Duration: 5-7 Days | Start/Finish: Dublin City | Group Size: Max 20 | Average Daily Drive Time: Hours
There are parts of Ireland that take longer than a day to get to know – places where the landscape opens up slowly, where the stories surface only once you’ve sat still long enough to hear them. This is the trip for those places.
Our West and South Ireland tour series is one of the most complete small group guided tours of Ireland available, taking you from the salt-edged streets of Galway to the sweeping peninsulas of Kerry, through some of the most dramatic coastline in Europe. Every route has been crafted by the same Galway-based family that has been showing Ireland properly since 1988 – not from the window of a large coach, but up close, at a pace that lets you feel it.
Choose from a 5 day tour of Ireland, a 6 day tour of Ireland, or a 7 day tour of Ireland – each building on the last, and each designed to feel like a journey rather than an itinerary. Groups are kept to a maximum of 20 guests, departures are guaranteed, and everything that matters is included.
Still weighing up your options? Browse our full range of Multi-Day Tours of Ireland.
Whether you’re planning a 5 day trip to Ireland, a 6 day tour or a full one week trip to Ireland, every option in this series is built around the same core promise: no surprises, no rushing, no large crowds.
The 5 Day Tour is a rich introduction to Ireland’s most iconic landscapes. Starting with a scenic train ride from Dublin to Galway, you’ll spend two nights in the west before heading south through the Burren and Clare coast to Kerry. Highlights include a Connemara sheepdog experience, a boat cruise under the Cliffs of Moher, a half day on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands, and time in both Dingle and Killarney.
The 6 Day Tour extends the journey south into West Cork – adding the harbour town of Kinsale and free time in Cork City’s famous English Market and laneways.
The 7 Day Tour goes further still, with a visit to Cobh’s Titanic Experience and a guided tour and whiskey tasting at Midleton Distillery before the final train back to Dublin. If you’re looking for the definitive one week tour of Ireland, this is it.
Overnights:
Key Destinations:
Connemara · Galway City · Aran Islands · Burren · Cliffs of Moher · Doolin · West Clare · Dingle Peninsula · Kerry · Killarney · West Cork · Kinsale · Cork City · Cobh · Midleton
You arrive in Ireland’s most spirited city and the adventure begins before you’ve even unpacked.
Board your train at Dublin Heuston and watch the country shift westward – rolling midlands giving way to Connacht stone walls and the first glimpse of Atlantic sky.
On arrival in Galway, meet your guide, drop your bags, and step straight into a Galway City guided walking tour through the narrow lanes, colourful shopfronts, and centuries of history that make this city unlike anywhere else in Ireland.
Known as the City of the Tribes, Galway moves at its own pace – and tonight, so do you. The evening is yours to explore: find a seat in a traditional pub, follow the music, and let the night take care of itself.
Overnight: Galway City Centre
Into the wild heart of the west – where the landscape is ancient, the language is living, and the welcome is completely genuine.
One of the great advantages of small group tours in Ireland is exactly this: a day in Connemara with the space to actually stop and take it in, rather than ticking it off a list. It’s one of Ireland’s most extraordinary corners.
You’ll meet a local farmer and watch a captivating sheepdog demonstration – a tradition passed down through generations in these hills. Then on to the gothic splendour of Kylemore Abbey, where the restored Victorian Walled Gardens sit quietly beside the lake.
Along the way, your guide will bring the Irish language to life – Connemara is one of the few places in Ireland where it’s still spoken as a first language, not a school subject. Round off the afternoon with a small glass of Poitín, the spirit of Connacht, and let the scenery sink in on the journey back to Galway.
Overnight: Galway City Centre
The most dramatic day on any multi-day tour of Ireland’s west coast – on and off the water, on and off the islands.
