Booking
Book your Ireland trip
Start with the stay. The rest of the week follows from it, which is the opposite of how most Ireland trips get planned.
Step one · Choose the stay
These are the eight we book most often for American travellers. Pick one and this page rebuilds itself around it.
Step two · The week around it
- 01
7 Days in Greater Dublin: The Definitive Itinerary
Dublin and Wicklow
Four nights in Dublin, three in Wicklow. The base change at Day 5 is the trick most itineraries miss.
- 02
7 Days in Ireland's Castles and Country Houses
Midlands, Mayo, Clare and Limerick
Four castles. No drive over two hours. Each stay long enough to use the grounds.
- 03
The Perfect Ireland Honeymoon
Dublin and the west
Two nights at the two anchor properties. One spa day. One helicopter. The rest is the road and each other.
Not one of these? Build the week from scratch.
Step three · Add a distillery day
One distillery in a week is right. Two is a hobby. These are the visits that fit the part of Ireland you are sleeping in.
Midleton Distillery
County Cork
If you only tour one distillery in Ireland, tour this one, and book a tasting-led experience rather than the standard walk.
Book Midleton Distillery ExperienceFinish at The Mutton Lane Inn, Cork.
Bushmills Distillery
County Antrim
Take it as the afternoon half of a Causeway Coast day, not as a destination on its own, and buy the 16 or the 21 on site.
Book Giant's Causeway and Bushmills day from BelfastFinish at The Bushmills Inn, Bushmills.
Teeling Distillery
Dublin
The Dublin tour to take if you want the whiskey rather than the afternoon out.
Book Teeling Distillery tour and tastingFinish at The Palace Bar, Fleet Street, Dublin.
Want the bottles rather than the tour? The whiskey hub lists what to buy and what it costs here, and the essay explains how to carry it home.
Step four · Before you pay
Two things decide whether an Irish week works: how many times you change base, and how long the drives are between them. Two bases in seven nights is right. Three is a mistake you feel by Thursday.
Rates move a lot by season here, and the rooms worth having sell first. If your dates are fixed, book the stay before the flights.