I had always heard amazing things about Ireland…the endless green landscape, the friendly people and the winding narrow roads. My younger brother had turned 30 in January. He was a new dad and hadn’t been on a European vacation since college. I thought it would be a great brother/sister trip to explore Ireland by car. We had 1 week–since it was his first trip away from his 16 month-old baby girl and he didn’t want to be away from her and his wife for longer than that. It proved to be plenty of time to get a taste of several amazing cities in Ireland! We went towards the end of September 2018.

Day 1: Fly into Dublin and rent a car at the airport. Be sure to request automatic ahead of time, as the majority of the fleet is manual. Also, many credit cards offer insurance, so you can avoid pricy coverage. I obtained an international driving permit for $20 from AAA, but they never asked me to show it. Also, if you have’t driven through roundabouts beforehand, watch a tutorial to familiarize yourself. They are everywhere!

Drive directly south to Kilkenny, which is truly one of the most charming towns! I checked into Butler House for 1 night, a stunning Inn with free parking, situated right across the street from the castle. Speaking of Kilkenny Castle…the grounds are beautiful. If you go towards closing, it’s pretty much empty. Afterwards, head to Kyteler’s Inn (est. 1263) for live music and fish & chips. Other ideas that I didn’t try: Smithwicks Experience for the most famous Irish Ale. Left Bank bar is supposed to be fun too.

Day 2: It rained the next morning, so after breakfast at Butler House, we checked out the castle. Afterwards, we just roamed around with our umbrellas and enjoyed the storybook traditional town. I wish we had more time here…but by the afternoon, we were ready to drive south to Cork.

Cork is another 2 hours south. On the way, you have some options to stop at 1) Rock of Cashel (I didn’t do it) 2) Blarney Castle–kiss the famous Blarney Stone…the gardens are beautiful. We stayed at The River Lee Hotel Cork (2 nights)- free parking. This hotel is nice, but feels very mainstream. It’s “the place to stay”, but I would almost look into something closer to Oliver Plunkett.

At night in Cork, Oliver Plunkett Street and surrounding area is very popular with excellent pubs and live music venues. The Oliver Plunkett bar is great for live music and an upbeat vibe…I had a blast here. But my favorite bar EVER is Mutton Lane–it’s a hipster bar in an alley that plays the best rock music and serves awesome drinks. A lot of bartenders go here during the day. We went on a Thursday and sat at the bar…Friday night was way too packed. Crane Lane is another cool venue that’s open late and serves late night food. It has different rooms with various types music…really fun. Rearden’s was a place we heard of, but didn’t go.

Day 3: We decided to explore two popular nearby towns. Cobh and Kinsale are both 30 minues from Cork, but in opposite directions. You can do either or both…I think it’s worth seeing both, as they are very different. Kinsale is a foodie Willy Wonka and Cobh is a cross between San Fran and Catalina Island–but cooler.

Kinsale was first. We mapped to Fishy Fish, which is a very popular restaurant here…Lonely Planet says “best seafood in the country” and it’s won several awards. Get the seafood chowder…wow. Kinsale is gourmet capital of Cork. Charlesfort has a great harbor, so be sure to walk around. Mother Hubbards is another fun spot on a picturesque street. In general, it’s a super colorful town–like a storybook.

Next we drove and took the water taxi to Cobh, which is a very famous town as it was a departure point for the first Irish immigrant to cross through Ellis Island. Also, it’s the final departure point for Titanic, and you can see the Titanic museum there. We had lunch at Gilbert’s, a traditional spot, then we walked along the waterfront. I made it my mission to walk up the streets to get a photo of the slanted houses with the church in the background. Great view. I absolutely LOVED Cobh…it’s so hilly and gorgeous.

Day 4: We woke up early and had breakfast, then departed for the Cliffs of Moher. Fun fact: the large cave at bottom was in Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince. Don’t do a tour…see the cliffs on your own if you have car. The cliffs face west, so if your main intent is to photograph them, the afternoon and evening offers the best lighting. Great for sunset. Remember–It’s very windy, so be careful and bring a coat. There is a parking lot there, but some people take ferry from Doolin to see it from water. Doolin is a cute little town. When you pass through, get some smoked salmon from Burren Smokehouse–buy a baguette somewhere and enjoy this yummy snack. After we spent adequate time at the cliffs, we set out for Galway to spend the night. I would stay the night in Doolin versus Galway if I were to do this again.

We checked into St. Jude’s B&B. It was nothing special, but it had free parking and was very clean, with a nice inn keeper. We had reservations at Ard Bia…the only reservations I bothered making on this trip and it was so worth it! I was OBSESSED with this restaurant. It’s tiny, charming and has the most amazing cuisine…and it’s right on the water. I didn’t think Galway was a very pretty city, especially compared to the other picturesque towns–but maybe I didn’t see the right parts.

Day 5: In any case, Ard Bia was so good that we came back the next morning for an Irish breakfast. I highly recommend this place!

We then set out for Dublin, so that we can return our rental car. Dublin is very walkable, or you can Uber…so you don’t need a car. A convenient drop-off is Budget at 37 Old Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. We checked into the fancy Westbury Hotel (great location 5 star) to end our trip. It was in a great location and the room was very comfortable. Another, more hipster hotel option is The Dean. It has a cool rooftop restaurant. Dublin has some amazing bars: Long Hall Pub (beautiful old traditional pub…one of oldest in Dublin. Go here. Farrier and Draper is a swanky cocktail bar with awesome drinks. There’s a home goods store called “Article” next door that has beautiful things. I bought my mom a handwoven plaid throw blanket there. O’Donighue’s is a charming no frills Irish pub with live music. PYG Bar & Restaurant has an awesome happy hour. There’s a drink with Jameson, Guinness, caramel liquor and cinnamon syrup–you have to get it. A few that I didn’t try that were recommended by a local: Fade St. Social (the Gastrobar) or Drury Buildings for dinner or drinks. Grogans is a traditional pub, Bar 37 on Dawson street is a trendy bar.

Day 6:  We spent a nice afternoon at St. Stephen’s Green and flew our drone for some cool footage! At night, we had dinner at Brasserie 66 (great food), then we saw a great comedy show at International Pub. This was so much fun! The comedians were outstanding! I wish I had explored Trinity College, but we didn’t get a chance. Also, I didn’t do it, but there’s a musical pub crawl where you follow musicians from bar to bar, which is supposed to be fun.

Day 7: Depart for airport