When we were planning out our trip to Ireland, we knew we wanted to take it slow and see as much of this beautiful country as possible. Literally every single piece of travel advice I read about taking a trip to Ireland mentioned that it was so much easier to explore by car.

I must admit, we were a bit hesitant about renting a car in a foreign country, especially one in which they drive on the opposite side of the road and car. After much research and trying to understand car insurance over here in Ireland, we finally found a car rental company called Sixt using Auto Europe. Neither of us are comfortable with driving a manual transmission, so we had to book an automatic, which cost extra but was a must for us. We got a cute little powder blue Hyundai I10, which gets 45-50 miles per gallon.

It’s been so fun watching Michael drive left side of the car and the left side of the road. I honestly thought it was going to take us awhile to get used to, but at this point we’ve just embraced it!

Thursday, June 20th

Car rental pick up—This was super fun. Just kidding, it really wasn’t. We started our road trip with a bit of car rental drama. Long story short, we didn’t realize that we had been “tricked” into paying for our car rental twice. I’m honestly still fighting an internal battle about whether or not the associate who we worked with to pick up our car knowingly tricked us or if there really was just a miscommunication. I’m trying to be positive and believe the latter, but either way, we got our car and were on our way.

Trim Castle—We drove about 40 minutes from Dublin Airport to the gorgeous Trim Castle. An original wooden fortification built in the 12th century, which was later rebuilt and is said to be very similar to the original structure from the Anglo-Norman power in Ireland.

Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-loch) and the Wicklow Mountains—We then drove through the gorgeous Wicklow mountains to the equally as stunning Glendalough Visitor Center where we explored the Monastic Ruins. We don’t know a ton about the Monastic Ruins as we just kind of stumbled upon them, but we do know that they were founded in the 6th century. We explored the ruins, which included an impressive cathedral and many illegible gravestones, weathered by the conditions of weather and time. The ruins also house one of the largest Round Tours in Ireland, standing at 100 feet high with six floors. This was an incredible experience and I highly recommend visiting.

Where we stayed: In an AirBnB about 30 minutes outside of Kilkenny. The AirBnB was an apartment attached to a home that had been in the family for over 500 years. The place was located on a farm and even had a pub attached to the home!

Friday, June 21st

Today we explored Kilkenny, doing all the museums!

Kilkenny Castle—A gorgeous castle set in the middle of the picturesque city of Kilkenny. The facade is breathtaking with a massive green garden area stretching as far as the eye can see. The interior has been restored to mimic the design when the last family owned the castle before giving it to the people of Kilkenny.

Cathedral Church of St. Canice & Round Tower—This was the next stop on our list, founded in the 6th century, this cathedral was another must do while in Kilkenny. With it’s brilliant architecture and stunning stained glass windows, this was one of my favorite things we did while in Kilkenny. We also happened to visit during organist tryouts, so we had beautiful organ music playing during our time here. Michael also opted to climb to the top of the Round Tower while here.

The Gourmet Store—We had a delicious lunch of paninis and chips here and sat right in front of a large window, perfect for people watching.

Medieval Mile Museum—Maybe it was the fact that we had already visited two really old historical sites, or maybe it was because we were tired, but we didn’t love this museum. Either way, if you’re really into the Medieval time frame, you might love it. Something we did love though was their Lego Hunt. We noticed a few lego figurines while walking around the museum, so when we finished and were returning our audioguides, we asked the guy at the desk what the deal was. He told us that it’s something they do for kids who visit the museum. They had 10 historical Kilkenny figures made out of Legos and hid them around the museum for kids to find. If you find all 10, you get a prize. At this point, we couldn’t not participate. So we headed back out into the museum in search for all 10. I’m very proud to say that we did indeed find all 10, and we received our prize (an adorable pin that stated that we are lego finding champs)! This was by far the best part of our visit here.

After wandering the streets and of course, finding ourselves in a few book shops, we headed back to our AirBnB.

Where we stayed: The same AirBnB about 30 minutes outside of Kilkenny.

Saturday, June 22nd

After a slow morning of reading and drinking coffee (side note: this is pretty much our favorite activity and we do this while traveling and while not traveling), we made our way from our AirBnB outside of Kilkenny to the Rock of Cashel.

We took the Scenic Route from Kilkenny to the Rock of Cashel and I would highly recommend this route if you’re driving. It takes about 55 minutes but you won’t even realize the time passing by because you’ll be too busy taking in the landscape around you. Rolling hills, too many cows and sheep to count, windmills, and gorgeous green pastures as far as the eye can see, this drive is ridiculously amazing. As you get closer, be on the look out for the 12th century structure sitting at the top of a giant hill. It will take your breath away when you first catch a glimpse.

Rock of Cashel—As I said above, this structure set at the top of a hill immediately draws you in. Included in the price of your visit, you get a fantastic guided tour of the grounds. We spent about an hour and half exploring all there is to see here and take in the surrounding views. Honestly, a can’t miss on your trip to Ireland! It can be very cold and windy up here, so make sure you bring a jacket! The ground is also a bit uneven, so wear comfortable walking shoes.

