Please sign in to post.

Rough Itinerary Draft, Ireland May-June 2027

Posted by on

Hello!

We will have 3–4 weeks in Ireland and want to immerse ourselves in each place rather than spend long days in the car (tho understand this may happen a time or two).
We’re building an itinerary around coastal landscapes, islands, history, and small towns — with time to settle in and explore (3-5 nights if appropriate).

For our Arrival:
Considering flying into Shannon or Dublin depending on how the itinerary shapes up.

South & Southwest
Cashel — planning a stop to explore the Rock of Cashel.

Cobh or Kinsale as a base? Or other option as we will be heading west, then north.

Places we have heard about that interest us:
Mizen Head
Garnish Island
A working sheep farm (Kissane or similar) with a sheepdog demo
Dursey Island, Bull Rock

Kerry
We don’t feel the need to drive the entire Ring of Kerry, but we’d like to visit key highlights:
Skellig Michael (stay in Portmagee?)
Valentia Island

Other viewpoints or villages along the route

Dingle Peninsula — wondering if Dingle town is the best base. Interested in:
Blasket Islands
Coastal walks and scenic drives/historical sites.

West Coast & Islands
Aran Islands — considering 2 nights to slow down and enjoy the island atmosphere.
Looking for another good base in this region before heading north (not necessarily Galway).

Northwest
Unsure where to stop between the Aran Islands region and Sligo/Donegal — open to peninsulas or small towns along the way.

Sligo — choosing a base here.
Donegal — choosing a base here as well. Curious whether Belleek is worth a visit.
Wondering what else along this stretch of coast is especially worthwhile.

Northern Coast
Considering a B&B in Portstewart suggested in my first post.

Derry — likely including a visit.
Northern Ireland?

East / Return

Newgrange — definitely interested.

Considering whether to include Dublin, or loop back to Shannon instead if Dublin feels like too much for this particular trip.

I realize this is a rough itinerary but I am looking for what is reasonably doable and in what order. When we land, we will not want to spend time on the road for long, if at all. So, if we fly into Shannon, is there a place that could include as part of our itinerary, possibly a lovely village to acclimate? Look forward to your suggestions! TIA.

Posted by
566 posts

From this draft I see no reason to go to Dublin unless the city has some special draw for you. 99% of it is in the West - a wise choice since that's where the great majority of Ireland's spectacular scenery is, as well as ferries to the islands you cited, pre-historic and Famine history, etc. Flying into and out of Shannon is the way to go. And with all you want to see, interspersed with multiple nights in each of your desired towns, I'd make it a four-week trip.

Your Northwest marker caught eye right away. Between the Aran Islands (Co. Galway) and Sligo/Donegal lies Connemara. In my experiences it's the most beautiful region in the country and should not be missed. Make Galway town a base and drive the Connemara loop west to the seaside village of Roundstone, north to Clifden (another excellent base), east to Leenane and Cong and somewhere along the way through the tranquil and pristine Inagh Valley on R344. There's an excellent hotel there.

You can take the ferry to the Aran Islands from either Galway town or the lovely Co. Clare village of Doolin, making it a base for a few nights as well. The three pubs in the village will provide plenty of trad music, as well as good spots for dinner.

Northern Ireland offers the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge and Bushmill's Distillery, all three likely doable in a day from Portstewart or from another base town east of there. I visited the first two in less than a day by bicycle, roundtrip from Portrush.

I think you're off to a good start.

Posted by
3174 posts

That’s an interesting itinerary a few points...

• Mizen Head - we were very disappointed by this and much preferred Sheeps Head Peninsula next door to it. It hardly gets a mention in the guide books and gets few visitors.

• Ring of Kerry - do try and see some of the Ring forts along the route. Staigue, Cahergal and Leacanabuaile are all very different and worth searching out.

• Donegal - add Slieve League cliffs (higher than Cliffs of Moher) and Grianán of Aileach (another hill fort but worth finding out especially for the views. ) There are some delightful small villages to discover and the coast is superb. This is the kind of place to potter and get lost in ....

I agree with David, Connemara is and up into Mayo are well worth spending time in.

If you are interested in history, I'd also add Ceide Fields. Constructed around 6000 years ago this was a massive neolithic farming landscape which was later covered by a massive layer of peat bog. In the 1930s stone walls were discovered while digging peat for fuel. The site has been extensively mapped using long iron rods that could probe the peat without causing damage. There is a good Visitor Centre and it is worth doing the guided tour as this explains the site and what you are looking at, putting it into context. (Otherwise you may come away disappointed with the views of bog and a few half buried stone walls..) Make sure you get a view of the cliffs too - they are nearly 400 feet and fall vertically into the sea.

You might also like the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life near Castlebar. As well as lots of displays and artefacts there are also many videos recorded in the 1950s ands 60s of people talking about every day life in Ireland at the time. These also cover customs and folk lore - some are positively pagan!

Posted by
2160 posts

If Shannon doesn't work for you, consider Newgrange for the start of your trip instead of the end. Not the first day, but maybe the next. Malahide is a popular seaside town that is a short drive from the airport and a good place to acclimate. From there, you can do a counterclockwise loop of Antrim Coast/Giant's Causeway, Portstewart, Derry, etc.
In Donegal, I enjoyed my stay in Killybegs, which is close to the Slieve League and offers boat tours to see the cliffs from the water.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.