We had a wonderful window of time to travel this summer and decided to make one of our bucketlist dreams come true: rent a campervan and drive all over Ireland! There were so many things we wanted to do and see, and having the flexibility of a campervan to adjust our destinations as needed was a top priority. Since we had never been to Ireland before, it was tough to narrow things down in our ten day time frame, but we eventually came up with an itinerary that included a combination of city exploring, unique excursions, hikes, hot spots, diving into history, visits with friends, and plenty of nature time.

10 DAYS IN IRELAND, 8 DAYS CAMPERVAN ITINERARY:

Want to skip ahead? Click on the day that interests you!

• Day 1: Arrive in Dublin, Check into Harcourt Hotel, explore Dublin sites: Dublin Castle, Christchurch, Temple Bar, Church Bar, Ha’Penny Bridge, etc.
• Day 2: Tour Trinity College/Book of Kells/Long Hall Library, visit EPIC Museum, pick up campervan, Lidl for groceries, drive 4 hours to Cliffs of Moher, stay Cliffs of Moher.
• Day 3: Cliffs of Moher to Dingle Peninsula, Dunmore Head, Coumeenoole Beach, drive Ring of Kerry to Portmagee, stay Portmagee.
• Day 4: Morning landing tour of Skellig Michael (mom + son), fishing excursion (dad + daughters), drive Ring of Kerry to Killarney, Celtic Steps Show, stay Killarney.
• Day 5: Hike Gap of Dunloe, Muckross House & Gardens (swim), explore Killarney, stay Fossa Campground Killarney.
• Day 6: Torc Waterfall, drive Killarney to Newcastle (N. Ireland), hike Glen River Falls route for sunset views, stay Donard Car Park in Newcastle.
• Day 7: Morning Belfast Titanic Experience, afternoon visiting with friends in Belfast. Stay Belfast.
• Day 8: Belfast to Dark Hedges, then to Dunseverick Castle ruins (park) and hike west to Giant’s Causeway, Bushmill’s Distillery, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge & Larrybane Quarry, stay Magheracross Car Park (overlooking Dunluce Castle).
• Day 9: Drive south, stop at Newgrange, then Powerscourt Waterfall. Dinner + stay at Johnnie Fox’s Pub just outside of Dublin.
• Day 10: Morning return campervan just north of Dublin, Guinness Storehouse dinner + tour, Big Bus tour Dublin, Jameson Distillery, dinner at The Brazen Head (oldest pub in Ireland), stay Radisson Blu Airport.
• Day 11: Fly home

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DAY 1: ARRIVING IN DUBLIN

Our flight arrived in Dublin around noon thanks to airport delays, but that didn’t stop us from exploring! It takes upwards of 30+ minutes to Uber into Dublin from the airport, so we were able to check into our hotel right away and drop off our bags in the room. We were thrilled with the Harcourt Hotel, a centrally located boutique hotel with family rooms, a lovely breakfast, awesome staff, and at a great price.

From the hotel we took a walk up the street, tummies grumbling for some good eats. We found The Meltdown, a quirky hole in the wall restaurant with the most amazing “toasties” (grilled sandwiches) that were to die for. The most unique one had macaroni and cheese inside! Just look at this goodness:

We continued on, admiring the colorful streets and giving thanks for the awesome weather. We couldn’t believe how nice it was. The whole month before we arrived it rained every day, and the forecast didn’t call for a drop of rain that day or for at least a week. We sure lucked out! (Luck of the Irish?) Our next stop was Dublin Castle.

Dublin Castle is a fun tour. Kids under 12 are free, and adult tickets cost €8. Kids can pick up a treasure hunt sheet that is very informative; we had a lot of fun looking for the answers to quiz questions as we toured the castle. It takes about two hours to visit the castle and gardens. It can be done in less time, but then you will be rushing a bit. Don’t miss admiring the beautiful glass potatoes art sculpture made by Mary Robinson entitled 1845: Memento Mori. It’s a very moving work symbolizing opulence during the misery of famine.

You have to exit the castle to go nearby to the Dubh Linn Garden where you will learn all about the origins of the name Dublin (hint: it had to do with the name Dubh Linn, meaning “black water”) and go nearby to the Chester Beatty library for refreshments and restrooms if you need it.

From the castle we walked to visit the Christchurch Cathedral. Outside (pictured) is a very moving statue of “Homeless Jesus” on a bench. There is also a replica of the church nearby so you can view it from above, and an Armenian Genocide memorial to keep an eye out for. It costs €24/family (€10/adult, €3.50/child) to enter and tour Christchurch Cathedral, but we arrived as it was closing so couldn’t tour this time. Perhaps even more interesting for us history buffs would have been a visit next door to the Dublinia Museum, a tour through Viking and Medieval Dublin! Again we were too late for this, but have heard it is awesome. Apparently in excavating the land and building the City Hall nearby they discovered centuries old artifacts dating back to the Viking era. It would have been €47 for our family of 5 to visit (€14/age 12+, €6.50/child), so it isn’t cheap, but it’s a destination rich with history for sure. Learn more here.

Next we wandered down to the Temple Bar area. We learned Temple Bar isn’t just one place – it’s a whole neighborhood in Dublin! There are many “Temple Bars” in Temple Bar neighborhood, but the most noteworthy is the bright red Temple Bar Pub, est in 1840, made famous for their 450+ kinds of whiskey, Ireland’s largest collection. My favorite building in this neighborhood is the green and yellow Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Hostel – it’s not even a pub!

From there we crossed the River Liffey and wandered over to the Church Café Bar & Restaurant. It’s a bar and restaurant literally built into an old beautiful church! This is a fun place to bop into for a drink, but I don’t recommend here for dining. They also have live music some evenings. Nearby there is also a small park, and the National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland – fun for kids who love St. Patrick’s Day.

After our drinks (and underwhelming nachos) at the Church bar, we crossed the Liffey River via the Ha’Penny Bridge. This lacy white iron bridge is officially the Liffey Bridge, but earned the nickname Ha’Penny when it was built. The builder and operator of the bridge, William Walsh, charged 1.5 pence to cross the bridge for the first three years after it was built – complete with turnstiles on each end. Walsh was granted a toll fee because he originally had a ferry service to cross the river, but it was in disrepair, and the city said “repair the ferries or build a bridge.” He chose to build a bridge, and in 1916 the Ha’Penny Bridge was erected. The toll was per person walking across, so it is said that Walsh allowed passersby to ride piggy back to cross the bridge for a 2-for-1 toll. It’s been operating toll-free for over 100 years.

