Now I understand the color green when referring to Ireland. This was my first trip over the pond to go see the land of beauty. I am not a city person, so this blog focuses more on the countryside and the beauty of the southern part of Ireland. Once we arrived in Ireland, we jumped on the on/off bus and toured around to see the layout of Dublin. Good choice and that was plenty for me at the time. I do love old buildings, castles, churches & landscapes so I was pleasantly surprised. The trip was raining 90% of the time but as you will see it didn’t effect my trip one bit. To see any of these pictures better, hit the first one in the set and it will appear larger on your screen.
The next day we decided to catch a train to Delkey and explore the quaint little town.
And what is Dublin without going to Temple Bar and exploring the nightlife & entertainment surrounding you on all sides.
As you can see, the rain didn’t stop anyone – and it was cold! However we did come across the beautiful tulips in bloom.
Next I would highly recommend taking a stroll along the river – beautiful and you get to see quite a few shops and restaurants.
After 2 days in Dublin, I was ready to explore the countryside. We got back to the airport & rented a car – automatic – thank goodness on these roads it saved us many times. Recommend getting all the insurance you can on the car because you can get into some scary drives which are narrow & windy and I would rather be safe than sorry.
I drove and my good friend was navigator and we took off for Glendalough & we wanted to drive the Wicklow Gap. Driving to Glendalough from Dublin it rained heavily, and was very cold, however as we pulled into the parking lot it, subsided and we were able to see some incredible sights. While we drove the Wicklow Gap it hailed and was windy – so always carry warm clothes & hat & gloves. We traveled the middle of April, 2023.
I loved this area – probably one of my favorites, just gorgeous.
The drive out to Wicklow and the hiking was a highlight because the lake and the colors of the hills & bushes was fresh from the rain.
After driving the Wicklow Gap – we were headed to the Kilkea Castle, which is a 12th century castle and golf course which you can stay at and only about an hour & 1/2 out of Dublin. Well worth the stay.
Make sure to head to the fabulous bar & meet the locals, I think this is the best part of Ireland. The friendly locals & pub food makes Ireland a must see.
One night stay is about all you need, unless you choose to golf. I learned very early that the Irish love their golf, some of the most beautiful courses I have seen, you just have to be ok with playing in the rain. We did see many people playing in the pouring down rain.
Kilkenny was our next destination and pulling into town we were delighted to see how cute it was. Our first exploration was the Kilkenny Castle.
I would also recommend visiting St. Canice’s Catherdral.
On the way out of town we stopped at Kell’s Priory, which is darling and we stopped for lunch. Very small but worth a stop.
Some of my favorite days were driving from town to town and seeing ruins, graveyards and some incredible scenery. The following pictures are from the drive from Kilkenny to Kinsale.
Kinsale, voted the prettiest town in Ireland
Kinsale was darling, the disappointment was most pubs were closed and a large storm had moved in so we decided to drive all around and see the countryside. The wind was howling and the chill was definitely in the air, in fact we drove to Mizen Head where there is a private golf course, basically in the middle of nowhere with a huge gate and a guard. As we got out of the car to ask the attendant if we could enter, we almost gone blown over due to the extreme winds. He never let us in but did tell us Tiger Woods and several other professional golfers love to come here since it is a magnificent course and extremely private, also the most southernly point in Ireland.
The above is Charles Fort built in 1682.
I will post my itinerary at the end, it was an easy one and driving this was perfect because I never wanted to spend all day driving from one point to another. My longest was 2 hours from hotel to hotel, and all the hotels were wonderful.
Kenmare was the destination today, and this was the lead into the Killarney National Park, one of the highlights of the trip. Below is the journey to Kenmare & the park.
Definitely worth driving the Ring of Kerry, however, start early and go counterclockwise. This helps with traffic, because the buses go clockwise. Double check on that, but a local suggested this to us and worth it. Although when we were in Ireland, I never felt crowded anywhere.
Our next stop and my highlight – the Killarney National Park where the scenery is spectacular & there are waterfalls, hiking trails and so much more to explore so I decided to just put the pictures out and show you. Highly recommend spending the whole day here.
There is so much to see and do in the park, I just picked out my favorites.
The town of Dingle was our next stop and our base for the next two days. Darling town and worth going there if you plan to do the Ring of Kerry or the Ring of Beara Peninsula. We chose the Ring of Kerry. You take the Wild Atlantic Way route to the town of Dingle. Here you will see gorgeous beaches, green hillsides and plenty of cute towns.
