Dublin's Book of Kells and Guinness, the train to Galway, a drive past the Cliffs of Moher and across the Shannon to Dingle, Slea Head, Killarney National Park and the Gap of Dunloe, then the train back. Best May to September; November to January sunset is around 16:15.
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- Day 18:30 am – 10:30 pm · 5 stops
- 8:30 am 1Book of Kells and the Long Room at openingDublin
The 9th-century gospel book, then the Long Room of the Old Library. Experience ticket from €25 (€19 for the Book and Old Library only); timed entry, non-refundable, book online. Most of the Long Room's books have been removed for the library's redevelopment, except the first four bays, so it looks emptier than in photos. Opens 8:30 (Sunday 9:00).
15 min walk · 1.1 km - 10:30 am 2St Patrick's CathedralDublin
Ireland's largest church, where Jonathan Swift was dean, with the small park beside it. About €8-10. Walk past Dublin Castle on the way from Trinity.
7 min walk · 550 m - 12 pm 3Irish stew at The Hairy LemonDublin
Cluttered old Dublin pub that two recent first-hand itineraries both stopped at; one recommends its Irish stew. Pub-lunch prices, about €20.
20 min walk · 1.5 km - 2 pm 4Guinness Storehouse and a pint in the Gravity BarDublin
Seven floors on brewing and advertising, ending with a pint in the 360° Gravity Bar. From about €26, cheapest booked 72+ hours ahead for off-peak weekday slots. Plan 2-3 hours.
8 min by train or taxi · 1.6 km - 8 pm 5Live music around Temple BarDublin
The cobbled quarter where pubs run live trad and ballad sets every night; touristy and pricier than elsewhere, but both of our first-hand itineraries ended a Dublin night here. Pints run about €8-9 here.
- Day 210:30 am – 11 pm · 6 stops
- 10:30 am 6Kilmainham Gaol tourDublin
The prison where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were executed; the hour-long guided tour is the best history lesson in the city. €8. Tickets are released 28 days ahead at midnight and sell out, with returns appearing daily around 9:15-9:30. Open 10:30-17:15 October to March.
15 min walk · 1.2 km - 1 pm 7Train from Heuston to GalwayDublin
Heuston is a short walk or tram ride from Kilmainham. Irish Rail's Galway trains take about 2.5 hours; online fares are cheaper than at the station. The drive is about 2 to 2.5 hours if you'd rather pick up a car in Dublin.
1h 23m by train or taxi · 184 km - 4 pm 8Spanish Arch and Galway City MuseumGalway
The 16th-century arch on the river and the free city museum beside it, with a Galway hooker boat hanging in the atrium. Then walk the Long Walk along the Corrib.
3 min walk · 150 m - 5 pm 9Wander the Latin QuarterGalway
Shop Street and Quay Street's painted pubs, buskers and bookshops, the heart of Galway in every itinerary we read. Free.
3 min walk · 0 m - 6:30 pm 10Seafood dinner in the Latin QuarterGalway
Galway Bay oysters, chowder or fish and chips; oyster bars and seafood places cluster around Quay Street and the Spanish Arch. About €30.
3 min walk · 150 m - 9 pm 11Trad session at Tig CóilíGalway
Small, packed pub with traditional sessions most nights, picked by a May 2025 first-hand road-trip report (Taaffes, nearby on Shop Street, was the other). Squeeze in early for a seat. Price of a pint.
- Day 39 am – 11 pm · 7 stops
- 9 am 12Pick up a car and drive the Burren coast to the cliffsGalway
From here on a car makes the west far easier: about 1h45 to the cliffs via the coast road. Without one, Bus Éireann's 350 runs from Galway bus station to the Cliffs and Doolin, but you'd then need to rejoin the route to Kerry by bus via Limerick.
42 min by train or taxi · 42 km - 11 am 13Cliffs of MoherLiscannor
Some 8 km of sheer Atlantic cliffs. Gate price €15 adults (2026), parking included; booking online is much cheaper, especially for off-peak slots before 11:00 or after 16:00. Puffins nest April to July. In winter it is cold and exposed and fog rolls in fast; bring a waterproof, gloves and a scarf, not an umbrella.
8 min by train or taxi · 5.2 km - 1 pm 14Lunch at Gus O'Connor's in DoolinDoolin
Doolin's famous music pub, 10 minutes north of the cliffs; a May 2025 road-tripper had lunch here after the cliffs. Chowder and brown bread, about €20.
44 min by train or taxi · 44 km - 3:15 pm 15Shannon car ferry, Killimer to TarbertKillimer
About 1h15 south from Doolin. The 20-minute crossing over the Shannon estuary saves the long drive round by Limerick. Sailings every half hour in the day in high season; year-round except Christmas Day. Fares online at Shannon Ferries.
8 min by train or taxi · 3.3 km - 3:45 pm 16On to DingleTarbert
About 1h45 via Tralee. From November to January it will be dark by about 16:30, so take the N86 via Annascaul, not the narrow Conor Pass.
36 min by train or taxi · 79 km - 7 pm 17Seafood dinner at Doyle'sDingle
Long-running seafood restaurant named by two Dingle guides: local crab, hake and Dingle Bay prawns. About €45-55. Book ahead in summer; Dingle's restaurants keep shorter hours in winter, so check it's open.
