This fifteen-day loop is for travelers who want Ireland at ground level: a proper Dublin stay, then the full southwest and west coast without a rental car. The pace is relaxed, with two or three nights in most bases and only one long bus day. You will rely on Irish Rail intercity trains, Bus Éireann and Expressway coaches, the Cork to Kinsale bus, the Ennis to Galway coastal bus, Citylink coaches in Connemara, and a rental bike for the Dingle Peninsula.
Days 1-3: Dublin
Three nights in
Dublin give you time to see the history behind the pub crawl. Take the first morning slot at
Trinity College & The Book of Kells, before school groups fill the Long Room. Spend an afternoon at
Kilmainham Gaol Museum, where the guided tour ends in the Stonebreakers’ Yard where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were shot. Book days ahead, because tickets regularly sell out. Give the free
National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology on Kildare Street a slow few hours. The Iron Age bog bodies, with fingernails and hair …
read more 👉This fifteen-day loop is for travelers who want Ireland at ground level: a proper Dublin stay, then the full southwest and west coast without a rental car. The pace is relaxed, with two or three nights in most bases and only one long bus day. You will rely on Irish Rail intercity trains, Bus Éireann and Expressway coaches, the Cork to Kinsale bus, the Ennis to Galway coastal bus, Citylink coaches in Connemara, and a rental bike for the Dingle Peninsula.
Days 1-3: Dublin
Three nights in Dublin give you time to see the history behind the pub crawl. Take the first morning slot at Trinity College & The Book of Kells, before school groups fill the Long Room. Spend an afternoon at Kilmainham Gaol Museum, where the guided tour ends in the Stonebreakers’ Yard where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were shot. Book days ahead, because tickets regularly sell out. Give the free National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology on Kildare Street a slow few hours. The Iron Age bog bodies, with fingernails and hair still visible, change how you read every ruin you will pass later.Days 4-5: Cork and Kinsale
The train south to Cork takes about 2.5 hours. Cork is a compact city on an island in the River Lee, and the English Market is the place to eat your way through lunch. On day five, ride the bus about 50 minutes to Kinsale, a harbor town of painted shopfronts and narrow lanes. Walk out to Charles Fort, a star-shaped 17th-century fort above the harbor mouth, then stay for seafood before the evening bus back.Days 6-7: Killarney
About two hours by train or bus from Cork puts you in Killarney, a tourist-heavy town with a huge back garden. Killarney National Park starts at the edge of town. Rent a bike and loop past Muckross House to Torc Waterfall, or walk a stage of the Kerry Way toward the oak woods. Skip the pricier jaunting-car rides and pedal the same lanes yourself.Days 8-9: Dingle
A bus via Tralee takes you to Dingle in roughly two hours, and this is where the trip slows down. Pubs here still sell hardware or shoes on one side and pints on the other, and you can hear trad sessions most nights. Spend one full day cycling the Slea Head loop of the Dingle Peninsula, about 47 km with real hills. Stop at Coumeenoole Beach, a small cove under the cliffs that looks out to the Blasket Islands. Admire it from the sand, because the currents make swimming dangerous.Days 10-11: Ennis, Cliffs of Moher and Lahinch
Day ten is the one long haul: about five hours by bus, changing in Tralee and Limerick, to Ennis. This is a small market town with a deep traditional music scene and evening sessions in its pubs. The reason to stop here is the coastal bus the next morning. It runs out to the Cliffs of Moher, which drop about 214 meters at their highest point. Walk the cliff path south, away from the visitor center crowds. On the way back, stop at Lahinch Beach, where surf schools put beginners into the Atlantic year-round in thick wetsuits.Days 12-13: Clifden and Connemara
Bus to Galway in about an hour, then take a Citylink coach west through bog and lake country to Clifden. This small town is the base for Connemara. Use a full day at Connemara National Park in Letterfrack. The Diamond Hill loop is roughly 7 km and takes 2 to 3 hours, with views over the Twelve Bens and the coast. From there it is a short hop to Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden, a castle-like abbey on a lake with a restored garden behind it. Save half a day for Dog’s Bay near Roundstone, about 20 km from Clifden by bike or taxi. It is a horseshoe of white shell sand that looks Caribbean until you touch the water.Days 14-15: Galway
End in Galway, a city of buskers, oyster bars and the cobbled Latin Quarter between Shop Street and the Spanish Arch. One night is enough to walk the Salthill promenade at sunset and catch a late session. Direct coaches run to Dublin Airport in about 2.5 to 3 hours on your final morning.
If a friend were cycling Slea Head, I would send them to Gallarus Oratory first thing in the morning, before the tour coaches arrive, to see a drystone chapel shaped like an upturned boat that still keeps out the rain without a dab of mortar.v2.webp){kind=logo}
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