The 5 Day Ireland Itinerary That Won't Leave You Crying Into Your Guinness

Your Day-By-Day 5 Day Ireland Itinerary (With Bathroom Breaks Included)

What follows is a 5 day Ireland itinerary that balances efficiency with experience – like a well-organized pub crawl that somehow includes national monuments. This isn’t a checklist to be rushed through but rather a framework that acknowledges your limited time without sacrificing the essential experiences.

Day 1: Dublin’s Greatest Hits

Arrival into Dublin Airport presents your first authentic Irish experience: confusion. Getting into the city offers three primary options – taxi (€25-30), Aircoach (€7), or Dublin Bus (€3.30). While the budget-conscious might lean toward the bus, factor in your jetlag-induced bewilderment and the mysterious Irish ability to understand bus schedules that seem deliberately designed to confuse foreigners.

For accommodations, choose between budget (Abbey Court Hostel, $25/night, with the energy of a college orientation week), mid-range (Wynn’s Hotel, $120/night, offering Victorian charm without Victorian plumbing), or splurge (The Merrion, $350/night, where you might spot Bono having breakfast if you squint hard enough).

Morning activities should begin at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells ($18 entry). Americans obsess over our Constitution in a glass case; the Irish one-up us with an illuminated manuscript featuring artistic details that make the Declaration of Independence look like a hasty text message. The Long Room library above will make you wish Instagram had a filter called “19th Century Academic Grandeur.”

For lunch, Pie Dish on Nassau Street ($15-20) offers portions that respect American appetites while introducing Irish flavors without the shock and awe of dishes like black pudding (blood sausage) that tend to horrify uninitiated visitors from Minneapolis. You’ll need the sustenance for your afternoon activity – the Guinness Storehouse ($30), where Americans invariably attempt to chug their “perfect pint” while locals look on with the same expression parents give toddlers trying to operate electronics.

Evening plans should include Temple Bar area, but with the insider knowledge that you’re paying a tourist tax of approximately $3 per pint ($7-9 in Temple Bar versus $5-6 elsewhere). Consider The Palace Bar or The Auld Dubliner for a slightly less crushing crowd. For a quintessential Dublin photo, catch the Ha’penny Bridge at sunset when fewer tourists are around – a minor miracle in a city where certain streets have a higher tourist-to-local ratio than Disney’s Main Street USA.

Day 2: Dublin to Kilkenny

Leaving Dublin presents a critical decision: brave Irish roads in a rental car (driving on the left through lanes designed for medieval carts) or take the train ($25 one-way) and preserve your sanity. Irish road signs and roundabouts approach transportation as interpretive art rather than the rigid grid systems Americans expect. The roads curve with a whimsy that suggests the original route planners were following a drunken sheep rather than engineering principles.

Kilkenny Castle ($15 entry) delivers actual medieval history, not the American version where “historic” means “built in 1879.” For accommodation, choose between Macgabhainns Backpackers Hostel ($30/night), the mid-range Pembroke Hotel ($130/night), or splurge at Mount Juliet Estate ($290/night) where the staff somehow knows your name before you’ve introduced yourself.

The Smithwick’s Experience ($15) provides a beer education that will make Portland craft beer enthusiasts simultaneously appreciative and indignant that the Irish have been doing this since before America existed. For dinner and music, Kyteler’s Inn ($25-30 per person) offers food, beverages, and the delightful historical footnote that it was once owned by Ireland’s first convicted witch – a conversation starter more interesting than anything in your standard American restaurant.

Insider tip: Visit the Butler Gallery (free entry) housed in a former almshouse. It’s the cultural equivalent of finding money in your coat pocket – unexpected and disproportionately satisfying compared to the effort required.

Day 3: Kilkenny to Cork

Begin with a morning drive to the Rock of Cashel ($8 entry), Ireland’s answer to Dracula’s castle – imposing, ancient, and significantly more authentic than the haunted houses set up in suburban American mall parking lots every October. Its silhouette against the sky explains why early Christians thought this was a good spot to establish authority. “Look up, sinners, and behold our impressive real estate holdings.”

Continue to Cork city (approximately 2 hours from Kilkenny) with strategic stops in villages like Cahir where “quaint” isn’t a marketing term but a genuine description. For accommodations, Sheila’s Hostel ($25/night), mid-range Hotel Isaacs ($140/night), or the luxurious Hayfield Manor ($300/night) provide options for every budget from “college student” to “tech industry sabbatical.”

