Plan Your Journey

Build your route stop by stop from our database of Irish towns and sights. We work out the days, the overnight bases and the drives between them. Our drive times are realistic estimates: mapping apps understate rural Irish roads by roughly 20–30%, so estimated legs are padded for narrow lanes, villages and photo stops.

Towns and cities you can add

• Antrim: The town keeps its county business around Market Square and the old courthouse, with castle gardens and woodland walks running down to the water. It stands on the Six Mile Water at the north-east shore of Lough Neagh.
• Belfast: Shipbuilding and linen built this city, and its Victorian and Edwardian streets still tell that story. Belfast stands on the River Lagan and is Northern Ireland's capital.
• Portrush: A proper seaside resort: two long strands either side of the peninsula and Royal Portrush Golf Club at the edge of town. Families come for the beaches; golfers come for the links.
• Armagh: Two cathedrals carry Saint Patrick's name here, and the city still runs on his story. Armagh is the county town and the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.
• Carlow: A working county town with a castle guarding the river crossing and a Neolithic dolmen in a field just east of it. Carlow stands on the River Barrow.
• Cavan: The town grew up around a Franciscan abbey and an O'Reilly castle, and the lakes start a short drive west at Lough Oughter. Cavan is the county town, in the lakelands of the north midlands.
• Ennis: Come for the music: sessions run in the pubs most nights, and the town has built its name on them. Ennis is the county town of County Clare.
• Kilkee: A seaside resort on Moore Bay in west Clare, built for Atlantic weather and family summers by the water.
• Cork City: The city climbs steep streets off marshy islands in the River Lee, and the eating is serious: markets, restaurants and pubs that take food properly. Cork is Ireland's second city.
• Kinsale: Sailing boats fill the harbour and the restaurants fill early: getting out on the water and eating well are the town's two trades.
• Cobh: Every emigrant story in the family seems to pass through Cobh. The port town on Great Island in Cork Harbour was the final port of call for RMS Titanic in 1912, and the last sight of Ireland for millions before her.
• Bantry: The town faces the bay and the mountains at once, and the week runs on the water and the market. Bantry sits on Bantry Bay in west Cork, overlooked by the Caha Mountains.
• Derry: Walk the walls first: the complete circuit is the city in one loop. Derry stands on the River Foyle, and its name comes from Doire, the Irish for an oak grove.
• Donegal Town: The Diamond is where the town gathers, a short walk from the bay. Donegal Town stands at the mouth of the River Eske where it meets Donegal Bay.
• Letterkenny: The town runs up the hill to St Eunan's Cathedral, spire and all, and does the county's everyday business below it. Letterkenny is the largest town in County Donegal, on the River Swilly.
• Lifford: A small town doing a whole county's paperwork from a Georgian courthouse in the Diamond. Lifford, the county town of County Donegal, stands on the River Foyle, opposite Strabane.
• Downpatrick: Saint Patrick is the town's whole story, told at the sites around his traditional burial place. Downpatrick is the county town of County Down.
• Bangor: The town grew around an early medieval abbey and grew again as a seaside town. Bangor sits on the County Down coast.
• Newcastle: The beach runs the length of the town and the Mournes stand straight behind it. Newcastle is where the Mountains of Mourne meet the sea in County Down.
• Dublin: Give the capital more than a weekend: Georgian squares and medieval streets in the centre, and the bay waiting beyond them. Dublin stands on the River Liffey at the head of Dublin Bay.
• Enniskillen: An island town doing its business between two loughs, with boats at the marinas and the castle on the river. Enniskillen, the county town of Fermanagh, sits between Upper and Lower Lough Erne.
• Galway City: Galway runs on music and sea air. Buskers hold the lanes all day, the pubs take over at night, and the festival calendar fills much of what is left. The city sits where the River Corrib meets the bay. Go in festival season if you like a crowd; go in winter if you want it to yourself.
• Clifden: The roads through Connemara all seem to end here, in a small town founded in the early 19th century on the Owenglin River. Come for the light and the empty country around it.
• Killarney: The town runs on the national park: lakes at the end of the street and mountains behind them. Killarney sits beside Killarney National Park in County Kerry, and the park is the reason to stay.
• Tralee: Kerry's county town fills up for the Rose of Tralee festival and settles back to everyday business the rest of the year.
• Dingle: The harbour comes first here: boats in front, pubs and food behind them, and the peninsula's hills over it all. Dingle is the main settlement on the Dingle Peninsula.
• Portmagee: Boats leave here for the Skellig Islands, and the village runs on their timetable in season. Portmagee is a village on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry.
• Kenmare: Two great drives meet here, the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Beara, and the town itself earns the stop: good food on quiet streets. Kenmare stands at the head of Kenmare Bay.
