Céad míle fáilte! (That’s a hundred thousand welcomes in Irish!) You’ll see this phrase everywhere in Ireland, and let me tell you, it’s the real deal. Maybe you won’t meet a literal hundred thousand friendly faces, but trust me, you’ll feel welcomed with open arms by almost everyone you encounter.
Ireland had been on my bucket list for years. I even had a couple of near misses with trips there in the past. So, when the idea of Ireland for our spring 2016 popped up, I was pleased as punch. This was finally my chance to see the places I’d been dreaming of since watching P.S. I Love You all those years ago! And while I may not have met a charming Irish bloke like Holly in the movie (hey, I had my own adorable Englishman by my side!), I did fall head over heels for the country itself and felt so at home there.
After our trip, I’m actually glad our original idea of combining Ireland and Northern Ireland didn’t work out. We were able to take more time exploring and now we have a fantastic excuse to go back! I’m already looking forward to it.
But first, let’s start with a recap of this trip – a sneak peek at the amazing places we visited, sprinkled with some photos to whet your whistle. Buckle up, and get ready for a taste of the enchanting Emerald Isle!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Trip Recap of Our Ireland Adventure
Click on the “Day” to be taken to more information about that day’s exploring.
- Day 1: Wicklow Mountains | Glendalough Monastic Site | Upper Lake | Avoca Handweavers | Huntington Castle
- Day 2: SS Dunbrody Famine Ship | Hook Lighthouse | Waterford Crystal | Kilkenny Castle
- Day 3: Rock of Cashel | Blarney Castle | Ross Castle | Torc Waterfall | Drive through Killarney National Park
- Day 4: Ring of Kerry | Stone Forts | Chocolate Factory | Slea Head Drive | Dingle
- Day 5: Gallarus Oratory | Ballyseede Woods (via Connor Pass) | Flying Boat Museum | Askeaton Friary | Adare
- Day 6: Cliffs of Moher | Aillwee Cave | The Burren (Ancient Monuments) | Galway
- Day 7: Clocmacnoise | Trim Castle | Brú na Bóinne
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After meeting Lee at Heathrow airport and then flying to Dublin together the day before, we were more than ready to get the road trip party started. We filled up on a delicious full Irish breakfast (I even tried black pudding and it was pretty good), and then we hit the road!
On this first full day of our trip we:
- Headed through the Wicklow Mountains for a scenic drive where we passed more than one extremely ambitious (and fit!) cyclist pushing their way to the tops of the hills.
- Made our first big stop of the trip at Glendalough Monastic Site …where we absolutely could not find any parking. Agh!
- Wandered around the beautiful Glendalough Upper Lake.
- Stopped at Avoca Handweaver for a little tour… but there weren’t any weavers working. Double Agh!
- Enjoyed all our extra time at Huntington Castle by wandering the grounds, watching sheep being born, and snuggling up in a castle. Yes, a castle!
ACCOMMODATION: Clayton Hotel Leopardstown (Dublin) on our first night and Huntington Castle on the second night.
We awoke to much sunnier skies on our second full day and they just added to the wonderful scenery around every corner.
On our second day, we:
- Visited the SS Dunbrody Famine Ship where we were booked in steerage class to learn all about our fate as Irish emigrants.
- Explored Hook Lighthouse which is the oldest operational lighthouse in the world and has stunning views out across the ocean.
- Watched exquisite pieces of crystal being created at the House of Waterford Crystal tour.
- Wandered around our second castle of the trip – Kilkenny Castle.
ACCOMMODATION: Rural Bliss Airbnb studio apartment in Kilkenny. This Airbnb find was truly bliss. Wonderful hosts, cosy room, and scrumptious homemade bread and other treats.
Today was our day for even more castles and, for me, learning how to drive on the left-hand side of the road! Even with Lee there to do the driving I had decided before the trip that this would be my chance to give it a go. Although there are SO many narrow roads to contend with, I’d still have to say Ireland is a great place to give it a try for the first time because there wasn’t much traffic and the locals seem pretty patient and forgiving. Not that I needed forgiveness mind you. I didn’t hit anyone or anything… well maybe a little curb and the ends of some bushes. Oops!
So, off we went on the long way to Tipperary*, made even longer by the single-lane, grass-down-the-middle roads and eventually we made it to:
- The imposing Rock of Cashel which was once a royal seat for the kings of Munster from the 4th century. It has amazing views of the countryside and lots of pretty gravestones surrounding the remains of the buildings.
- Blarney Castle, a medieval fortress that we thought would be neat, but unfortunately was a bit of a letdown.
- Unassuming Ross Castle made up for our earlier castle disappointment, especially with such a great guide who made the castle come alive with her stories of the sights, sounds, and smells!
- The pretty Torc Waterfall and a scenic drive through Killarney National Park.
ACCOMMODATION: Another fantastic Airbnb find called Glenview Lodge in Kenmare that was just perfect for a few hands of cards by the fireplace.
*Please tell me you sang that song in your head when you read that and it’s not just Lee and I that did it every time we read it on our plan, or thought of it while out exploring this day.
Scenic drives were on the agenda this day as we drove around the Ring of Kerry and out onto the Dingle Peninsula to see the following:
- Stone forts! We visited Staige, Cahergal, Leacanabuile, Dunbeg, and Beehive Huts.
- A few neat things that weren’t even on our plan at all, like a pretty church in ruins and a chocolate factory for sweet treats and some truffle tastings.