Whether you’re on a 5 day trip to Ireland or stretching it to a full week, Day 3 is the one people tend to talk about most when they get home. Start gently with a coffee stop in the seaside village of Kinvara, then head to the coast for something that stays with you long after the trip: a boat cruise under the Cliffs of Moher, rising over 700 feet from the Atlantic. There is no better way to understand the sheer scale of them.
From there, cross to the Aran Islands for a half day on Inis Oírr – by bike, horse and cart, or on foot, exploring one of the most atmospheric islands in Ireland. As the afternoon opens up, return to the mainland for time on top of the Cliffs at the Visitor Centre, followed by a stop in the surf town of Lahinch for a well-earned ice cream. The day ends with an overnight right on the water’s edge.
Overnight: Spanish Point, West Clare (beachfront)
Cross the Shannon by ferry and follow one of Ireland’s most spectacular coastal roads to the most characterful town on the island.
If you’re on a 7 day trip to Ireland, this is the day that really earns its place on the route. Board the drive-on, drive-off ferry across the River Shannon – a quiet crossing that marks the shift from Clare to Kerry. Then the road south takes you along the Dingle Peninsula, where rugged Atlantic cliffs and sweeping ocean views make a compelling case for the west of Ireland.
An extended lunch and shopping stop in Dingle town gives you time to wander the painted shopfronts, pick up something from a local craft maker, and enjoy the kind of relaxed pace that Dingle does better than most. The evening arrives in Killarney with a welcome shot of energy – traditional Irish music and dance to round out what’s been one of the great driving days in Ireland.
Overnight: Killarney Town
Today is yours – and Killarney knows how to fill it.
One of the things that sets our Ireland multi-day tours apart is the pace. Today there’s no schedule to keep. Killarney and its National Park are all around you, and the options are genuinely excellent: a round of golf on one of the great courses in Kerry, a spa day, a scenic hike through old oak woodland, or a bike ride along the lakeshore.
If you’d prefer some company and guidance, your driver is on hand for a short half-day tour of Killarney’s local highlights – Muckross House, Torc Waterfall, and the lakes.
If you’ve chosen the 5 Day Tour, today ends with a relaxed cross-country train journey back to Dublin – a perfect chance to look back at the week and think about when you’re coming back.
Overnight: Killarney Town (6 & 7 Day only)
Through the mountain pass and down into West Cork – one of the most underrated corners of Ireland.
Leave Killarney through the National Park, winding through the dramatic Cork and Kerry mountain pass before the landscape softens into West Cork. This is a region with a strong sense of itself – food, music, community, and an easy coastal pace.
Make an extended coffee stop in Kinsale, the prettiest harbour town in the south, before heading into Cork City for free time on St Patrick’s Street, through the English Market, along Oliver Plunkett Street, and down to the River Lee. Pull up a barstool in a local pub later and you’ll understand quickly why Cork people are the way they are – proud, warm, and quietly convinced they live somewhere special. They’re right.
If you’ve chosen the 6 Day Tour, the day ends with a comfortable train journey back to Dublin.
Overnight: Cork City (7 Day only)
A powerful final day – Ireland’s emigration history, then Ireland’s greatest whiskey, then the train home.
For anyone planning a 7 day Ireland vacation package, this is the day that makes the extra nights worth it. After Friday night in Cork – which has a habit of going well – the morning takes you east to Cobh, the harbour town from which millions of Irish emigrants sailed in search of a better life. The history here is heavy in the best way, and the Titanic Experience Cobh tells it without sentimentality.
Then it’s on to Midleton Distillery, the home of Jameson and a dozen other great Irish whiskeys, for a guided tour of the distillery and a proper tasting. The afternoon ends with a comfortable train journey back to Dublin, completing this 7 day tour of Ireland on a high.
Tour concludes – Dublin Heuston Station
Looking for a fully tailored route? See our Private Tours of Ireland.
The most common questions from guests considering our West & South multi-day Ireland tours – answered below. You can also browse our full Frequently Asked Questions page for general tour queries.
Want to read more? See all Lally Tours reviews from guests across every tour.
