Itineraries · Seven days
Seven days in Ireland
Seven nights is the week most American trips actually take. These are the eight versions of it we route, each written as a whole week rather than a list of sights.
8 seven-night journeys
A week is long enough to change base twice and short enough that a third change ruins it. Every itinerary below obeys that, which is why none of them read like a coach tour.
Pick the week by the way you want to spend the days, not the map. The geography follows the intent.
The weeks
- 01
7 Days in Greater Dublin: The Definitive Itinerary
Dublin and Wicklow · Greater Dublin
Seven days lets Dublin breathe and gives the surrounding counties the space they deserve. Two slow days in the city, a coastal day on the DART, a day in the Wicklow Mountains, a day in the Boyne Valley, a day at Powerscourt, a closing day in Kilkenny. One Dublin hotel for the first four nights. One country house for the last three.
Four nights in Dublin, three in Wicklow. The base change at Day 5 is the trick most itineraries miss.
Best for: A first trip that does not want a rental car for the first half.
Read the week - 02
7 Days in Ireland's Castles and Country Houses
Midlands, Mayo, Clare and Limerick · Castles & Country Houses
Seven nights, four castles, no compromise. Ballyfin in the midlands, Ashford in the west, Dromoland over the Shannon, Adare in Limerick. Each picked for the room and the table, not the gift shop. The Ireland Americans imagine, slept in properly.
Four castles. No drive over two hours. Each stay long enough to use the grounds.
Best for: Travelers for whom the house is the destination.
Read the week - 03
The Perfect Ireland Honeymoon
Dublin and the west · Romance
Castles, scenic drives, spa hotels, and one helicopter flight you will talk about for the rest of your lives. Seven nights, four bases. Every hotel is one we would celebrate our own anniversary in. Built for American couples who want grand gestures and slow mornings in equal measure. This is not a trip. It is a honeymoon.
Two nights at the two anchor properties. One spa day. One helicopter. The rest is the road and each other.
Best for: A honeymoon that would rather be private than busy.
Read the week - 04
7 Days of Golf in the South of Ireland
Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork · Golf
Seven nights. Seven rounds. Three bases. This is the trip we route for American golfers who want the South West done in the right order, at the right pace, with the right rooms. Lahinch and Doonbeg played out of Dromoland Castle on the Clare coast. Ballybunion, Tralee and Adare Manor played out of the Manor itself across the Shannon. Waterville and Old Head played out of Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare. No Dublin, no Northern loop, no 36-hole days, no early tee times on the arrival flight. Every drive under 90 minutes. Every hotel a caddie call away. The seven courses people actually travel for, in the sequence that keeps your back, your handicap and your marriage intact.
Three bases, one round a day, seven of the ten best links in Ireland. Everything else is noise.
Best for: American golfers doing the South West properly, once.
Read the week - 05
7 Days Walking the West of Ireland
Connemara, the Burren and Donegal · Walking the West
Seven days lets the West breathe. Three nights at Ballynahinch in the heart of Connemara, two at Gregans on the lip of the Burren, two at Lough Eske in Donegal. The full Atlantic edge on foot: Diamond Hill, the Cliffs coastal walk, Slieve League. The order is what makes the trip work, every walking day landing before the next one starts.
Seven days, three bases, no walking day shorter than two hours or longer than five. The Atlantic the way it was meant to be met.
Best for: Walkers who want the Atlantic edge on foot, not through glass.
Read the week - 06
7 Days Walking the South of Ireland
Kerry and West Cork · Walking the South
Seven days through Kerry and West Cork. Three nights in Kenmare for the Killarney walks and the Kerry Way, three in Dingle for the peninsula and Brandon, one closing night in Kinsale for the harbour and the coastal path to Charles Fort. Open-jaw from Shannon into Cork. No drive over two hours, no walk under three.
Shannon in, Cork out. No drive over two hours. Three bases, seven walks.
Best for: Walkers who want Kerry without the Ring of Kerry traffic.
Read the week - 07
7 Quiet Days in the West
Connemara · Quiet Ireland
Seven days, three houses, one bay. Three nights at Ballynahinch on the river, three at Rosleague Manor over Ballynakill harbour, one transfer day with a long Clifden lunch. The West read slowly, the way the West actually reads.
Two houses, no rush, seven days. The West held at the pace it actually keeps.
Best for: Anyone whose idea of a good week is two hotels and no schedule.
Read the week - 08
7 Days for the Second Trip
Donegal, Sligo and Connemara · Return to Ireland
Seven days for travelers who already did the first one. No Cliffs. No Ring of Kerry. No Trinity College. Two nights in Donegal at Lough Eske, two in Sligo at Markree, two in Connemara at Ballynahinch. The Ireland you missed because the first trip was about the photos.
Three bases, no first-time beats, the Ireland the second trip is for.
Best for: Second and third visits, where the obvious is already done.
Read the week
Where you sleep decides the week
Every week above is built around two or three houses. If you would rather choose the hotel first and let the route follow, start with the reviews.
The Ireland Edit
We drive these routes ourselves and pay for our own rooms.
Deborah Nunez · Itineraries