10 Days in Ireland Itinerary: What Nobody Tells You Before YouGo (From Someone Who’s Done It All)
- Akshay Umashankar
- 5 days ago
- 11 min read
I’ll be honest with you. Before I went to Ireland, I thought I had it figured out. I’d done my research, made my lists, bookmarked the Ring of Kerry and the Cliffs of Moher like everyone else. And Ireland delivered on all of it, but it also surprised me in ways I didn’t see coming. So here's my 10 days in Ireland itinerary.
This isn’t a post written from a press trip or a polished tourism board itinerary. I’ve covered Ireland end to end with Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Belfast, the roads in between, the pubs nobody reviews, the drives that don’t make the highlight reels. This is what I actually think you should do with 10 days, written for someone flying in from the US or Canada who wants to do it right, not just tick boxes. Let’s get into it.
Quick Index:
Is 10 Days Enough for Ireland?
Ireland is small on a map. That’s deceiving. The roads outside the cities are narrow, the scenery demands that you stop constantly, and the pubs will keep you longer than you planned every single night. Ten days is enough to cover the essential loop i.e. Dublin, the south coast, Kerry, Galway without it becoming a blur. What you’ll leave out: the Aran Islands, deep Connemara, most of Northern Ireland beyond Belfast, the smaller towns of the midlands. That’s fine. That’s what a second trip is for. And there will be a second trip because, Ireland has a way of doing that to people.
A few things worth knowing before you land:
Ireland runs on the euro in the Republic, and the pound sterling in Northern Ireland. If your itinerary crosses the border (and it should), keep a small amount of both.
Driving is on the left. This sounds obvious but the first 20 minutes behind the wheel are genuinely disorienting. More on this below.
Your US or Canadian driving licence is valid for car rental in Ireland. No international permit needed.
Tipping culture is closer to Europe than America. 10–12% at a sit-down restaurant if the service was good. Nothing expected at a bar. Nobody will look at you sideways.
Getting Around: Yes, You Need a Car
For this itinerary, renting a car isn’t optional ,it’s the whole point. Public transport in Ireland is reasonable between cities. Outside them, it’s unreliable at best and nonexistent at worst.
The Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, the Cliffs of Moher, the Causeway Coast, none of these work on a flexible schedule without a car. Tour buses exist, but they put you on their timetable, not yours. I rent through Discover Cars because it compares rates across multiple companies in one search and you’re not locked into a single provider and you can filter by automatic vs manual transmission, which matters. A word of warning for American drivers: most rental cars in Ireland are manual. If you’re not comfortable driving a stick shift on the left side of the road on roads barely wider than your car to pay the premium for an automatic. I’m serious. Rural Kerry has stone walls on both sides of the lane and tractors that appear from nowhere. Weekly rentals typically run $220–$420 USD depending on season and car class. Book early as summer availability disappears fast. We ourselves use RentaCar for cheaper prices and avoid paying huge deposits.
The 10-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Arrive in Dublin, Decompress
Land, don’t try to be a hero. Dublin Airport to the city centre is about 25–35 minutes by taxi ($30–40 USD) or $10 by Aircoach express bus. Check in, walk to the nearest pub, order a Guinness. That’s it. That’s Day 1. If you’re staying near Temple Bar, you’re already in the middle of the action, but know that it’s touristy and loud. The Liberties neighbourhood and Smithfield are better value and more local in feel. I’d pick either over Temple Bar every time.
Day 2 — Dublin Proper
Dublin rewards slow mornings and late nights. Start at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and book online before you go, the queue without a ticket will eat your entire morning. (Fun fact, this is one of the locations where Harry Potter was filmed). Walk west through Temple Bar into the Liberties, one of the oldest parts of the city. It feels entirely different from the polished streets around Grafton as it's rougher, more alive, more Dublin. Afternoon: Kilmainham Gaol. This is the one non-negotiable in Dublin. The guided tour covers the 1916 Rising executions in detail and it’s the most affecting history experience in the country. Book this one well in advance as it sells out weeks ahead in summer. Evening: skip the tourist pubs on the river. Walk up to Stoneybatter or the streets around Smithfield Square for traditional music sessions that aren’t performing for a coach tour. The difference is immediately obvious. Dublin is expensive by European standards. Budget around $25–40 per person per attraction, and factor that in before your second Guinness
Day 3 — Dublin to Kilkenny
Pick up your rental car this morning. Don’t pick it up yesterday as parking in Dublin is expensive and stressful and you don’t need it for the city days. The M9 to Kilkenny is about 1.5 hours and it’s motorway driving is straightforward even if you’re still adjusting to the left. Kilkenny Castle first. It’s sitting right in the centre of town and it’s genuinely impressive. Behind the castle there’s a park worth wandering for half an hour. Then the Medieval Mile, a walking route through the old city that takes in the cathedral, the Black Abbey, and medieval streetscapes that have barely changed in centuries. It takes about two hours at a comfortable pace. Kilkenny is compact. Half a day covers it well, which is exactly why it works as an overnight rather than a two-night stay. The pub scene on Parliament Street and John Street is lively most nights with traditional music sessions. Accommodation is reasonable here from mid-range hotels running around $130–170 per night.
