Itinerary · Road Trip
The Ultimate Ireland Road Trip
Ten days, one rental car, and the most beautiful island in Europe. This is the route we've refined over years of showing friends and family around Ireland: Wicklow, Kinsale, Kerry, Dingle, Clare, Connemara, Sligo. Every stop personally driven, every hotel personally slept in. It's the trip we wish someone had planned for us before we moved here.
The places we recommend to friends.
The Ireland Deborah returns to. Read her editorial perspective
If you want Ireland by car, done right:
→ First time? Follow this exactly.
→ Tight on time? Cut Days 9 and head straight back via the midlands.
→ Want it slower? Add a second night at Ballynahinch and one at Sheen Falls.
Three bookings decide the trip: your Kerry base (Sheen Falls), your Connemara castle (Ballynahinch), and the rental car. Lock those and the rest falls into place.
Route Overview
10 Days, One Loop, Seven Bases
- Day 1: Dublin → Wicklow Mountains. Powerscourt.
- Day 2: Wicklow → Kilkenny → Kinsale.
- Days 3–4: Ring of Kerry. Two nights at Sheen Falls.
- Day 5: Dingle Peninsula. Slea Head Drive.
- Day 6: Cliffs of Moher and The Burren.
- Days 7–8: Galway and Connemara. Ballynahinch Castle.
- Day 9: Optional: Sligo and Yeats country.
- Day 10: Return to Dublin via the midlands.
Counter-clockwise. No drive over four hours. Two-night stays where it matters. That is the trick.
Cartography
10 Days, One Loop, Seven Bases
Powerscourt · Perryville House · Sheen Falls Lodge · Portmagee & the Skellig Ring · Slea Head · Cliffs of Moher
Regions
10 stops
You've landed. The trip starts the moment you turn out of Dublin.
Dublin to Wicklow Mountains
Collect the car, head south, ease into Ireland.
Why This Day Exists
Today exists to get you out of the car and into the room before the light fails. Anything more is a mistake the second day will pay for.
What You'll Do
- •Collect the rental car (AutoEurope is our pick for rates).
- •Drive south through the Sally Gap, one of Ireland's most dramatic mountain passes.
- •Stop at Glendalough for the round tower and monastic ruins.
- •Lunch in the village of Enniskerry, then check in at Powerscourt.
The Ireland Edit Take
Don't push past Wicklow on day one. Jet lag plus left-side driving plus mountain roads is too much. Powerscourt is 45 minutes from the airport and the gardens alone justify the stop.
Wicklow → Kilkenny → Kinsale
Medieval city in the morning, gourmet harbour by night.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the medieval-to-maritime transition. Kilkenny in the morning, Kinsale by evening. Two different Irelands in one drive.
What You'll Do
- •Pause in Kilkenny: the castle and a walk down the Medieval Mile.
- •Continue south to Kinsale, Ireland's gourmet capital.
- •Wander the colourful harbour-front and book dinner at Bastion.
The Ireland Edit Take
Kinsale is where most road trips finally exhale. Walk the harbour before dinner. Stay at Perryville House if you want quiet; the Trident if you want to be on the water.
Where to Stay
What We'd Book First
What We'd Book First
- 1.The rental car. Book through AutoEurope 8–12 weeks out. Automatic transmission books up first in summer.
- 2.Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare. Two nights. River-view room. Hardest room to get in July and August.
- 3.Ballynahinch Castle, Connemara. Two nights, river-view. The single most memorable stay on the loop.
Today the landscape becomes the reason you came.
Ring of Kerry, Day One
The iconic loop, driven the right way.
Why This Day Exists
Today the peninsula stays small. The Park grounds, the harbour, one shop in town. The big loop is tomorrow.
What You'll Do
- •Drive the Ring counter-clockwise to avoid the tour buses.
- •Walk Derrynane Beach, often empty even in summer.
- •Stop at Moll's Gap and Ladies' View for the Killarney Lakes panorama.
- •Check in at Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare.
The Ireland Edit Take
Two nights at Sheen Falls is non-negotiable. One night and you're driving the Ring with luggage in the boot. Two nights and you actually see Kerry.
Skellig Ring & Kerry Coast
The wilder edge of the Ring most visitors skip.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the Skellig coast. We drive the narrower road, stop at the chocolate factory, and reach Valentia before the light turns.
What You'll Do
- •Drive the Skellig Ring for Skellig Michael views from Portmagee.
- •Stop at the Star Wars filming pull-offs above Ballinskelligs.
- •Return to Kenmare for a slow dinner in town.
The Ireland Edit Take
The Skellig Ring is the part of Kerry the coach tours can't reach. Smaller roads, bigger views. Worth the extra hour.
Dingle Peninsula
The drive that makes people cry, in a good way.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the Slea Head loop. We drive clockwise early, stop at the beehive huts, and reach Dunquin before the coaches. The best Ireland day.
