Planning a trip to Ireland with my mom in 2018 was a blast. We had a lot of fun looking at potential places to go and creating our Ireland itinerary together, bonding over our mutual love of Irish pubs, music, and food. Our family is almost entirely Irish, and we were looking forward to visiting the country and discovering the place our ancestors came from. We were pretty nervous too, especially about driving on the left side of the road, but my mom did great! The trip was incredible, featuring some of Ireland’s most iconic places and rolling green hills. We also had some tough moments, like getting lost on the Wild Atlantic Way and contracting food poisoning. Regardless, our trip was one for the books, so I wanted to share our Ireland itinerary with all of you.

Ireland Itinerary Day 1: Arrive in Dublin

We arrived in Dublin in the early afternoon giving us about half a day to explore a little. While I fell in love with Dublin immediately, my mom was a bit disappointed. She hadn’t realized how large of a city Dublin is and wasn’t expecting the bustling metropolis we arrived in. I think it grew on her by the end.

Our first stop was the Jameson Distillery. Neither my mom nor myself are big whiskey drinkers, but we had a blast here. When tasting whiskey from around the world, we realized very quickly that Jameson was our new favorite. Mixed with a little ginger ale, we had found one of our new favorite cocktails.

One of the things we were looking forward to most was the nightlife. We were desperate to find a cute pub with lively traditional Irish music. The Temple Bar area of Dublin did not disappoint.

We stayed at the perfect Airbnb in Dublin. It was an easy commute to the bus stop from the airport and right in the center of Temple Bar. We could easily walk everywhere in the city from this central location.

Ireland Itinerary Day 2: Explore Dublin

We started our morning off at Trinity College. We wanted to see the famous Book of Kells and walk through the incredible library. I had seen photos of the beautiful college online and read about what to expect, but my mom was blissfully unaware. Honestly, I think she would have preferred to skip it when I said we were going to see a bunch of old books. Once we arrived, however, she was completely entranced. Neither of us could stop looking up and staring at the beautiful wooden ceiling and admiring the seemingly endless shelves of centuries-old books.

Next, we wanted to explore Irish culture (and our own heritage) with a trip to the Emigration Museum (EPIC). This is without a doubt the coolest museum I have ever been to. The exhibits were interactive, providing endless amounts of fun. We wandered the halls and stamped our passports along the way to make sure we didn’t miss a single attraction. I learned so much about Ireland with one short visit.

Finally, after lunch at Buskers, we walked over to St. James Gate and the Guinness Storehouse. We preferred our experience at the Jameson Distillery since it was a smaller establishment with a more personal tour. The highlight was the 360-degree panoramic view of Dublin from the bar on the top floor (and the free beer).

Finish the night off by pub-hopping in Temple Bar once again. Try Brazen Head for dinner and Porterhouse or Badbobs for music and brews. It’s your last night in Dublin, so you’ll want to make the most of it, but save your energy for a big day of travel ahead!

Ireland Itinerary Day 3: Dublin to Cork

Since we were so nervous about driving on the left, we wanted to avoid driving in the big city of Dublin. This also saved us two days of paying for a rental car. After waking up on our third day in Ireland, we headed back to the airport to pick up a rental car I had reserved. I was confident I had reserved an automatic, but when we arrived they had a manual waiting for me. It’s a bit embarrassing, but as a true millennial American, I cannot drive a car with manual transmission. So, instead of forking over $1,000 more for an automatic, my mom agreed to drive the entire trip to save us the money. We were off to see the rest of the island.

After leaving Dublin and navigating our way through endless roundabouts, we stopped for a little snack at Armoury Cafe in Glencree, just outside Wicklow Mountains National Park. Driving through the scenic park was our ultimate test for driving on the left. I could tell my mom was nervous and stressed as the roads seemed to get narrower and narrower. I had been looking forward to seeing some sights here, such as Glendalough, but when we arrived I was confused on where to go and what to see. It also cost extra, which I didn’t expect, so we opted to keep driving and enjoying the views.

