Dreaming of castles, cliffs, coastlines, and cozy pubs? This 7 day Ireland road trip itinerary takes you from the dramatic north to the buzzing capital—hitting all the highlights (and a few hidden gems) along the way.
Whether you’re chasing Game of Thrones magic, craving windswept cliffs, or just want to drink Guinness in a proper Irish pub—this guide’s got you covered.
How Many Days Do You Need in Ireland?
Depending on where you want to go and what you wan’t to see, you need anywhere between 1-10 days to visit and explore Ireland. Here are some options:
- 1-2 Days: Enough to see Dublin
- 3-5 Days: Enough to see Dublin, and do one or two day trips to the Cliffs of Moher/Galway and visit a Castle
- 5-7 Days: Dublin, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Ring of Kerry, and/or Belfast
- 10 Days: Dublin, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Cliffden, Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, Ring of Kerry
We highly recommend between 3-7 days in Ireland so that you can see at least Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher – the MUST do’s if visiting the country.
Before You Go: Road Trip Planning Tips
- Rental car: Automatic cars are pricier and sell out fast—book early!
- Driving: Left side of the road, narrow countryside lanes—go slow and stay calm. When in doubt, pull over to let oncoming traffic come through.
- Best time to go: May to early October for decent weather and longer daylight.
- Packing: Rain jacket, walking shoes, a daypack, and offline maps are a must.
Pro Tip: Make sure your credit card covers car insurance in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Many credit cards explicitly do NOT (like Amex – even Amex Platinum). Chase Preferred/Reserve DO.
Google Map
As with all our travels, we save all our recommended spots on a convenient Google Map, which you can download or view below. You can find all of our travel maps on our Travel Maps page.
📍 Your 7 Day Ireland Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Belfast Bound – Game of Thrones, Titanic & Pub Culture
This itinerary is packed and optimized to fit in as much as possible. Assuming you arrive in the morning, you can grab your rental car and hit the road north towards the Game of Thrones Studio tour (if that’s your thing) or straight to Belfast if you prefer.
- Game of Thrones Studio Tour (start your adventure where legends were filmed!) – book in advance!
- Lunch at Mac’s Traditional Fish & Chips – one fish & chips is enough to share for two, don’t forget the curry and tartar sauce on the side!
- Titanic Museum – immersive, emotional, and beautifully designed. Get tickets for the SS Nomadic as well. Walk along the river front and Titanic Quarter afterwards if you have time.
- Evening: Belfast pub crawl (McHugh’s, Dirty Onion, Thirsty Goat, Clothe Ear) or Cathedral Quarter dinner. Try a traditional Irish Boxty or Irish stew for dinner!
The Thirsty Goat is top-rated for dinner, but requires a reservation. - Hotel: Stay in the Cathedral Quarter or along the river for easy access to food and sites.
Optional: Take a city walking tour to understand Belfast’s layered history.
Day 2: Northern Coast Wonders
For the second day, we recommend an early start so that you can finish exploring Belfast and also his the road to explore the northern coast of Ireland.
- Black Taxi Political Tour (9 am start) – raw, real, and deeply moving, this is a MUST for anyone coming to Belfast. We recommend booking in advance at this tour that we absolutely loved and highly recommend.
- Brunch in Belfast – get an Irish Breakfast/Irish Fry or a Belfast Bap at any good spot. We loved the pocket.
- Giant’s Causeway – this should be the main destination for the afternoon – ancient volcanic columns, ocean spray, and surreal views
- Optional Stops:
- Dunluce Castle – dramatic ruins on a cliff – the castle that inspired Pyke’s place (Greyjoy Castle) in Game of Thrones.
- Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
- Bushmills Distillery
- Coffee and Snack: Bothy Coffee is a great spot with drinks, food, vibes, and great reviews.
- Optional stop: Londonderry/Derry for city walls and Bloody Sunday history
- Dinner: Stop anywhere along the way, but we highly recommend Walled City Brewery in Derry. Don’t leave without getting the sticky toffee pudding.
- Hotel: Stay in Derry, Sligo, or anywhere between Bushmill’s and Galway
You can complete as much or as little of the above list at your pace. Drive as much as you want towards Galway.