• Naas: The kings of Leinster assembled here, and the horses run the town now: Punchestown Racecourse sits just south of it. Naas is the county town of County Kildare.
• Kildare Town: Saint Brigid founded her monastery here in the 5th century, and the cathedral and climbable round tower still stand on the site. The town's name, Cill Dara, means the church of the oak.
• Kilkenny City: Kilkenny keeps its medieval core tight enough to walk in an hour: castle, cathedral and the lanes between them, above the River Nore. Give it a day and a night. The pubs are half the point.
• Portlaoise: Most people pass through, but the Rock of Dunamase stands just east of town with the whole midlands laid out from its walls. Portlaoise is the county town of County Laois, begun as a fortified settlement in the 1550s.
• Carrick-on-Shannon: The Shannon runs the town: cruisers at the marina, a boardwalk along the water and boats leaving all summer. Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim's county town, is a long-established crossing point on the river.
• Limerick City: King John's Castle guards King's Island and the Georgian quarter faces it across the river. Limerick stands on the Shannon Estuary in the mid-west of Ireland.
• Adare: Thatched cottages line the main street and medieval friaries stand behind them. Adare knows it is photographed and dresses for it, in County Limerick.
• Longford: St Mel's Cathedral, rebuilt after the Christmas Day fire of 2009, is the town's landmark and its story of recovery. Longford is the county town of County Longford in the midlands.
• Dundalk: A working border town doing the business of the north-east corridor. Dundalk is the county town of County Louth, near the border with Northern Ireland.
• Drogheda: The port came first here, and the town still faces the river that made it. Drogheda stands on the River Boyne in County Louth.
• Carlingford: Oysters and medieval streets under Slieve Foy: the town keeps its castles and its harbour in one small, walkable core. Carlingford stands on Carlingford Lough in County Louth.
• Castlebar: The town's best-known story is the Races of Castlebar, the rout of 1798. Today it is Mayo's county town, with the Country Life museum at Turlough Park just east of it.
• Westport: An 18th-century plan gives Westport its orderly streets, and Clew Bay gives it its outlook. Pubs and family summers do the rest, on the bay in County Mayo.
• Ballina: Anglers come for the Moy and its salmon, and the river runs right through the town. Ballina stands on the River Moy in north County Mayo.
• Cong: The abbey ruins hold the village's history: the last High King of Ireland died here in 1198. Cong sits between Lough Mask and Lough Corrib on the Mayo-Galway border, with Ashford Castle at its edge.
• Navan: Two rivers meet here, the Boyne and the Blackwater, and Tara's hill stands just south of the town. Navan is the county town of County Meath and was a walled town of the medieval Pale.
• Kells: The Book of Kells took its name from this town, where monks kept it for centuries. The round tower and high crosses of the early monastic site still stand in the churchyard.
• Monaghan: St Macartan's Cathedral watches the town from its hill, spire first. Monaghan is the county town, in the drumlin country of the north midlands.
• Tullamore: The Grand Canal made this town, and the harbour, locks and towpath still run through its centre. Tullamore is the county town of County Offaly.
• Birr: The Great Telescope in the castle grounds was the largest in the world for decades, built by the Earl of Rosse in the 1840s. Birr grew up around the castle, and its Georgian malls keep the planned look.
• Roscommon: Coman's wood is what the name means, and the 13th-century castle in its park is the sight: high walls around a great courtyard at the edge of town. Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon.
• Boyle: The Cistercian abbey's arches and King House's Georgian rooms hold most of the town's history in two buildings. Boyle stands on the Boyle River in north County Roscommon.
• Sligo: Yeats is everywhere here, in the town he wrote about and the country under Benbulben. Sligo is the county town of County Sligo and a working port.
• Strandhill: Surfers check the Atlantic here before anything else, and the village runs on tides and swell. Strandhill stands west of Sligo town.
• Clonmel: A main town of the Suir valley, with the river running through its story and its streets. Clonmel stands on the River Suir in County Tipperary.
• Cashel: Everything here looks up: the Rock of Cashel stands over the town, round tower, cathedral and chapel on one hill. Cashel is a town in County Tipperary.
• Omagh: Two rivers meet in the town to form the Strule, and the emigration story leaves from here: the Ulster American Folk Park stands just north of it. Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone.
• Waterford City: Vikings founded Ireland's oldest city here in 914, and the Viking Triangle still holds its towers and museums. Waterford stands on the River Suir.
• Dunmore East: A working fishing village that doubles as a seaside resort, all harbour and headland. Dunmore East sits on the County Waterford coast.
• Ardmore: Saint Declan's monastic site stands over the village: cathedral ruins, a round tower and the sea below. Ardmore is a seaside village in County Waterford.