There are so many fun, historic sites to see in Dublin! My favorite is spotting a funky pub, like The Bank Bar & Restaurant, built into an old bank. It’s beautiful inside! We didn’t have time to visit all the pubs but you could easily spend a week or more just bopping around from pub to pub. We passed The Bank Bar on our way to the Molly Mallone statue, one of those iconic Irish stories based on a song. It’s right behind St. Andrew’s Church. Even though we couldn’t get tickets to THE Riverdance on this trip, we couldn’t resist a walk past the Gaiety Theater to see the famous handprints in the sidewalk. If you want Riverdance tickets, book early – you can get them for as low as €15/pp, but if you wait then all that’s left will be €55/pp tickets (if you’re lucky!). We also picked up donuts at the delicious Rolling Donut shop on King Street – we can’t find great donuts here in Belgium. It’s right across from the beautiful Stephen’s Green Shopping Center (large glass atrium pictured below). Finally, a quick walk up Grafton Street was in order, because we love a good Ed Sheeran song and he used to play here as a street musician. Don’t miss peeking down Anne St towards St. Anne’s Church – another one of those iconic Dublin views (pictured below).

DAY 2

As we couldn’t pick up our campervan until 2:30 PM, we had some time in the morning to explore Dublin a bit more. We had a delicious breakfast at the Harcourt Hotel, then headed out to Trinity College. We got tickets online to visit the Book of Kells & Long Room Library that morning. I’ll warn you – it was frustrating to try to buy a family ticket online for the Book of Kells as there is some kind of glitch that didn’t register the children (under 12 are free), so we ended up buying only adult tickets (3, as we have a 12 year old) and explained at the entrance we couldn’t figure out how to get the girls’ free tickets online. They were very nice and accommodating – just remember to book your tickets in advance because the time slots fill up quickly. It’s one of the most popular destinations in Dublin! Buy tickets here.

The best entrance to visit Trinity College is via College Green, across from the Irish Whiskey Museum. We entered on the opposite end of the campus, which made it a little more tricky to find things. I recommend downloading the Visit Trinity App to have a free audioguide through the campus and small museum. It’s rather chaotic once you’re inside the Book of Kells exhibit, and it’s difficult to find the order of things, but the app helps a lot. Apparently there are also little informational treasure hunt booklets for kids too, but we didn’t know about that until we left. Be sure to ask about them – it will help make the visit more interesting for little ones.

The informative exhibits for the Book of Kells take about 30 minutes to view. In the exhibit hall you are permitted to take photos as you learn about the history of the Book of Kells, but once you enter the “treasury” where the actual book is located, photos are off limits. This famous religious text was believed to be written around the year 800 AD at a Columbian monastery in the UK, but got the name Book of Kells from its home at the Abbey of Kells in Ireland, where it lived for centuries. The decorative detail and colorful designs in this Biblical text are unmatched anywhere, and are therefore priceless. After viewing the (one page of the) Book of Kells, you make your way upstairs to the infamous Long Room at the Old Library of Trinity College. Most people recognize this incredible place from Harry Potter – but the truth is, the movie was filmed in Cambridge, England! The library, however, is very similar to the Long Room and therefore has even been nicknamed the Harry Potter Library. The Trinity Old Library is actually larger than what we are able to visit as tourists, but this long room is definitely the most impressive part of the tour. Several famous artifacts are on display here, including the Brian Boru harp, a copy of the Book of Kells, and the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic. After your visit you can walk downstairs into the impressive bookstore. We were there quite early, among the first tours of the day, and it was still jam packed.

The entire tour took about an hour and a half, but you can breeze through in an hour if you’re limited on time. We wandered through Parliament Square at Trinity, taking note of the chapel, memorial building, exam hall and campanile tower, then left campus by way of the College Green intersection. Again we were lucky to have such lovely weather, enabling us to walk virtually everywhere in Dublin.

We made our way to the EPIC Emigration museum along the River Laffe, passing pub after pub and the Custom House (a government building) along the river.

We also passed the infamous Famine Memorial – statues erected along the river to commemorate the Irish Famine of the 1800’s. This was difficult to see, but also an important discussion topic with the kids. We also passed the Jeanie Johnston ship, an Irish Famine Story – and although we didn’t have time to visit the ship, these two historic spots were an excellent lead-in to our visit to the EPIC Emigration Museum.

The EPIC Emigration Museum is a must see for all who visit Dublin. This place has brilliantly highlighted all aspects of Irish culture and their rich history that stretches through time and across the globe. It’s so interesting to walk through each exhibit, stamp your passport and feel completely immersed in the time. What a beautiful tribute to all things Irish! We learned so much. Plan at least 2 hours for your visit. There are great eateries in the entrance hall to the museum (we had Thai food after for lunch – yum!) and places to shop as well. It was €50.50 for our family of 5 for a family pass. So worth it…the kids loved it! Buy tickets here.

TICKETS (online/standard):

Adult (Age 18-64) €17.50/€18.50

Teenager (Age 13-17) €11.50/€12.00

Child (Age 6-12) €8.50/€9.00

Infant (Age 0-5) FREE

After a wonderful tour and delicious lunch, we took an Uber out of town to the Indie Camper pickup spot, located here. Download the FreeNow app as well, as sometimes their prices are better than Uber and most taxis use FreeNow in Dublin. Factor in travel time (30-40 min) and taxi cost (about €45/trip) when budgeting for a Dublin camper van.

HERE WE GO!

We made it to Indiecampers by 2:30 and were already grocery shopping nearby by 3:30. It didn’t take long for us to fill out the paperwork, do the once over of the van, ask questions, pack our things up, and hit the road. The staff at Indiecampers was kind, helpful, and relaxed, making the start of our adventure a breeze! (No affiliation – full review is all ours.) One thing we noticed, though, was that the campervan was pretty banged up. We were careful to take photos of every scratch, crack and ding, and listened carefully to the tips the staff gave us. This was our first time driving a campervan, and although the hubby has experience driving on the left side (and a stick shift!), it still took some getting used to. We made sure to book unlimited mileage to be safe, as well as insurance.

Things to note: the propane tank that comes with your campervan is at whatever capacity the previous renters left it at. This could be almost full or almost empty. We didn’t use much propane, but keep this in mind – an added expense is replacing the propane tank if necessary, which is on your own dime. Tolls: there is an automatic toll on the M50 that can be paid online (we had to do this four times, website here) but everything else is intuitive. Food: factor in time to pick up provisions. You can do this before (which would be very smart) if you have your own car and time, or you can build in time to do it after picking up the rig like we did. Buying groceries saved us tons of money on expensive meals.

