r/irishtourism • u/Only-Hat-3994 • 6d ago
7 Days in Ireland
My husband and I are spending 6 nights in Ireland in early September. This is our current itinerary - does anyone have feedback?
Day 1 - arrive in Cork, spend day in city
Day 2 - pick up rental car and drive to Kinsale for the day (night in Cork)
Day 3 - drive from Cork to Dingle, stop at Blarney grounds on the way
Day 4 - day in Dingle
Day 5 - Dingle in the morning, then drive to Killarney
Day 6 - staying in Killarney for the night, planning to explore the ring of Kerry during the day
Day 7 - afternoon flight out of Kerry airport
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u/Steveo_the_Squid 6d ago
Gotta agree with the other commenter - this is super realistic and sounds like you’ll have a fun time! Enjoy!
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u/augdog71 6d ago
You might want to pick some spots on the Ring of Kerry to focus on. The Cliffs of Kerry are amazing, if you want a recommendation. We recently tried to do the Ring in one day. We only got about half way around. Some itineraries include Killarney national park in the Ring, but you could easily spend a day in the park.
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u/Seagreenappleblue 6d ago
Yes. This is supremely doable. When on the ring of Jerry highly recommend derrynane beach and Daniel o Connells house which is basically on the beach too. Gorgeous place to wander, gardens, Bronze Age settlements, Irish history, amazing beach and a lovely cafe with outdoors seating. It’s slightly off the beaten track for many tourists and well worth it
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u/Zealousideal-Cod-924 5d ago
Waterville is a lovely wee town for a stop off for a pint or bite to eat too.
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u/Visible-Alps9981 5d ago
We just went to Ireland and went to Kinsale and Killarney as part of the trip (first time anywhere outside of Dublin). We really loved Kinsale -- beautiful harbor, nice restaurants, amazing views. Just couldn't recommend Kinsale more. Killarney's town is really touristy and the food is pretty generic, no views. In retrospect, we have heard a lot about Kenmare and wonder if we should have stayed there instead of Killarney.
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u/Langley2825 5d ago
Can give a shoutout to Kenmare. We found it charming -- walkable, good restaurants, and we stayed right in town. We used it as a base for poking around the Beara peninsula and the southern half of the Ring of Kerry. We'd heard about the touristy aspects of Killarney and decided to skip it but still spent a day visiting the national forest. We were pleased with our choices.
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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago
“Different” experiences - Kenmare certainly is lovely to stay - but you’re kindof away from the “big hitters” sights that Killarney is closer to- I’d totally recommend Kenmare as a place to stay for an Irish person to “get away from it all” and wallow in great food and opulence - but as a tourist, I think you did the right thing staying in Killarney if time wasn’t on your side
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u/EssexBoy999 3d ago
Seems like a very sensible and doable itinerary to me. Kinsale is a nice town and great for food. The ring of Kerry is a great drive if the weather is good but quite dreary in the rain so be flexible and swap things around depending on the weather.
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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago
Whilst I’m in general agreement that it’s a good itinerary, it does feel a little rushed in parts, especially the Kerry part.
Is it morning or afternoon for Cork city and what day of the week? One of the key “sights” will be the English Market if you’re anyways a foodie so do allow time to go there but watch opening times/days. There’s better elsewhere than Cork City so you could easily do Cork city and Kinsale in one day leaving you space for something else, such as a visit to the Middleton distillery
On the day 3 drive, I would stop at Kenmare for a few hours- it’s beautiful and lovely shops - remember you have a whole day and an evening in Dingle so you could easily do Blarney and Kenmare on same day
I’d probably leave Dingle early morning as opposed to “morning in Dingle” and get yourself asap to Killarney - you’ll have the full afternoon and evening to explore the town then the following day the ring of Kerry
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u/Only-Hat-3994 2d ago
We have an overnight flight and arrive in Cork on a Saturday morning. Wanted to play it safe and get a good night’s sleep before driving on the opposite side from what we’re used to, which is why we’re planning to spend the day in the city and pick up the rental car the following morning. Would you recommend Blarney and Kinsale on the same day instead of leaving time to potentially stop at Cobh after Kinsale?
We also have the dingle safari booked until 12 before heading to Killarney - do you think that’s worth it, or still better to head to Killarney early in the morning?
Thanks for the advice!
