Ireland: The Emerald Isle
- colleenjcolvin
- Jul 25, 2021
- 4 min read
Does a road trip around all of Ireland intrigue you? Read this to see how we did it!
Use the Table of Contents to find what is most helpful to you, or read it all for a comprehensive look at our road trip around Ireland!
*Please Note!* This itinerary does not include a stop in Dublin. We planned on exploring Dublin on our last day, but had a change of plans and had to leave a day early!
Table of Contents
Travel Info
Flights: We flew into and out of Dublin (DUB) on Ireland's premier airline, AerLingus. We had a very positive experience flying with them and definitely recommend.
Stays: Because we road tripped around the entire country (Ireland and Northern Ireland) we stayed all over the place. I will list each of our AirBnB stays in the following sections along with what we did in each town.
Rental Car: Because this was a road trip, we definitely needed a rental car. We rented through Europcar on CarRentals.com and got a good deal.
Destinations
Each of our road trip stops is listed below followed by what we did at each location.
Stop #1 - Drove from Dublin to Belfast, Northern Ireland
Coffee & Breakfast at The French Village Bakery (try the avocado toast with poached eggs on top!)
No Alibis Bookstore
Walk on the beach in Larne (north of Belfast)
Dinner at Neill's Hill (I recommend the Magner's Cider)
Stop #2 - Belfast to Killybegs, County Donegal
From Belfast, drove to Giants Causeway (see Main Sights) for sunrise
Drove The Wild Atlantic Way and stopped at Dunluce Castle
Breakfast at Three Kings Coffee in Portstewart (try the breakfast burrito!)
Walked around Derry/Londonderry
Explored the rocky cliffs and horse stables at our AirBnB
Dinner at Mary Murrin's Pub (best sticky toffee pudding I have ever tasted)
Breakfast the next morning at Ahoy Cafe in Killybegs
Stop #3 - Killybegs to Galway
From Killybegs drove to Sliabh Liag (see Main Sights)
Coffee at Lyons Cafe & Bakeshop in Sligo
Walked the waterfront in Salthill
Dinner and live music at 1520 Bar in downtown Galway
Walked around Galway City Centre (lots of street performers and musicians)
Stop #4 - Galway to Doolin/Dingle
AirBnB - Bird's Nest on the Dingle Peninsula - our favorite stay!
Breakfast at the Doolin Cafe (try the eggs benedict)
Cliffs of Moher (see Main Sights)
Coffee at Moher Cottage (they have adorable handrawn prints of Irish landscapes)
Saw the thatched roof cottages in Adare
Dinner at The Dingle Pub
Explored the Dingle Peninsula and the beach at our AirBnB (seriously the coolest place we stayed)
Coffee the next morning at Bean in Dingle (our absolute favorite coffee shop of the week)
Stop #5 - Dingle to Cork
Slea Head Drive (from Dingle - see Main Sights)
Stopped in Killarney to walk around (lots of bookstores and cute shops)
Dinner at Jacob's Ladder in Cobh on the water
English Market in Cork (see Main Sights)
Stop #6 - Cork to Blackrock
Coffee and breakfast at The Bookshelf Coffee House on our way out of Cork
Ballycotton Lighthouse (from Cork)
Walked along the beach in Blackrock
Dinner at The Brake Tavern
Main Sights
Here are a few things you can't miss (in my opinion) if you're going to do this trip:
#1 Giant's Causeway
This crazy geological formation is a must-see in Northern Ireland! There's an old Irish legend as well as scientific reasoning to explain the phenomenon. I recommend watching the sunrise here if you can get up early enough - it is pure magic.
#2 Sliabh Liag
These lesser known sea cliffs tower three times higher than their cousins, the Cliffs of Moher. Whether rain or shine, you just have to see these incredible cliffs jutting into the sea. This was one of my favorite stops of the trip!
#3 Cliffs of Moher
Unfortunately it was incredibly cloudy the day we saw the cliffs, but we felt we couldn't pass up this Irish staple. The lack of visibility was made up for because we had such a spectacular view at Sliabh Liag. We recommend visiting the cliffs and stopping for a hot cup of joe at Moher Cottage after!
#4 Slea Head Drive
This wild drive is part of the Wild Atlantic Way and will take you through historic Irish-speaking villages while providing you amazing coastal views. It can take a few hours with all the stops you'll want to make, but you will not regret allowing time for this one!
#5 English Market
The amazing English Market in Cork is very cool to walk through, if nothing else. Think Seattle's Pike Place Market on a smaller scale, with an Irish twist. Cork is a port city and has relied on the English Market to serve its citizens for generations.
Hit It or Miss It
There is a lot vying for your attention during a one week road trip along the coast of Ireland! Here are a few of our "miss it" spots, meaning we don't think you're missing much if you choose not to go.
Miss It #1: Thatched Cottages
in Adare
I really wanted to see the adorable classic Irish thatched cottage. After some research, I found you could see some in the town of Adare. We drove through and were a little bummed that the town seemed pretty touristy, especially since most of our week was spent in local spots. If you like smaller towns, check out Doolin (pictured), which also is home to some very cute cottages.
Miss It #2: Inis Orr Ferry
We loved the idea of taking a ferry to one of the islands off the western coast of Ireland. It was very stormy the day we planned on going and the woman at the ferry landing wouldn't sell us tickets (she was kindly looking out for us because she didn't want us to get stranded there). After more research, we were glad we didn't use a full day on visiting an island with little to no population in a storm. If you have a spare day, look into doing this, but there are plenty of things to keep you busy on the mainland!
Miss It #3: Killarney
Unless you are going to the national park! We didn't have a ton of time to devote to Killarney, so we just walked around the shops. It was very crowded and quite touristy. If I could change one thing, we would've visited Killarney National Park instead of spending our time downtown!
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