- Stunning views of the ocean and rocky shoreline along the Slea Head Drive and then on to very colourful Dingle for the night with an Irish (half) pint of Murphy’s stout and some cottage pie at Murphy’s Pub.
ACCOMMODATION: Murphy’s B&B/Guesthouse in Dingle but take note! There are TWO Murphy’s B&Bs in Dingle and they are NEXT DOOR to each other! We stayed in the green one and the red one was also the pub where we had dinner. Both places were run by super friendly folks.
Are those drums and pipes I hear? At this hour of the morning? Or maybe it’s still late at night and that music is coming from the pub next door? Nope, that my friends, was the sound of the early morning St. Paddy’s Day parade in Dingle!
If anyone ever tells you that they don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland (as I’ve been told many times), well I’m here to tell you they do. And they start celebrating at 6:00 AM! Our wonderful wake-up call was the pipes and drum band marching through the town, gathering all the townsfolk to head to early morning mass. And thankfully some people get up at that hour to film it so I can share it with you. Click this link to see (and hear!) the parade just like it sounded when it marked right past our B&B window.
About an hour later we finally got up, had a hearty breakfast, and then hit the road for some more really neat sights and experiences such as:
- The Gallarus Oratory that is thought to be an early Christian church.
- A few nerve-wracking moments along the twisty, narrow lanes along the edge of the mountains in the Connor Pass. But, oh my, the views!
- A relaxing walk through the Ballyseede Woods. We were looking for some particular wood carvings, which we never did come across. Still a great walk though.
- A unique find – the Flying Boat Museum. This aviation museum has a replica of a Pam Am Clipper flying boat which is a must-visit. It has such an interesting history!
- The Askeaton Friary that was quite likely our favourite “Oh cool! What’s that? We need to stop and look!” moment from the trip. We spotted it along the highway, popped in, and had the place all to ourselves to explore. Moments like those really can’t be beaten.
- The town of Adare with its cute thatched roof houses. I thought there would be more houses and the town would have been a little more quaint though.
ACCOMMODATION: An Airbnb in Limerick but I’m not going to share the link as we weren’t keen on it and wouldn’t recommend it.
I read a book called What Matters Most before this trip and the Cliffs of Moher played such an important part in it and were described so beautifully that I really couldn’t wait for this day to see them. The cliffs weren’t quite what I imagined from that story. Pretty, yes. But not quite the idyllic scene I had set up in my mind. Oh well!
On we went to visit the rest of the sights on our agenda for the day with stops at:
- Aillwee Cave is a 30-minute walk through the caverns in the side of the mountain with an underground waterfall! How we missed that in the description on their website I’m not sure but it made for a great surprise.
- One of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen- the Burren. From the Irish word Boireann, meaning “great rock“, the Burren truly IS a great rock. Full of cracks and crevices it was such a neat place to explore around a portal tomb called the Poulnabrone Dolmen.
- Off to the city of Galway for a little wonder and then an early evening in to spend playing cards and watching a comedian called Greg Davies– and this time I didn’t doze off only 10 minutes into the show!
ACCOMMODATION: A nice one-bedroom townhouse in Galway that we found on Airbnb that was just a stone’s throw from the city centre. Unfortunately, this Airbnb isn’t available anymore.
READ MORE: Visiting the Burren and Cliffs of Moher
Is it really our last day in Ireland already? I certainly didn’t want to see this trip end, even if it meant I got to visit my first UNESCO site of the year on our last day.
This was also the coldest day of our trip, but that’s ok. We bundled up and headed out to visit our last sites for this trip.
- The cold weather proved kind of useful on our first stop of the day – Clonmacnoise. Watching the video before our visit we saw so many photos of the monastic site when it was packed with people, but on our visit, there was only a handful of visitors, and the few others visiting must not have liked the chill because they didn’t wander long on the beautiful grounds.
- A guided tour of the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland called Trim Castle. The guide gave us a detailed explanation and interesting stories and then we enjoyed great views from the top.
- And then our final stop on our trip- the UNESCO World Heritage site of Brú na Bóinne for the guided tour of the Newgrange Passage Tomb and to see its prehistoric megalithic art.
ACCOMMODATION: The cosy Seamount House B&B that is run by some lovely folks and is mere minutes from Dublin airport.
READ MORE: Exploring Trim Castle in County Meath
Can you tell we had a GREAT time? We got to see and experience so many neat things but it seemed like we still had time for relaxing too, so a nice balance. It was such a good trip full of wonderful moments to add to our memories.
Have you ever visited Ireland? If so, what are some of YOUR favourite Irish moments?
We’d love to hear about your trip and maybe we’ll get some ideas for our next trip!
RESOURCES | PLAN YOUR TRIP TO IRELAND
To book flights, rental cars, accommodations, and activities for your trip, please check out our recommended travel providers, favourite apps and websites.
- Can’t get enough castles? Check out The Complete Illustrated Guide to Castles, Palaces, and Stately House of Britain and Ireland and you’re sure to find plenty to explore!
- Ireland’s Best-Loved Driving Tours: Includes 25 driving itineraries all over Ireland including “Witches, Castles, and Horses” which begins in Kilkenny.
- For all things Ireland, you can’t go wrong with Rick Steves! Check out his Ireland travel guide, full episodes of his TV show, or download his app for excellent audio tours.
- Fodor’s Exploring Ireland: Includes “The Grandeur of the Dingle Peninsula” driving route.
- Dingle Peninsula Loop Trip: A kilometre-by-kilometre self-guided driving or cycling tour.
Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission but this does not affect the price to you. Please read our full disclosure policy here.
