How to Spend 10 Days in Ireland

This ten-day route is for travelers who want the classic Ireland circuit (east, south and west) on public transport, at a steady pace that avoids one-night sprints in the places that matter most. Expect two or three nights in the key bases and one longer transfer day. You will use Irish Rail trains, Bus Éireann and Citylink coaches, and a couple of small-group day tours for the coastline that buses do not reach easily.

Days 1-2: Dublin to Kilkenny

Land in Dublin and use your first afternoon for Trinity College & The Book of Kells, then an early pint on the quieter side of Temple Bar. Next morning, take the train about 1.5 hours to Kilkenny. The medieval center is a single walkable spine, the “Medieval Mile”, running from the castle to St Canice’s Cathedral, where you can climb the round tower for a view over slate roofs. One night here is enough, but plan on a few pubs.

Days 3-4: Cork and Cobh

Reach Cork by train, changing at Kildare, in roughly three hours. Cork has a strong food culture, … read more 👉

This ten-day route is for travelers who want the classic Ireland circuit (east, south and west) on public transport, at a steady pace that avoids one-night sprints in the places that matter most. Expect two or three nights in the key bases and one longer transfer day. You will use Irish Rail trains, Bus Éireann and Citylink coaches, and a couple of small-group day tours for the coastline that buses do not reach easily.

Days 1-2: Dublin to Kilkenny

Land in Dublin and use your first afternoon for Trinity College & The Book of Kells, then an early pint on the quieter side of Temple Bar. Next morning, take the train about 1.5 hours to Kilkenny. The medieval center is a single walkable spine, the “Medieval Mile”, running from the castle to St Canice’s Cathedral, where you can climb the round tower for a view over slate roofs. One night here is enough, but plan on a few pubs.

Days 3-4: Cork and Cobh

Reach Cork by train, changing at Kildare, in roughly three hours. Cork has a strong food culture, so spend your first evening in the pubs around Oliver Plunkett Street. On day four, take the 25-minute train to Cobh, the harbor town once called Queenstown. It was the last port of call for the Titanic and the departure point for huge numbers of Irish emigrants. The steep row of colorful houses below St Colman’s Cathedral, nicknamed the “Deck of Cards”, is worth the uphill walk.

Days 5-7: Killarney and the Dingle Peninsula

Three nights in Killarney give you two full days. Spend the first in Killarney National Park by bike: Ross Castle, the lake shore, Muckross House and Torc Waterfall all sit on a flat loop. Use the second for a day tour of the Dingle Peninsula, which covers beehive huts, the Blasket Islands viewpoint and the harbor town of Dingle without the hassle of bus connections.

Days 8-10: Galway, Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Day eight is the long move: about four to five hours by bus via Limerick to Galway. Arrive in time for dinner in the Latin Quarter and a trad session afterward. Day nine is a coach tour south to the Cliffs of Moher and through Burren National Park, where the limestone pavement is cracked into grikes full of wild orchids and ferns. On day ten, take the Galway-to-Dublin coach, about 2.5 hours, in time for your flight.

On the Dingle day, ask for a stop at the Gallarus Oratory, an early Christian stone chapel that still keeps out the rain without mortar.