We stopped in the absolutely adorable town of Kilkenny for lunch. Kilkenny is your typical Irish town with cobblestone streets and pastel-colored doors. It’s one I hope to return to someday and explore further. Here, we caught glimpses of both the Kilkenny Castle and the Rock of Cashel. We wanted to make it to Cork before dark, so we didn’t have time to explore either one, but we did take photos of their gorgeous exteriors.

Ireland’s second largest city is another with lots to explore. Being centrally located at this Airbnb is most helpful, but expect parking to be hard to find and you’ll have to walk up lots of narrow stairs. We wandered around town and tried to find pubs similar to those in Temple Bar, but were a bit disappointed. We did have dinner at a nice spot by the river where live music was playing. With more time in Cork, we would have visited the Jameson Distillery there as well.

Ireland Itinerary Day 4: Cork to Glengarriff

After wandering through Cork’s English Market for breakfast, we were on our way to the famous Blarney Castle. After climbing through its narrow winding stairways, we were treated to glorious views of the countryside on a rare sunny day in Ireland. We kissed the Blarney Stone for tradition’s sake and wandered the grounds, discovering a large mansion and beautiful trees and gardens.

Next, we stopped in a town I’d been looking forward to ever since I read about it while planning the trip: Kinsale. This adorable little village is said to be Ireland’s foodie capital, and we were not disappointed. It’s possibly my favorite place in Ireland with its perfect location right along the Atlantic Ocean and it’s brightly colored buildings. Plus, the food was indeed incredible.

This was where we picked up Ireland’s famous Wild Atlantic Way, its scenic route along the beautiful coastline. It took us through some of the most beautiful coastal scenes I had ever witnessed and to the historic Drombeg Stone Circle. Stopping here, I couldn’t help but fantasize about Outlander even though I wasn’t in Scotland anymore.

We continued on beautiful winding roads, some a bit scary for us since we were still new to driving on the left. Every time an oncoming car drove up, my mom cowered and pulled over a bit too far to the left for my comfort as the left-side passenger. We were also fooled a few times by the blue Wild Atlantic Way signs and ended up lost with little room to turn around and find our way. Eventually, we got back onto the main motorway in order to reach our destination of Glengarriff before dark.

I’ll be honest, Glengarriff wasn’t my favorite town and this Airbnb wasn’t my favorite place to stay. It was incredibly difficult to find since the photo isn’t very helpful. The town lacked options in terms of both lodging and restaurants, so we made do with what we had. On the bright side, the Wi-Fi was good enough for me to book a ticket back to Alaska upon my return to the States.

Ireland Itinerary Day 5: Glengarriff to Killarney

We left Glengarriff as quickly as we could and set our sights on one of Ireland’s more unique attractions: the Dursey Island Cable Car. The only cable car in the country connects the mainland to Dursey Island, home to only six permanent residents. We enjoyed the cable car ride, but it was rickety and we were a bit worried about returning.

Next, we fled for the beautiful but touristy town of Killarney and its famous Killarney National Park. We stopped at a sheep farm and watched the sheep run and play, then continued on for a short hike to a waterfall. The perfect way to end the day was a pint and a slice at Killarney Brewing Company, which served delicious beer and pizza.

Taking a break from our traditional Airbnb lodging, we opted to stay at Dan Linehan’s, a hotel above one of Killarney’s bars. We enjoyed our stay here in a quaint room in the center of town.

Ireland Itinerary Day 6: Killarney to Tralee

Continuing with our great weather streak, we headed on to drive the famous Ring of Kerry and its neighboring Skellig Ring. The views did not disappoint and we immediately understood why the drives are so famous.

I had given up on the idea of visiting the Skellig Islands, famous for appearing in the most recent Star Wars films, long before the trip began due to time constraints. However, when we arrived and the weather was outstanding, we went for it. We weren’t able to disembark, but we did ride a boat all around Skellig Michael and Little Skellig for fabulous views of the monk settlements and birds, including puffins.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat in Tralee and it was some of the best food we had on our trip. Then, we drove to our castle for the evening.

If there was one thing my mom and I agreed upon while setting our Ireland itinerary, it was that we wanted to stay in a castle. Ireland had a few castle-turned-hotel options, but they cost a pretty penny. We decided to splurge for just one night at Ballyseede, and we’re both extremely glad we did.