CAMPERVAN SPECS

• Fiat Atlas, sleeps 5 people, 7m long, kitchen, toilet + shower, swivel front captains chairs, seat belts for 5 (one seat rear facing, see below), 1 permanent double bed, 2 modular beds.
• Price (varies by season – from $78-$250 per night) for 8 nights = $2K* (We paid for insurance, unlimited mileage, a travel kit, VAT and service fees that added an additional $1k, so the total price of our 8 days with the campervan was $3k, plus gas.)
• Gas (we drove FAR) = $300
• Camping fees = $46 (only one of the eight nights at a campground!)

Remember: there are many types of campervans. We got the biggest one! Your family might fit in a smaller rig, which would cost significantly less.

So we finally have this great, comfortable rig – our home for the week – but where do we stay? We were determined to find free places to park each night, and had great luck using the park4night app. After loading up on groceries at Lidl, we hit the road to cross the island of Ireland all the way to the Cliffs of Moher. We arrived in time for the most beautiful, chilly sunset walk along the cliffs, and just as the visitor center was closing (so we could use the rest room and save our onboard toilet for emergencies) so it was perfect timing. The best part? We paid ahead for parking and we were able to stay overnight in the Cliffs of Moher parking lot! We weren’t the only ones to do it, either. There were probably about 15 various vehicles using the lot overnight. It was a bit slanted, so we got creative to find level ground. But what a place to wake up to! We were glad to have food with us for the first night as there were no places to eat after the Cliffs of Moher experience shops closed at 7PM. Either way, this is a fabulous place for a hike and a picnic.

If you arrive a bit earlier, you can visit the Hungry Veggie (below) a food truck located on Burren Way path out to the south Cliffs of Moher viewpoint in the direction of Hag’s Head. I wish we could’ve had a bite to eat here before they closed at 5PM. I messaged the owner on instagram @thehungryveggiefoodtrailer to find out the hours and he said 12-5PM weather permitting, except Tuesdays. There are many, many trails along the cliffs of Moher. The most popular ones lead to O’Brien’s Tower to the north, and Moher Tower at Hag’s Head to the south. We didn’t have time to hike all the way to Moher’s Tower, but we were able to fit in walks from O’Brien’s Tower all the way to Johnston’s Quarry viewpoint area in the 2 hours we stayed to watch the sunset. The hike from the visitor center to Hag’s Head would take about one hour. The trails are very well marked and labeled (with warning signs), but people were still hopping over for closer-to-the-cliffs views. Just be extra careful, especially with kids.

It was a phenomenal evening, punctuated by happy grazing cows and a glorious sunset. Our first night sleeping in the campervan was great. The kids loved it – it’s very comfortable – and after a full day of touring Dublin, driving across Ireland and hiking the cliffs of Moher, everyone was pooped. The next day promised blue skies for our drive south, and some very memorable stops…

DAY 3

It was a bit foggy when we first awoke at the Cliffs of Moher, but we were eager to head south to the Dingle Peninsula, so we hit the road by 8AM. It was a 3h45m drive down to Dunmore Head. Of course we stopped at several beautiful viewpoints along the way. The coast of Ireland is so green and breathtaking!

The Dingle Peninsula is a unique place that you can only drive clockwise around during the day (keep this in mind) but you wouldn’t want it any other way. The roads are narrow on the Slea Head Drive (the name of the loop around the Dingle Peninsula), so it helps when the traffic is mostly going in the same direction, especially as there are amazing views that will be quite distracting. We didn’t stop – we went straight for Dunmore Head. When we arrived there at the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, we parked our big campervan along the road. This was the only place that turned out to be a little hairy (we dinged the bumper on the way out) but that’s probably because we visited mid summer on one of the best weather days, so the small parking lots were full and there was quite a bit of traffic.

The first thing you have to do at Dunmore Head (besides drop in a 1€ donation in the trail head box) is hike up and over (or around) the hill to the tip of the peninsula. The views are incredible in all directions, and the grass feels just like a golf course. Clearly there are sheep who graze here occasionally (as evidenced by the poo), but otherwise this is a pristine spot, great for a picnic and especially magnificent for STAR WARS fans. As you can see, this is a STAR WARS filming location. Only a few shots were taken here for Episode 8 The Last Jedi, but they’re iconic. Do you recognize them? The scene where Luke extracts green milk from the thala on “Ahch-To” was filmed here!

You don’t have to be a STAR WARS fan to appreciate the gorgeous rock formations and incredible vistas of Dunmore Head. It’s an absolute must visit if you ask me. If you luck out and get a warm, sunny summer day like we did, head down to Coumeenoole Beach right there next to Dunmore Head. It has impossibly turquoise waters (why?!) and although it was a chilly swim, the sand was warm and the landscape was so much fun for the kids to explore. We were glad to have a campervan here because there are no facilities anywhere – plan accordingly! There are other large beaches on the peninsula such as Fionn Tra Bay Beach and Clogher Strand, but Coumeenoole is secluded and in my opinion, the most beautiful.

Clogher Strand is pictured below left, but just before that is Dunquin Pier. Dunquin Pier is a beautiful pitstop about 1km after leaving Dunmore Head. It’s definitely worth a quick walk down the pier for a view overlooking the back side of Dunmore Head and Great Blasket Island. We continued along the Slea Head Drive until it reconnected with the main road in Dingle, then headed east until we reached the end of the peninsula, passing Inch Beach along the way. We met up with the Ring of Kerry at the River Caragh Viewing Point and finished the gorgeous drive along the north rim of the Ring of Kerry, arriving at Portmagee in time for a delicious dinner at The Moorings restaurant and lovely sunset over the coast. We parked for free behind the Catholic Church in Portmagee, and again we weren’t the only ones! Two other campervans were there overnight as well.

DAY 4

‘Twas a day for tours! My son and I were very excited for our landing tour on Skellig Michael and boat tour around the coast and Skellig islands, but even more jazzed that it was a bluebird day with calm seas. There truly couldn’t have been better conditions. We were all layered up in warm, weatherproof clothes, but it turned out we didn’t need half of those layers and ended up stripping them off as it got HOT on our hike! More on that later…

While we boarded our boat for the Skelligs, daddy took the girls on a fishing excursion. They weren’t yet old enough to land on Skellig Michael (must be age 12+), so this was a fun alternative. They love fishing! The tour was organized through Murphy’s Atlantic Angling; they scheduled a half day tour for €300 (3 people). It was a small boat and the seas were choppy by mid day when they were ready to return to shore, but they had a great time and caught several good looking pollack. In fact, the girls brought back the biggest fish and cooked it up for lunch. It was delicious!

