Galway After Dark: Ghost Stories & Dark History Walking Tour
Explore Galway's dark side on an expert-led evening walking tour. Medieval executions, ghost stories, folklore & a Blood Red Ale finale. Book your night out.
Two weeks is the right amount of time for an Ireland road trip. Long enough to move between the four provinces without rushing. Short enough to stay curious. The route below covers the island’s most rewarding driving, with honest time allocations, practical warnings, and the kind of specific detail that makes the difference between a trip that works and one that leaves you wondering why you rushed.
This itinerary runs roughly clockwise from Dublin, which is the most logical starting point if you’re flying into Ireland. It prioritises the west and south coasts, where the landscape is at its most dramatic, while building in time for the cities that deserve more than a quick stop. It’s designed for a first-time visitor to Ireland, but several of the day structures work equally well for people returning who want to go deeper rather than wider.
For a broader introduction before choosing your route, read The Ultimate Ireland Travel Guide.
Driving and Booking Advice:The Practical Realities
Driving in Ireland is on the left, as in the UK. For visitors from the United States, Canada or continental Europe, this requires adjustment. The adjustment is real and takes about half a day to feel natural; by the second day it’s generally fine. The bigger challenge is the roads themselves: outside the main motorways, Irish roads are narrow. Some are very narrow. A road marked as a regional route on a map may be barely wide enough for two cars to pass. Budget extra time for rural driving and don’t calculate distances by motorway logic.
Book accommodation in advance, particularly for July and August. The west coast destinations, Dingle, Clifden, Westport and Killarney, fill up significantly in peak season and prices rise steeply for late bookings. The shoulder months, May, June and September, offer better availability, often better weather in terms of dramatic skies, and significantly smaller crowds at the main tourist sites.
Petrol stations become sparse in rural areas, particularly in Connemara and parts of Donegal. Fill up when you see a station rather than assuming the next one is nearby. This is not hypothetical advice.
Days 1-2:Dublin
Start in Dublin and give it two full days. The temptation is to treat Dublin as a transit stop on the way to the countryside, but the city rewards proper time. Kilmainham Gaol, the Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse and the streets of the Liberties and the Docklands are all within a compact, walkable area. The food and pub culture is the best in Ireland and the evening energy of the city in summer is genuinely lively.
Book Kilmainham Gaol in advance. Book the Book of Kells in advance. The Guinness Storehouse is more flexible but benefits from an early arrival. Leave the second evening unplanned and let the city show you what it does.
Days 3-4Wicklow and Waterford
Drive south from Dublin through County Wicklow, stopping at Glendalough, the 6th-century monastic settlement in a glacial valley in the Wicklow Mountains. The round tower and the two lakes are genuinely beautiful, and the valley walk takes about two hours. This is not on most two-week itineraries, which is exactly why it’s worth the detour.
Continue south to Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, founded by Vikings in 914 AD. The Viking Triangle, the compact historic core of the city with its three museums and remarkable layering of Norse, Norman and Georgian history, is worth a half-day. Stay the night in Waterford: the quayside restaurants are good and the city has a confidence that comes from being consistently underrated.
Use our Waterford travel guide to plan the historic centre.
Days 5-6Cork and Blarney
Drive west from Waterford to Cork, approximately 1.5 hours. Cork deserves a proper afternoon and evening. The English Market, the Shandon quarter, St Fin Barre’s Cathedral and the restaurant scene along Oliver Plunkett Street are the main draws. Cork has the strongest independent food culture in Ireland outside Dublin, and the evening pub scene on the south side of the Lee is worth exploring.
On day six, drive the eight kilometres north to Blarney. The castle and estate take a full morning. Kiss the Stone if that’s your inclination; the gardens, including the Poison Garden and the Rock Close, take the same amount of time and are significantly less crowded. Return to Cork for lunch, then drive west toward Killarney in the afternoon.
Before visiting, see our complete Blarney Castle guide.
Days 7-8Killarney and the Ring of Kerry
Killarney is your base for two days. Day seven belongs to Killarney National Park: jaunting car in the morning, Gap of Dunloe in the afternoon, Ross Castle before the light goes. This is a full day and it’s one of the best days on the itinerary. Explore the available Killarney tours for guided and private options.
Day eight is the Ring of Kerry. Start early, before 9am, and drive clockwise. Coaches are directed to travel the Ring anti-clockwise by local convention and tourism guidance, so driving clockwise means you meet them head-on rather than following them, which makes stopping at viewpoints on the narrow sections significantly easier. The western section, from Waterville to Cahersiveen, has the most dramatic coastline. The views toward the Skellig Islands are extraordinary on a clear day.
Compare the two experiences in our guide to the Ring of Kerry vs Killarney.
Days 9-10Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula is the most beautiful drive in Ireland. This is a strong claim and it holds up. Drive the Slea Head Loop on day nine: the road runs along the Atlantic face of the peninsula, past Iron Age forts, beehive huts, sea stacks and the kind of landscape used as a filming location so often that you’ll recognise it immediately without having been here before.
