, there are some cool stone henges and unique landscapes here, if you go that way.  

Day 9: Drive to Achill Island (3 hours from Gort, 3.5 hours from Doolin) 

-Along the way, stop in Galway (35 minutes from Gort) for a bite to eat. 

-Even though you have already been on the Wild Atlantic Way in Dingle, Kilkee, and Moher, the Wild Atlantic Way on Achill Island is one of the best sections of the route. If you feel like you have seen enough of these dramatic cliffside and majestic viewpoints, you can skip this day and head straight to Day 10. 

Day 10: Kilronan Castle Hotel and Spa stay (2.5 hours from Achill Island) 

-Along the way, you can choose to stop in the quaint town of Carrick-on-Shannon if you have time, its an absolutely adorable quintessential Irish town. 

-Get to the Castle early in the day so you can enjoy some much needed spa services (pre-book a massage, this is your built-in relaxation break) and wander around the castle and grounds in the daylight. Book the on-site dining option for the evening meal. Don’t forget to reserve a room in the Castle section as opposed to the Hotel section- you can message the concierge for clarification if you need help booking the correct room. Its worth the price difference, but I am pretty sure the Castle section is haunted. 

Day 11: Drive to the Giants Causeway (3.5 hours from Kilronan Castle)

-Get an early start for this long drive so you can arrive at the Giants Causeway before mid-day. You must stop and eat at Destination, in Bushmills. They have some of the best dishes, comforting and simple, yet with a unique kick that sets them apart.

  -It won’t take you more than a couple of hours to explore the Causeway and surrounding areas. We recommend taking the trail north from the car park and descending the cliff path, then taking the southern trail back uphill and back to the car park. These are the best views, the least crowded, and will save you hiking up the harder way. It also won’t hurt to pre-book your tickets here. 

-Stay in Bushmills or the surrounding area

**Special note: you can probably sneak the Fanad Head Lighthouse into the morning of Day 11 before heading to Bushmills for the night. Then, visit the Giants Causeway first thing in the morning on Day 12 before returning to Belfast. This deviation will depend on how important the stop at the lighthouse is to you. 

Day 12: Return to Belfast (1.5 hours from Giants Causeway) 

-Along the way, you can choose to stop at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and/or the Gobblins Cliff Path for more cliffside fun 

-If you didn’t have time for the Titanic Museum on Day 1, you have a second chance here

-Depart the Emerald Isle and take all of your lovely memories home with you!

We loved our trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Not only are the people exceptionally kind, they are adorable to have a conversation with. Take advantage of the Bed and Breakfast accommodations throughout the country. The Irish culture is so welcoming and hospitable and these were some of our favorite memories! The landscapes are so extraordinary they seem surreal. Most days only include a short drive, so take the time to pull off the road and enjoy the natural vistas or adorable little towns. Its important to pack the right clothing. Likely, you will experience all four seasons in one day in Ireland, so you will need to prepare layered options and a thick outer coat for those brisk winds or sudden rains. You may also need a power adapter, sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat, and a winter scarf with mittens as accessories. I hope your road trip is as memorable and impactful as it was for us!