Portmagee is a great little coastal town adjacent to Valentia Island. There are plenty of things to explore on Valentia Island as well, but most people come to Portmagee for boat tours. It is a quaint and quiet village, and everyone was super friendly. When we returned from our tours, however, the town was positively PACKED with people as far as the eye could see. Apparently there was a rowing competition happening, and it was a significant one, complete with announcers, tons of cheering teams, and enough spectators to make you think the whole peninsula showed up for the event. It was fun to catch the tail end of it, anyway….

SKELLIG MICHAEL LANDING TOUR There are several companies who charter boats out to the Skellig Islands for tours, and each company also sends a couple of boats each day during the season for a landing tour. Only 200 people per day are permitted on the island as per the licensing rules, and the tours fill up very fast – book upwards of 3 months in advance. Our tour was with Seanie at Sea Quest Skellig Tours, but it was arranged through Skelligs Rock. Again, there are several websites booking landing tours so if one site is already full, check the others! *Scroll down to the bottom of the Skellig photos to learn how to get a lucky tour last minute!

Take note: the websites and guides tell you there are no facilities on Skellig Michael, which means you could be without a bathroom for 4-6 hours. We were very relieved to see that there is in fact one toilet available at the entrance ramps on the island, so use it right away if you need it.

The tour is €120 per person, and half of the money is required the day of booking as a deposit. The rest needs to be paid the day of sailing in person, in cash. Remember that the tour can be cancelled at the discretion of the boat companies due to inclement weather, and that does sometimes happen. The season for booking is from mid May until late September. A few days before the sail you will receive information on the departure time of your boat. It all depends on the weather! The tour is four hours long (an hour out, two hours on the island, and an hour back) so be sure to bring a lunch with you, or at least snacks. My son and I picked up sack lunches at the little cafe across from the marina and brought plenty of water. It’s a good idea to stay nearby in Portmagee or somewhere along the coast so it’s easier to make your departure time, but I know people who stayed in Killarney and got up very early to meet the boat. Although we didn’t need all the layers we wore, it’s still very smart to bring all the warm clothes and expect it to be chilly out there.

When you first arrive on the island, you hop off the boat at the small pier and make your way along the path to where the guides are waiting. Tours of about 20 people are staggered throughout the day so it doesn’t feel like 200 people are all visiting the mount at the same time. The tour guides share a safety briefing as well as instructions, then you climb over 700ft up the island using the 600 steps. Although looking up at them may be daunting, the natural high of simply being on the island lifted us effortlessly to the top. I don’t even remember feeling tired as I was in awe of the breathtaking landscape at every moment. Perhaps being breathless at times contributed to that, too?

What an incredible day with my son! I was overwhelmed by it, really. We loved standing on the mythical STAR WARS island of Ahch-To and learning about the real life monks who lived at this UNESCO World Heritage Site for centuries. The original Gaelic monastery was slowly built between the 6th-8th centuries and endured for a millenia, when around the 16th century it became a site for religious pilgrims. STAR WARS nerds will appreciate that this island was used in the movies by Luke Skywalker as his hideaway, where the “sacred Jedi texts” were protected in an ancient tree. In real life, monks used the hermitage on the island to house and protect ancient texts from the Culdee church that date back to 37 AD. Interesting nod to history! Below you can see the beautiful beehive huts of the hermitage, in remarkable condition. Each one had a capstone on top that could be removed to allow campfire smoke to escape, but they were remarkably waterproof dwellings. A church, gardens, and cemetery also exist on the island. It was a self-serving community for hundreds of years as the monks fished, farmed, and let livestock graze for their food. Perhaps most impressive is that they made their way to and from the island by small rowboats – something I can’t imagine, even on our day with “good seas”! When you reach the beehive huts, another tour guide shares wonderful stories for about 15 minutes. The whole experience is spectacular! Yes, you can enter the huts, and you can wander just about everywhere except off the trails.

In addition to being a historic and archaeological gem, this island and its neighbor “Little Skellig” (seen in the distance in many of these photos) are home to many bird species. We arrived about one week after the puffins on the island left, but we did see their tiny homes among the rocks and wildflowers. On Little Skellig, petrels, huge gannets, and puffins cover the cliffs. There are so many birds that the rocks appear white, covered in snow. In fact it is just birds and their poop that give the rocks their white coloring. It is also possible to see falcons and grey seals on or around the island. Every single green area that you see is off limits to pedestrians, as those are likely puffin nests. I was surprised to see small modular housing for the five or so tour guides who stay on the island in two week stints. They live right there and experience everything the monks did. There is also a helicopter pad – can you see it?

After two hours touring the great Skellig Michael and feeling on top of the world, it was time to descend and make our way back to the pier as our boat had a very specific time we were supposed to leave. Don’t miss your boat time! You don’t have to stay with your little group the whole time, but it’s a good idea to know who’s in your group so you can look out for each other. I was on such a natural high after the tour that my legs were shaking as I got back on the boat. On the way back the captain will take you around Little Skellig and tell you all about the huge gannet birds and other facts about the island. I loved the windows in the rocks all around Little Skellig. They say if you get pooped on boating around the island, it’s good luck. Well, we didn’t get pooped on, but I sure left that day feeling like we were the luckiest people in the world! This was definitely a tour to remember.

TIPS: If you can’t get onto a landing tour, it doesn’t hurt to call or email to get on a waiting list. The next best thing is a cruise around the islands (not for seasick prone people) which is also beautiful, cheaper, and has no age limits. These can be booked through the same website for €50/adult, €45/student, or €160/family (2+2, €30 each additional child). *BUT we also learned another trick for people determined to land on Skellig Michael. On the day of, you can wander down to the pier and talk to the boat captains, letting them know you’d like to jump on if anyone is a no-show. Of course this is most likely if you are only one or two people, but believe it or not, 6 people were able to do this on various boats the morning we sailed – I was so surprised! It was very lucky, but also made me realize it’s worth a try if you really want to do a landing tour – just have cash at the ready.

After our tour we made our way through the crowds who were watching the rowing races and found daddy and the girls at the campervan cooking us a delicious lunch of pollack, herbed Irish soda bread and grilled onions. Mmmm did that Indiecamper smell good! Before we left the parking lot I made a quick stop at Skellig Experience Visitor Center for souvenirs.

