We had mapped out a pretty aggressive itinerary which would have us exploring most of Ireland and Northern Ireland. We flew out of Luton and met the Johnsons in the Dublin airport. Brad and I were able to take advantage of the airport lounge in Luton with our Priority Pass. It was nice for a seat and some quiet away from the mayhem. We typically don’t check a bag when we travel, but we brought a bunch of craft beers for the guys to try. It also allowed us to bring some additional picnic supplies such as a wine opener/small knife for cheese, a soft sided cooler with ice pack, a small cutting board and a packable picnic sheet.
Brad and I connected with our friends and hopped in our rental car to head to Kilkenny. We rented through Turo, kind of like an Airbnb for renting vehicles. So far the process was pretty easy as our friends picked the car up at a hotel near the airport. The drive to Kilkenny was easy as it was mostly on the motorway. While it was dark and we couldn’t see anything, the time passed quickly as we caught up on conversation. After about 1.5 hour drive, we arrived at our Airbnb. We were all pretty knackered so we went right to bed.
Brad and I enjoyed a short run in the morning sunshine, exploring a bit of downtown before it woke up. We turned around at the castle as a market was setting up in the square. We packed up the house and moved the car to a closer lot before getting breakfast at The Pantry Country Kitchen. As we were eating, they kept bringing our freshly made pastries for their case. Everything looked and tasted delicious! Before leaving town, we swung by to pick up a few pastries. We tried their delicious cream donut and a Welsh cheesecake. It isn’t actually a cheesecake, but a muffin shaped Madiera sponge with jam in the bottom. So good!
Following breakfast, we enjoyed the sunshine as we explored the market outside the castle before going inside. The Kilkenny Castle was built in 1195 and most notably is currently three sides when Oliver Cromwell knocked down the one side. The most spectacular room was the Picture Gallery with its beautiful staircase leading to it. The gallery was lined with art work and tapestries and had the most amazing pained wooden ceiling.
Before leaving town, got a few foods from the market for a picnic lunch. We drove about 45 minutes to the Rock of Cashel and the Hore Abbey. Brad and I always love exploring abbeys as we find them so fascinating. The ruins were beautiful with views of the Cashel in the distance. We were entertained on the walk to The Rock of Cashel by watching a herding dog try to get the sheep organised and down the hill to the gate. Prior to entering, we enjoyed a picnic outside of hummus, cheese, meats and beer.
The Rock of Cashel dates from the 1100s and houses a large cemetery, a cathedral and ruins. We did not pay extra to explore the chapel, but enjoyed checking out the ruins. My favourite part was going through a small wooden door to a yard of stone crosses overlooking rolling green fields.
Following The Rock of Cashel, we drove to Kinsale, a quaint and very cute harbour town. We navigated the small roads and finally found our Airbnb which was in a great location in town. After dropping our things off at the flat, we explored the town, first stopping at Kitty O Se’s for drinks. We walked along the harbour before stopping at the Vista Bistro for wine overlooking the harbour. It was the perfect setting for pre-dinner drinks and good conversation.
We had a booking at Fishy Fishy which had great reviews. The variety of seafood dishes we got were all flavourful and well prepared. I had my first oyster (it really just tasted like salty water).
We walked Amy and Ben back to the flat and were then on the hunt for live music. It didn’t take long and really you just needed to listen and follow the music. We ended up at The White House where two guys were singing and playing the guitar/drum box. They sang a mix of Irish songs and great sing-a-long tunes. The bar was packed and everyone was singing and enjoying the music. There’s something about live music. It just sounds better in a pub in Ireland. As they were finishing for the night, I turned to Brad and said, “I need to hear ‘Rattlin Bog’ before I leave this country. And it happened to be the band’s final song. It was a really fun drink filled evening.
I hoped to run in the morning before leaving for Kinsale, but things were a little fuzzy so we got take away coffees and breakfast from the Cosy Cafe before heading out.
Country roads took us to Killarney where we parked in the lot at the Muckross House. We opted to not tour the house and just explored the Killarney National Park surrounding it. With a map and and some guidance from one of the employees, we were off. The path that circles the lake, which we stuck to for most of the walk, was paved and easy walking. We made a few detours to check out the beach along the way. The most spectacular was this rocky outcrop into the water. We climbed it for great views and explored the beautiful and magical cavern underneath. It was so fascinating!