Hore Abbey—Right down the road from the Rock of Cashel are the ruins of Hore Abbey. We didn’t know a ton about the history of this place before visiting, but I would still recommend it. It’s free to explore on your own, but beware of the cows which roam all over the grounds.

Where we stayed: A stunning AirBnB about 15 minutes outside of Waterford with a gorgeous view.

Sunday, June 23rd

Waterford (the county we stayed in for three days) was under a severe weather advisory for pretty much our entire first day here, so we took this time to do absolutely nothing. And it was awesome. As much as I love traveling and seeing everything there is to see, I also really love laying on the couch and reading. So we read, watched old movies, watched some Women’s World Cup, and enjoyed the rain.

Where we stayed: The same AirBnB about 15 minutes outside of Waterford.

Monday, June 24th

Driving the Ring of Hook—Located in Wexford county, Hook Peninsula takes about 1 hour to drive, not including must do stops along the way. We spent all day driving, taking in the coastal views, and stopping at some must see places.

Tintern Abbey and Walled Gardens—I wouldn’t say this was a must see, as it was quite expensive, self-guided, and a bit confusing. But the place was cool to look at and the walled gardens were beautiful.

Loftus Hall—If you’re into scary (I’m 100% not), then this is a must do for you. Loftus Hall is said to be the most haunted place in all of Ireland. We took a 45 minute guided tour, where I can neither confirm nor deny that I may have screamed embarrassingly loud. The tour takes you through the first floor of the house where the guide gives you a history of the over 600 year old home and gives you the details of the haunting. This place was a bit pricey, but Michael says it was well worth it to see me terrified. Ahh, marriage.

We had a small amount of time before our tour, so we went and explored the private beach near Loftus Hall.

Hook Lighthouse—Another must do, this lighthouse is the oldest intact and operational lighthouse in the world. It’s been operating as a lighthouse for over 800 years. We took an hour long guided tour where our tour guide explained the history and how it was originally built and operated by monks and how it’s currently used today. There are a total of 115 steps, but you take the steps in chunks and then the guide gives you information about the lighthouse.

Where we stayed: The same AirBnB about 15 minutes outside of Waterford.

Tuesday, June 25th

We drove from Waterford to Cork, about an hour and 45 minute drive, stopping at the English Market to take a look around. This was another market, similar to Borough Market in London with fresh food stalls all around. I had a delicious ham-hock sandwich and then we drove to our AirBnB.

After checking into our AirBnB, we decided to go for a 5km walk on the Coachford Greenway, a beautiful path along the river where we ran into some cows.

We finished the day with a delicious homecooked meal in our AirBnB backyard.

Where we stayed: An adorable AirBnB about 30 minutes outside of Cork City.

Wednesday, June 26th

We changed our plans last minute and decided to skip going back into Cork City and went to Kinsale instead. Kinsale is a small coastal town about 15 minutes south of Cork.

Scilly Walk (Kinsale to Charles Fort Coastal Walk)—This 4km walk starting from Kinsale goes all the way to Charles Fort, winding along the coast. This turned out to be a gorgeous day for us (70 degrees and sunny!), so there were many sailboats out. We walked along watching the water and when we got to the Fort, we continued exploring a bit further, down to the edge. This activity took up a good amount of our day as we took our sweet time walking along, talking, and even stopping in some grassy areas to read and snack.

We walked back to town and then explored the gorgeous colorful town of Kinsale. There was a craft market with handmade goods for sale, along with different types of food. It didn’t take long for us to wander the streets of this small town.

Where we stayed: The same AirBnB about 30 minutes outside of Cork City.

Thursday, June 27th

Today we left our AirBnB outside of Cork City and drove to our next destination: Killarney.

Killarney National Park—We did a lot of hiking and walking in this gorgeous national park. The first day we did the Muckross Lake Loop walk and spent about 4 hours meandering around the national park, stopping to eat snacks and read by the lake. Then we took an extended route up to Torc Waterfall, which was absolutely stunning.

Where we stayed: A teeny tiny AirBnB about 10 minutes from the entrance to Killarney National Park.

Friday, June 28th

We spent most of our day back in Killarney National Park doing a different hike. We were supposed to be hiking up Torc Mountain, but we got a bit lost. We just kept going up and up until we got to the top and saw some spectacular views. We still aren’t sure exactly where we hiked today, but it was gorgeous! If you’re going to Killarney National Park, you must walk/hike. There’s so much to explore!

Where we stayed: The same AirBnB about 10 minutes from the entrance to Killarney National Park.

Saturday, June 29th

Today we did one of the biggest things on our Ireland itinerary: Driving the Ring of Kerry!

We spent all day driving the around the peninsula, stopping along the way to visit ancient stone forts, checking out the Skellig Islands in the distance, and driving through small coastal towns. An absolute must do while in Ireland!

The Kerry Cliffs—Up a rather steep hill, we were able to see the stunning Kerry Cliffs.

Stayed tuned for the second part of our Roadtripping Ireland series!

Safe travels,

Emily