Ireland is one of the most beautiful, green countries that I have ever visited. I have been there three times, but on our last trip we chose to do one of the many incredible 7 days in Ireland self-drive tours. It was an amazing week, and we felt like we finally came up with the perfect 7 day Ireland itinerary.
I will go into way more detail about each day below, but this was our 7 day Ireland itinerary:
- Day 1: Dublin Castle & Historical Sites
- Day 2: Guinness Factory & Dublin Modern Sites
- Day 3: Kilkenny
- Day 4: Rock of Cashel & Cork
- Day 5: Killarney & Ring of Kerry
- Day 6: Dingle Peninsula
- Day 7: Cliffs of Moher
7 Day Ireland Self-Drive Tours
If you’re planning to do most of the things of this 7 day Ireland itinerary, you’ll need to be willing to brave an Ireland self-drive tour. What does that mean? Basically, a self-drive tour means you’re doing a road trip by yourself in your own car. Which brings me to my next point…
Driving in Ireland
Driving in Ireland is insane. Seriously. If you’re planning an Ireland self-drive tour, there are a few key things you should know going into it.
- Driving in Ireland is on the left-hand side of the road, with the driver on the right side of the car (opposite of the U.S.)
- Most cars in Ireland are manual, not automatic. If you want to rent an automatic, be prepared to pay way more.
- Many travel car insurances do not cover cars in Ireland. You should check with your credit card/travel insurance provider to make sure Ireland is covered.
- Many roads are narrow and should be taken slowly. If you want modern, wide roads, stick to the highways.
- Because roads are often narrow, smaller cars are usually easier to drive in Ireland
7 Days in Ireland: Ireland Hotels
We found Ireland hotels to be decent but not the best in the world for the price point (when going in August). That being said, we were very happy with all the hotels we stayed in. We should note that nearly all of these hotels fit at least 3 people, so if you’re doing your Ireland tour with a group, you can likely find an Ireland hotel room that fits all of you. Below, I have listed the hotels we stayed at.
Dublin: Radisson BLU Royal Hotel for 3 nights
Cork: Jury’s Inn Cork for 1 night
Killarney: Killarney Court Hotel for 2 nights
Portlaoise: Midlands Park Hotel for 1 night
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 1 in Dublin
Flying into Ireland, odds are you’ll be landing in Dublin, the capital. I personally love Dublin and could easily spend an entire week there, but if you’re looking to spend 7 days in Ireland actually seeing all of Ireland, then 2 days in Dublin is the perfect amount of time to see all of the major sites in the city and still have time to see everything else on your Ireland itinerary.
On the first day of your 7 day Ireland itinerary, check out some of Dublin’s historic sites (there are a lot!). Below, I listed all the places we headed to on our first day.
- Dublin Castle
- Trinity Library
- Shopping on Grafton Street
- Molly Malone Statue
- St Patrick’s Cathedral
Optional Museums:
After all that history packed into one day, relax and enjoy one of Dublin’s famous pints of ale.
Keep in mind, that is the absolute bare-bones version of what to do since I didn’t want to make this article the length of a novel. For way more info on those places and more on where to eat and go out in Dublin, check out my guide to 2 days in Dublin.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 2 in Dublin
Day two of our 7 day Ireland itinerary focuses on what the Irish proudly do best – drink! Seriously though, if you’re in Ireland you have to check out a few of their famous beer and whiskey factories not only for the alcohol, but the history that goes along with it. Below, I’ve listed the sites we saw on our second day.
- Guinness Factory
- Temple Bar
- Ha’penny Bridge
- Jameson Factory
Want to know way more about things to do in Dublin and the best Dublin Restaurants? Check out my post on the perfect 2 Days in Dublin.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 3 in Kilkenny
After spending two days in Dublin, the third day of our 7 day Ireland itinerary took us on the first leg of our self-drive tour. We chose to stay in the small town of Portlaoise and spend the day in the colorful Irish town of Kilkenny, which is full is colorful buildings, a gorgeous castle, a bustling farmers’ market and numerous free art displays. In short, there’s a lot to do here.