Next stop…the Cliffs of Moher. I was so excited and the day we woke up it was gorgeous weather so we decided to take our time getting there. First stop, the Beehive Huts built in 2,000 BC, pretty incredible and the local gentleman was overseeing his sheep.
If you are going to the Cliffs of Moher from the Dingle side, there is a short cut that cuts off about and hour and a half to two hour drive and so we caught the ferry. From Dingle, drive to the town of Tarbet about 1 1/2 hour drive, pick up the ferry – just drive your car onto the car ferry and the cost was between $5 – $21. You arrive in Kilmer and the rest of the drive is approx. 58 minutes by car to the Cliffs of Moher. Fantastic rock shop on the way and I recommend stopping for a snack & bathroom break.
As you are driving to the Cliffs, there are other stops in case you like to explore and go off the beaten path – something that I love because that is where you will come across many treasures to see. Below are two of them.
And of course we had to stop to have fish & chips along with cider or beer so we stopped at this place, but the service was horrible so, do not recommend.
After lunch we were headed to the Cliffs of Moher and that is one place everyone mentions when they talk about Ireland, so my expectations were high. In Kenmare, a local stopped us and asked if we planned to go the the Cliffs, we answered, yes, and he gave us some fantastic advice and I would like to pass it on to whoever decides to drive and go.
He said, when you are about a mile away from the parking lot where you see the big busses pulling in look for a small sign…
and you will turn left onto the dirt road, as you approach this sign Guerin’s Path, turn right into there. A darling man will be standing there to take your $5.00 to park in his field – well worth it. You don’t deal with any crowds coming off the bus. Besides, he is too cute!
After parking, we walked about 1/3 of a mile till we got to see what was suppose to be the Cliffs of Moher, but they were completely socked in with fog – NOOOOO!
I was so disappointed and got mad at myself for taking our time getting there thinking it would be clear blue skies, but it wasn’t. My friend said, let’s just hang out for an hour or so, we have no place we have to get to so we did. The trails along the cliffs are well maintained, although some people do not like to follow any signs and go over the rock blocks to get closer to the edge after an hour the fog began to life and here are some of the pictures I was able to take.
The Cliffs of Moher are well worth the drive and if it is foggy – be patient the fog will pass – hopefully!
The last two pictures are from a town called Ballyvaughan
What I liked most about Ireland were the people and the beauty. The roads are very narrow, so make sure to drive slowly and enjoy the scenery. You are on holiday and don’t need to rush. If you want to see sheep or lambs – there is always an abundance of them around.
Our last place we stayed which was amazing and if you are golfer – stop and play here – great spa too. The place is called Glassen Lake House in Athlone, only an hour to one and a half out of Dublin.
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Itinerary
Stay: The Mont
Dublin all day – go to Temple Bar area
Trip to Delkey (train) Definitely – darling town,
April 10
Go to airport to pick up rental car
Drive to Glendalough. Take to Wicklow Gap to get there
Monasteries & castle
Hiking
Stay at the Kilkea Castle – built in the 12th century
1 hr 24 min.
April 11
Drive to Kilkenny
Stay: Pembroke Hotel
Left Bank Pub
Kilkenny Castle
St. Canice’s Cathedral (6th century)
Stop at Kell’s Priory – Gorgeous
2 hrs 7 min
April 12
Drive to Kinsale – Prettiest town in Ireland
Stay: Long Quay House
Charles Fort – Summer Cove in Kinsale harbor (1682)
Mizen Head – most southernly point
1 hr 34 min
April 13
Drive to Kenmare
Stay: Lansdowne Hote
Ring of Kerry – get up early & drive before the crowds.
Visit Killarney Castle & Killarney National Park (Muckross House & Garden), Torc Waterfall)
1 hr 37 min
April 14, 15
Dingle Peninsula
Stay: Dingle Benners Hotel
Wild Atlantic Way route to Dingle
Driving to Cliffs of Moher
Drive 1 hr 24 min
Tarbet – pick up Ferry (20 min by car ferry. $5-21)
Killmer – Kilrush
Drive 58 min by car (36.8 miles) to Cliffs of Moher
April 16
Cliffs of Moher
Stay: The Waters Country House in Newton, Ballyvaughan (near Doolin) (we stayed, nice place but would skip this place and drive on)
2 hours
April 17 Drive to Athlone
Stay: Glasson Lake House in Athlone
1 hr. 16 min to Dublin
April 18
Drive to Dublin
Stay in: Clayton Hotel, Dublin Airport
Return rental car
April 19
Home – arrive at least 3 hours prior to departure because you have to go through customs in Ireland prior to leaving the country.
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