Ireland- 9 day Itinerary

Ireland is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to. Every corner consists of scenic landscapes, mountain views, ocean shorelines, stone walls and abandoned castles. There are so many breathtaking sights to see that you might be overwhelmed with where to start. I am going to highlight some of the must see destinations for your next trip to Ireland.

How to get around Ireland

We booked a flight to Dublin and from there rented a car so we could drive up the coast and explore the entire country. You can rent a car directly from the airport or if you are spending a few days in Dublin you will probably get a better rate renting from the city (especially since parking in Dublin is difficult and expensive). We rented from the airport and went with Easirent, which is much cheaper than other companies but they will add on all these extra costs. If you are planning to use the insurance on your credit card you must get a letter from your credit card stating that they provide insurance in Ireland. It is simple to get, just call your credit card company and they will email it to you right away. Make sure you book an automatic car (unless you are a pro at manual and can manage shifting when sitting on the right and driving on the opposite side of the road.) Which brings up another point, they drive on the left, so good luck.

Day 1- Dublin

We landed in Dublin at 7 am and by the time we made it to our hotel it was close to noon. We stayed at The Morrison hotel which has an amazing location. All of the major sights to see are within walking distance. Some things that you may want to check out are

• Temple Bar
• Guinness Brewery
• Jameson Distillery
• The Book of Kells- buy tickets in advance
• Dublin Castle

We had lunch at The Shack restaurant which serves traditional Irish food and is located right next to Temple Bar. For dinner I would highly recommend going to The Bank. It has such a cool environment and vibe. Also I had some amazing butternut squash pasta. For breakfast you can check out Lemon Jelly which is located right around the corner from the hotel.

Day 2- Killarney

Once you leave Dublin you have a choice of heading north or south. We decided to head south first. Depending on how much time you have there are a few stops you can make on your way to Killarney. We skipped most of these because we only had 9 days but if you have a few weeks you can stop at Wexford, Waterford and Cork. Waterford is home of the Waterford crystal factory which is supposed to be an amazing place to visit. Cork is where the Blarney stone is. We ended up stopping in Kilkenny for lunch. There is a beautiful castle that is worth stopping to see (Kilkenny Castle). We then made our way to Killarney. We stayed at Foley’s Guesthouse  which has a good location but probably not the nicest place you could stay at. It had free parking and breakfast so that was a plus. The hair dryer though was something out of the ghostbusters movie. There are plenty of bars and restaurants right outside the hotel. You can walk up and down the street and see shops and musicians performing.

Day 3- Ring of Kerry

The ring of Kerry is a scenic circular route along the south western coast of Ireland. If you are really pressed for time you could just drive along the route which will take you about 3.5 to 4 hours without stopping. I would recommend taking your time and stopping along the way to see the sights. The tour buses tend to take the counterclockwise route so you will be better off heading clockwise around the ring to beat the crowds. I will go into more detail about the Ring of Kerry and the stops to see in my next post.

Day 4- Ring of Kerry to Cliffs of Moher

If you stop along the route it will probably take you a day and a half to two days to leisurely make your way through the Ring of Kerry. We finished up the route by noon and stopped for lunch. We then decided to drive straight to the cliffs of Moher. We made it just in time for sunset. (Also if you show up to the cliffs half an hour before sunset they don’t ask you to pay the 8 Eur entrance fee so thats always a win.) It takes about 45 mins to an hour to leisurely walk between the three platforms and stop to take pictures. If you are short on time the platform on the right has the best views in my opinion. We ended up booking a hotel room right near the cliffs of Moher called the Lahinch Golf resort. Also I forgot to mention there is a lot of golfing in Ireland if you are interested. Also this small little town had the most beautiful beaches and also offered surf lessons.

Day 5- Aran Island to Galway

Before starting on our Ireland tour we had a list of sights that were recommended but we did not book any hotels in advance or book any tours etc. Everything was basically planned the day of which can be nice because it allows you to be flexible or it can backfire on you and you might miss some things. Luckily we were traveling off season and most things worked out for us. If you are traveling in peak season though I would recommend doing some more planning in advance. On day 5 we woke up and had a leisure breakfast. Our original plan was to head to Galway and see if we could book a spot for a hawk walk at the falconry. We called and falconry and they did not have availability for that day. They did have a spot the next day but we had originally planned on going to the Aran Islands on Day 6. The concierge at the Lahinch Golf resort then told us that we could actually catch a ferry from Doolin (which is 15 mins away) to the Aran Islands. Luckily the last ferry left at 1pm and we made it just in time.

