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🇮🇪 Itinerary · Ireland · 7 days

1-week Ireland itinerary 2026: Dublin and the Southwest

7 days from Dublin to the Ring of Kerry: Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, Killarney. The essential first-timer route, with costed budget and detailed transport.

🔄 Updated June 1, 2026

📅 See the program 🔄 See variants

In brief

Duration

7 days

Stops

5 places

Average budget

€1,100-1,800

Total distance

~950 km

Profile

First time

Season

May-Sep

Dublin 2d · Galway 1d · Dingle 2d · Ring of Kerry 1d · Killarney 1d

Itinerary map

The route at a glance

Ireland 1-week itinerary map: Dublin, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Killarney

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Detailed program

7 days, day by day

1

~€90/pers

Dublin · Arrival & old town

  • Morning Arrival at Dublin airport. Airlink bus to the centre (30 min, €8).
  • Afternoon Trinity College and the Book of Kells, then Temple Bar and Dublin Castle.
  • Evening A pint of Guinness and trad music in a Temple Bar pub.
🛌 🛌 City centre · e.g. The Morgan (2 nights)·🚌 Airlink bus + walking
2

~€70

Dublin · Guinness and Georgian Dublin

  • 9am Guinness Storehouse, panorama at the Gravity Bar (book online, €26).
  • 1pm Georgian quarter, colourful doors of Merrion Square, free National Museum.
  • Evening Oysters and pub food on Camden Street.
3

~€110

Dublin → Galway · Across the island

  • 9am Pick up the car, drive west (2h30) or take the direct train to Galway.
  • 2pm Galway, a student and bohemian city, Latin Quarter, fishing harbour.
  • Evening Live music in the Quay Street pubs, seafood from the bay.
🛌 🛌 Galway centre (1 night)·🚗 Car or 🚆 direct train
4

~€100

Galway → Dingle · Cliffs of Moher

  • 9am The Burren, lunar limestone plateau, then the Cliffs of Moher (214 m, €8).
  • 2pm Coastal road to Kerry, Tarbert ferry (€20/vehicle, 20 min).
  • Evening Settle in Dingle, a fishing village of colourful houses.
🛌 🛌 Dingle · e.g. Dingle Skellig Hotel (2 nights)·🚗 Car + estuary ferry
5

~€60

Dingle · Slea Head Drive

  • Morning Slea Head Drive (47 km loop), Celtic stone huts, Coumeenoole beach (a Star Wars setting).
  • Afternoon Gallarus Oratory, view of the uninhabited Blasket Islands.
  • Evening Foxy John's pub (half hardware shop, half bar), Dingle gin distillery.
6

~€90

Dingle → Ring of Kerry · The big loop

  • 9am Ring of Kerry (179 km loop) anticlockwise to dodge the buses.
  • Day Kenmare, Moll's Gap pass, Waterville, view of the Skellig Islands.
  • Evening Settle in Killarney, dinner facing the national park.
🛌 🛌 Killarney centre (1 night)·🚗 Car (anticlockwise advised)
7

Flight

Killarney · National park & return

  • 9am Killarney National Park: Muckross Abbey, Torc Waterfall, jaunting car around the lake.
  • Noon Drive or train to Dublin (3h30), drop the car.
  • Afternoon Dublin airport (or Kerry/Cork for a direct flight), return to Paris.

How much

Budget for this itinerary (per person, flight included)

Backpacker

€1,100

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €130
  • 🏨 Hostel/simple B&B: €50/night
  • 🍲 Pubs and daily specials: €32/day
  • 🚗 Shared car + fuel: €250
  • 🎫 Sites + Cliffs of Moher: €120
Recommended

Comfort

€1,500

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €170
  • 🏨 3★ hotel/B&B: €110/night
  • 🍽️ Mixed dining: €45/day
  • 🚗 Car rental: €350
  • 🎫 Activities + distillery: €180

Premium

€3,000

per person

  • ✈️ Upgraded flight: €450
  • 🏨 Manor/castle hotel: €250/night
  • 🍽️ Fine dining: €80/day
  • 🚗 Car + driver
  • 🎫 Private tour + Skellig boat: €350

Shorter, longer

Other durations

You're here

1 week

1 week

Dublin and the Southwest. The essential route.

2 weeks

2 weeks

The full island loop along the Wild Atlantic Way.

1 month

1 month

The grand tour: Wild Atlantic Way, North and Causeway Coast.

How to get around

Itinerary logistics

A week is a driving loop: Dublin, the West and Southwest, then back. The Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Killarney trains exist, but the car unlocks the Kerry coastal loops.

🚗

Car rental (driving on the left)

€45-65/day · narrow roads in Kerry · care on Slea Head

🚌

Dublin airport Airlink bus

€8 · 30 min · to the city centre

⛴️

Tarbert ferry (Shannon estuary)

€20/vehicle · 20 min · shortcut to Kerry

🚆

Train Dublin → Galway / Killarney

€20-30 · 2h30-3h30 · car-free alternative

Adapt by season

Summer light, autumn colour

May to September gives the longest days (light until 10pm in June) and dry coastal roads between showers. The catch: July-August crowd the headline sites (Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry) and Kerry lodging. May-June and September offer the best compromise. Ireland rains all year: a raincoat isn't optional, whatever the season.

Author tips

What I would redo (and change)

✅ Would redo

  • • In September 2024 I drove the Ring of Kerry at 8am anticlockwise: the road to myself, while the tour buses run clockwise from 10am. The time and direction offset changes everything.
  • • Sleeping two nights in Dingle rather than one: Slea Head Drive deserves a full day.
  • • Keeping Dublin at the start, before the fatigue of the coastal roads.
  • • The Tarbert ferry rather than the loop via Limerick: an hour saved and a pretty crossing.

⚠️ Would change

  • • Skip the Guinness Storehouse (touristy) for a real neighbourhood pub.
  • • Add a night in Killarney to hike the Gap of Dunloe.
  • • On 7 days, don't attempt Connemara north of Galway: it needs an extra day.

FAQ

Itinerary FAQ

Is one week in Ireland enough? +
Yes for a focused first time: Dublin, the West and Southwest. Doing the full island loop (Wild Atlantic Way) needs two weeks.
Do I need a rental car? +
Yes for Kerry and the Dingle peninsula. The train links Dublin to Galway and Killarney but serves neither the Ring of Kerry nor Slea Head Drive. Note: driving on the left.
When is the best time? +
May to September for the long days. May-June and September avoid the crowds at headline sites while keeping the light. A raincoat is essential year-round.
Which way to drive the Ring of Kerry? +
Anticlockwise and early: the wider tour buses are required to run clockwise, so you avoid them on the narrow sections.
Can I visit the Skellig Islands? +
Skellig Michael (a Star Wars setting) is reachable by boat May to October, but places are scarce and the weather fickle. Failing that, the Skellig Ring gives a superb viewpoint from the coast.
How much does a week cost all in? +
About €1,100 backpacking, €1,500 in comfort and €3,000 premium, return flight from Paris included, per person.

Marie Laurent ✓

·

Southeast Asia specialist · itinerary personally tested.

Last updated: June 1, 2026.

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