All Articles 4 epic road trips in Ireland for your next great adventure

4 epic road trips in Ireland for your next great adventure

From a Star Wars–inspired island jaunt to a journey through artsy enclaves.

By Nicholas DeRenzo11 Apr 2023 4 minutes read
Winding road by the sea on Dingle Peninsula
Winding road by the sea on Dingle Peninsula
Image: maydays/Getty Images

Dublin is overflowing with charm, but if you come to Ireland and never leave its bustling capital, you’re missing out on half of what makes the island nation such a gem. The best way to fully experience Ireland is to rent a car, hit the winding country roads (yes, on the left-hand side), and get lost. Don’t worry though—no matter where you end up, you’ll never be more than a few minutes from a pub, where the regulars will regale you with local recommendations and help you get back on track.

Below, we’ve planned out four Ireland road trip itineraries, ranging from compact to island spanning, that will introduce you to the country’s rugged coastline, mountainous interior, and millennia of rich history.

The Wild Atlantic Way from County Donegal to County Cork

Cliffs of Moher at sunset
Cliffs of Moher at sunset
Image: George Karbus Photography/Getty Images

Think of the 1,553-mile Wild Atlantic Way as Ireland’s answer to the U.S.'s Pacific Coast Highway. The world’s longest uninterrupted coastal drive, it offers a greatest-hits version of Ireland, connecting such iconic destinations as the Cliffs of Moher, the Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden, and the Dingle Peninsula, with its ancient beehive-shaped huts and dolphin-filled waters.

Of course, you could make the entire trip—from the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal south to Kinsale in County Cork—in under a day if you rushed, but most travelers spend a week or two on the road, taking their time to safely navigate the narrow cliffside passes.

To help shape your itinerary, the drive is divided into 14 stages. Rather than trying to do it all, use Galway—beloved for its lively pubs, impromptu traditional music jams, and robust theater scene—as a home base, and do day trips along different sections of the route. Stay at the centrally located Harbour Hotel, home to handsome rooms and a nautical-themed restaurant that serves a hearty brunch with cocktails named after historic ships.

To the west of Galway is the windswept Connemara section of the Wild Atlantic Way, with its moody bogs, ivy-laden Clifden Castle, and fields of Connemara ponies (a breed that supposedly descended from horses set loose after Spanish Armada galleons ran aground here in 1588). And to the south is The Burren, known for its karst landscape. It only takes a few minutes of driving through this moonlike stretch of cracked limestone, boulders, and caves to see why some scholars believe the area inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to create Middle-earth.

The Ring of Kerry in County Kerry

Ballycarbery castle along the Ring of Kerry in Ireland
Ballycarbery castle along the Ring of Kerry in Ireland
Image: eugene_remizov/Getty Images

Arguably the most famous scenic drive in Ireland (if not all of Europe), the 111-mile circular route known as the Ring of Kerry begins and ends in Killarney, a tourist hub that’s also a gateway to Killarney National Park. You can easily drive the Ring straight in under four hours, but this zigzagging pathway around County Kerry’s Iveragh Peninsula is best explored with lots of stops.

Break for sites like King Puck, a crown-wearing goat statue with pagan roots in Killorglin; Moll’s Gap, an impossibly scenic mountain pass through the MacGillicuddy’s Reeks range; and the Staigue Fort ruins, which date back to the late Iron Age. Better yet, divide the trip into two days and stay overnight in Waterville (perhaps at the Travelers' Choice Best of the Best–winning Butler Arms Hotel), so you can stargaze in the surrounding Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve.

In the town of Cahersiveen, home to the 15th-century Ballycarbery Castle, you’ll see signs for the Skellig Ring, a can’t-miss 11-mile detour with views of two remote islands: Little Skellig (featuring Ireland’s largest northern gannet colony) and Skellig Michael (a UNESCO World Heritage site that served as a Star Wars filming location). Consider visiting the latter on a cruise from Portmagee to get a closer look at the resident puffins and 6th-century monastery.

The Boyne Valley Drive in Counties Meath and Louth

Newgrange Passage Tomb, along the Boyne Valley Drive
Newgrange Passage Tomb, along the Boyne Valley Drive
Image: Derick Hudson/Getty Images

The sloping hillsides and meandering rivers of the Boyne Valley may not look particularly dramatic, but the area boasts some of the richest historic sites in Europe. To experience this mythical region, drive eastward from Drogheda (about 40 minutes north of the Dublin airport) along a winding, 140-mile path, through Meath and Louth counties and 52 centuries of history, give or take.

At Brú na Bóinne—a UNESCO-designated complex of Neolithic mounds, standing stones, and chamber tombs—many of the structures predate the construction of the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge. But that doesn’t mean they’re not advanced. For proof, check out Newgrange, a passage tomb with a long corridor that gets perfectly illuminated each winter solstice by the rising sun—a trick that required a complex understanding of astronomy to construct.

Driving through the rest of the valley is like fast-forwarding through Irish history, from the Hill of Tara, where the ancient high kings of Ireland were crowned, to the 12th-century Mellifont Abbey.

Extend your journey by overnighting at the Trim Castle Hotel, named for the Anglo-Norman-era castle it overlooks. (You might recognize Trim Castle from its appearance as the walled city of York in Braveheart.) With extra time in the area, you can move beyond the historic sites and into the present by kayaking on the River Boyne, slurping down local Carlingford oysters, or perfecting your own blend at the Listoke Distillery and Gin School.

The Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow

Reflections on lake in Glendalough, Ireland
Glendalough, Ireland
Image: Matrix Muse/Getty Images

Some of the wildest landscapes in Ireland can be found in Wicklow Mountains National Park, right in Dublin’s backyard. To get there, head south from the capital on the Old Military Road (now R115), which British forces built shortly after the Irish Rebellion for easier access to the rebels (or freedom fighters, depending on who you ask) hiding in the mountains. Almost immediately, the landscape shifts from suburban housing developments to wide-open valleys, heather-covered meadows, waterfalls, and fast-moving streams.

At the crossroads known as Sally Gap, enjoy awe-inspiring views of the surrounding lakes before heading northwest along R759 to Blessington, where you’ll find the expansive Blessington Lakes (stretch your legs on the adjacent Blessington Greenway) and Russborough House, a mid-18th-century estate that now houses one of the most impressive private art collections in the country.

If you want to spend the night, the nearby Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort offers more modern accommodations than some of the stuffier inns in the area, plus a golf course that sprawls across three peninsulas. The next morning, head back east along the Wicklow Gap, a twisting pass that climbs so high you can see Wales from the top on a clear day. Your reward for all that mountain driving is Glendalough (or “valley of the two lakes” in Gaelic), where you can marvel at the fairytale-like ruins of a monastery founded in the sixth century by St. Kevin.

Nicholas DeRenzo
Nicholas DeRenzo is a freelance travel and culture writer based in Brooklyn. A graduate of NYU's Cultural Reporting and Criticism program, he worked as an editor at Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel and, most recently, as executive editor at Hemispheres, the in-flight magazine of United Airlines. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Afar, BBC Travel, Wine Enthusiast, and more. Follow him on Instagram at @nderenzo to see his many, many pictures of birds.