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The day has finally arrived. Today our crew is breaking down our entire Ireland itinerary, we’re chatting about what we liked, what we didn’t and how we explored The Wild Atlantic Way. 

Okay, so in honor of getting to the point, I’m going to break down how we spent each day along with linking the corresponding blog posts and vlogs. So let’s jump in. 

Sunday: Day 1: Kerry Airport 

• Airline – Aer Lingus
• Hotel – Sheen Lodge Falls

• Activity of the day – SLEEP

Our crew landed in Ireland on Sunday mid-day. We originally flew from Hartford CT to Dublin and after a six-hour layover boarded a very small plane to the south of Ireland. 
We landed in Kerry about 1:10 PM and the adventure started from there. We rented a small van, as six of us snuggled into the car with the fear of driving on the wrong side of the road. All and all my dad handled the driving and did a splendid job. 

Once we reached the hotel, about 45 min south of the airport we all went straight to the bar for some much-needed caffeine. We spent the night hanging around the resort, I’d be bold enough to say that Sheen Lodge Falls was probably our favorite hotel throughout our journey. 

The staff was wonderful, it’s just a 5 min drive to the bustling village of Kenmare and they had complimentary Nespresso machines in each hotel room, aka my heaven. 

I would highly recommend staying here if you’re looking for a relaxed and almost Vermont feel. The rainy days and cozy fires throughout the hotel made me want to slip off my rain boots, after a long and wet day of traveling.

Monday (Day 2): Town of Cobh and The Blarney Stone

• Hotel – Sheen Lodge Falls

• Activity of the day – Kiss the Blarney Stone

• Food Stop – Jacobs Ladder in Cobh 

Breakfast was included at every hotel we stayed at, so come 9 AM all six of us met downstairs for breakfast. Within two hours we all piled into the van, and sped up the street towards Cobh. 
Altogether the drive from the hotel to Cobh was about an hour and a half, I know that’s kind of long, however, I thought we might as well see the town due to its proximity to The Blarney Stone. 

You can read more about our visit to Cobh and The Blarney Stone in this blog post, along with watching our travel vlog of the day here. 

The one thing we left out of both the vlog and blog post is where we ate. We decided to have a rather late lunch in Cobh at Jacobs Ladder, before heading to Blarney’s Castle. The food was great here, and the waterfront views made it even better. 

All in all, it was a very long day. We ended up back at the hotel around 9:00 PM and had a small bite to eat before heading to bed. 

Tuesday (Day 3): Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park 

• Hotel – Sheen Lodge Falls

• Activity of the day – Ring of Kerry 

• Food Stop – PF McCarthy’s Bar

One of the main reasons why I decided to stay at Sheen Lodge Falls was its proximity to Killarney National Park. It was really only a 15-20 min drive to the park which made it easy to explore and gave us some down time from driving. 

All and all, the park took us about four hours to see thoroughly. It’s basically one very long and windy road with several areas to pull-off, park and explore. How much time you spend in the park is completely dependent on how much time you spend exploring!

We got a little muddy from all the hiking we did while at the park, so before heading out to dinner we went back to the hotel to change. 

Finally, we headed out to the town of Kenmare and ate at, PF McCarthy’s Bar which was one of our most loved food destinations throughout our trip. You guys can read more about our visit to The Ring of Kerry in this blog post, along with watching our travel vlog of the day here. 

Wednesday (Day 4): Up the Wild Atlantic Way 

• Hotel – Gregans Castle Hotel (I wouldn’t recommend staying here)

• Activity of the day – Travel

On Wednesday we made our first move up the Wild Atlantic Way to the Burren National Park. Overall, Gregans Castle Hotel was our LEAST favorite. The rooms were very nice, but the real reason I would not recommend staying here is my experience with their customer service specifically my interaction with the manager Simon.  

Overall, I felt like the price of the hotel was TOO HIGH for the package we paid and that the manager’s style of customer service is HOSTILE, to say the least. 

Thursday (Day 4): Cliffs of Moher

• Activity of the day – Cliffs of Moher and The Burren Perfumery
• Restaurant – Tea Room at The Burren Perfumery

After a rather hectic Wednesday, we spent our Thursday exploring the cliffs of The Wild Atlantic Way. The Cliffs of Moher have been on my bucket list, so finally getting to see them was 100% worth the bad experience of the day prior. 

In honor of keeping this post on the shorter side, you can read more about our visit to The Cliffs of Moher, in this blog post, and watch our travel vlog for the day here. 

Friday (Day 5): Dingle 

• Hotel – The Lodge at Ashford Castle

• Activity of the day – Traveling/Visiting Dingle 

• Restaurant – Lunch: The Half Door
• Dessert – Murphy’s Ice Cream in Dingle
• Dinner – Dough Bro’s in Galway

This was one of our busiest days yet in Ireland. We started off the day driving to Dingle, which I was dying to explore. To be honest, I really wanted to see this town after watching the movie Leap Year, anyone else remember that movie?!

Overall, I wish I had skipped staying two days by The Cliffs of Moher and spent two days in Dingle. The town was everything you’d picture an Irish seaport town to be like. It very much had a New England vibe and not to mention I saw a sign saying it was Ireland’s food capital. 

The sign must have been right because the food was out of this world. We went to The Half Door for their famous lobster bisque and Murphy’s Ice Cream after for obvious reasons. 
All in all our time in Dingle was limited, aka just an hour and a half; but if I ever make it back to Ireland this is where I’d want to go. We spent the rest of the day, traveling up the coast of The Wild Atlantic Way, we stopped at Galway for some pizza at Dough Bro’s and kept driving until we made it to our last and final stop…Ashford Castle. 

Saturday (Day 6): Ashford Castle 

• Hotel – The Lodge at Ashford Castle

• Activity of the day – Boat Ride, Falconry, and Clay Shooting

• Dinner – Lydon’s Lodge

I know it might not seem like it, but I’m trying to keep this post concise, so if you’d like to read about our time at The Lodge at Ashford Castle and our experience with falconry check out this blog post!

Overall, I’d highly recommend the hotel and its activities, we captured our whole day on our last and final vlog, so don’t forget to watch that below, it’s by far my favorite vlog yet. 

Finally, we left Ashford Castle around 5 PM on Saturday and took our van on its last adventure, an hour and a half ride to DUBLIN! 

Sunday (Day 7): Dublin

• Airline – Aer Lingus

We flew out of Dublin on Sunday, and within 7 hours we landed safe and sound in Connecticut. Overall, we didn’t see much of Dublin however the boys did do some nightlife exploring and reported back with two thumbs up. 

& that was that. 

Overall our trip was packed and filled to the brim with Ireland’s beautiful landscapes and terrains. It truly is a beautiful country, and this post marks the last of our Ireland content. 

I hope you enjoyed this past week of travel content and leave any suggestions of places you’d like us to explore next. xx Aubrey

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