Kilkenny Castle
The Kilkenny Castle is about 800 years old, and it also sits on a beautiful garden area where you can find people lounging outside and enjoying the sun (when there is sun!). Visiting the outside area is free, but you do need tickets for tours of the Kilkenny Castle. Even if you choose not to do the tour, it’s definitely worth stopping by for a few photos of the castle – it’s seriously impressive.
Kilkenny Farmer’s Market – The Parade Street
After going to the Kilkenny Castle, it was awesome to go outside and find a crazy good farmers’ market that had incredible food and crafts. This is a great place to get food on the go, or to find unique artwork and crafts as gifts for friends and family back home.
National Design & Craft Gallery
The National Design & Craft Gallery features contemporary crafts and designs, which basically means that it has some really, really out-of-the-box artwork. I will be totally honest, art museums don’t always do it for me, but I thought these exhibits were really interesting and gave a really different view of modern art. It also leads to a very pretty garden and other art galleries, and we really enjoyed spending about 30 minutes to an hour here.
Cathedral Church of St Canice & Round Tower
St. Canice’s site is thought to have been founded in the 6th century, and its Round Tower is the oldest standing structure in Kilkenny. You can also climb up the Round Tower for a cool view of the city, although it was closed on the day we visited.
There are several other attractions that looked awesome but that we didn’t get to due to time in Kilkenny, which are listed below.
- Rothe House and Garden – Tudor home & museum
- Smithwick’s Experience – another famous Irish brewery
- Black Abbey – 14th-century Dominican church
- St. Mary’s Medieval Mile Museum – interactive museum
- St. Mary’s Cathedral – 19th-century Cathedral
While you certainly can stay in Kilkenny, we chose to drive about 40 minutes and stay in a really cute town called Portlaoise. The hotel we stayed at there – Midlands Park Hotel – was gorgeous and it was a nice way to stay near the city but see some of Ireland’s smaller towns.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 4 in Cork & Cashel
On day 4 of our 7 day Ireland itinerary, we headed toward Cork, stopping first at the Rock of Cashel .
Rock of Cashel
To be honest, I didn’t really know what the Rock of Cashel was or if it was worth stopping to see – let me save you that question. It’s awesome, and you should definitely go.
The Rock of Cashel buildings date back to the 12th or 13th centuries. There is also a lot of Celtic art there, plus crazy views of the surrounding area. You do have to buy ticket to enter, but we thought it was worth the price.
Cork Ireland
Cork is one of Ireland’s major cities, but it has a very different feel than Dublin. There are numerous pubs and bars, plus a river running through the city that makes for some great views.
There are several things to see in Cork, including the English Market, Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral (pictured below) and Blackrock Castle Observatory.
Cork is a great place to do some shopping, and we ended up buying a lot of clothes here. For my fellow Americans who haven’t yet been to Penny’s/Primark – just do it. You can buy so many clothes for so cheap, it’s like a better version of Forever 21 that’s in Europe so it’s just automatically cooler.
Also near Cork is the Blarney Stone, which we didn’t stop at, but it is a major tourist attraction if you want to add it to your Ireland itinerary.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 5 Ring of Kerry
Day 5 of our 7 day Ireland itinerary was one of my absolute favorites. We headed from Cork to Killarney, which was where our hotel was located and where we started on the Ring of Kerry. I would recommend staying in Killarney for 2 nights, since it is a great place to stay while seeing both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.
The Ring of Kerry itself is a scenic, winding drive that takes you in a circle starting and ending in Killarney. It takes about 3-5 hours if you straight drive it, but I would definitely recommend stopping at several places along the way. I’ve listed some of them below, but I recommend checking out my post on the Ring of Kerry drive for all the details, including what to expect for driving conditions.
- Killarney National Park
- Torc Waterfall
- Ladies View
- Molls Gap
- Sneem
- Kenmare
- Derrynane Beach
- Kerry Cliffs
- Valentia Island
- Kells Bay House and Gardens
After finishing the Ring of Kerry, we headed back to Killarney, where we went out for a few pints at night before heading off on the Dingle Peninsula drive the next day.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 6 Dingle Peninsula
On day 6 of our 7 day Ireland Itinerary, we went on yet another scenic drive from Killarney, this time to the Dingle Peninsula. The Dingle Peninsula drive is a lot smoother than the Ring of Kerry due to better road conditions, and while there are less stops overall than on the Ring of Kerry, the views are better (in my opinion).