We continued on to pass the Dinis Tea Room and the Meeting of the Waters, where three lakes come together. We turned off the trail to head up the “red” trail which was the more challenging route to the Torc waterfall. Brad was nice enjoying to carry our picnic lunch and we found a perfect spot right off the trail to enjoy hummus, cheese, fruit, bread, beer and crisps. We bought basil hummus and semi-dried tomatoes the day before at the market and both were amazing!
With full bellies, we climbed the stones made into stairs and kept going up, up, up. When we got to the top, we had the most amazing panoramic views! The path flattened out before descending down to the top portion of the waterfall. The trail was getting more crowded and we were happy with our decision to take the red trail. The waterfall was beautiful and the lower section was taller and more dramatic. It was nearly a 7 mile walk/hike round trip and a beautiful day spent with the amazing weather.
It was a short drive to Kenmare where we were staying for the night. We had two rooms at the Limestone Lodge which was quiet and clean and short walk to town. We dropped our bags off and walked around the two main streets in town, stopping in a few pubs and shops. We enjoyed dinner at PF McCarthy’s which had good food and live music. The boys found some craft beers at a little shop before calling it a night.
We had an early start for the Ring of Kerry. We departed Kenmare at 7:30 am to get to Waterville by 11:00 am. The goal was to avoid having to deal with the large coach buses driving the opposite way on the ring. We didn’t have any luck finding take away coffees and breakfast in Kenmare so we found Kelly’s Bakery in Sneem which was along the way. The baked goods were amazing and the owner was one of the sweetest women. In chatting with her, she said most places wouldn’t open until 9:30ish.
Our first stop was the Staigue Ring Fort. Built between 500 B.C. and A.D. 300, it is believed to have been built for protection or for rituals. The ring was very dramatic with the fog. At 80 feet across and up to 25 feet high, it was quite a striking structure. Our favourite part of the morning was the sheep running down the road in front of us.
We continued on and enjoyed mostly empty roads even though the weather was overcast. We stopped off at Derrynane Beach and walked to Derrynane Abbey. It was one of the most beautiful beaches and a nice stop to get out and stretch our legs. The fog was rolling in, but we did have pockets of clearings to enjoy the views. The Beach Cove Cafe in Waterville was a good coffee stop before turning onto the Skellig Ring where the coaches were forbidden due to the narrow roads.
It was nice to not be on an agenda and just pull over or make stops as we wanted. One of our impromptu stops was at Ballinskelligs Beach where we walked to and explored McCarthy Castle. It was fun to be able to climb to the top of the castle for (windy) views. Skellig Chocolates served as a good break to sample their interesting flavored chocolates. The views in this part of the peninsula were so gorgeous. The green valley with the dramatic clouds/fog and the stone walls making an patchwork pattern were beautiful. Unfortunately when we reached “the best views in County Kerry” it was full on fog. We stopped to inquire but were told we wouldn’t be able to see anything. So we continued on with a stop at Portmagee to get out of the car and explore. Portmagee is a small fishing town right on the water and we happened to find a Tottenham Hotspur’s bar with the game on. Brad was a happy man. We enjoyed a break from the car and rainy weather with some time in the pub before moving on.
We continued on the remainder of the Ring of Kerry from Portmagee ending at our Airbnb in Tralee. The weather cleared a bit for the rest of the drive so we could enjoy more of the views. We checked into our flat and walked the town a bit. It was bigger than Portmagee, but not huge. We all enjoyed drinks and some card games at Chearnog and then Betty’s before finding pizza and wine at Chez Christophe. Even though they had a limited menu due to the cook being on holiday, the pizza was really good. Brad, Craig and I kind of struck out on the live music front. We tried a few places, but none were really what we were looking for so we called it a night.
Brad and I started our Sunday with a short run in Tralee before we all got on the road to drive the Dingle Peninsula. We had some minor setbacks which delayed our start until 12:30. The car park where we parked our vehicle the day prior was completely locked up without anyway to get in or get our car out. We tried calling any number on site along with getting other numbers for the garage from a nearby hotel. We were not feeling very optimistic until Craig and Amy stopped into a tourism office and then a museum. Telling the woman our story, she knew the security person for the garage and they said they’d come at noon to allow us to get our car out. As if the hiccup wasn’t enough, as we were trying to call the numbers, bird poop landed right on Brad’s shoulder. Amy said we’d laugh at the morning at some point and once we all got into the car, we did see the comedy in the morning. Before getting into the garage and car, we did find yummy coffee and breakfast at The Daily Grind.
