May 2027 Ireland trip

You are lucky to have so much time.
If you want a local experience at a great B&B in Portstewart with a view of the Irish Sea out your front windows, and meet Maureen who. is the nicest host in all of Ireland. She will even take you out for a dip in the sea before breakfast. Then she will make you breakfast to order.
Then you can explore all of Northern Ireland from there. The Giant Causeway is an hour away, Derry is even closer. And Portrush is just down the road.
Here is the address
5 Portrush Rd, Portstewart BT55 7DB, UK
I am actually staying there for a week in June where I am entered a golf tournament.
Have a great trip.

It makes such a change to reading itineraries trying to cram EVERYTHING into 10-14 days! We've spend a week based in places like Kerry, Galway and Donegal and even on a second visit have still found plenty of things to do (and still have a few that we haven't done yet...) 3-4 weeks gives plenty of time to explore, relax and visit the places the usual tourist never gets too. Spending a night on one of the islands is a completely different experince to a day visit.

Try and get hold of a copy of DK Eyewitness Ireland as this covers the hidden gems that don't feature in the other guide books. It has lots of pictures and descriptions of the different places as well as itineraries and suggestions for short driving tours. There are suggestions for eating and accommodation too. The maps are adequate for initial planning too. As always, check out latest opening times as they may have changed since the book was published.

Since you're in the general area, one of our all-time favorite excursions is Skellig Michael via boat from Portmagee. The beehive monastery and the construction are fascinating but the puffins are the best you'll find anywhere in Ireland. Lunga in Scotland might be a close second. Reserve early.

I'd choose Skellig over Blaskett Island, but Blaskett is also worth the visit, especially with the new museum in Dunquin.

If you were inclined to go yet farther south, Dursey Island is a nice walk (and a cable car ride). Allihies is a nice overnight, and there are the copper mines. The Bull Rock boat trip is also fun unless you have a back that doesn't like bucking broncos (I survived).

We tend to stay places only one or two nights, so I'll shut up on suggestions that mess with you pace. I plan our trips based on expected evening trad sessions and uprooting daily is no sweat as we travel light.

I totally agree with Wasleys about how different an overnight experience is from a day trip to a place like Aran.

I think it is very reasonable to fly in/out of Shannon to visit Cork, Kerry up to Donegal (the prettiest county in my opinion.) We just did the drive from Letterkenny (Co. Donegal) down to Ennis (Co. Clare), stopping in Bundoran (a lovely seaside village where locals go) with lots of beautiful scenery and hikes, then we stopped at Gleniff Horseshoe--incredibly scenic--on our way to Sligo. We ended our drive in Co. Clare at Ennis, which is a charming little town close to the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, the Burren and much more. If you visit Doolin, check out Sheedy's Doolin, it's a B&B and one of the best in the country.

In Donegal, I'd recommend visiting Sliabh Liag (Slieve League), Mount Errigal (and Glenveagh National Park), Fanad Lighthouse, Malin Head, Doagh Famine Village, Killybegs, Donegal Town. I'm sure there's more as it's a breathtaking county with lots of opportunity for walks and hikes.

Of course in Kerry there's Dingle (amazing!), Ring of Kerry (we went counter clockwise and split the drive in to 2 days), Kenmare and Killarney, which has lots of outdoor activities.

I'm sure others will chime in with even more wonderful advice. Happy planning!

We spent a total of 23 nights on the ground this past May in Ireland and Northern Ireland. I highly recommend visiting Northern Ireland! The history is sad and tragic but so interesting. I do believe I have a little bit better understanding of the Troubles. And the scenery is spectacular!

This is our itinerary, in case it helps you plan and gives you an idea of what is doable:
Republic of Ireland:
Dublin - 3 nights
Kenmare - 3 nights
Dingle - 2 nights
Doolin - 1 night
Galway - 3 nights
Clifden - 2 nights
Sligo - 1 night

Northern Ireland:
Derry/Londonderry - 3 nights
Causeway Coast - 1 night
Belfast - 3 nights
Dublin Airport Hotel - 1 night

We had time to visit the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal when we stayed in Derry. This was one of the many highlights of our trip.
Other highlights:
Ring of Kerry - not crowded at all when we were there
Valentia Island - off of the Ring of Kerry - you can take a 5-minute ferry ride or drive across the bridge - a very peaceful and unspoiled island
Dingle Peninsula and the Slea Head Drive
Kilkee Cliffs - not crowded at all; not commercialized like Cliffs of Moher, but we did enjoy Cliffs of Moher, too.
We did spend a day on Inishmore but unfortunately, it rained all day so that dampened our impression (no pun intended!)
Driving around the Inishowen Peninsula and especially visiting Malin Head.
Our Bloody Sunday guided tour in Derry - the tour company is owned by a man whose father was murdered on Bloody Sunday.
Giant's Causeway
Belfast, including the Titanic Museum and a guided walking political tour about the Troubles with Coiste Tours. One guide was a Nationalist/Catholic and the other guide was a Unionist/Protestant. Both were political prisoners.