• Lismore: The castle looks down on the town and the Blackwater runs beneath it. Lismore is a heritage town in County Waterford on the river.
• Athlone: The Shannon crossing is the town's whole reason: castle, old town pubs and boats at the centre of Ireland. Athlone stands on the River Shannon in County Westmeath, near the geographical centre of Ireland.
• Mullingar: Cattle country made this market town, and its 1930s cathedral, noted for its mosaics, marks the centre. Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath, in the lakeland midlands.
• Wexford: Vikings founded the port, opera fills the autumn, and the quay along the Slaney is where the town starts. Wexford is the county town, at the mouth of the River Slaney.
• Ferns: A small village with an outsized past: an early monastic centre and the capital of the Kingdom of Leinster under Diarmait Mac Murchada. Ferns stands in County Wexford, with a 13th-century castle at its heart.
• Wicklow: The gaol tells the town's hard history, 1798 included, and the harbour and East Pier give it its present. Wicklow is the county town, on the east coast south of Dublin.
• Bray: The promenade is the town: a Victorian seafront with the cliff walk to Greystones leaving from its end. Bray is a seaside town in County Wicklow.

Sights you can add

• Titanic Belfast: Stand on the ground where RMS Titanic was built: the museum on the Harland and Wolff shipyard site covers the ship and the industrial city behind her.
• Giant's Causeway: The Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity.
• Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge: Carrick-a-Rede is a rope bridge linking the Antrim coast to Carrick-a-Rede island, first erected by salmon fishermen.
• Dunluce Castle: A ruined medieval castle on basalt cliffs, half given back to the sea below. Dunluce stands on the Antrim coast, and the setting does most of the work.
• The Dark Hedges: Beech trees planted in the 18th century lean over the road near Armoy and meet overhead. Go early or late for the light and the quiet.
• St Patrick's Cathedrals, Armagh: Armagh has two cathedrals named for Saint Patrick, one Church of Ireland and one Roman Catholic, on separate hills in the city.
• Navan Fort: The great circular earthwork was Emain Macha, the ancient capital of Ulster, and the Iron Age ceremonies happened here. Navan Fort repays a slow walk around its banks.
• Brownshill Dolmen: The Brownshill Dolmen near Carlow town has one of the largest capstones of any portal tomb in Ireland.
• Altamont Gardens: Gardeners make the trip for the collections: old trees, roses and snowdrops in season. Altamont Gardens is a large estate garden near Tullow.
• St Mullins: Saint Moling founded his monastery here in the 7th century, on the River Barrow. The early monastic site still holds the valley's quiet.
• Cavan Burren Park: Cavan Burren Park near Blacklion contains megalithic tombs, glacial features and marked walking trails.
• Killykeen Forest Park: Woodland trails run along the shores of Lough Oughter, a short drive from Cavan town. Killykeen is the lakelands in miniature: trees, water and quiet paths.
• Cliffs of Moher: The Cliffs of Moher are sea cliffs rising up to 214 metres above the Atlantic on the Clare coast.
• The Burren: Limestone pavement runs to the sea in north Clare, with rare flowers in the cracks and ancient monuments on the hills. The Burren is a karst landscape unlike anywhere else in Ireland.
• Bunratty Castle: A 15th-century tower house kept as its lords would have known it, with a folk park of traditional buildings beside it. Bunratty Castle stands in County Clare.
• Blarney Castle: People climb to the battlements to kiss the Blarney Stone set into them. The medieval stronghold stands near Cork city, in gardens that reward the slower visitor.
• Mizen Head: Mizen Head is one of Ireland's most south-westerly points, with a signal station reached by a footbridge.
• Old Head of Kinsale: The Old Head of Kinsale is a narrow headland jutting into the Celtic Sea south of Kinsale, with the lighthouse at the point. A golf course wraps around its 220 acres; visitor play is by enquiry.
• Gougane Barra: A small island church on a lake in west Cork, associated with Saint Finbarr, with forest park walks around the shore. Gougane Barra is quiet even on a fine day.
• Healy Pass: The road switches back over the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula, and every bend opens a new view. Healy Pass is a drive to take slowly.
• Derry City Walls: The Derry city walls, built in the early 17th century, form a complete circuit around the old city.
• Mussenden Temple and Downhill: Mussenden Temple is an 18th-century cliff-top folly above Downhill Strand on the north coast.
• Slieve League: The cliffs rise nearly 600 metres above the Atlantic on the Donegal coast, and the path along them is the visit. Slieve League is a mountain first and a viewpoint second.
• Glenveagh National Park: Glenveagh is a national park in the Derryveagh Mountains centred on Lough Veagh and Glenveagh Castle.
• Fanad Lighthouse: Fanad Lighthouse stands at the entrance to Lough Swilly on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal.