It actually ended up working in our favour as the delayed start meant clearer weather and sunny blue skies. Our first stop was Inch Beach which is a beautiful 4 mile stretch of beach on a peninsula. The boys enjoyed tossing the mini football and Amy and I were taking pictures. Craig and Ben decided to surf as it was only €5 per person for a board and wet suit rental for an hour. The beach was massive and you could walk out pretty far since it was fairly shallow. It was a beautiful introduction to the Dingle Peninsula.
Our next stop was the actual town of Dingle which is the official start of the peninsula loop. Dingle is an adorable little harbour town with cute colourful shops and restaurants. The town was crowded and busy as people were out enjoying the weather. We stopped off at Murphy’s for their ice cream. I loved the variety of flavours and tried sea salt, chocolate and brown bread – all of which were delicious. We shared some of the best fish and chips I’ve ever had from a food truck in town before getting a “waking cone” of raspberry sorbet and Dingle gin flavours. We replenished our picnic cheese stock at The Little Cheese Shop before continuing on.
Amy had found Eask Tower somewhere in her research. A short drive off the main road and €2 each for entry, we walked up through the sheep fields to get to the stone tower at the peak of the hill. At one point, it was used to guide ships into the somewhat challenging Dingle Harbour, but now offers panoramic views of the coastline, Skellig Michael and the Ring of Kerry. It was definitely one of the best parts of the day.
We stopped off at the beehive huts which are stone circular huts made of stone.
We reached the southern point at Slea Head which gave us views of the Blasket Islands, the “sleeping giant” island and Skellig Michael, where one of the Star Wars movies was filmed. We found a small parking lot in Dunquin where we enjoyed a picnic dinner on a stone table with the most amazing coastal views. This was one of my favorite parts of our holiday. The company, food and views were amazing! Before leaving, we walked down to the water to explore a bit and enjoyed a harp player as we walked back up the hill.
We stopped off at Ceann Sraithe with views of the three sisters and he valley. It was also where fields have remained untouched from 1845 when the potato famine struck Ireland. The peninsula was a perfect spot of land nestled between fields and the water. We drove through Conor Pass on a speedy drive to make the sunset at Castlegregory, stopping briefly to enjoy the views at the top. It was a great end to the day, watching the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean as surfers tried to catch their perfect sunset wave.
We pre-purchased tickets for the Shannon ferry online which saved us a few Euros. We stopped at Lidl on the way out of town for breakfast pastries and to top up our picnic supplies. The drive to the ferry was easy and we arrived with a little extra time just to be safe. The whole ferry ride took about 15 minutes and saved us on additional drive time going through Limerick.
We stopped at the cutest coffee shop, The Potter’s Hand, in Killrush. The coffee was very good and the barista was super friendly. She suggested we go to Kilkee to see the uncrowded and unrestricted cliffs and also gave us suggestions for parking for the Cliffs of Moher. Instead of paying €8 per person for parking and entry to the visitor’s center, she said there were a few other parking options which allowed you to hike along the coastal path to the cliffs.
Our first stop, Kilkee, was not far down the road. Kilkee looked like it was a revived beach town. The streets were cute with shops and restaurants and the beach was really wide. We took a side road to the scenic views outside of town. We found somewhere to pull off to explore the coastal paths a bit. The views were spectacular and the weather was holding out for us. Parts of the grassy ground were really spongy and soft. It was kind of freaky to be on the top of a cliff with that kind of ground.
After walking around a bit, we continued on to the Cliffs of Moher, stopping at the Moher Cottage for a coffee and some toilets. The coffee was good, but the owner wasn’t the friendliest.
After the barista’s suggestion, Craig researched a bit and found Cliffs of Moher parking for €2 a car at the Liscannor Walk (Kilconnel car park). The picnic cooler was packed and we were on our way. We hiked up the farm road before we got to the coastal path. It was foggy, wet and windy when we started, but after just a few minutes, the weather cleared and we had some great weather. We walked for about an hour towards the visitors center before finding a great spot along a stone wall for a picnic. The cliffs themselves are pretty spectacular. They are much higher than the cliffs we’ve seen in England. I could have stood there all day and watched the crashing water on the shelves of stone at the bottom.
We had a few hour drive to Galway and got checked into our Airbnb in the Salthill area of the city. Oslo, a craft beer bar, was recommended to us and was right around the corner. I fell in love with the Buxton Gooseberry sour which didn’t even taste like beer. We walked across the street to Salt for dinner. It was really tasty and we finished with their house made ice cream for dessert. Our airbnb host also recommended Ward’s for a local pub with live music. It was definitely a local pub with guys watching a special about hurling. We stayed for a drink and took the long way back to the flat.
