When you think of Ireland, you probably think of its lush (and incredibly green) countryside, the Cliffs of Moher, and of course the iconic Irish pub. The country has so much to offer, and though it’s a small island it’s difficult to see everything you want in one seven-day trip. One thing is for certain, and if you take away anything from this blog it’s this: I highly recommend renting a car so you can explore the beautiful nature on your own terms. It’s extremely cost-effective compared to renting a car in other places. Yes, you will have to drive on the left side and if you’re not used to that it can be difficult to get accustomed to. But, like anything else while traveling, if you’re diligent and pay attention you will be absolutely fine.
Throughout this blog post I’ll share with you my Ireland road trip itinerary, some budget hacks, plus what I would have done differently so you can make your Ireland road trip even better than mine was! Let’s go!
We started and ended our trip in Dublin, the capital city. It can be quite expensive to stay in the city center, so it’s worth looking into accommodation in the outskirts (though you will need to pay attention to the transportation schedules if you plan to stay out late). Our first day in Dublin we explored the Temple Bar area, Grafton Street, went to O’Neill’s pub for lunch (across the street from the famous Molly Malone statue. Explore the whole place before you choose a spot to sit. The upstairs offers much more natural lighting than the lower level, but down there you’ll get that authentic dark Irish pub feel). Then we went on to Grafton Street and walked around the Trinity College campus.
Day 2: Suspension Bridge, Giant’s Causeway, and Derry
The second day of our trip we rented a car, and for Monday thru Friday it only cost us about 40 euros per day! From Dublin we headed to Northern Ireland through Belfast, stopping by Carrick-a-Rede suspension bridge and Giant’s Causeway on our way to Derry. Carrick-a-Rede suspension bridge was a beautiful stop with about a 20-minute hike to the bridge. The cost to cross the bridge onto another small island was 13£ (Northern Ireland is part of the UK so the currency is pounds sterling if you didn’t know!), and honestly it was cute but we could’ve saved that money. It does help to maintain the area so we felt that our purchase was justified, but you can take the hike to the bridge and around the area without crossing it for the same experience. Keep in mind that there is a small cafe to get food and drinks at the car park but otherwise nowhere else to eat in the area.
After the suspension bridge we made our way to Giant’s Causeway. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it’s one of the Natural Wonders of the World and a geologically striking spot! The rocks are in hexagonal shape and were formed by a volcanic fissure eruption and they form columns around the area. If you want to save some money you can skip the visitor’s center and park a bit farther away for only 5£. We opted for that and hiked the whole way to the Causeway and I definitely recommend visiting on your Ireland trip.
Giant’s Causeway is just North of the town of Bushmills, where—you guessed it, whiskey lovers—the Bushmills whiskey factory lives. After our hikes we unfortunately arrived a bit too late and it was already closed (5pm), but if we had planned better I would have loved to take a tour.
After our devastating rejection from touring the Bushmills factory, we drove to Derry where we had booked accommodation for the night. We found this adorable boutique hotel called the Jazz House. Along the entire street are a number of boutique hotels owned by a charming Irish fellow who gave us the warmest welcome. We were pretty exhausted from a full day of driving and hiking, so we went into the city center to eat and grab a pint. We walked along the waterfront and found a trad sesh on the main strip in a pub called Peadar O’Donnell’s and had a lovely time.
What I would do differently: Planned ahead to get to tour the Bushmills factory. Maybe stayed one more night in Derry to get to really explore the town. There were a few museums about the history of The Troubles that I would’ve liked to visit. If museums are your thing, definitely consider this! If you’re a huge GOT fan you might want to stay in Northern Ireland an extra day or two to visit all of the shooting sites.
Day 3: Connemara National Park and Galway
It was another long morning of driving, and we set out early from Derry and made our way to Galway County. We drove to the town of Letterfrack, at the base of Connemara National Park for a windy (and I mean windy) hike. The top of the mountain offered amazing views of Galway county and the Atlantic Coast.
Now on to Galway, we had the evening to explore after checking into our hostel. I loved the vibes of Galway’s city center! It was lively with bright colors and the people watching was perfect. We walked across the bridge and ate fish and chips at McDonagh’s (not to be confused with McDonald’s), a staple of Galway and the fish and chips were incredible!
What I would do differently: We only stayed one night in Galway because the accommodation was expensive—we paid 125€ for a private hostel bed—but the area is beautiful and another day or morning to at least explore more of the town would have been nice. Connemara isn’t a major attraction for a lot of tourists, so I’m glad we chose to do that hike. If you’re interested in nature and National Parks, the Gleniff Horseshoe nature preserve is another stop from Derry to Galway that we would have loved to make.