Then we hit the road! Our goal was to drive the Ring of Kerry clockwise until we reached Killarney. We left at 3:30 with a 2 hour drive to Killarney, knowing we’d stop a few times to take in the scenery. Little did we know we’d have car troubles stop us up by the end of the day…

The MUST SEE viewing points along the Ring of Kerry include: Com an Chiste (above), Derrynane Beach, Molls Gap (below), and Ladies View (below). Other points of interest are Muckross Lake (including Muckross House & Gardens which I discuss later), and Torc Waterfall. My favorite of all of these was Molls Gap – an incredible viewpoint over the valley in both directions. Impossibly green and a joy to drive! At Ladies View we pulled into upper viewpoint and noticed our campervan was smoking from the hood, and it smelled like oil…

Here we were at this gorgeous viewpoint overlooking Upper Lake Killarney (also lovely to explore) but we were stuck. One quick view peek the hood and we saw the problem – the oil cap had popped off somewhere along these bumpy, winding roads, and oil had splashed and spilled all over the place making quite a mess. Thankfully we were able to remedy the problem fairly quickly, although it was nerve racking at first. We messaged the Indiecampers help line and asked them what to do. They got back to us eventually, and in the meantime we were able to get a cab into town (about 20 mins) so we didn’t miss the Celtic Steps show we had tickets for that evening at 8. There was plenty of time to get there and order pizza delivery for dinner right to the race track (where the Celtic Steps show performs) while we waited. Sometimes a snaffu can be fun! This also changed our itinerary a bit, as we had to order a new oil cap and that wouldn’t be delivered until day 6, so we planned to stay overnight in Killarney at Fossa campground on day 5 instead of driving up to Connemara and Galway. But here we were on a full, amazing day 4 (remember we did the Skelligs in the morning!) and nothing was going to put a damper on our fun. We attended the Celtic Steps show – get there early as its open seating, and we got to sit in the front row – it was totally worth it! The kids loved the dancing, music and all around wonderful Irish entertainment of the night, and they even got to meet the award winning dancers after the show. It would be fun to attend an event at the racetrack as well, since that is where the show is held. It was about 10:15 when the show was over – definitely a late night for the kiddos.

After the show we took a cab back to our campervan that was still parked at Ladies View, and we slept there for the night. It was no problem, and we felt safer doing that then driving it without an oil cap.

DAY 5

When we awoke, we were determined to make the most of the day and improvised an oil cap with rags and hair ties so we could drive the short distance to our destinations for the day. We made sure to drive slow and keep RPMs down. We confirmed that the oil cap would be delivered the following morning and that Indiecampers would reimburse us for the purchase of the new oil cap plus the cab rides we needed to take to and from Killarney the previous night. This was a very nice relief, and props to Indiecampers for solving this so smoothly.

Above are photos from Upper Lake Killarney on our way into Killarney. Then we drove through town to the other side of the Lough Leane to Kate Kearney’s Cottage where we parked for free. From here you can hike, bike, ride a horse and buggy or drive (I wish people wouldn’t drive though) through the Gap of Dunloe. What an incredible spot – one not to be missed!

The horse and carriage rides can be hired ahead of time or right there on the day of, for around €100 depending on how long of a tour you’d like. Instead, we decided to walk as it was another glorious day. It is about 7.5 miles round trip from Kate Kearney’s Cottage to the head of the Gap of Dunloe, or 6km both ways. The views are incredible and ever changing, and you can see horses and sheep along the way, too. We stopped at several points to get better views closer to Black Lake, Cushvally Lake and Augher Lake as we continued our walk to the gap. The hike is slightly uphill on the way, but all paved road so quite easy. Keep an eye out for the Wishing Bridge as well as an echo point that has fabulous acoustics across Black Lake just as you turn the corner past the Wishing Bridge. We even saw a wedding party taking photos along the road!

It took us about 90 minutes to reach the midway point, so about 3 hours to complete the entire hike, with stops and rests. Be sure to bring lots of water with you as there are no facilities anywhere until you return to Kate Kearney’s. It’s also a great place for a picnic! You can continue into the Black Valley, which I recommend if you’re on wheels, as that is a beautiful section of road leading back to Killarney National Park via Molls Gap. Overall this was a 10/10 for beautiful views and a relatively fun and easy hike for the whole family.

We were all happy to return to the campervan and have a nice picnic lunch thanks to a stop we made for provisions at Lidl before the hike. We grabbed homemade ice cream at Kate Kearney’s Cottage, then went into town Muckross House and Gardens to see if we could find a place to swim at Muckross Lake.

I had read about a “secret” beach called Rose Beach, but the directions online turned out to be fuzzy. There is plentiful free parking at Muckross House and it’s a beautiful place to spend the afternoon wandering the trails and frolicking in the park. In spite of wonky directions to the secluded beach, we found it anyway, and can say that it was a nice place to go for a quick dip. The location is here. To get there, walk on the paved path in the direction of Brickeen Bridge, about one mile from the parking lot or Muckross House (whichever is your starting point). When you reach a big clearing, there will be a bench on your right. The path to the beach is on your left and goes through the woods (see photo below of bench and path). The walk itself is lovely! Only a couple other people were there, and the views were nice. The water was very comfortable mid-August and the kids loved swimming. The only bummer was that we were all covered in ticks from sitting on the rocks by the shore. We were finding micro ticks the whole walk back to the campervan – so beware! We didn’t end up touring Muckross House itself, but wanderound around it and thoroughly enjoyed this 19th century mansion and property.

Later, we checked into our campground and everyone took proper showers (not just a quick rinse) for the first time in 3 days. It was also nice to empty the toilet reservoir, refill the water, and plug into electricity to make sure every single device was well charged for the next part of our voyage. Fossa Campground was great – and at about €45, it had everything we needed. There is a nice restaurant there too, but we didn’t end up eating there, in favor of taking a cab into Killarney for dinner, shopping, and exploring town instead.

We ate at The Shire Bar & Cafe, a Lord of the Rings themed pub. It was a little kitschy and touristy, but the food was excellent and the kids got a kick out of the theme. Killarney is an awesome city and a must-see for anyone visiting southern Ireland. It’s also a terrific place to stay with lots of nightlife, music and entertainment. The colorful energy of Killarney was contagious. We wandered the streets on our weary legs – even after our long morning hike at the Gap of Dunloe and visit to Muckross House! The next day was a rest day and mostly driving, so we were tired, but didn’t mind. We also noticed that a lot of Americans were in Killarney. It’s a happening place! We will be sure to hit up Killarney Brewing Co and Tango Street Food the next time we’re in town.