Brad and I started our day with a very windy run along the inlet and promenade. We were initially considering going to the Connemara National Park, but decided to have a day out of the car and explore Galway. We walked to Mocha Beans for a walking coffee and went to Urban Grind for breakfast. Everything was delicious – their coffee, cranberry scone and the avocado BLT. It was sunny on our walk to town, but by the time we left breakfast, it was raining pretty steady and continued for the rest of the day. We checked out the Galway Cathedral for a dry place to come up with a game plan. The walls were stone and the ceiling was wooden – such a pretty combination.
Brad found the Great Escape Room had availability and everyone was up for it. We were given the medium difficulty level of the Quarantine Hospital theme. It was really fun and challenging. We had a room with very little in it, to then get into a second room with more clues before we escaped with 6 minutes remaining. We all really loved it!
It was still raining, but made the most of it, exploring the pubs and shops on the High Street, of course with a stop at Murphy’s ice cream. The Skeff Bar had an amazing layout and 1520 had great pub snacks and a big table for a game of Mapominoes. We meandered the cute streets and eventually the rain stopped. On the way back to the flat, we stopped off at Bierhaus, another craft beer place. They had a sour on tap that you could get mixed with fruit purée. I tried the blood orange and it was really tasty. Our bar hopping continued at The Crane before grabbing take away pizzas from Woozza (which were fantastic).
We departed Galway around 8:00, stopping at Mocha Bean for take away breakfast. We stopped about 2 hours away for a coastal walk outside of Sligo at the Slishwood Forest. It was nearly a 4 mile walk through a beautiful path in the forest. It felt nice to be outside and move a bit. We tried to get into Sligo to hit up a coffee shop, but it was a little disastrous and took us probably an hour. In the end it was fine, but none of us realised the size of the city and the traffic there would be.
We had about a three hour drive to the coastal town of Portrush in Northern Ireland. After checking into our Airbnb, we explored the little beach town and landed at Kiwi Brew Bar. I lucked out and found an amazing sour beer from Donegal which was apple flavoured and tasted like a cider. We checked out the harbor and ended up at The Harbor Bistro for dinner. There was a little wait, but they had a great bar on the first floor and we passed the time with a game of Mapominoes. Dinner was really tasty and we all had different seafood dishes. Ben and I both got a piece of Bannoffee pie as takeaway. It was so rich, but so delicious! It was a pretty early night for us since we planned on seeing sunrise at the Giant’s Causeway.
We set a 5:00 am departure for Giant’s Causeway. It was about a 15 minute drive and we parked at the Causeway Hotel for free. We had heard the crowds could get pretty overwhelming at the causeway and it was best to visit at either sunrise or sunset. We walked the easy paved route down to the gravel trail during pre-dawn. When we arrived, the hexagonal stones were much larger than I expected and in a much smaller area than I expected. The stones were completely fascinating with their shapes and how they were multi-leveled. It was like stacked poker chips. I also thought it was so interesting how each stone had such a definitive break between the next stone. It was also really neat how some of the stones had such straight lines and borders. It was fun to climb on the stones exploring the area as the sky turned beautiful colours. It looked like it was low tide and the water crashing on the shaped rocks was so neat to watch. It was pretty chilly and windy, but it was as dry with a beautiful scenery and sky so we didn’t complain. There were a handful of others that came and went during our time there, but we all agreed it was definitely worth the early wake up call.
As sun was reaching the high green peaks, we climbed the red trail up to the top. The sun was brilliantly shining and the fields were so green. There were panoramic viewpoints along the trail on the way back and we finished our adventure with a beautiful rainbow over the coast.
We were all hungry and needed coffee by the time we got to the car. An issue we’ve run into a few times is the opening time of coffee shops. We had a greasy spoon breakfast at The Clock Tower in Ballymoney before exploring The Dark Hedges. I had seen The Dark Hedges on Instagram, not knowing it was actually a filming location in Game of Thrones. The Dark Hedges is a beech tree lined street (planted in the eighteenth century) providing a dramatic approach to the Gracehill House. We walked the length of the road taking in the beautiful trees and fields. Apparently it gets pretty crowded when coaches come through mid-morning, but it was relatively empty when we visited.
On the way back to our flat, we toured Dunluce Castle. The castle was built around 1500 right on the coast. It is rumoured part of the castle fell off the cliff into the water and the woman who owned the castle then moved inland. The ruins were beautiful and we had great views of the coastline.