There are three Aran Islands. If you want to go to the largest on you will have to catch an earlier ferry at 10 AM. Unfortunately we only had time for one but the concierge told us “if you see one island, you’ve seen them all.” The islands are beautiful and have stone walls and ruins scattered all around. You can rent a bike or take a horse carriage ride around the small Island. There are two restaurants and a hotel on the first island. The day we went it was pretty chilly but the views were still amazing.

The ferry returned to Doolin at 445pm and we headed straight to Galway that evening. We stayed at the Park House Hotel in Galway for two nights. The first night was a Saturday so we spent most of it just walking around the square. The Park house hotel is in a great location and all the restaurants, shops and bars are within walking distance.

Day 6- Galway and Ashford Castle

The next morning we woke up and explored Galway some more. We walked down to the shops and I bought a wool sweater that was made on the Aran Islands. We also saw the Spanish Arch which is just a short walk from the hotel.

In the afternoon we had our hawk walk at Ashford Castle. This was one of my favorite experiences on the trip. We walked around the castle grounds with the hawks for an hour and learned a lot about them. The hawks are free to fly away at anytime and some do leave for a few days to weeks. Almost all of them come back though because they are guaranteed to be fed at the falconry.

In the evening we returned to Galway and had dinner at Trattoria Magnetti.  The food was amazing, the service was terrible. Also keep in mind this is Europe and restaurants are in no rush to turn over tables but this was beyond slow service. You almost feel like you need to order everything at once because who knows when you will see your waiter again.

Day 7- Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland

Derry or if you’re British Londonderry was one of my favorite towns in Ireland. Derry is actually located in Northern Ireland which is park of the UK. They use the Pound there for currency. When driving to Northern Ireland you don’t actually cross a border, at some point you just end up in the UK. The entire town is surrounded by a stone wall. There is a lot of history there which I won’t go into but I really recommend stopping there if you have a chance. Where else can you grab a pizza and eat it sitting on the edge of a wall that surrounds the city?

We stayed at the Maldron in Derry which is a chain hotel.

Day 8- Giant’s Causeway to Belfast

Day 8 was one of our busiest days. We started our trip to Belfast and made several stops along the way.

• Dunluce Castle- Another castle that has been around for centuries. It is now in ruins but you can still see how grand it was back in the day.

  

• Giant’s Causeway- This place is one of the most scenic stops in Ireland. I would recommend going through the visitors center and getting the audio tour so you can learn a bit about the geography of the area.
• Dark Hedges- A picture is worth a thousand words so here you go.

  

• Carrick-E- Reed rope bridge- you can cross a bridge made of rope and become terrified in the process. Make sure you check timings because the rope bridge closes at 5pm or it can be closed due to inclement weather.

After all of this we drove on to Belfast and stayed at Ten Square. This was one of the best hotels we stayed at on our trip. The staff went out of their way to make us comfortable and everyone was so polite. We wanted to park our car and the garage had already closed for the night so they let us park in their private lot for free. They also upgraded our room for us.

We had dinner at Made in Belfast which is a farm to table restaurant and serves delicious food. The atmosphere is also inviting with eclectic art pieces. They have two locations and we went to the one in the Cathedral quarter. After dinner you can walk around and see some beautiful murals on the walls.

Day 9- Belfast

Our last full day in Ireland we explored the city of Belfast. They have a town hall which has 16 rooms dedicated to the history of Belfast. They also have a free walking tour available to the public at various times throughout the day. There are cathedrals and museums scattered throughout the town as well if that interests you. By mid afternoon we began our drive back to Dublin.

Day 10- Head to the Airport

Some advice for those of you traveling to the US. You will actually go through US customs before boarding your flight. This takes a long time! Even if you have global entry it will take you hours. We arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before our flight and barely made it. Luckily I did find some time to pick up some chocolates.