Ireland Trip Recap Highlights

Back in May I spent 10 days in Ireland and I want to write it all down so I don’t forget a moment of it. Plus, Ireland is the next up and coming travel destination (as a marketing trend girly, you can take my word for it), so maybe you can take some inspo away from this post as well :))

Planning and Packing

I was in Ireland the last 2 weeks of May. While it wasn’t cold, it was in the 60s and rainy/overcast. The items I used the most were my hiking boots, a raincoat that doubled as a jacket and a sweater I could easily pull on and off.

Compared to Italy (which I went to right after Ireland), the attire was much more laid back/casual. On top of that, Ireland and Italy have very different climates and I only travel with a carry on and personal item out of habit, so packing for this trip was like an Amazing Race challenge.

It was not overly crowded in May (I think we just missed the tourist season) so booking things/changing plans last minute wasn’t a problem. As I’ve said before I am a big proponent of traveling in the offseason; there are so many benefits. (I say this as I will be in Pairs in the smack dab middle of July lol). Plus, the flight’s barely over 5 hours so in terms of trips, very doable.

Ireland Activities

Some things are tourist attractions for a reason: Cliffs of Moher. Incredible! We did a boat tour and lets just say I spent most of that tour trying not to vomit into the Atlantic. Then we went to one of the overlooks and that was cool (cause I actually could stand on solid ground haha). Anyway, the cliffs were breathtaking.

Kylemore Abbey was beautiful (like everything else in Ireland) and I’m a sucker for a walkthrough of old buildings. You also get a ton with your ticket: The Abbey, the Neo-Gothic Church, the Mausoleum, Woodland and Lakeshore Walks and the Victorian Walled Garden. We only did the garden because we were stopping on our way somewhere else.

The Guinness Storehouse was fun. It’s a self guided tour, so nothing crazy but the gravity bar (free beer) is a nice way to end (although it was really crowded and really hot the day we went). I would recommend adding the Stoutie package on. Shoutout to the guy pouring my beer because at that point in the vacation I had drank so much Guinness, I was a little over it, so he added some blackcurrant juice to make it sweeter and let me tell you – it was amazing.

Trinity College was on my travel bucket list for the year. And I could’ve probably gone back every day. The Book of Kells and the Long Room, words really won’t do it justice. The Old Library is currently undergoing a redevelopment project (to combat pollution, dust, and fire) so, unfortunately, 200,000 books had been removed from the library by the time we went to visit.

Killary Sheep Farm was one of the coolest things we did. It’s located on the only fjord in Ireland. We got to learn about the practices and inner workings of the farm and see a sheepdog demonstration

Other Notable Mentions

Rock of Cashel was one of the first things we did on the trip. Originally the seat of the kings of Munster, it’s supposedly the spot where St. Patrick converted the Irish to Christianity.

I loved Killarney National Park. The whole country of Ireland is just so green. I took a couple runs and walks through the park. You can get to Muckross House and Abbey through the park

We drove through Slea Head and had lunch at the Blasket Centre after a walking tour of the area. Our guide, Kevin, was a wealth of local knowledge.

Hot take, I would skip the Aran Islands. Don’t get me wrong, they were super cool and I learned a lot on the tour we did, it was just the one I would skip since it takes a whole day and there’s just so many other cool things to do in Ireland.

Lodging

In Dublin we stayed at the Iveagh Garden Hotel, which has an amazing coffee cart down the street. This hotel has one of the lowest carbon footprints for a hotel in all of Ireland and we had the best hotel breakfast here.

Glenlo Abbey Lodges are in Galway and were super spacious. We stayed at a three bedroom lodge, and on the property there was also a golf course, falconry, a running trail, and more.

Muckross Park Hotel & Spa was probably my favorite spot we stayed because it was walking distance from Killarney National Park, which I took full advantage of.

Dining

The food was better than I thought it would be, but I was definitely over pub food by the time we left. Devitts Pub in Dublin had the best falafel wrap I’ve ever had. Ladyswell Restaurant by the Rock of Cashel was super cute and had great sandwiches. I had the best expresso martini at the Muckross Park Hotel & Spa (they added Chambord!). The Purple Door Café in Leenane had great service, coffee and a vegetarian full Irish breakfast. Teach Nan Phaidi on the Aren Islands saved my butt when I needed to log in to work last minute and needed an outlet to charge my laptop.

And what trip is complete without at least one hiccup though (stay tuned for the Italy saga lol). I was concerned I might have a stress fracture, so I spiraled and was like, “If I keep walking on it, I’ll never run again this is the worst!” This panic meant I dropped $400 for an Irish doctor to tell me, “I can’t help you – you should probs just rest” so that was great :))

Even so, Ireland was such a treat. From their lack of trees to “carpet” of man-made soil, to stone walls, the country was interesting from start to finish.