It’s actually not just my opinion – National Geographic once dubbed the Dingle Peninsula “the most beautiful place on earth.” Its history dates way back to the Vikings, and in modern day it was the site of filming for parts of The Last Jedi.
While doing the Dingle Peninsula drive, we stopped in the town of Dingle, Slea Head and Dunquin. There were also numerous beaches that looked lovely if you choose to stop.
Dingle Ireland
The town of Dingle Ireland is small, colorful and a true taste of Ireland. Besides walking through the city to see its colored shops and pubs, we stopped for food at two places, both of which I would recommend.
Murphy’s Ice Cream
Murphy’s Ice Cream is a well-known ice cream chain in Ireland, famed for their strange flavors and willingness to let you sample everything. We got brown bread flavored ice cream, which is obviously named after Ireland’s staple brown bread, and it was delicious. Even if you don’t end up getting anything, it’s worth stopping by to check out (and sample) their unusual flavors.
Bean in Dingle
Since we had a lot of driving left on the Dingle Peninsula drive, we decided to grab a cup of coffee at the Bean in Dingle, which was absolutely lovely. The coffee was excellent, the decor was very cool and the vibe was very relaxed and eclectic. It’s a great place to stop for a quick dose of caffeine before heading on to the next stop on the Dingle Peninsula drive.
Slea Head
Slea Head is a lookout point on the Dingle Peninsula, and the views are stunning. It’s a little hard to drive on the road, since it’s winding and narrow, but it’s very doable if you go slow. We stopped along the way to take lots of pictures and enjoy the view.
Dunquin Harbor
If we are being totally honest, Dunquin is probably my favorite thing on our 7 day Ireland itinerary. You have probably seen pictures of Dunquin on instagram, because it is one of the most gorgeous lookout points I have ever seen.
Dunquin is a town, but for the incredible views you should head to Dunquin Harbor, which is a very steep lookout over turquoise water. Even when the weather is wet and cold (which is most of the time), the view is gorgeous.
After stopping to see all the sites on the Dingle Peninsula drive, we headed back to Killarney to chill and rest before heading off for the last day on our 7 day Ireland itinerary.
7 Day Ireland Itinerary: Day 7 Cliffs of Moher
On day seven of a 7 day Ireland itinerary, I would recommend heading to the Cliffs of Moher – one of the most well-known and popular sites in Ireland.
In full disclosure, due to a wedding we attended, we actually did the Cliffs of Moher on day 4 before heading to Cork, but I would not recommend doing that since it involves a lot of backtracking and unnecessary driving. If we had it to do over, we would have done the Cliffs of Moher after the Dingle Peninsula, which is why I am recommending it for day seven.
Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher stretch over 14 kilometers on the west side of Ireland, and they are truly a wonder to behold. I have visited the Cliffs of Moher twice on two different trips, and the experience was pretty different both times.
The first time, we didn’t really know what we were doing, and we ended up walking through a field to get to the cliffs – it definitely wasn’t the main viewing point, and looking back I’m pretty sure it was private property (sorry! I was an ignorant tourist).
The second time I visited the Cliffs of Moher on our 7 day Ireland roadtrip, we went to the designated tourist area, which you can read about here and see photos of below.
You do have to buy tickets, although they only cost a few dollars and give you access to a long walking trail and scenic view points. There are also several restaurants located at the tourist view point, which is a great place to stop for a bite of eat to break up your roadtrip.
Since you will likely be flying home out of Dublin, prepare to drive about 3 hours back to the city ahead of your flight the next day.
That wraps it up for my 7 day Ireland itinerary! Have you been to Ireland, or are you thinking of going soon? Please comment with any questions and I’m happy to answer!
If you loved reading about our 7 day Ireland itinerary, you might also like:
- 2 Days in Dublin
- Ring of Kerry Drive
- Ireland Packing list
- Driving Tour of Ireland