When planning our visit to Ireland, we originally thought of spending a few days in Dublin and a few days in a town close by. As we researched potential destinations, we discovered an absolutely stunning variety of beautiful scenery, sights, and culture, and we quickly adjusted our plans to do an RV road trip across the country! To be honest, 7 days was simply not enough to see everything that we wanted to. We were able to see a few towns and cities in central and southern Ireland, but definitely could have used more days to see the northern regions as well as Northern Ireland.
After checking different RV rental companies, we decided on using Spaceships UK, which graciously provided us with a 7-berth Family Motorhome. We are absolute rookies when it comes to driving an RV, so we were glad to have a tutorial as to how to use all of the systems, set up the different beds, and take care of water, heating, and waste issues. The RV is also automatic, which made it much easier to navigate the hilly terrain on the countryside, and also let us focus on driving on the left side of the road, which as Americans we’re not used to!
Day 1: Dublin
The first day is pretty much all about preparation for the week ahead. If you’re flying into Ireland, chances are you’re arriving at Dublin Airport. From there, you can head to pick up your campervan or motorhome. Depending on how long your travel day was to get to Dublin, you can plan as much or as little as possible on the first day. If you rented out a campervan or motorhome, you’ll need some time to get yourself unpacked and situated, and it’s a good idea to pick up some groceries at a local supermarket if you plan to cook for yourself.
Since we traveled to Ireland on a long-haul, overnight flight, we planned our first day to be all about getting set up and recovering from the travel day. From the Dublin airport, we took a taxi to the Spaceships UK office, where we picked up our motorhome. We napped, got groceries, and met up with a family that graciously invited us to their home in Ballinasloe (on the way to Galway).
If you have time on this first day, it would be a great idea to check out the Dublin city center! The Guinness Storehouse, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, and Trinity College are great places to explore. You can also visit more sights in Dublin on your last day before you return your RV. In Dublin, you can stay at the Camac Valley Caravan and Camping Park, which will put you close to the motorway to begin your drive to Galway City the next day.
Day 2: Galway City
Galway City lies on the west coast of Ireland, about a 2.5 hour drive away from Dublin. When you arrive, you will probably want to head straight to the Latin Quarter, located in the old center of Galway. The main street there (Quay Street) has plenty of pubs, restaurant, and shopping options, and the flags strung on a line connecting the buildings adds a colorful character to a charming location! You can also explore sights such as Galway Cathedral and Eyre Square.
At the end of the day, you can park your RV at Salt Hill Caravan Camping. Not only do you get the traditional RV campsite amenities, but you can get a pretty scenic parking spot overlooking the coast from this campground. You can also walk down the coastline in Salt Hill for a beautiful sunset stroll before calling it a night.
Day 3: The Cliffs of Moher, Dingle
Prepare yourself for a busy, but highly rewarding day! After a fun day exploring Galway City, it’s time to experience part of the Wild Atlantic Way, a coastal highway stretching across the entire west coast of Ireland! You’ll begin your day with a drive out to the famous Cliffs of Moher, which is about 2 hours from Galway City. You can easily spend the entire day admiring the cliffs, especially if you venture out into either side of the visitor center, where you can get great views without the crowds that typically gather near the entrance.
The next leg of the trip takes you from the Cliffs of Moher to Dingle, with plenty of scenic views and charming destinations in between. The first stop would be lunch in the town of Lahinch, which is about 20 minutes away from the Cliffs. We ate at Joe’s Café, which had a casual selection of sandwiches and salads. Lahinch also has a beach that tour buses frequently drop visitors off at, so if you have time to spare you can check that out. After that, you’ll want to drive for about an hour to the town of Adare, in County Limerick. As soon as you drive in, you’ll begin to see traditional thatched cottages with beautiful flowers and gardens throughout the town. You can check out the Trinitarian Abbey and Desmond Castle.
After Adare, you will have a 2 hour drive to Dingle, where you will finish the day. We were hosted by the Dingle Skellig Hotel and absolutely recommend it! Check out our review of the hotel HERE as well. If you’re looking for a caravan park, there are a few different ones near Castlegregory in the northern part of the Dingle peninsula, where you can stay and then drive into Dingle in the morning.
Day 4: Dingle, Slea Head Drive
The day begins by exploring the charming town of Dingle, which offers beautiful views of the bay, and where you can book a tour to visit Fungi, the famous dolphin that has called Dingle home for about 30 years. Murphy’s Ice Cream also has some phenomenal treats for the whole family, so you should check it out!