What You'll Do
- •Slea Head Drive: beehive huts, Atlantic cliffs, Blasket Islands offshore.
- •Fish and chips in Dingle town at Out of the Blue.
- •Cross the Conor Pass back to your hotel as the light drops.
The Ireland Edit Take
Slea Head over the Ring of Kerry, every time, if you can only do one. It is smaller, wilder, and the coastline doesn't let up for a single mile.
Cliffs of Moher & The Burren
Lunar limestone, then the most dramatic cliff in Europe.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the cliff day. We see the Moher from the water if the boat is running, then walk the Burren in the late light.
What You'll Do
- •Drive north through The Burren, 300 km² of karst limestone.
- •Reach the Cliffs of Moher for the late-afternoon light.
- •Trad music in Doolin. O'Connor's pub, no reservation needed.
The Ireland Edit Take
Visit the Cliffs after 4pm. The day-tour buses are gone, the light is better, and you'll have stretches of the path almost to yourself.
Galway & Into Connemara
City morning, wild west by dinner.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the city-to-wild transition. Galway for lunch, then the slow road into Connemara where the reception knows your name.
What You'll Do
- •Galway city: busking on Shop Street, oysters at Moran's on the Weir.
- •Drive the Sky Road out of Clifden for Atlantic panoramas.
- •Check in at Ballynahinch Castle. Walk the riverside trail before dinner.
The Ireland Edit Take
Connemara is where the trip changes register. Quieter, slower, more interior. Two nights at Ballynahinch is the single best decision on this route.
Connemara, Slow Day
The day you stop driving and start absorbing.
Why This Day Exists
Today exists because yesterday was the road. Late breakfast, the bog walk if it is dry, a single pub before dinner. Nothing scheduled.
What You'll Do
- •Visit Kylemore Abbey, reflected in its lake.
- •Walk a section of the Twelve Bens trails near the hotel.
- •Long dinner at Ballynahinch. Cheese course. No alarm tomorrow.
The Ireland Edit Take
Don't fill this day. The whole point of Connemara is the silence. A short walk, a long lunch, an early Guinness in the Fisherman's Bar. That is the day.
Wild Atlantic Way North (Optional)
Sligo and Yeats country, or cut east through the midlands.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the optional north. Yeats country, Strandhill for lunch, and the long way back if you have the energy.
What You'll Do
- •Sligo route: Benbulben, Rosses Point, surfers at Strandhill.
- •Midlands route: Athlone and the Shannon for a gentler drive east.
The Ireland Edit Take
If you've enjoyed the driving, push north to Sligo. If you're tired, the midlands route gets you back to Dublin in half the time and is genuinely beautiful in its own quiet way.
Return to Dublin
Farewell lunch, last pint, already planning the return.
Why This Day Exists
Today is the return. We drive east through the midlands, one stop at Kilbeggan if the whiskey matters, and Dublin by late afternoon.
What You'll Do
- •Drive east through the green midlands.
- •Lunch and last shopping on Grafton Street.
- •Closing pint at Kehoe's, our favourite pub in the city.
The Ireland Edit Take
Drop the car at the airport before going into town if you can. Dublin parking is brutal and you don't want logistics on the last day.
Where to Stay
Experiences
The Drives, Stops and Tables That Make This Trip
Ten days of driving Ireland is really ten days of decisions. These are the ones we make every time we run the route ourselves.
- The Ring counter-clockwise. You stay ahead of the coach tours and the views open in front of you, not behind.
- Slea Head over Ring of Kerry, if you must choose. Smaller, wilder, and the coastline does not let up for a single mile.
- The Cliffs after 4pm. The buses are gone, the light is better, the path is yours.
- Two nights everywhere it matters. Kenmare and Ballynahinch. Single nights ruin both.
The Editors
Plan this with us
Tell us a little about your trip. We'll come back with hotel availability, a sharper version of the route for your dates, and the bookings worth making early. Two American expats, living in Ireland. No fee, no obligation.
Pre-fill your picks
Tick the tee times, stays, tables and experiences you want us to lock in. We'll include every booking link in your confirmation email so you have one place to book from.
01Dublin to Wicklow Mountains
02Wicklow → Kilkenny → Kinsale
03Ring of Kerry, Day One
04Skellig Ring & Kerry Coast
05Dingle Peninsula
06Cliffs of Moher & The Burren
07Galway & Into Connemara
08Connemara, Slow Day
09Wild Atlantic Way North (Optional)
10Return to Dublin
Prefer email?
Or just write to the editors directly.
If a form isn't your thing, send a note straight to our inbox. We read and answer every email.
Email the editors → hello@theirelandedit.comCommon questions
Planning the Trip
Seven Days
The Wild Atlantic Journey
The Printed Edit
Take The Wild Atlantic Journey with you.
The travel-ready version of our 7-day route. Bases, drives, hotels and the bookings to make first.
The version readers print and bring with them.