Dingle town is small, vibrant and full of good pubs and seafood restaurants. Murphy’s Ice Cream on Strand Street makes what is genuinely among the best ice cream in Ireland, using local milk and unusual flavours including sea salt and brown bread. This is not a trivial recommendation: it’s worth a detour.
On day ten, drive north from Dingle over the Connor Pass, the highest mountain road in Ireland. On a clear day the views from the pass over both sides of the peninsula are extraordinary. In cloud, the fog adds a specific drama of its own. Either way, it’s worth attempting.
Days 11-12The Wild Atlantic Way: Clare and Galway
Drive north through Limerick, which works as a fuel stop rather than a destination, toward County Clare. The Cliffs of Moher are the most visited natural attraction in Ireland for good reason: 214 metres of sheer limestone dropping into the Atlantic. The visitor experience is well managed and the early morning, before 9am, gives you the cliffs at their best. Book the car park in advance in summer.
The Burren, the limestone plateau east of the Cliffs, is less visited and more interesting for the botanically curious: it’s one of the few places in the world where Arctic, Mediterranean and Alpine plants grow side by side. Drive through the Burren to Galway rather than taking the direct route.
Galway is the liveliest city on the west coast. The Latin Quarter, the Claddagh neighbourhood, the Salthill promenade and the evening pub sessions in the small bars around Shop Street make it the most socially rewarding stop on the itinerary. Give it an evening and a morning before moving north.
For an alternative excursion from the capital, see our guide to day trips from Dublin.
Days 13-14Connemara and Back to Dublin
Connemara is the landscape that most people picture when they imagine the west of Ireland: bog, mountain, small lakes, the occasional white-washed cottage, and skies that change every twenty minutes. The N59 west from Galway through Clifden and back via Leenane is the standard Connemara loop and takes most of a day at a comfortable pace.
Kylemore Abbey, a Victorian Gothic mansion on the shore of Kylemore Lough, is the most visited stop in Connemara. The walled garden is excellent. The building itself is extraordinary in the way that things built at industrial scale in the wrong place always are: it’s enormous, it’s on a lake, and it was built in the 1860s as a private home, which raises genuine questions about the builder’s sense of proportion.
Return to Dublin on day fourteen via the M6 motorway, approximately two and a half hours from Clifden. If your flight is the following morning, this gives you a final night in Dublin. If you’re flying the same evening, leave Connemara by early afternoon.
Guided ExperiencesBooking Tours Along the Route
Several stops on this itinerary benefit significantly from a guided tour rather than self-directed exploration. Dublin, Killarney, Galway and Waterford all have LetzGo tours that provide the kind of expert local commentary that makes the difference between seeing a place and understanding it. Private tours in Killarney are particularly recommended given the complexity of the national park and the number of options within it.
Cliffs of Moher & Wild Atlantic Way: Early Access Tour from Galway
Enjoy breathtaking Wild Atlantic views as your expert guide shares the history and cultural significance of the Cliffs of Moher. A must-visit for travelers seeking Ireland’s most stunning coastal scenery.
From €69
Top 10 Highlights & Claddagh Village Walking Tour
Expert-guided 2.5-hour walking tour through Galway's medieval city — from Eyre Square to the Spanish Arch, with history, folklore and hidden gems along the way.
From €32
Blarney Castle, Gardens & Village Tour
Expert-guided tour of Blarney Castle including the Blarney Stone, fern gardens, Rock Close and a visit to Ireland's oldest Woollen Mills.
From €66
Best of Connemara: Kylemore Abbey, Lake & Gardens Tour
Expert-guided tour of Kylemore Abbey including the Victorian Walled Gardens, Gothic Church and Connemara National Park — designed for the fly-drive traveller.
From €65
Road Trip QuestionsFrequently Asked Questions
Is two weeks enough for an Ireland road trip?
Two weeks is the ideal minimum for a first road trip covering the main regions of Ireland. It allows two full days in Dublin, a proper exploration of the south coast and Cork, the Ring of Kerry and Dingle in adequate depth, the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, and Connemara. Three weeks allows the addition of Donegal and Northern Ireland.
What is the best route for an Ireland road trip?
The clockwise route from Dublin, south through Wicklow and Waterford, west through Cork to Kerry and Dingle, north through Clare and Galway to Connemara, and back east to Dublin is the most logical. It puts the most scenic driving on the west coast when you’re most comfortable with Irish roads, avoids retracing your route, and ends in Dublin for easy airport access.
What car should I hire for an Ireland road trip?
The smaller the better for Irish rural roads. A compact car is significantly easier to manoeuvre on narrow country lanes than a standard SUV. Automatic transmission is recommended for visitors not used to driving on the left, as it removes one variable from an already unfamiliar experience.
What is the best time of year for an Ireland road trip?
May, June and September are the best months for the combination of reasonable weather, manageable crowds and full availability of attractions and restaurants. July and August are busiest and require advance booking. October has dramatic weather and some closures; winter brings limited daylight and more closures.
Local Expertise Across IrelandPlan Your Ireland Road Trip With Expert Local Guides
LetzGo operates expert-guided tours at key stops along this itinerary: Dublin, Killarney, Galway, Waterford, Blarney and Cork. Book individual experiences or explore the complete collection of Ireland tours.
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