Day 4 — Kilkenny to Cork via Rock of Cashel
Don’t drive straight to Cork. There’s a stop halfway that most people skip and shouldn’t. The Rock of Cashel is about an hour from Kilkenny on the N8. A cluster of medieval towers and a cathedral sitting on a limestone outcrop rising out of flat Tipperary farmland. Even 45 minutes here is worth pulling off the road for. If you have an extra hour, Cahir Castle is 20 minutes further south with one of the best preserved Norman castles in Ireland and rarely crowded. Aim for Cork by early afternoon. First stop: the English Market. It’s been trading since 1788, it’s free to walk through, and it’s one of those places that actually lives up to being called a landmark. Grab lunch here. Cork gets undersold because it sits in Dublin’s shadow. That’s a mistake. It has genuine character, a strong food scene, and a pace that’s noticeably more relaxed than the capital. Spend the evening exploring, the Victorian Quarter and Oliver Plunkett Street are worth your time.
Day 5 — Cork, Kinsale, and Blarney
Day five uses Cork as a base for two day trips in opposite directions. Start with Kinsale, about 45 minutes south. Small harbour town, colourful shopfronts, fishing boats, and a food reputation that’s earned. Walk the waterfront, have coffee, spend a couple of hours. It’s the kind of place that resets you. Then back north to Blarney Castle. Entry is around $22–25. Yes, the Blarney Stone is touristy. Yes, kissing it means leaning backwards over a parapet while someone holds your legs. Do it anyway as the castle grounds alone are worth the entrance fee even if you skip the stone, and the woodland walks are genuinely beautiful. Back in Cork for dinner. The streets around the English Market have a strong concentration of independent restaurants. Don’t rush this evening as Cork nights are good.
Day 6 — Cork to the Ring of Kerry
This is the day you’ve been building toward. Drive 1.5 hours from Cork to Killarney, drop your bags, then loop the Ring of Kerry for the rest of the day. The loop is about 180km and takes 4–5 hours with stops. Drive it anti-clockwise. Every tour bus goes clockwise. Anti-clockwise means you’re not stuck behind convoys on narrow roads and passing is dramatically easier. Leave Killarney before 9am in summer. The Ring rewards early starts as the light is better, the roads are emptier, and you’ll have viewpoints to yourself that are gridlocked by 11am. The route runs through Killorglin, Cahersiveen, Waterville, and Sneem. Don’t skip Ladies View on the return leg with the panorama over the Upper Lake is one of the best on the whole route. The Gap of Dunloe is worth a detour before or after the main loop if you have an extra hour. A narrow mountain pass just west of Killarney with scenery that’s completely different from the coastal section. Killarney itself has the best traditional music scene I found anywhere in Ireland. The sessions are packed, the musicians are exceptional, and the crowd energy is unlike anywhere else. Don’t go back to your hotel early.
Day 7 — Killarney and the Dingle Peninsula
Start the morning in Killarney National Park before the crowds arrive. It’s free. A walk to Torc Waterfall or a loop around Ross Castle takes about two hours and sets you up for the drive. From Killarney, it’s an hour to Dingle town. Then the Slea Head Drive is one of the most dramatic coastal loops in the country. Give yourself 2.5 hours with stops. The Slea Head viewpoint, Dunbeg Fort, and the ancient beehive huts are the highlights. On a clear day the views over the Blasket Islands will stop you in your tracks. Dingle town is small, lively, and full of pubs that don’t need to advertise. Foxy John’s is a hardware store by day and a pub by night, which tells you everything you need to know about how Ireland works. The Dingle Pub for music. Dick Mack’s for atmosphere. Stay the night in Dingle rather than driving back to Killarney. The town at night, once the day-trippers leave, is a completely different place
Day 8 — Dingle to Galway via the Shannon Ferry
Don’t go back through Limerick. Take the Tarbert to Killimer car ferry across the Shannon Estuary instead. It costs around $28 per car and saves you 90 minutes compared to the inland route. The crossing takes 20 minutes and it’s a welcome break from driving. On the north side of the Shannon, stop in Ennis for lunch. Proper market town, good food, barely mentioned on most Ireland itineraries. Worth 90 minutes. Arrive in Galway mid-afternoon. Walk Shop Street and Quay Street, find whoever’s playing on the street corners, get your bearings. Galway has an energy that’s harder to describe than to experience as it’s a city that feels genuinely alive rather than performing for tourists. Best pubs for a first night in Galway: Tig Coili for traditional music (it gets seriously good late), Salt House for craft beer, Taaffe’s Bar for atmosphere. Most people who spend two nights in Galway leave wishing they’d booked three.