DAY 6

If day 5 was a lot of hiking, day 6 was a lot of driving. We started the day off with a quick visit to Torc Waterfall, which you can do in 30 minutes or 1-2 hours depending on if you want to hike the trails here or not. We didn’t hike and instead opted to just view the waterfall which was lovely. Definitely worth a stop! The path takes you through a short, mossy forest that felt like something out of a fairy tale. Parking is free here and there are facilities, too.

Our next stop was of course to pick up the oil cap. After that, we hit the road for a long haul 5.5 hour drive to Newcastle in Northern Ireland. We only stopped once for gas and provisions, at the Barack Obama Plaza rest area in Moneygall. We learned that Obama’s mother has Irish roots right here in this village, so they built a commemorative rest stop for him. The island of Ireland is fairly small, but driving all the way north from the south is quite a haul. Worth mentioning is that on the highways the kids did pretty well with car sickness. But on the back roads (which are common in southern Ireland), they often complained of wooziness. Especially the roads to Cliffs of Moher, Slea Head Drive on the Dingle peninsula, and the Ring of Kerry. We took turns sitting in the captain’s chairs, but big props goes to the hubby who handled all of the traffic and various roads like a champ.

CAMPERVAN DRIVING TIPS: Avoid “L” roads if possible and just stay on “N” or “R” roads which have two distinct lanes. Even still, you may need to pull in your left rear view mirror frequently to be safe. Mind the overhead! If you’re not used to driving a tall vehicle, beware. Many parking lots – even outside – have bars that limit the height of vehicles entering. This campervan was 3.1m tall, so it wouldn’t fit sometimes. Look on google street view to double check before going.

The original goal was to make the big hike all the way up Slieve Donard, the highest peak in Northern Ireland. However, we arrived at the Donard Car Park (where we stayed for the night) a little bit late, so instead we ate dinner in the campervan and took a nice sunset walk along the Glen River trails to a beautiful overlook of the coast and Newcastle. The kids loved this hike and were so happy to be back on their feet after the long drive. This hike took us about 90 minutes, complete with rope swings, tons of waterfall pools to play in, remarkable trees, beautiful views, blackberries to pick, and even smooth rocks to slide down in the river.

The only thing about those smooth rocks is that some of them have unfortunate bumps in them. Our son learned the hard way and really hurt his tail bone – it bothered him for two weeks after. He was such a good sport though, continuing the whole trip (including a long hike 2 days later) without complaints. It’s amazing he’s smiling in this photo below, because I know that really hurt him!

This beautiful view made me feel better after missing out on the 4-5 hour hike up and down Slieve Donard. We were pretty tired, too, and we probably would’ve had to start out much earlier to make that hike as a family. At least this way the kids could splash around in the river, eat ripe blackberries, and swing from trees…

Right away we noticed a big difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland. It’s difficult to describe here with tact, but I will say that it’s a little more rough around the edges. It was obvious Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Newcastle, a seaside town, felt a little bit like the seaside towns of New England: a bit of a carnival feel. O’Hares Pub was good fun, and so was skipping rocks under the beautiful glow of the full moon. Don’t miss the big silver globe “Global Journeys” and the Cone of Light art instillation along the promenade – looking through it you can see the pinnacle of Slieve Donard! It’s so cool, and was meant to be reminiscent of the standing stones popular in the UK – just a more modern version.

DAY 7

We woke up at Donard Car Park (again, there were several people parked here overnight and we had no issues) and walked over to Niki’s Kitchen Cafe for a classic Irish breakfast. For the record, Niki’s is pronounced “Necky’s” here, so take note when asking for directions to it. We especially enjoyed the baked goods here, and it’s a great little stop along the water to enjoy breakfast. Then we headed into Belfast to meet up with my college friends and their sweet little boys! We didn’t spend much time in Belfast, but knew we couldn’t miss the Titanic Experience Museum, so that was our first stop.

TITANIC EXPERIENCE This incredible museum is the best of the best for Titanic aficionados. We made sure to show the kids an abbreviated version of the Titanic movie before we came to Ireland in preparation for this, and discussed the event at length. It has certainly fascinated me for years, so I was tickled to see the kids enthralled and couldn’t wait to see what the museum had in store. We didn’t buy our tickets ahead of time, but still were able to get time slots immediately. The building is shaped like an exact replica of the hull of the Titanic and is located in the shipyards that conceived and built her. Tickets are £21.50/adult and £10/child, but you can get family passes (2+2) for £53, and we added one more child for £10. It’s so worth it!

The exhibits were pretty crowded at first, but were so well done. Each of us had a Q&A sheet with treasure hunt questions that’s always a plus for families to engage the kids. There is endless paraphernalia and the design of the museum takes you through history, long before the Titanic was built. We learned about the heyday of Belfast, during its manufacturing and shipping boom that inspired the shipbuilders who made the Titanic. There are several levels of exhibits plus movies, tons of interactive displays, and even a ride through the building process. It took us about 3 hours to go through the museum, and after we were quite hungry. Not to worry, there are plenty of food options right there in the museum…but we had a tip to go next door to the Titanic Hotel and have lunch there instead, as this is where the blueprints for the Titanic were drawn up by the architects (it’s is worth seeing in its own right, even if you don’t eat there).

We were so glad we visited the Titanic Hotel too. It’s really lovely inside and was a great place to enjoy lunch before heading back to stay with our friends for the night. From what I could see, staying at the Titanic Hotel in Belfast would be an excellent choice, and reasonably priced. For us though, we parked our campervan in our friends’ driveway and could sleep one night in a bed at their place while the kids camped out in the campervan. What a treat!

It was also super cute to see their little boys go gaga over the campervan! I remember being little, how amazed I was at a home on wheels. It made us appreciate this vehicle, no matter how clunky and annoying it was at times, to see the little eyes of wonder taking stock of all the amenities and comforts inside. It was also wonderful to see friends who we hadn’t seen since before the pandemic.

DAY 8

On day eight we left Belfast very early and drove about an hour north to The Dark Hedges. This was a must see, but only a pitstop on our way to the north shore and Causeway Coast. We arrived at about 9:30 and we were surprised to find almost no one in the parking lot. We expected this to be a fairly busy area, but apparently it doesn’t get busy until mid day with tour buses, and after all, it was a Thursday. The luck of the Irish struck again, and we were strolling down this infamous lane of beech trees all alone. From the car park it takes about 5 minutes to walk to the Dark Hedges lane, and it’s free to visit, but no vehicles are allowed to drive down the lane any more. These “hedges” were planted by James Stuart in 1775, making each of these trees older than the USA! They were popularized as a filming location for Game of Thrones – as were several other locations we visited this day. We spent less than an hour here, and then headed north.

