Howaya! So, this Ireland road trip guide took a fair whack of time to research, plan out, and write.
It’s also pretty damn long.
If you don’t have 4 weeks to explore, you’ll find much shorter road trip routes in our Ireland road trip guide section.
Below, you’ll find a detailed itinerary to follow if you have 28 days to road trip around Ireland. Here’s a look at the route.
4 weeks in Ireland: A rough route overview
The dodgy map above (Photoshop was never my strong point) shows a very rough outline of the route that you’ll find in the guide below.
Here’s what you’ll get if you take the time to read it:
- A useful, detailed guide that removes the pain from planning:
- You’ll get an hour-by-hour (literally!) guide to each day
- Clear, concise itineraries to follow
- Advice on things to do along with recommendations on where to eat, sleep and drink
Yep, it’s long – so, if you’re stuck for time, sign up to our mailing list (no spam – only good stuff) at the bottom of this page and I’ll fire it onto you to read later.
Table of Contents
I’ve split this post up into different pages – this has nothing to do with getting more pages read or ad revenue (apologies for the ads, by the way).
Personally, I hate when sites do this, but in this case, I had to. Although I’ve done everything in my power to make this website speedy, this guide is long and tends to load much slower than 98% of our other guides.
So, I’ve given each day a dedicated page, which should make it easier for you to browse.
Just click one of the days below to dive in
- Day 1 (Dublin) – Arrive in Dublin, Castles, Cliffs and Historical Pubs
- Day 2 (Dublin) – Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse and so much more
- Day 3 (Wicklow) – Mountains, lakes, long walks, and a brewery
- Day 4 (Carlow & Kilkenny) – One of the best views in Ireland, historic walks, castles
- Day 5 – (Wexford and Waterford) Famine ships, haunted houses and ancient lighthouses
- Day 6 (Waterford) – The incredible Copper Coast
- Day 7 (Tipperary and Cork) – A looped walk, the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle and more
- Day 8 (Cork) – Exploring the historic town of Cobh before tipping on to Kinsale
- Day 9 (Cork) – Exploring glorious West Cork
- Day 10 (Cork and Kerry) – Crazy roads and a big aul chunk of the Ring of Kerry
- Day 11 (Kerry) – Beaches, the Slea Head Drive and some of the best pubs in Ireland
- Day 12 (Limerick) – Thatched Cottages, Castles and Kayaking
- Day 13 (Clare) – Cliff walks, caves and craic agus ceol
- Day 14 (Clare, Westmeath and a bit of Galway) – An unforgettable drive, the oldest pub in Ireland and plenty more
- Day 15 (Galway and Mayo) – A hike, one of the best drives in Ireland and on to Mayo
- Day 16 (Mayo) – Croagh Patrick, beaches, the most extensive Stone Age monument on earth and lots more
- Day 17 (Sligo and Leitrim) – The Knocknarea Queen Maeve Trail, the highest waterfall in Ireland and more
- Day 18 (Fermanagh and Donegal) – Ireland’s Stairway to Heaven, caves, cliffs and more
- Day 19 (Donegal) – Beautiful beaches, one of the bendiest roads in Ireland and more
- Day 20 (Donegal) – Sunrise on Marble Hill Beach, One of the best views in Donegal and plenty more
- Day 21 (Donegal and Derry) – Forts, panoramic views and loads more
- Day 22 (Antrim) – Taking the Ireland road trip to the Causeway Coastal Route
- Day 23 (Antrim and Down) – A cliff walk, a historic prison and more
- Day 24 (Down and Louth) – A hike up Northern Ireland’s highest peak, one of my favourite drives, and a night in Carlingford
- Day 25 (Louth, Cavan and more Louth) – Slieve Foye, a forest walk and Ireland’s oldest town
- Day 26 (Louth) – Exploring the medieval town of Drogheda
- Day 27 (Meath) – Newgrange, Knowth, Trim Castle and more
Click number ‘2’ below to be taken to day 1. (Use Pinterest? Pin the below for later!)
Howaya! Thanks for visiting the Irish road trip! This site exists to inspire and guide you on an Irish adventure that’ll give birth to a lifetime of memories (sounds very arsey altogether, I know!).
Eileen Finerty
Thursday 28th of April 2022
I am very interested in this itinerary but maybe not the whole thing as we’ve done pieces before. Can it be broken up?
Deb
Wednesday 20th of April 2022
Thank you for this guide, looks just what we need! We are coming over for a 4 week jaunt in our wee camper in August and would love it if you could send us the guide by email? I've tried signing up for the newsletter but something going wrong? Looking forward to it already! Thanks a million. Deb and Ste x
Patti Noonan
Tuesday 19th of April 2022
Hello Keith!!! Well - it almost took me 28 days to read the guide - such great information - and those additional guides to enjoy more were so helpful.
We are planning a 4-5 week trip to Ireland in the fall of 2023 - we are already excited!
I have a question about the Midlands - if we wanted to spend time in that area - do you have a suggestion as to how to include that area without too much backtracking?
Happy to chat via email too!
Patti & Barry N
Phillip Ennis
Tuesday 22nd of March 2022
I'm tipping my hat to you for having the tenacity to put together such a helpful, insightful and thorough guide for all of us to enjoy. Thank you.
LINDSAY ACHESON
Monday 7th of March 2022
Brilliant. Thanks for writing this. We are planning our first Ireland trip September of 2022. We're planning on 3 weeks, less driving and more day tripping out from central ("cluster" to quote you) spots. Looking forward to wading through more of your articles. Very rough initial idea is a week in and around Antrim/ Donegal, a week around Dingle, and a week around Dublin. Going to be going with a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. Should be wild. -Lindsay from Canada