Brad and Craig had an afternoon tee time at Royal Portrush Golf Club so after dropping them off, Amy, Ben and I checked out the two beaches. Ben bought a cheap kite in town which we had fun with trying to get it in the air. It seemed like it was a really confused weather day with it going between being brilliantly sunny and then gray and raining. Regardless, we had a good time exploring the town a bit more. After getting Brad and Craig, we started our evening off back at Kiwi Brew Bar for more of my favourite sour beer and some pretty authentic buffalo chicken wings. We all said how they tasted like they were from PA. And Ben had tried his first wings!
Dinner was some sangria and small plates at Ocho Tapas Bistro. The food was really good and we enjoyed sharing the variety of plates. We finished the night at The Harbor Bar for live music and drinks before randomly finding the gem at the Springhill Bar. Upon entering, the place was packed with people and had ten people seated around a few tables, all with different instruments just having a jam session of traditional Irish music. They would do group songs and then every so often an individual would sing a solo while playing their instrument. It was pretty awesome!!
As we departed Portrush, we grabbed coffee and take-away breakfast from Bob & Berts. It was initially raining pretty hard, but thankfully tapered off. We drove the Causeway Coastal Route along the Antrim Coast stopping first at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Our entry was free since it is a National Trust site. The weather was overcast and windy, but not too cold. The rope bridge was first connected in 1755 for fishermen to use. It is suspended nearly 100 feet above the water and sand below. We had a short coastal walk to get to the bridge where employees were controlling traffic. It definitely made things more orderly. Crossing the bridge was a little scary. It was so high up and was a little bouncy – I was worried I was going to drop my phone. Once on the other side, there wasn’t too much to see so we took some photos and crossed the bridge again. It was a neat little detour on our way to Belfast.
Following the bridge, we drove the coastal road to Belfast, stopping in Fairhead. Before going to the Airbnb, we decided to first see the Titanic Museum. I didn’t realize the ship was built in Belfast. The museum is fairly new and does a great job at telling the story of the importance of ship building to this part of the country. Before leaving the museum, we explored the area outside the museum which was the location of the dock where the Titanic was built. They had markers in the ground so you had an idea of what part of the ship was where.
After the museum, we got settled into the Airbnb and walked to Katmandu Kitchen for dinner, a Nepalese and Indian restaurant. None of us had ever had Nepalese cuisine and took the recommendations of the waiter. The food was all really good. Following dinner, Brad, Craig and I headed out in search of live music and found some at Kelly’s Cellar. It wasn’t the best live music, but it could have been worse. And we had a seat with good people watching which is always entertaining.
The following morning we ate and drank our way through St. George’s Market. We had a random assortment of food we were sharing as we explored the crafts and gifts for sale. The food options were really good with a large variety ranging from cakes and breads to crepes and toasties. With full bellies, we enjoyed meandering the streets of the city.
It was a beautiful and sunny day and it was nice to explore the botanical gardens a bit. They are free and right in the city. Amy and I enjoyed smelling the roses and checking out their names while the boys were playing catch with the football.
Before leaving Belfast, we visited the peace walls at Falls Road and Shankill Road. I didn’t know much about the history of Northern Ireland prior to visiting and definitely did not know about the peace walls. This article does a good job summarizing things along with providing some good photos. The Troubles, which lasted from 1968 to 1998, saw violence in the streets, over 3,600 people killed and thousands more injured and was over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. In an attempt to limit violence, peace walls were installed between neighborhood borders with conflicting views. The peace walls are still standing in Belfast, some with painted murals. In some places, there are metal gates in the road that served as security checkpoints. Even today, some are still locked at night. The murals on the walls show political prisoners, heroes who died fighting for what they believed, and icons fighting oppression. You can even take a black taxi tour of the walls and murals. It was fascinating to see the walls up close and read the stories of the not-so-distant violence.
We made the drive from Belfast to Dublin which was uneventful. We rented an Airbnb just outside the airport since we all had early flights the next morning. We enjoyed a final picnic in a nearby park to finish off the last of our food. It was a beautiful evening and a nice way to spend our last night in Ireland.
We knew we had an ambitious itinerary mapped out with a lot of time spent in the car and moving in and out of Airbnbs. While it was a lot of time driving, the scenery was absolutely beautiful and the time went fast. We were able to see so much of Ireland and Northern Ireland and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
On Your Right 
Ireland looks amazing – especially those massive cliffs! Hopefully one day I can explore it like you have!
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