6 min walk · 400 m - 9 pm 18A pint at Dick Mack's or Foxy John'sDingle
Dick Mack's is an old leather shop turned pub with its own brewery and live music in winter; Foxy John's on Main Street is still a hardware store by day and had standing-room trad with uilleann pipes for a May 2025 visitor. Both are favourites in our Dingle sources.
- Day 410 am – 8:30 pm · 7 stops
- 10 am 19Dunbeg Fort on the cliff edgeFahan
Drive the Slea Head loop clockwise (the direction the tour buses use). This Iron Age promontory fort is half fallen into the sea. About €3.50 cash at the booth (2025). The loop is about 90 minutes of driving, but allow most of the day with stops.
15 min walk · 1.2 km - 10:50 am 20Beehive hutsFahan
Dry-stone clóchan huts built by early monks, on farmland (the farmers charge about €4 each; some have lambs to hold in spring).
8 min by train or taxi · 2.8 km - 11:30 am 21Dunmore Head and Coumeenoole BeachDunquin
The westernmost point of mainland Ireland and the little cove below it, the beach from Ryan's Daughter. Dunmore Head's farm path costs about €1. Strong currents: not a swimming beach.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.5 km - 12:45 pm 22The Great Blasket Centre and its caféDunquin
Museum of the Irish-speaking islanders who left the Great Blasket in 1953, with a café overlooking the islands. Adult admission a few euros (€4 senior in 2025). Hours are seasonal: check the OPW site in winter. Pass Dunquin Pier's zigzag path on the way.
14 min by train or taxi · 9.0 km - 2:45 pm 23Gallarus OratoryBallydavid
A boat-shaped early Christian church of unmortared stone, still watertight after more than a thousand years. About €5 through the visitor centre; Kilmalkedar Church nearby is free.
10 min by train or taxi · 6.3 km - 4 pm 24Murphy's Ice Cream on Strand StreetDingle
Dingle's own ice cream (sea salt, honeycomb caramel), a stop in two first-hand trip reports. A few euros.
3 min walk · 50 m - 7 pm 25Dinner at James Long's pubDingle
Gastro-pub where two first-hand Dingle reports ate (fish and chips with a Guinness; roast pork loin). About €25-30.
- Day 59:30 am – 10:30 pm · 7 stops
- 9:30 am 26Inch BeachInch
A 5 km sand spit across Dingle Bay, 30 minutes east of Dingle on the way to Killarney. Walk out along the strand; surfers in the water most days. Free.
3 min walk · 0 m - 10:15 am 27Drive to KillarneyInch
About an hour via Castlemaine and Milltown.
33 min by train or taxi · 33 km - 11:30 am 28Ross Castle on Lough LeaneKillarney
15th-century O'Donoghue tower house on the lakeshore, a short walk or jaunting-car ride from town. The grounds and lakeside are free; interior tours (OPW) run seasonally, so check before you go. Lake boat trips leave from here in season.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.6 km - 12:45 pm 29Lunch in Killarney townKillarney
Pub lunch or a café on High Street or College Street, about €20.
10 min by train or taxi · 6.4 km - 2 pm 30Torc WaterfallKillarney
A 20 m cascade in the oak woods, a few minutes' walk from the N71 car park; best after rain. Free.
8 min by train or taxi · 1.7 km - 3 pm 31Muckross House and gardensKillarney
Victorian mansion furnished for Queen Victoria's 1861 visit, seen on a guided tour; the gardens and lakeside trails are free. House €9.25 (2025). Winter hours 9:00-17:30, last admission an hour before closing; open daily except 24-26 December.
8 min by train or taxi · 4.6 km - 7:30 pm 32Dinner and a session in KillarneyKillarney
Killarney's pubs have live music most nights year-round; eat in town, then follow the fiddles. About €35 with a pint.
- Day 69:30 am – 4:45 pm · 4 stops
- 9:30 am 33Walk the Gap of DunloeKillarney
The narrow glacial pass between the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountain, with a chain of lakes. Park at Kate Kearney's Cottage and walk in past the wishing bridge to Augher Lake and beyond, then back (or hire a jaunting car one way). In season you can do the full gap and return by boat to Ross Castle. Free on foot.
3 min walk · 0 m - 1 pm 34Lunch at Kate Kearney's CottageKillarney
The old coaching inn at the mouth of the gap, the obvious stop for soup and a sandwich after the walk. About €20.
13 min by train or taxi · 8.4 km - 3 pm 35Ladies ViewKillarney
The viewpoint on the Kenmare road named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, looking down the Upper Lake valley. Go before the light goes in winter. Free.
15 min by train or taxi · 9.4 km - 4 pm 36Muckross Abbey on the walk backKillarney
Roofless 15th-century Franciscan friary with a yew tree growing in the cloister. Free and open any time.
- Day 79 am – 9:30 pm · 4 stops
- 9 am 37Train from Killarney back to DublinKillarney
Drop the car in Killarney. Irish Rail to Heuston takes about 3.5 hours, usually with a change at Mallow; book online for lower fares.
1h 59m by train or taxi · 261 km - 2 pm 38Irish Whiskey Museum tour and tastingDublin
Guided history of Irish whiskey with a tasting, opposite Trinity's front gate. From about €18.70.
9 min walk · 700 m - 3:45 pm 39St Stephen's Green and Grafton StreetDublin
Victorian park at the top of the pedestrian shopping street, with buskers along the way. Free.
12 min walk · 850 m - 7 pm 40Farewell dinner and a last pintDublin
Boxty (potato pancakes) or stew south of the Liffey, then one more pint. About €35.