Ireland road trip: a 10-day itinerary

Ireland is small enough to drive around in ten days and varied enough that every day looks different: monastic ruins in the Wicklow Mountains, medieval towns in the south, the peninsulas of Kerry, the sea cliffs of Clare and the empty expanse of Connemara. This route is a loop from and back to Dublin, with no more than three and a half hours of driving a day.

The route at a glance

Driving times: route calculation based on OpenStreetMap, without breaks. On narrow country roads between stone walls, behind tractors and with photo stops, add about a third.

1. Dublin
2. Glendalough
3. Kilkenny
4. Cashel
5. Cork
6. Kinsale
7. Killarney
8. Cahersiveen
9. Waterville
10. Kenmare
11. Cliffs of Moher
12. Galway
13. Kylemore Abbey
14. Clifden

Base map: Natural Earth

Days 1–2: Dublin

Two days in the capital are a good start before heading into the countryside. Trinity College keeps the Book of Kells in its Old Library, the Ha'penny Bridge leads to the pub quarter of Temple Bar, and on the edge of the centre the Guinness Storehouse tells the story of the stout. Pick up the hire car on day three – you won't need it in Dublin, and parking is expensive.

Days 3–4: Wicklow, Kilkenny and Cashel

South of Dublin the Wicklow Mountains begin. In the valley of Glendalough the remains of an early medieval monastic settlement with a round tower lie between two lakes; trails lead along the upper lake. In the evening you reach Kilkenny with its castle on the River Nore and the "Medieval Mile" through the old town.

On day four, halfway to Cork, stands the Rock of Cashel: cathedral, round tower and chapel on a limestone outcrop above the plain, once the seat of the kings of Munster. In Cork, take a stroll through the covered English Market.

Days 5–6: Kinsale and the Ring of Kerry

Kinsale is a small harbour town with colourful houses, good restaurants and the star-shaped Charles Fort; it is the southern end of the Wild Atlantic Way, the signposted coastal route along the west coast. In the afternoon drive on to Killarney on the edge of the national park of the same name, with Muckross House and the Lakes of Killarney.

Day six belongs to the Ring of Kerry, the loop road around the Iveragh peninsula. Tour coaches drive it anticlockwise – so do we, so set off early to avoid getting stuck behind them. On the way are Cahersiveen, the resort of Waterville and Kenmare, and on the way back to Killarney the Ladies View lookout. In summer, boats from Portmagee go to the rock island of Skellig Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; places are limited and go early.

Days 7–8: Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and Galway

Via Limerick you head north into County Clare. The Cliffs of Moher rise up to 214 m straight out of the Atlantic; paths run along the edge in both directions from the visitor centre. Spend the night in Doolin, where traditional Irish music plays in the pubs almost every evening.

On day eight you drive through the Burren, a bare limestone landscape with the Poulnabrone portal tomb, to Galway. The university town has the liveliest centre on the west coast: buskers on Quay Street, small pubs and the Spanish Arch by the river.

Days 9–10: Connemara and back to Dublin

West of Galway lies Connemara – bogs, lakes and the Twelve Bens mountains. Kylemore Abbey sits on a lakeshore in front of a wooded slope, and right next to it is Connemara National Park with the trail up Diamond Hill. Spend the night in the small town of Clifden, from where the Sky Road makes a short scenic loop along the coast.

The last day is the longest at three and a half hours of pure driving; from Galway it is motorway almost all the way to Dublin. If you fly out in the evening, drop the car at the airport.

Best time to visit Ireland

May to September. It is warmest then, the days are long, and all visitor centres and boat trips are open. May and June are often a little drier than high summer. Rain is part of every season in Ireland, but it rarely gets really cold even in winter – the west coast is shaped by the Gulf Stream.

Climate in Killarney (Kerry): 2015–2024 averages from the ERA5 reanalysis (Open-Meteo), rounded. The east around Dublin is much drier than the west.

Good to know before you go

• Driving on the left: Ireland drives on the left; at roundabouts give way to traffic from the right. Unlike in the UK, distances and speed limits are in kilometres.
• Roads: Many country roads are narrow and lined with stone walls or hedges. A small car is an advantage.
• Tolls: The M50 ring motorway around Dublin has a barrier-free toll recorded by camera. Ask the rental company how it is billed.
• Entry: Ireland is in the EU but not in the Schengen Area, so it has its own entry rules and passport control. UK and Irish citizens travel freely within the Common Travel Area.
• Mobile data: EU and EEA plans roam in Ireland like at home. With a plan from elsewhere, a travel eSIM is often cheaper than roaming.
• Flight: A direct flight from London to Dublin takes approx. 1 to 1.5 hours.

How YesTrip helps with this trip

Create a trip in YesTrip with the stops of this route: the app shows every place on the map, uses AI to plan your days in Dublin, Kilkenny and Galway and shows the weather for your travel days – so you can put the Ring of Kerry on the driest day. The packing list suggests clothing to match the forecast and reminds you of the adapter for the Type G sockets used in Ireland. The offline map helps in Connemara, and if you travel with friends you can share the trip and the expenses in the app. For the first days there is our ready-made plan for Dublin.