Day 3: South to Galway
For Day 3, you’re going to hit the road to Galway! If you’re exhausted, you can take the morning slow and plan on spending the afternoon in Galway. If you want to pack more into your itinerary, you can add a few hours of driving and site seeing by heading into Clifden to visit Kylemore Abbey and Ballynahinch Castle.
- Morning: Drive south towards Galway
- Optional Stops: Clifden / Connemara region for Kylemore Abbey and/or Balllynahinch Castle
- Afternoon in Galway:
- Dough Bro’s in Galway for lunch – there will be a line, but it is worth it! We loved the curry potato pizza for it’s unique flavors and local ingredients.
- Explore Galway in the afternoon: walk around the Latin Quarter, check out Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, walk to the Galway Cathedral and then down the riverfront, takes some photos at the Spanish Arch and then along the Long Walk. Then head across the bridge to take pictures of the the Long Walk from Nimmo’s Pier.
- Evening: Grab dinner at a local pub and enjoy some live music. The King’s Head is a famous (but likely busy) pub in Galway. Taaffes Bar has live music that starts early.
- Hotel: Either stay in Galway for the evening, or start driving towards Doolin/Cliffs of Moher.
Day 4: Cliffs of Moher by Foot and Sea
This day is a BIG day – visiting the Cliffs of Moher. As of June 2025, the majority of the cliff walk is still closed for safety upgrades. Check the website, as this will determine how much time you spend at the cliffs.
Assuming the trail is still closed, you won’t need more than 45 min – 1 hour at the main site. We recommend arriving between 8-10 am. Around 11am the tour buses come in and it gets much more packed.
- Morning: Walk a section of the Cliffs of Moher trail to view it from the land. If you start early, book your boat tour for 12.
- Mid-day: Take a boat tour from Doolin to see the cliffs from below. Book ahead as these can sell out!
- Lunch: Grab a bite to eat in Doolin, Ennis, Adare, or Limerick. Ennis and Adare are cute little towns that could be worth a quick stop/walk in as well!
- Optional: Spend an afternoon on one of the Aran islands. Day 5 is a DIY day, so if you choose to have a more relaxing itinerary, you could do the Aran islands this afternoon, or even on Day 5.
- Afternoon/Evening: Depending on what you decide to do for Day 5, starting driving towards your next destination. For us, we drove to Killarney and spent the evening exploring the town.
Pro Tip: As of June 2025, the majority of the Cliffs of Moher cliffwalk/trail is closed for safety upgrades. Whatever is open doesn’t take more than 45 minutes – 1 hour. Tour buses roll in at 11am, so try to arrive before!
Day 5: Choose Your Adventure
For Day 5, you have a couple of options. There’s two scenic road trips you can take: Slea Head Drive through Dingle, or around the Ring of Kerry. Alternatively, you could pick a little town or castle in the area to explore and avoid a long road trip. If you decided to stay by the Cliffs, you could spend a day exploring the Aran Islands to the west of the Cliffs of Moher.
- Option 1: Aran Islands – take a ferry from Galway or Doolin over to the Aran Islands. Walk around, rent a bike, explore the islands.
- Option 2: Ring of Kerry – big views, longer drive, classic route. Can do a portion of the Ring of Kerry for a shorter drive time. If so, we highly recommend Killarney National Park (Muckross Abbey & House, Ross Castle, Ladies View). If you continue around the entire ring, you can head to Skellig to see some movie filming locations or do a hike.
- Option 3: Dingle Peninsula – tighter loop, coastal gems, smaller villages. Don’t miss Slea Head Drive or lunch in Dingle town.
- Option 4: Explore a town or Castle – Much more leisurely option, you could explore Limerick, Killarney, Kenmare, Cork (recommend if you’re a foodie – this is the culinary capital of Ireland), Cobh (highly, highly recommend fitting this town in!) or other town.
We chose to do a small section of the Ring of Kerry. We drove to Ross Castle, Muckross House, Ladies Viewpoint, and did a self-guided walking tour of Killarney. In the evening, we drove to Cobh for dinner and a stroll.
