This is our signature itinerary that will show you what we believe is the best of the West and South of Ireland. It’s at a leisurely pace, only a couple of hours driving per day, loads of great activities, mostly double night stays and a magnificent range of cities, towns, villages and islands that will make you absolutely fall in love with real Ireland.
This is one of our not-so-secret signature itineraries that roams around the back roads and off-piste parts of Ireland, but briefly hops back on track from time to time to tick a lot of the “must do” things off the list.
Your choice of Dublin Airport, Dublin City or Shannon Airport.
Just an hour or so south of Dublin lies the Medieval City Kilkenny, a fantastic place to start the tour. As the mecca of one of Ireland’s ancient sports, and the home of one of the best preserved medieval castles in Ireland, this is a great place to lay the foundations for understanding true historical and modern day Irish culture.
We round out the day with a group dinner, the perfect way to get to know your fellow travellers on Day 1.
Overnight 1/1 in Kilkenny
Wandering further south, we cross into “the rebel county” of Cork. Home to some of Ireland’s finest distilleries, Cork also boasts some of Ireland’s quirkiest towns, hidden coves and golden sand beaches. We’ll make sure to get you well acquainted with our favorite spots, introduce you to some of our local friends in the area, and also teach you a thing or two about Irish Whiskey.
Overnight 1/1 in Clonakilty in West Cork
Another leisurely departure leaves us out of “Clon” at a reasonable time (none of this 7am departure stuff). We continue to uncover the best of West Cork, and explore the historical ties that Ireland has enjoyed with the likes of France, Spain and Portugal and how they’ve influenced our history. This relationship with mainland Europe is one of the more underrated parts of Irish history, but understanding this will help shape conversations for the next few days. The latter part of Day 3 leads us through the Killarney National Park and down into the town of Killarney, our home for the next two nights.
Overnight 1/2 in Killarney
Near the mid-point of the tour, this is your chance to really make this trip special to you. This day is wide open, and the reason we chose Killarney for this is because of the sheer variety of high quality of activities and experiences that there are to enjoy in the immediate area. From golf, spa treatments and shopping to e-biking, kayaking and hiking, Killarney has it all right there on our front steps.
We highly encourage everyone in the group to break away, be yourself and really do what you love to do. Don’t worry, your guide will help you arrange everything you need, even if you want to line up multiple activities back to back and really squeeze the most out of the day!
Overnight 2/2 in Killarney
Regrouping together in the morning, we set our compasses even further south and west for Slea Head, that little peninsula that sticks out of the south-west corner of a map of Ireland. Known as one of the most spectacular driving routes in Europe, this is also where we will find the charming and cute harbour town of Dingle.
After lunch, our compasses will be pointing us north, continuing up the Wild Atlantic Way, across the river Shannon and into West Clare. Taking a restful evening overlooking the Atlantic Ocean we will share our second group dinner together.
Overnight 1/1 in West Clare
Following another lazy departure from our hotel we set off to explore the Burren, a fascinating region which, in geological terms, is unlike any other in the world. The limestone and sandstone geology under our feet create wild patterns and shape magnificent landscapes that are truly iconic to the West of Ireland. Highlights of the day include meeting some amazing local people, visiting the iconic Cliff of Moher and enjoying an ice-cream at one of Ireland’s best surf spots.
The day finishes by catching the last sailing off the mainland to the Aran Islands, our home for the next two nights.
Overnight 1/2 on the Aran Islands
“Welcome to the Aran Islands” – Most visitors only make day trips to the Aran Islands. Not us, we’re staying for two nights! Why are we staying two nights on a remote island off the West of Ireland? Sorry, words cannot explain – you either have to speak to someone who has done it, or just experience it for yourself.
Overnight 2/2 on the Aran Islands
Taking the morning ferry off the island, we hop straight across into the heart of Connemara, a sparsely populated region of Ireland characterised by rugged mountains and everchanging lakes. Inhabited by hardy people, locals still use the 3,000 year old language of “Gaeilge” as their primary tongue. While only spoken by 1% of the Irish population on a daily basis, this ancient language has sprung back and is now thriving in the area, along with many other old Irish traditions like “sean-nós” singing, traditional dancing and, of course, traditional Irish music.
We finish the day with our arrival into Galway City, our final destination where we will call home for the next two nights.
Overnight 1/2 in Galway City Center
While we may have covered a lot of ground and had many conversations over the previous 8 or 9 days, there will be many more questions and things you may want to knock off your list. There is no better place to knock off those last few things than in Galway. Whether it’s a history scratch you want to itch, or searching for that last bit of shopping. Maybe you really want to find more Irish music, or you want to go for a dip in the Atlantic Ocean before you go home. Whatever it is, you will be in our hometown and we will 100% make sure that you finish your trip on a high.
We will enjoy one last group dinner together on our final night together.
Overnight 2/2 in Galway City Center
Safe home – We will round out the trip with a shuttle transfer back up to Dublin City where it all started just 10 days prior.
If you are flying out of Dublin or Shannon airports on Day 10, let us know in advance so we can make the necessary arrangements and adjustments to our itinerary.
