1Dublin
Base · 2–3 days
The essential first stop for national museums, Georgian streets, literary history and a genuinely good restaurant and music scene. Stay away from treating Temple Bar as the whole city; two or three nights is enough before heading out.
Wicklow and the Boyne Valley
Base · 1–2 days
Dublin’s useful hinterland splits neatly between Glendalough and mountain walks in Wicklow, and Newgrange, Knowth and Norman history in the Boyne Valley. It is the best way to add ancient sites or countryside to a short Dublin trip without committing to a full road trip.
Kerry: Killarney, Dingle and the Iveragh Peninsula
Base · 2–3 days
This is the iconic southwest: lakes, mountain passes, beaches, stone walls and the peninsula roads visitors picture when they picture Ireland. Base in Dingle for character and music, or Killarney for easier transport and access to the national park; trying to do both peninsulas and Skellig in two days is a bad plan.
4Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands
Base · 1–3 days
Galway supplies the lively pubs, food and walkable streets; Connemara and the Aran Islands supply bog, mountains, stone forts and a much rawer Atlantic edge. It works without a car better than most western itineraries, though Connemara itself is far better with one.
Clare and the Burren
Base · 2 days
Come for more than the Cliffs of Moher: the limestone Burren, coastal walks, surf around Lahinch and music in Doolin make this one of Ireland’s most efficient landscape regions. The cliffs can be crowded or fogged in; give the Burren and an overnight equal billing.
Cork City, Kinsale and West Cork
Base · 2 days
Cork City is the south’s best food-minded urban stop, while Kinsale and West Cork are for seafood, harbour villages and slow peninsula driving. Kinsale is attractive but pricey and busy in summer; the real reward is continuing into West Cork with a car.
7Belfast
Base · 2 days
A compact, industrial city with Titanic Belfast, excellent museums, strong restaurants and the island’s most immediate access to political history. Give it two nights and take a guided political tour rather than treating the murals as background decoration.
Derry~Londonderry and the Causeway Coast
Short stop · 1 day
Pair Derry’s intact walls and powerful recent history with the basalt coast, beaches, Dunluce Castle and Giant’s Causeway. Do not cram it into a Belfast day trip: stay on the coast or in Derry, especially in summer when the Causeway is busy.
Mayo, Achill and the northwest Atlantic
Base · 2 days
Mayo offers Atlantic beaches, hill walks, cycling and broad open country with far less pressure than Kerry. Westport is the easy base, but the best scenery is spread out enough that a car makes a major difference.
Sligo and Donegal
Base · 3 days
Ireland’s strongest second-trip landscape region combines Sligo’s surf and Benbulben with Donegal’s enormous beaches, Slieve League, Glenveagh and Malin Head. It is remote, weather-exposed and car-dependent, so it deserves its own trip rather than being tacked onto a Dublin–Galway–Kerry week.
Sample routes
Dublin plus ancient sites and mountain walks
5 daysDublin (3 days) → Wicklow and the Boyne Valley (2 days)
The right short first trip: Dublin gets proper museum, literary and pub time, while Wicklow and the Boyne Valley add Glendalough, walking and Newgrange without pretending you can reach the Atlantic coast. Use day tours or a short car hire; book Newgrange ahead.
Plan this routeClassic south-and-west road trip
9 daysDublin (2 days) → Cork City, Kinsale and West Cork (2 days) → Kerry: Killarney, Dingle and the Iveragh Peninsula (2 days) → Clare and the Burren (2 days) → Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands (1 day)
For first-timers who want Dublin, food, peninsula scenery and the west in one direction rather than endless backtracking. Train to Cork, then rent a car for the southwest and Clare. This is a highlights route: one night in Galway is for the city, not Connemara or an Aran Island overnight.
Plan this routeAtlantic northwest escape
10 daysDublin (2 days) → Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands (3 days) → Mayo, Achill and the northwest Atlantic (2 days) → Sligo and Donegal (3 days)
A stronger second trip than trying to bolt Donegal onto Kerry. Start with Galway’s sociable city life, then slow down through Connemara, Mayo and the remote northwest. Rent a car after Dublin: the transfers are manageable, but the best beaches, trailheads and Donegal viewpoints are not practical on sparse local buses.
Plan this routeFuller island circuit, including Northern Ireland
16 daysDublin (2 days) → Wicklow and the Boyne Valley (1 day) → Cork City, Kinsale and West Cork (2 days) → Kerry: Killarney, Dingle and the Iveragh Peninsula (3 days) → Clare and the Burren (2 days) → Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands (3 days) → Belfast (2 days) → Derry~Londonderry and the Causeway Coast (1 day)
The ambitious first-and-second-visit circuit for travelers who want both jurisdictions, not just the Republic’s postcard southwest. Keep a car for Cork through Galway, then expect a long Galway-to-Belfast transfer—often easiest via Dublin—or split the trip there. Belfast and the Causeway Coast deserve their own time; do not reduce either to a rushed day trip.
Plan this route