We also visited Newgrange on our way from Belfast to the Dublin Airport. Highly, highly recommend.

I am loving the comments! Thank you all so much.

mbosteder-The Portstewart B&B sounds amazing-this is helping us expand our trip north! A swim in the Irish sea would be invigorating-a way to remind us exactly where we are!

Wasleys-Yes, we have felt sadly unfulfilled when we have rushed through our travels...soooo not the reason we travel. DK Eyewitness-ordering now. Thank you.

jjgurley-Skellig Michael has been on our plan...how soon do we need to reserve? When will puffins be there? Blasket and Dursey could be added as well and the Bull Rock sounds like an adventure we might pursue!

Kimberly-So many wonderful places! I know we can't do it all, but Donegal is definitely on the list. Any recommendations for our lodging in that area? How many nights there? Would Dingle be a good base? Kenmare vs Killarney? I am seeing some negative comments regarding Doolin-it looks like such a charming town...Why the negativity?

kmkwoo -Your itinerary is very helpful...many thanks. We have N Ireland on our itinerary now! How much time for the Inishowen Peninsula? Would it be an overnight stay or a scenic stop on our way? Did you do both the ring of Kerry and Dingle? Your tours in Belfast and Derry must have been sobering-such an unforgettable piece of history. Trying to figure out how to add Newgrange-fascinating site! How was your weather in May?

I appreciate so much wonderful feedback. I will post a rough itinerary soon. For the driving...are the roads/driving times similar to Scotland? There were many times we were told to add quite a bit more time than google suggested.

Good advice so far. Agree with jjgurley, do not miss Skellig Michael. You should book as soon as the operators get the green light from the authorities to do the landing trips - that typically comes in late Winter/early Spring. I'll send ya a link.

Rather than pick Skellig Michael or Great Blakset, why not do both? They were two of the greatest highlights of our trip.

Thanks, David...I think we could do both!

We spent a whole day visiting the Inishowen Peninsula from Derry, and we didn't see everything. You could easily spend a night or two there if you have the time. It is not a quick stop unless you only visit the Grianian Ailigh (ring fort). This is very interesting but the highlight for us was the walk along the coast at Malin Head, which is the northernmost point of Ireland. The Inishowen Peninsula is in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. But it borders Derry in NI, so it was an easy drive from Derry.

For the majority of our trip, we had excellent weather in Ireland and NI. Sunny with comfortable temps in the 60's and 70's. However, we did have 3 or 4 days of rain when we arrived in Galway. It rained the entire day we were in Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands. It rained the entire day we explored Galway, and then rained again when we stayed in Clifden to visit Connemara NP and Kylemore Abby. Considering we were on the ground for 23 nights, we didn't think that was too bad.

And, yes, we drove around the Ring of Kerry AND the Slea Head drive on the Dingle Peninsula. We were very lucky because there was very little traffic when we drove around the RoK. Our highlight of the RoK was the small, peaceful, and lovely island of Valentia. We took a 5-minute ferry there from the mainland, and then took the bridge to return to the mainland. We spent a couple hours on Valentia Island. Wish we had more time. But there is never enough time, right?

When you post your itinerary, if you are staying in places we stayed in, I can recommend lodgings. We stayed in some outstanding inns and B&B's.

Can I offer a different view of the Inishowen peninsul to kmkwoo.

Overall we were quite disappointed by it. Yes, it was pretty but didn’t live up to the hype in the guide books. The ring fort of Grianán of Aileach was spectacular and well worth visiting (although it isn't the easiest place to find). It was the highlight of the trip and views from it were stunning. The rest was pretty but nothing outstanding. There are more exciting/interesting parts of Donegal...

wasleys, I appreciate your opinion on the Inishowen Peninsula. And I agree the views from Grianan Ailigh are spectacular. It's so interesting and unique because it's a terraced fort. It is definitely worth seeing. For us, we thought Malin Head was spectacular. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit other parts of Donegal, so I can't compare. Inishowen Peninsula was a good choice for us because we spent 3 nights in Derry, and the Peninsula worked well as a daytrip. There is never enough time to see everything.