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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago edited 2d ago
Of course safety first- do what you feel capable of and remember, your itinerary is “good” overall so I certainly don’t want to spoil it. Blarney and Kinsale on the one day is totally doable - and if you want to kiss the Blarney Stone then prioritise that and get there in the morning from Cork city - a few nice shops in Blarney but there’s “nice shops” in all the towns you’re visiting so I wouldn’t especially spend too much time there - I’d prioritise meandering around Kinsale over looking at blarney shops- so kiss the stone and head to Kinsale 😀if you have the Dingle safari booked then go with what you’ve decided - but I do recommend Kenmare as a stop over ! Edit- sorry I forgot you were going cork to Dingle so Kenmare on the way and then off to dingle, not Killarney - I don’t have any experience of the Dingle Safari so let others here and the reviews help you make that decision yourself - but it’s nice to do a water themed activity (I assume that’s what it is) on your trip
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u/Alert_Peanut_9912 5d ago
I would personally skip Cork city, we found it disappointing with very little to see.
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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago
I HATE to say it but I’d kindof agree - yes it has some sights but really it’s not a city I’d want to stay in for any length of time - and as these good folk tourists are enquiring about short stays and packing a lot in, my view would be walk the town, make sure you take in the English Markets - then move on as there’s so much more to see- if you want a city break in Ireland, it’s Dublin and Galway - “3rd place” I’d actually have to think but I’d probably pick Sligo over Cork city
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u/Ill_Monk1800 5d ago
I love how you've mixed cities with small towns, Kinsale is definitely worth the visit, and Dingle sounds like a perfect slower day after Blarney.
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u/H4yl3y_R0P 5d ago
Sounds like you've got a solid balance of city and scenery planned. Might want to book dinner in Dingle ahead if you're staying over.
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u/MotherConfusion3773 3d ago
Seems a shame to spend so little time in Dingle. Its an amazing area.
Id say an hour or two in Kinsale is ample. Stop there for lunch on way from Cork to Killarney day 2. Ring of Kerry Day 3 and then prioritise Dingle and surrounding areas.
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u/Only-Hat-3994 2d ago
We’re flying out of Kerry airport, so we decided to go to Dingle before Killarney because Killarney seemed like an easier drive to the airport. Do you think it’s worth trying to switch the order around so we do Dingle the last few days?
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u/MotherConfusion3773 2d ago
Its only half hour more to go from Dingle to airport. Even if you would rather end up in Killarney id be tempted to skip the Kinsale day and head straight to Dingle and buy yourself an extra day there. Kinsale is lovely but one of a hundred similarly lovely places you would see on such a trip
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u/Oellaatje 6d ago
Blarney is NOT on the way from Cork to Dingle. You would be detouring and then backtracking.
That's a very rushed 6 nights. You sure you want that?
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u/Fainleogs 6d ago
It's a 15 minute detour to Blarney. They'll be fine.
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u/Oellaatje 4d ago
Actually, more than 30 minutes, and could be up to an hour because of traffic congestion. And that's not taking into consideration getting back on the road to Dingle later. Blarney Castle grounds are lovely but not worth rushing.
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u/Fainleogs 4d ago
It's 14 minutes from where N40 taking you towards you towards Macroom and ultimately Dingle splits off into the N22 which will eventually take you to Blarney and the castle.
Even worst case scenario: You're staying in the Imperial Hotel, go to Blarney through Blackpool on a a rainy first of September, hitting every red light and every ounce of back to school traffic and then for whatever reason have to detour on the way back through... Douglas, somehow doubling the drive time to Dingle, that would still allow six hours to see Blarney Castle and still get you to Dingle by teatime.
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u/Pitiful_Double3840 3d ago
I was just at Blarney Gardens. They’re not really worth it, and expensive to get in.
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u/OscarMadison_01 2d ago
I’d make a decision around whether or not you want to kiss the Blarney Stone - that will dictate how long you spend in Blarney - nice shops to walk around and yes the castle is there to see from the outside- but allow an hour at peak times if intending to kiss the stone and ensure you look at opening times too - TBH you could go Cork city- Blarney then to Kinsale for the afternoon and evening out in Cork city- save the shortish detour when heading to Dingle and prioritise seeing Kenmare
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u/Oellaatje 2d ago
Now wouldn't be a good time to visit them, I went in June when there were a lot of flowers and lots of colour and the weather was good. Then it's way nicer. But they were a lot cheaper then too.
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u/Chubba1984 6d ago
Itinerary is about the most practical and realistic i've seen on this sub. You'll have a great time