Day 4: Cliffs of Moher
From Galway this was our morning with the least amount of driving—only about 1.5 hours down to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs had been on my bucket list for YEARS so I was thrilled to finally get to visit. Pro tip: if you want to skip the high prices of the parking and visitor’s center access, drive to Hag’s Head and the Cliffs Walking Trail and park there. It’s only 5€ and an hour and a half hike to the visitor center, and there are significantly fewer people which made the experience amazing. The crowds get more condensed the closer you get to the visitors center, but walking the whole way you get to soak in the magnificent views the entire time. We packed a lunch in the morning and from hiking and eating lunch the entire experience was about 3.5-4 hours.
From the Cliffs we had a snack in Lahinch and headed south to the Ring of Kerry where our accommodation awaited us in a small village called Cahersiveen. Heads up: if you use your car’s GPS and not your phone’s, make sure to uncheck the box that says “car ferries” if you don’t want to take car ferries. We didn’t, and when our route ended at the Atlantic we were confused. We turned back, losing an hour on our already long drive.
What I would do differently: the Cliffs took a lot more time than we had anticipated, but we were taking our time to enjoy the views. We had talked about going to the Aran Islands, and if we were to do it again we would have stayed one night in Lahinch, a cozy surfer town, and maybe tried surfing but definitely go to the Aran Islands. We also wanted to visit the Dingle peninsula.
Day 5: Ring of Kerry, Valentia Island, Skellig Ring and Cork
If I had to choose, I would say this day was my favorite. We were so pleasantly surprised by the Ring of Kerry, and we weren’t planning to visit Valentia Island but we were intrigued so we made an extra stop! I highly recommend hiking about 30 minutes to walk to Bray Head Watchtower. I was blown away (almost literally with the wind) by the breathtaking views and the Skellig Rocks.
After our baby hike we found the Tetrapod Trackway (underwhelming to be honest, but if you’re into fossils check it out for sure. They’re the first recorded footsteps of a tetrapod from water to land). We drove around the island until we came back through Portmagee, with a stop at The Cafe for a snack, the owners were lovely and the pastries were delicious.
From Portmagee we made our way to the Kerry Cliffs. They had a much different vibe than the Cliffs of Moher and their jagged edges were stunning, they speak for themselves. It’s a 5€ entry fee per vehicle to park.
Side note: While you’re driving the Skellig Ring, we were recommended by a local to stop by the Skelligs Chocolate Factory and we were not disappointed. We picked up some very dark chocolate and it’s some of the best we’ve ever tasted.
After the Skellig Ring and Ring of Kerry we made our way to Cork. A couple of notable pubs in Cork: An Spailpin Fanach—the best trad sesh we had seen yet in Ireland. An Brog Bar + Kitchen—cool ambiance and fun games to play.
What I would do differently: I would’ve liked to have spent one more day in the Ring of Kerry so we could take the ferry to see the Skellig Rocks.
Day 6: Back to Dublin
Day 6 was pretty uneventful, but we did stop near Moneygall on our way back to Dublin. Moneygall’s claim to fame is that Barack Obama’s great great grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Moneygall, so there is a rest stop and gas station called Barack Obama Plaza with a museum on the 1st floor. I’m not kidding.
There’s also a song called “There’s No One As Irish As Barack Obama” by the Corrigan Brothers. You’re welcome.
Once we dropped off the rental car we had a restful evening.
What I would do differently: drank more water at the pubs in Cork the night before.
Day 7: Exploring Dublin
I had to pay a visit to the Guinness Storehouse while we were in Dublin. My honest opinion: it was cool, but somehow I expected more. I studied advertising so I was excited for the advertising floor. It was a bit underwhelming. Not to mention the ticket price was 30€, and I wanted to get my face on a pint but that was an extra 10€ as well. I’m glad I went, and if you’re a Guinness drinker you’ll enjoy it, but I didn’t think it was necessarily worth the ticket price. If you do end up going, the Gravity Bar at the end is a wonderful view of Dublin, and if you purchase your ticket from the link above I’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Alta Adventures 🙂
After breakfast we went to see the Bog Bodies at the National Museum of Ireland. It’s free entry and it was pretty cool. They have found a few extremely well preserved bodies of high-status individuals in the bogs. I felt weird taking photos of that so I didn’t get any.
And that concludes our seven-day Ireland road trip itinerary! If you have more time I would absolutely recommend taking the extra stops I mentioned in the “What I would do differently” section of each day. We did a lot of driving, and by no means was this itinerary perfect but we had a wonderful adventure and I hope you can implement some of these suggestions into your own Ireland road trip itinerary!
Let me know in the comments if you’ve been to any of these places or if you have plans to visit Ireland soon! I’d love to hear from you!