Day 6: Drive to Dublin
This day is your last day before packing in everything that Dublin has to offer. If you’re anxious to get to Dublin, head straight there, and enjoy an extra afternoon in Dublin. Otherwise, there are a few stops along the way:
- Morning options:
- Killarney National Park (quick hike or Muckross House visit)
- Cobh – Titanic’s last port of call + colorful harbor views
- Cork – English Market
- Blarney Castle – this is a VERY touristy castle right outside of Cork. We were very disappointed by the price and grounds. It was a 2.5 hour wait to enter the castle and kiss the rock. We don’t recommend this unless you’re really into this – there are other castles to explore.
- Rock of Cashel – this is a great stop between Cork and Dublin that helps break up the drive. Great quick visit to around the castle, plus could be a good stop for lunch.
- Kilkenny – another town you could get out in to stretch your legs or grab lunch.
- Afternoon drive to Dublin (~3.5–4 hours)
- Evening in Dublin:
- Explore the Temple bar district
- Grab a traditional Boxty at Gallagher’s Boxty House
- Do some pub hopping: The Temple Bar (it’s a bit touristy, but the music is great) and The Brazen Head (the oldest pub in Ireland) are good one-time stop to check off.
- Hotels: We recommend staying close to the city center – anywhere near Temple Bar District or by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We stayed in the Aloft and found it to be a great location relative to all the sites (walking distance).
Day 7: Dublin Highlights
Last full day in Ireland – spend it enjoying Dublin. There are so many things you can do in Dublin, but if you only had a day, here are the activities we would prioritize:
- Breakfast – The Cheeky Piglet serves a good Brekkie Bap or other Irish breakfast options. Alternatively, Bread 41 is renowned for it’s pastries.
- Trinity College & Book of Kells (book in advance!) – the Book of Kells experience is one of the most booked experiences in Dublin and must be booked in advance. It is unfortunately becoming more and more crowded. We recommend going early or late in the day for a better experience.
- Guinness Storehouse or Jameson Tour (book in advance!) – the Guinness Storehouse tour is so so cool, but also books in advance. At the end of the tour, you can opt to enjoy a beer at the gravity bar with overlooking views of Dublin. You can also get another beer with your face printed on it.
- Irish Dance Party – this was a really cool experience – a mix of music and dance performance with Irish dance lessons. This was one of our favorite activities on our trip in Ireland. Book the exact class we took here.
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral – full of Irish history, beyond just religion.
- Evening – Catch traditional music, or head to a rooftop for sunset Guinness
- Food – The Fish Shop is popular, but might require a reservation. Bambino’s is known for it’s NY style pizza, but we found it to be a bit overrated. Xi’an Street Food is known for the famous Dublin “spice bag” – fries and fried chicken in a bag with Chinese spices. It’s not for everyone, but if you want to try some authentic drunk/street food, it’s something to consider. Otherwise, Dublin has a great food scene and you can find a variety of good restaurants and cuisine!
If you have extra time, check out our Google Map of Dublin for other places to eat and explore (like the Dublin Castle, Dublinia Museum, or Lover’s wall).
Pro Tip: Book tours in advance and consider walking everywhere—it’s the best way to soak in the city.
🗺 Quick Itinerary Overview
| Day | Destination | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast | GoT Studio, Titanic, Pubs |
| 2 | Northern Coast | Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce |
| 3 | Galway | Abbeys, Atlantic drive |
| 4 | Cliffs of Moher | Cliff walk + boat, Killarney/Dingle |
| 5 | Dingle or Kerry | Slea Head or Ring of Kerry |
| 6 | Cobh or Kilkenny | Drive to Dublin |
| 7 | Dublin | Guinness, Trinity, Temple Bar |
🧳 What to Pack for a 7 Day Ireland Road Trip
- Rain jacket & layers
- Good walking shoes
- Offline Google Maps
- Universal adapter
- Euro cash for rural towns – you’ll also need sterlings/pounds if you go through Northern Ireland
Final Thoughts
This 7 day Ireland road trip itinerary gives you ancient history, wild Atlantic beauty, and enough pub charm to fill a dozen postcards. It’s fast-paced, but full of unforgettable moments. Adjust the pace if needed—but don’t skip the cliffs, castles, or craic.