Day 9 — Galway and the Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are about an hour south of Galway. Entry is around $10 per person. A note for anyone coming from the US or Canada: Irish weather is not like weather you’re used to. The Cliffs might be shrouded in fog when you arrive. Wait 30 minutes. The Atlantic weather moves fast and a foggy morning can become a crystal clear afternoon with no warning. Don’t leave early. The walk along the cliff edge is roughly 1km in each direction. The views live up to the hype, when you can see them. On the way back, pull over for the Burren. It’s a flat limestone karst landscape that looks like the surface of another planet. Strange, otherworldly, completely unlike anywhere else in Ireland. Most people drive straight through it. Don’t. Second night in Galway. You know the pubs now. Use them.
Day 10 — Return to Dublin (with a Detour)
Galway to Dublin on the M6 is about 2–2.5 hours. That leaves time for one more stop if your flight is in the afternoon. County Meath sits right on the route back. Trim Castle is one of the largest Anglo-Norman castles in Ireland and takes about an hour. Or head to the Hill of Tara if you want something older and more atmospheric is the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland, with views across the midlands. Return the car at Dublin Airport. You’re done. Most people finish this loop already mentally planning what they didn’t get to: Belfast, the Causeway Coast, the Aran Islands, Connemara. That’s not a failure of the itinerary. That’s Ireland doing what it does.
What This Trip Will Cost You (In USD)
Ireland is not cheap. Anyone who tells you otherwise hasn’t been there recently. Here’s an honest breakdown: Category Budget Mid-Range Accommodation (per night) $60–80 (hostel/budget B&B) Comfortable $130–180 (3-star hotel) Food & Drink (per day) $35–50 $220–300 (4 star) $65–85 Car Rental (split 2 people) $25–30/day $100–130 $25–30/day Fuel (per day) $12–18 $35–50/day $12–18 Attractions $15–20 $15–20 $25–40 Total 10-day estimate per person: Budget: $1,500–1,900 Mid-range: $2,500–3,200 Comfortable: $4,000+ Money-saving tips that actually work: $50–70 Pub lunches are always better value than restaurants. A bowl of chowder and brown bread at a good pub runs $13–16. The same thing dressed up in a tourist restaurant is $22–28. Book Kilmainham Gaol, Book of Kells, and Cliffs of Moher as soon as your dates are confirmed. These sell out weeks ahead in summer. Pre-book your rental car. Summer availability drops fast and last-minute prices are punishing.
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Practical Tips for Travellers
The driving adjustment is real but manageable. Left-side driving becomes natural within a day. The roads are the harder part as rural lanes in Kerry and Connemara are genuinely narrow, sometimes barely wide enough for two cars, with stone walls close on both sides. Go slow. Be patient. Don’t underestimate drive times.
Get a local SIM card at the airport. Three Ireland and Vodafone are the most reliable networks. A tourist SIM with data will cost you $15–25 and is worth every cent and Google Maps is the difference between finding that viewpoint and driving past it. You can use Yesim as this is what we use when we travel abroad.
The M50 toll in Dublin is electronic, so you pay online within 24 hours of using it. Your rental company will handle it if you forget, but they charge an admin fee.
Irish plug sockets are Type G which is the same as the UK, three rectangular pins. Your US/Canadian devices need an adapter.
The currency switch at the Northern Ireland border catches people off guard. The Republic uses euros. Northern Ireland uses pounds sterling. Keep some of both if your itinerary crosses the border.
One Last Honest Thing
Ireland will exceed your expectations and frustrate you in equal measure. The weather will turn on you. A road you planned to drive will be blocked by sheep. The pub you walked 20 minutes to find will be closed on a Tuesday. None of it matters. That’s the trip. The places are real, the people are genuinely warm, and there’s a version of quietly standing on a cliff in Kerry with the Atlantic below you and nobody else around, that you won’t find many places else. Ten days is a good start. Plan for more.
Have questions about specific stops on this itinerary? Drop them in the comments as I’ve been to most of these places multiple times and I’m happy to get specific
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Happy travels!
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