38 Nights on the Emerald Isle: Ireland

Ireland had never been on my travel radar, but when Mike said he’d always wanted to go I thought, castles, hikes, history, landscapes, pubs, music…you bet!

We decided to start our tour around the island in the north, get a rental car after a few days in Belfast and tour around, then train down to Dublin to start an even longer road trip all around the Republic of Ireland.

This post isn’t about all the wonderful sights in Ireland, there are so many and one post can’t describe it. This is about our itinerary as it happened and how many days we stayed in each location in order to see all the sites that we were most keen to see. Ireland is about the size of the state of Indiana, so you’d think 38 days would be enough…but of course it’s not! If this post helps you in planning a trip to Ireland, let me know by clicking that little Heart symbol at the bottom of this post, or drop a note on my Insta @travelknowing

Tips for Visiting

Make sure you have a reservation in advance, especially for Friday and Saturday nights. The Republic of Ireland was putting up many Ukrainian refugees in hotels in towns all over so getting a room a day or two ahead had limited availability for tourists.
We were in Kilkee for a night – the only place in Ireland we didn’t like. It’s a popular seaside resort for families with big ugly condos and no green spaces.
Get a hotel or Airbnb where you can walk to the pubs, they are a wonderful experience and you’ll want to spend more than an hour when the traditional music starts, often from 9-11 pm.

Favorite Towns

If I had to choose only 3…

Belfast, Dingle, Kilkenny

Belfast commercial court aka the alley with the umbrellas

Dingle at dusk — Belfast commercial court aka the alley with the umbrellas

Favorite Scenery

Ireland has some fantastic scenery, but the dramatic landscapes are the ones I loved the most.

Antrim Coast, Giant’s Causeway, Slieve League Cliffs, Mizen Head

Giant's Causeway — View from Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Travel Planning

I had places to stay set up for the first 21 of our 38 nights in Ireland, so deciding where to spend the last 17 nights was on the go. That mostly worked out but was time consuming and often I could only get 2 nights at a great Airbnb instead of 3. Where it didn’t work out was the unlovely town of Kilkee which we picked only because of the driving distance. The other time winging it didn’t work out was on a Friday and we ended up in an Airbnb outside of the city of Letterkenny instead of getting to explore a new city.

38 Nights in the Emerald Isle Itinerary

38 Nights, 17 hotels/apartments

Northern Ireland (UK)

Belfast – 4 Nights
- A great Airbnb – Luxury City Centre Apartment in the Cathedral Quarter
- Best pubs: The Thirsty Goat, The Duke of York
Cushendall – 1 Night
- Central Bar Cushendall, a tiny room but a great overnight in this cute town
- Best pub: The Lurig Bar
Bushmills – 2 Nights
- The Causeway Hotel, room with terrace. Huge room and terrific to be a short walk to the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Center
Derry – 1 Night
- Maldron Hotel, great location, free parking

Republic of Ireland

Dublin – 4 Nights
- Staycity Christchurch, had a free upgrade to a 2 bedroom due to unsolvable issues with the original 1 bedroom apartment… it was great!
- Best pubs: The Cobblestone (local Musicians drop in), The Brazen Head, The Temple Bar (yes touristy and pricey but tons of fun)
Wicklow – 2 Nights
- Our Airbnb was comfortable and had free parking
- Best pub: Oshea’s Corner
Kilkenny – 3 Nights
- Our Airbnb was fantastic – the Loft on John Street – and included parking. The loft was in what used to be a stable! I just love a historic stay.
- Best pubs: Kyteler’s, J.B. Burke’s Bar (local musicians)
Kinsale – 4 Nights
- We didn’t need 4 nights here, and ended up backtracking to spend a night in Cobh
- Best pub: Dalton’s
Cobh – 1 Night
- Great Airbnb – Modern Penthouse in Cobh Town
- Best pub: The Roaring Donkey
Baltimore – 2 Nights
- Casey’s of Baltimore Hotel – we had a 1 bedroom apartment. Great location for exploring in this area.
Kenmare – 2 Nights
- A great Airbnb – The Pier Apartment – a wee bit out of town but we walked to the pub.
Dingle – 2 Nights
- Great Airbnb – The Dingle Wheelhouse – I wanted 3 nights but it wasn’t available for 3 when reserving just the week before.
- Best pubs: Dick Mack’s (historic), The Dingle Pub (music), Neligan’s Bar (local musicians)
Kilkee – 1 Night
- Not a pretty town
Doolin – 2 Nights
- Great Airbnb – Modern Apartment w/Views – a wee far to walk to the pubs so we drove.
- Best pub: Fitzpatrick’s (local musicians)
Killybegs – 2 Nights
- Great Airbnb – Andersons Boathouse Restaurant and Accommodation. Another apartment I really wanted 3 nights in, but it was booked and I only got two.
- Best pub: The Fleet Inn
Letterkenny – 1 Night
- There wasn’t any hotel availability in this huge city when trying to book the night before. Ended up in an Airbnb outside of town.
Galway – 4 Nights
- Great apartment – Westpoint Citypoint Apartments – included parking
- Best pub: Tigh Choili

O'Sheas Corner Wicklow — O’Sheas Corner Wicklow

JB Burke's Bar Kilkenny — O’Sheas Corner Wicklow

Would I do anything differently?

You bet! Now that I know, I’d have spent more than 8 nights in Northern Ireland and cross the border to the Republic of Ireland after the night in Derry. We ended up driving north along the Wild Atlantic Way as far north as Malen Head, and then back down to Galway for our last 4 nights.

Ireland – a Terrific Destination

Ireland is a terrific destination – the people are geniunely friendly and interested in you, there’s traditional music to be found in almost all the pubs, and the scenery is fantastic!

Antrim Coast Blackhead coastal path — 38 nights in Ireland route map

What about that traditional Irish Music you ask? That is part of the magic of Ireland, any night of the week we found music in pubs in all the towns we were staying in. Here’s a sample of the folk music overflowing at the Cobblestone Pub in Dublin.