Our destination for the rest of the day was the Causeway Coast, including Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge area and Larrybane Quarry. This was another record breaking day for steps on the smartwatch, and every single one was beautiful. We wanted to hike the causeway coast instead of just heading straight to Giant’s Causeway’s infamous honeycombs, so we parked at Dunseverick castle ruins (a small pullout car park near a house with the nicest lady we made friends with) and hiked about 2 hours west to the Giant’s Causeway. This turned out to be a perfect plan, as the entire coast was socked in with fog until noon time, which was exactly when we arrived at Giant’s Causeway. It was amazing to see the blue skies emerge and made it all worthwhile, even with the mid day crowds.

This is also a free way to visit the causeway. Nothing is totally free of course, as transport on the bus back to the campervan cost us a few pounds, but it was definitely a more scenic way. The hike itself was really fun – the kids loved it and did great! It was about 5 miles of hiking, and nothing too strenuous. The path is well marked and there were many views to take in along the way. The temperature that day was also marvelous, and of course we brought plenty of water and snacks to tide us over. There are other ways to visit Giant’s Causeway too, and I’ll highlight them at the end of the hike.

We also downloaded the free Giant’s Causeway app and listened to the little stories at various points with the kids. It was fun to learn about the lore and stories of this magical place, including a ship wreck near the Amphitheater that held some of the most valuable treasures ever discovered. From the path along the cliffs, we walked down a very steep set of steps to the lower trails and made our way to the incredible Giant’s Causeway. This impressive collection of over 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns has been wowing visitors for centuries. They were formed when lava pooled and cooled in just the right way, and this isn’t the only place on earth these kinds of formations can be found. They are also in Iceland, Scotland, Canada, and many other places around the globe.

But this was the first time we visited anything like it, and we were thoroughly impressed. The crowds were a bit of a bummer, but it didn’t stop us from climbing all over the columns and enjoying them for a while. Our tummies were dictating the day though, and we needed to find food. Thankfully there were a couple of restaurants up by the Giant’s Causeway visitor center, and we enjoyed a lovely meal at The Nook restaurant (photos below).

VISITING GIANT’S CAUSEWAY: It’s FREE! BUT If you want to enter the visitor’s center, park there or take the shuttle bus it will cost you (euro or pounds). There are several ways to reach the Giant’s Causeway, depending on how much time you have, and how mobile you are:

1. Take a tour from Belfast.
2. Take a bus. The buses are great but only accept British pounds sterling in cash. They operate seasonally.
3. Visiting on a weekend? Take the Bushmills Railway train! Park in Bushmills and take the train £7/adult, £5/child, £25/family.
4. Park at the Giant’s Causeway Station for £8.00 and either walk 10 minutes downhill or take the paid shuttle bus down to the stones.
5. Park along the northern coast somewhere you want to visit (like Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Ballintoy Harbor, Dunseverick or Dunluce castles) and take the bus to Giant’s Causeway and back.
6. WHAT WE DID: Park at Dunseverick Castle and hike the 5 miles west along the cliffside paths all the way to Giant’s Causeway. This hike took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes, taking our time and stopping at all the beautiful viewpoints. When you’re done, bus back!

⚔️ PS. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, this is an awesome filming location! There are GoT tours from Belfast that take you to all the best spots.

After our visit to the causeway we took the bus (after some finagling to find British pounds) down to Bushmills. This tiny town is best known for the giant Bushmills whiskey distillery. We figured we’d stop by even if we weren’t doing a full tour (with kids, so it’s a no go) and we were so glad we did! It actually was just fine to have kids there, and we did a whiskey tasting at the beautiful bar. I think it was free to do the tasting, but now I can’t remember – maybe I had too much whiskey? Haha in all seriousness, we did pay but I think it was only for the one *most expensive* whiskey we tried that wasn’t part of the free tasting, the 21 year aged single malt. It was delicious of course, but we were very glad to have tasted them before buying because we decided we preferred the 10 year to the 16 which we were originally going to purchase – and that saved us about half! The glassware here is also lovely – I’m such a fan of bar glasses. We enjoyed their souvenir store as well, and then hopped on the bus back to our camper van at Dunseverick castle.

The town is very cute, and it would be really fun to take the little train from here up to the causeway on the weekends, especially with kids.

A few minutes up the road was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. This unique place requires a ticket to cross, but we arrived at 6PM, just as it was closing, so didn’t have a chance to cross the bridge anyway. There is parking (but not for tall campervans) right there at the rope bridge visitors center (as well as facilities, but they close at 6PM too) for free, but if you miss it like we did, you can park up the road at the next pull out and walk down. Phew! We had burned rubber in our shoes that day with so many steps. I have to say that even arriving after it closed was just fine – the walk to the bridge was gorgeous, and we weren’t keen to pay £40+ just for our family to cross a bridge anyway. Instead we enjoyed the beautiful evening hike along the cliffs and after, went nearby to Larrybane Quarry to see another Game of Thrones filming location. Hint: for the BEST views of the rope bridge, walk to the cliff just past the bridge. If you continue on this trail it leads back to the main trail, so don’t worry. It’s a extraordinary view of the bridge back to your left (see below).

Larrybane Quarry also has views in the distance of a massive cliff used in Game of Thrones as the place where John Snowe first meets and touches Drogon on the cliff. It gave me chills to see! Of course now we want to re-watch GoT after seeing all of these cool filming spots…

From there we walked back up to our campervan and drove to the fairly new Magheracross Car Park which also happens to be an incredible viewpoint in both directions. This was also our overnight parking spot, and we were in good company. What an amazing place to watch the sunset, with Portrush in the distance in one direction, and Dunluce Castle glistening in the sunlight in the other direction. I would’ve loved to visit Dunluce but I was all walked out by that point. We had dinner in the campervan again (we were getting good at picnics) and bundled up as it got quite chilly when the sun went down.

DAY 9

We woke up to a foggy morning at Magheracross Car Park but it didn’t matter because today our mission was to head all the way back to the outskirts of Dublin. We actually weren’t positive about our plan, but decided on the way to stop at Newgrange, then head to Powerscourt Waterfall, and end the day at Johnnie Fox’s Pub for dinner and overnight.