After exploring Dingle, you will definitely want to do the Slea Head Drive, which was our favorite activity of the whole road trip. You begin by driving west out of Dingle and following the road in a clockwise direction (which has pretty clear markings all around). You will pass by some traditional Irish cottages, have the opportunity to hold baby lamb, and see dramatic coastal views mixed with lush green countryside fields. We highly recommend also stopping at Dunquin Harbour, where you can walk on a grassy cliff that is not very crowded and offers incredible scenery. The back half of the drive is not as scenic as the beginning, and overall it will take you about 1.5 hours driving to complete it. With stops, however, you can easily spend 4 or more hours so make sure you give yourself enough time.
After Dingle and the Slea Head Drive, you will want to start making your way to Killarney. One place you can look into staying for the night is Inch Beach, where you can park your RV directly on the beach or on an adjacent parking lot. Just beware of the tides! If you’re not interested in that, you can drive directly into Killarney and stay at the Killarney Flesk Caravan & Camping Park. We loved this camping spot as it is right next to the Victoria House hotel which had a nice pub with great food.
Day 5: Killarney, Ring of Kerry
Killarney is where you’ll want to begin your journey around the Ring of Kerry. To be completely honest, we didn’t end up doing the Ring of Kerry on our road trip because it was on a foggy and rainy day. We asked many locals if they preferred the Ring of Kerry or the Slea Head Drive, and just about all of them said the Slea Head Drive because it has just as many beautiful sights in a shorter amount of time. The Ring of Kerry takes about 3.5 hours to go around, and you should do so in a counter-clockwise fashion, since the roads do get narrow enough for only one car to go across and it minimizes traffic that way.
If you don’t end up doing the Ring of Kerry, you can visit Killarney National Park. One of its highlights, which we visited, is the Muckross House, a Victorian mansion built next to Muckross Lake. You can purchase tickets to go inside the house, visit the traditional farms on the property, see the gardens, or go on a horse carriage ride along Muckross Lake.
After exploring Killarney, you can stay again at the Killarney Flesk Caravan & Camping Park, or start your drive to Cork, which is about 1.5 hours away. You can stay at the Blarney Caravan and Camping Park, which will have you close to activities on the next day.
Day 6: Blarney Castle, Cork, Cobh
The first stop of the day is at Blarney Castle, where the famous Blarney Stone is located! Be aware though, tickets to get in were pricier than we thought (45 euro for a family pass), so we actually just ended up admiring it from a distance while we had coffee at The Old Blarney Post Office, which also had a small play area to keep the kids entertained.
After visiting Blarney Castle you can head to Cobh, a small town outside of Cork City. One of the main attractions there is a street with colorful homes (called the Deck of Cards) reminiscent of The Painted Ladies in San Francisco. But, what sets this street apart is the magnificent view of Cobh Cathedral (the 2nd tallest structure in Ireland) that you get from there! Cobh is also famous for being the last port where the Titanic stopped, so there is a Titanic Experience and walking tour that you can do to see what life was like during that time.
In the afternoon, you will want to start driving from County Cork to Kilkenny, which is about 2 hours long. You can spend the night at the Tree Grove caravan park just outside the town, and rest up for an active day in Kilkenny the next day!
Day 7: Kilkenny
Aside from the Slea Head Drive, visiting Kilkenny was our other top experience of the road trip. The town itself is small enough that you can walk anywhere, and there’s plenty of shopping and dining to keep you busy throughout the day. The Kilkenny Castle is also a must when in town. If you bought tickets to go inside the Blarney Castle, you might not need to go into this one, but it’s still a wonderful opportunity to see how the castle would have been furnished centuries ago, as well as learn about the lifestyles of the aristocrats that lived there.
After a stroll around town, Paris Texas Restaurant was our choice for an early dinner, and it did not disappoint. Santi to this day still claims he had his favorite mac and cheese there! At the end of the day, you can spend the night at the Tree Grove Caravan Park just outside of town.
Day 8: Return to Dublin
After an eventful week exploring the Irish countryside, you’re likely going to be EXHAUSTED by the time you get back to Dublin! Depending on what time you leave or have to return your RV, you may have time to go into the Dublin City Center and explore anything you may have missed on the first day. We actually didn’t even have time to go into Dublin either day, so we are already trying to make plans to make it back to Ireland to visit Dublin, Belfast, and the Giant’s Causeway region in the northwest.
In all, our road trip across Ireland is within our Top 3 best experiences we’ve had throughout all of our full-time adventures! We loved the culture, hospitality that we received from the Irish, as well as the beautiful landscapes that surround the entire country. If you have any questions or comments regarding this itinerary, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! You can find us (@thejetsettingfamily) on Instagram and Facebook. Happy Jetsetting!
This post was produced in partnership with Spaceships UK who provided our RV. Despite working with them all views and opinions are our own.