Ireland Itinerary Day 7: Tralee to Cliffs of Moher

Day 7 will be filled with a lot of driving if you intend to follow our itinerary. It may help if you don’t lose your car keys when you stop to pet lambs in Dingle, but nonetheless, have some snacks in the car in case you, like us, find yourselves starving and skipping dinner in favor of a good night’s sleep.

We had been looking forward to the Dingle Peninsula for no other reason than its funny name. I had heard it was beautiful, perhaps even more so than the Ring of Kerry, but after driving that route and the Skellig Ring I found it hard to believe. I’d have to say they are tied in my book; it is impossible for me to choose a favorite. What I will say is that I loved the town of Dingle more than the town of Portrush on the Skellig Ring. Its distillery was great fun to tour (and we got a bit of a buzz), the restaurants were better, and the buildings more colorful like traditional Ireland.

Next, we began our long drive to the Cliffs of Moher. To save some time, we took the Shannon Ferry from Tarbert, which additionally added some fun. We didn’t reach our Airbnb until well past nightfall, and all of the restaurants in town were closed. Plan ahead if you’re driving such a long way.

This Airbnb is located in one of the most beautiful plots of land I have ever seen. The hosts were also kind enough to offer us food since we arrived so late.

Ireland Itinerary Day 8: Cliffs of Moher to Galway

The Cliffs of Moher was certainly the highlight of our eighth day. We thought it was incredibly windy, but the employees assured us that we lucked out with such a calm day. I’d recommend arriving here as early as possible since it is one of Ireland’s most popular attractions. We arrived before all of the tour buses from Galway and Dublin, giving us time to quietly explore and avoid the crowds. Bring as many layers as you can – the winds are no joke!

Ireland Itinerary Day 9: Galway to Portrush

This was the day my mom and I contracted food poisoning, so sadly I don’t have much advice on things to do. We spent most of our time in the car and then we didn’t leave our hotel. However, we did get out to hike to Devil’s Chimney, or we thought we did. We actually found ourselves at Glencar Waterfall, which was beautiful all the same.

While we didn’t eat, I’d recommend stopping for lunch in Donegal on your way to Derry (Londonderry) in Northern Ireland, famous for its city walls and peace bridge. We did a quick drive through so I could glimpse these sites but opted not to stop since I was ill and my mom was starting to feel sick as well.

The hotel in Portrush had everything we needed on our ninth night: a bathroom.

Ireland Itinerary Day 10: Portrush to Belfast

Thankfully, my mom and I were feeling well enough to continue on our way along the Causeway Coast. Our desire to see these famous places was the entire reason we decided to add Northern Ireland to our Ireland itinerary. You won’t want to miss the Dunluce Castle and Wishing Arch, Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dark Hedges, Glenariff Forest, and The Gobbins on your way to Belfast.

Our Airbnb in Belfast was tucked away and a bit far from some of the attractions we hoped to see. It was also the most difficult to find compared to everywhere else we stayed on our trip. Lastly, there were (of course) narrow stairways leading to our room.

Ireland Itinerary Day 11: Belfast to Dublin

Belfast is an odd place. We walked around quite a bit and didn’t fall in love, to say the least. We went on your typical Black Cab Tour to see the memorials after such harsh and devastating conflicts. As promised, this was led by someone who had grown up during The Troubles. He kindly dropped us off at the Titanic Museum after showing us around town so we could explore the place the ship was built before heading back to Dublin.

If you have time, consider walking around town to see some of Belfast’s statues, like the Big Fish and C.S. Lewis Square. Additionally, stop by Brú na Bóinne on your way to Dublin for a glimpse into arts, tombs, and graves.

Return your rental car to Dublin airport upon arrival before continuing on to your hotel in order to avoid driving in the island’s largest city and saving money on your last day.

Sad face, it’s your last night in Ireland. We stayed right across the street from a bus stop in order to make our trip to the airport as easy as possible.

Ireland Itinerary Day 12: Depart Dublin

Pack your bags, it’s time to head home. Maybe you have time for one more Irish breakfast before your flight? Remember to give yourself plenty of time at the airport in case of long lines or other hold-ups. I hope you enjoyed our Ireland itinerary and that it helps you plan your perfect trip!