Ireland Itineraries

Fly into Dublin and spend 2-3 days exploring the capital’s shopping, culture, pubs, restaurants and nightlife. Visit Trinity College (founded 1592) in the center of the city. Take the suburban Dart train around Dublin’s coast from the seaside town of Bray to the fishing village of Howth. Take a day trip to ancient passage tomb Newgrange in County Meath. Alternatively, fly into Shannon and hire a car to drive around the spectacular west coast of Ireland.

Fly into Dublin and leave from Shannon in County Clare (or vice versa) so that you get to see both the cultural highlights of Dublin and the dramatic west coast. Spend 2-3 days in Dublin and sample east coast heritage sites like the 6th-century ruins of Glendalough in County Wicklow or the Newgrange megalithic tombs in Meath. Spend another 2-3 days in the west, which can be accessed most easily by car. Drive to Galway, the western seaboard’s cultural capital; then go north to Mayo and Donegal for the bleak natural beauty, or south to tourism capital Kerry. Finally, head back to County Clare for a music session before you catch a flight from the Shannon airport.

Spend 3-4 days soaking up the culture of Dublin, 2-3 days exploring east coast heritage sites, and 3-4 days driving up the breathtaking west coast. In addition, spend a long weekend in rural Ireland – rent a cottage by a lake in County Leitrim and walk narrow lanes with the novels of John McGahern as your guide, or visit a country farmhouse in Kilkenny while you explore the Craft Trail. Try fishing for salmon, pike, and other native species on the River Moy in east Mayo. Treat yourself to a few days in one of dozens of spas such as the Temple Spa in Moate in County Westmeath.