• Malin Head: Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula is the most northerly point of mainland Ireland.
• Lough Derg (Station Island): Lough Derg in County Donegal is a pilgrimage site centred on Station Island, associated with Saint Patrick's Purgatory.
• Saint Patrick's Grave, Downpatrick: A granite slab in the graveyard of Down Cathedral marks the traditional burial place of Saint Patrick.
• Mourne Mountains and Silent Valley: The Mourne Mountains are a granite range in County Down containing Slieve Donard and the Silent Valley Reservoir.
• Inch Abbey: A ruined Cistercian abbey on the River Quoile, quiet even by abbey standards. Inch Abbey stands near Downpatrick.
• Bangor Abbey: Bangor Abbey was founded by Saint Comgall in the 6th century and became a major centre of early Irish monasticism.
• Saul Church: Saul Church near Downpatrick stands on the site traditionally regarded as Saint Patrick's first church in Ireland.
• Nendrum Monastic Site: Nendrum is an early monastic site on an island in Strangford Lough with the remains of a round tower and church.
• Trinity College and the Book of Kells: Trinity College Dublin, founded in 1592, holds the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript gospel book created around 800 AD.
• Guinness Storehouse: The Guinness Storehouse is a visitor centre in the St James's Gate brewery in Dublin, where Guinness has been brewed since 1759.
• Kilmainham Gaol: A former prison, opened in 1796, that holds much of Ireland's nationalist story in its cells and corridors. Kilmainham Gaol stands in Dublin.
• Malahide Castle: One family held this castle for nearly 800 years: the Talbots, north of Dublin. The rooms tell their story as much as the building does.
• Devenish Island: Devenish Island in Lower Lough Erne contains an early monastic site with a well-preserved round tower.
• Boa Island: Boa Island in Lower Lough Erne is known for carved stone figures, including a two-faced Janus-like figure in Caldragh graveyard.
• Marble Arch Caves: The Marble Arch Caves are a system of limestone caves near Florencecourt in County Fermanagh.
• Enniskillen Castle: The Maguire chieftains built their castle on the River Erne in the 16th century, and it guards the island town still.
• Kylemore Abbey: A 19th-century castle on Kylemore Lough that became a Benedictine monastery, in the middle of Connemara. Kylemore Abbey photographs well in any weather.
• Inishmore, Aran Islands: Inishmore is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, known for the Iron Age fort of Dun Aonghasa.
• Connemara National Park: Connemara National Park covers bog, heath and mountains around Letterfrack in County Galway, including Diamond Hill.
• Connemara Sky Road: The Sky Road is a scenic loop west of Clifden with views over the Atlantic and offshore islands.
• Killarney National Park and Torc Waterfall: Killarney National Park protects lakes, oakwoods and mountains in County Kerry and includes Torc Waterfall.
• Muckross House: A 19th-century mansion on Muckross Lake, within Killarney National Park. The house and gardens are the park's formal face.
• Ladies View: Pull in on the Ring of Kerry road and the Killarney lakes and mountains do the rest. Ladies View is the classic stop on the drive.
• Gap of Dunloe: The Gap of Dunloe is a narrow mountain pass between MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountain range.
• Conor Pass: A high mountain road over the Dingle Peninsula, with Brandon Bay on one side and the lakes below on the other. Drive it in clear weather.
• Skellig Michael: Monks built their settlement on a rock in the Atlantic, and seabirds hold it now. Skellig Michael stands off the Kerry coast, with boats running from Portmagee in season.
• St Brigid's Cathedral and Round Tower, Kildare: St Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare stands on the site of Saint Brigid's monastery and has a climbable round tower.
• The Curragh: A wide open plain of grassland in County Kildare, given over to horses: racing, training and the military all share it.
• Irish National Stud and Gardens: The Irish National Stud near Kildare Town is a thoroughbred breeding centre with Japanese Gardens.
• Kilkenny Castle: The Butlers held this castle for centuries from its 12th-century founding, and the city grew in its shadow. Kilkenny Castle stands above the River Nore.
• Jerpoint Abbey: Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown is a ruined 12th-century Cistercian abbey known for its carved cloister pillars.
• St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny: St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny is a medieval cathedral with a round tower that visitors can climb.
• Dunmore Cave: Dunmore Cave near Kilkenny is a limestone show cave mentioned in early Irish annals.
• Rock of Dunamase: The Rock of Dunamase is a fortified rocky outcrop near Portlaoise with the ruins of a medieval castle.
• Emo Court: James Gandon designed this neoclassical mansion in the 18th century, and the parkland around it is half the visit. Emo Court stands near Emo in County Laois.

Interests we plan around: history, wildlife and nature, main landmarks, Christian heritage, photography spots, food and pubs, and family travel.