Newgrange is an amazing place – but it’s not the best idea to go without planning way ahead. We arrived at the visitor center and realized pretty quickly this would be an abbreviated visit. Tickets sell out fast for tours to the actual sites of Brú na Bóinne, and it’s clear to see why. This series of Neolithic cairns date back 5,000+ years and they’re positively amazing to see, containing western Europe’s largest collection of megalithic art. We only were able to view them from a distance, but we really enjoyed the small museum there, shopped a bit at the gift shop, and had a nice lunch at their cafe which was surprisingly delicious. I would love to return to Newgrange for a proper tour of the huge cairns, but next time I’ll plan ahead! More info on this amazing site can be found here. There are three spots within Brú na Bóinne to visit: Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. Tours go to Newgrange and Knowth (for inside the cairns) but Dowth can only be viewed from the outside. Luckily you can visit it separately without a ticket via N51.

Newgrange is about one hour north of Dublin, and Powerscourt Waterfall is about one hour south. We went from Newgrange to Powerscourt Waterfall and spent the rest of the sunny afternoon exploring the highest waterfall in Ireland. There is a small fee to enter and park but there are great facilities there including bathrooms, snack bar, picnic areas, and playgrounds. We loved spotting American redwood trees on the property, too! This whole area (gardens, mansion and waterfall) was part of the Powerscourt estate established 800 years ago and is well preserved for visits. The mansion, built in 1741, is a popular wedding venue, but can also be toured. We didn’t see the mansion or gardens but loved seeing the waterfall – and the girls swam! It was quite chilly…so the rest of us just climbed around on the rocks.

We worked up quite an appetite, so we drove about 30 minutes through the mountains towards Dublin to find Johnnie Fox’s Pub. This pub is in a lovely location and had amazing reviews – and bonus, we learned we could park in their lot overnight – so we had to check it out. Even without reservations they got us in right away and we had a terrific meal for our last night in the campervan. The mussels and savory pies are a must! We were even surprised at the price – we stuffed ourselves with drinks, appetizers, entrees, and deserts and it didn’t break the bank. I highly recommend Johnnie Fox’s! It’s located here.

We all slept surprisingly well on those full stomachs. The pub had live music, but we didn’t notice with our sound machines and the location of the lot across the street. There are a few neat things to see near the pub including a standing stone, but we were all too pooped to venture out after our long day. This was the perfect place to spend our last night in the camper.

DAY 10

When we woke up on day 10 we were all ready to turn in our campervan and have a proper shower again. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome to have a full shower and bathroom in the rig, but we were careful not to over use it since we weren’t staying at campgrounds regularly. The campervan did its job, keeping us safe and comfortable, and we only had a couple of dings and crunches here and there to show for it. We were also impressed by how little we spent on gas relatively for 8 days driving all over tarnation – about €300. We thought that was good for a big rig! We arrived early to drop off the vehicle – about 9 AM – to the Indiecampers location north of Dublin. The staff was so kind, helpful and generous. We showed them the dings we made and they basically laughed (we were worried because we broke a light on a rear view) and said “all of these needed to be fixed anyway. Don’t worry about it.” I think it helped that we had purchased insurance and they let everything pass with no issues at all. We even got reimbursed for the oil cap and taxis from the Killarney car troubles. Win win! The only tricky thing is securing a cab back to Dublin – not all cab companies are willing to go out that far (it’s about a 30 minute drive back into the city), but the Indiecampers crew called us a cab and were very helpful.

We felt great that we had the whole day to explore Dublin, and our first stop was at the Guinness Storehouse. Our cab driver warned us that it was touristy and overpriced, and we kind of knew that ahead of time, so we had booked a lunchtime reservation at the restaurant inside the storehouse so we could at least go inside without tickets. What they don’t tell you is that this is a secret backdoor way to enter and enjoy the amazing gift shop without having to pay the (extravagant) tour entrance fee. We were ushered inside and told to keep mum about it, basically, but we were really lucky to be there during a brass band performance as well! The lunch we had at the 1837 Bar & Brasserie was delicious – and the waitress even told us to KEEP THE GLASSES! This kind of blew our minds and made us a little uncomfortable, but went with it since she gave us the green light. These little tips might help make your Guinness experience a little more affordable. Definitely don’t miss the gift shop – it’s fantastic!

After our experience at Guinness we hopped on the Big Bus tour to take us around Dublin and see all the sites we hadn’t seen yet – plus the kids love those tours! We passed the enormous Phoenix Park (over 2x larger than Central Park in NYC) and the great Spire sculpture reaching 120m into the sky, as well as several notable cathedrals and a stop at the Jameson Distillery to pick up whiskey for a friend. It’s worth noting that we didn’t feel as welcome at Jameson as we did at Bushmills. It’s smaller and felt more exclusive, and the staff was a bit stand offish. Also the gift shop was tiny…but we found what we needed. The best part about Big Bus tours is what we learn. There are so many interesting facts and stories about Irish history – they’re always worth it, especially if you can make it around the whole loop like we did.

Our last stop of the trip was at the Brazen Head Pub. This is the oldest pub in all of Ireland, its origins dating back to 1198. It’s also one of the most fun places to visit – a “seat yourself” energy with lots of rooms to eat and drink, each one with decor that’s been collected over decades. We enjoyed a delicious meal here and really loved the atmosphere. We arrived around 6:30 and were able to be seated immediately, but when we left just after 8 PM there was quite a line outside. Get there early if you really want to get a seat! Fish & chips and Guinness pie are popular here, as are the brews.

We took a cab straight to our airport hotel (Radisson Blu) which worked out perfectly – we love being close to the airport for early morning flights. In spite of what we had heard about the Dublin airport delays and staffing issues, we had zero issues flying in and out of Dublin and were actually impressed by their efficiency. Clearly they had fixed their early summer problems by August.

ALSO IN DUBLIN If we had more time we would have bopped over to Malahide Castle & Gardens out near the airport. People also rave about the Dublin Zoo, but since we have the “best zoo in Europe” (Pairi Daiza) practically in our backyard, we haven’t chosen to spend time at zoos on our travels. Finally, there is a really popular prison tour at Kilmainham Gaol that looks awesome – you just have to book way in advance to get tickets. Perhaps next time we can get lucky for that!

NEXT TIME, IRELAND When we return, we decided we want to visit the places we missed out on due to car troubles first – Galway and Connemara. Everyone loves Galway (some like it better than Dublin!) and Connemara is a wonderful place to hike. There are spots in the far north we would love to see including Achill Island and up to Donegal area, including Murder Hole Beach. Finally, if we have time, we also want to explore the Wicklow mor and far southeast near Cork, including stone circles, the Blarney stone and the Rock of Cashel. This is only the beginning, Ireland – we fell in love and we will be back!