The English Market offers food exploration with treasures and horrors in equal measure – tripe and drisheen (blood pudding) sitting alongside items that won’t trigger your fight-or-flight response. American comfort foods these are not, but culinary adventure has its own rewards. Climb the bells at St. Anne’s Church ($6) for views and the questionable opportunity to attempt bell-ringing yourself, an activity that should come with a public apology form.

For evening entertainment, Sin é hosts traditional music sessions without cover charge – the Irish equivalent of finding a Broadway-quality show performed for the price of a drink. Cork Coffee Roasters offers salvation for Americans experiencing withdrawal symptoms from their precisely calibrated morning caffeine rituals.

Day 4: Cork to Galway via Cliffs of Moher

This day requires a 5 day Ireland itinerary wardrobe consideration: your “looking fabulous at the Cliffs of Moher” outfit will inevitably meet the reality of wind speeds that can reach 100mph. The approximately 3.5-hour drive demands an early start and significant coffee consumption. The Cliffs themselves ($10 entry) present the greatest disparity between Instagram expectations and meteorological reality in Western Europe. Your carefully planned photo opportunity may transform into a wind-battered survival story.

Stonecutters Kitchen near the Cliffs ($15-20) offers refuge and sustenance before continuing to Galway (1.5 hours) with an optional detour through The Burren’s lunar landscape – a terrain so unusual NASA probably considered it for moon landing practice. For accommodations, choose between Snoozles Hostel ($30/night), mid-range Jury’s Inn ($150/night), or luxury at The G Hotel ($280/night).

Evening in Galway means exploration of Quay Street with mandatory stops at The King’s Head and Tig Cóilí, where traditional music isn’t scheduled entertainment but a spontaneous expression of cultural identity. Insider tip: Galway’s Saturday market offers authentic crafts and foods without the mass-produced leprechaun figurines manufactured in countries that have never experienced St. Patrick’s Day.

Day 5: Galway and Surroundings

Your final day presents two excellent options. Option A: an Aran Islands day trip ($30 ferry return) featuring prehistoric fort Dún Aonghasa and Ireland’s most aggressive sweater shopping opportunities. These aren’t souvenir sweaters; these are heirloom-quality garments that could survive nuclear winter and still look presentable for Sunday dinner.

Option B: Connemara National Park loop with stops at Kylemore Abbey ($15 entry) and fishing villages where time moves with the tides rather than smartphone notifications. For your final Irish meal, McDonagh’s offers fish and chips ($15) that make you question every previous seafood experience, while Ard Bia at Nimmo’s provides upscale Irish cuisine ($35-45) that transforms traditional ingredients into art.

Complete your trip with a traditional music crawl, starting at The Crane Bar around 6pm and migrating to Taaffes by 8pm. Transport options back to Dublin for departure flights include a 3-hour train ($40) or bus ($20), both offering final glimpses of the countryside and time to contemplate souvenir purchases. Avoid anything labeled with shamrocks but manufactured in countries that consider St. Patrick a puzzling foreign concept.

Money-Saving Tips Throughout the Journey

Consider the Heritage Card ($43) if visiting multiple historical sites – it pays for itself faster than you can say “entrance fee.” Tax-free shopping applies to purchases over €75, allowing a VAT refund of 23% – mathematical justification for that hand-knit sweater you’re eyeing. ATMs offer better rates than currency exchange booths, whose commission fees constitute Ireland’s most profitable export after Guinness.

“Early bird” dinner specials (typically 5-7pm) offer 30% discounts at many restaurants – coincidentally timed for Americans still operating on Eastern Standard body clocks. Free museum days throughout Ireland (typically first Wednesday of each month) provide culture without cost. Additionally, tap water is safe and free – no need to buy bottled water as in other European countries, saving both money and plastic turtle-choking guilt.

Safety and Practical Matters

Weather preparation requires layering clothes and waterproof options. Umbrellas function primarily as surrender flags to Irish winds; local raincoats have evolved alongside the climate into actually effective protection. When driving, remember that speed limits post in kilometers rather than miles – that 100 on the sign doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly found Ireland’s autobahn.

Phone service options include purchasing SIM cards for $20 with 10GB data versus paying international roaming fees that could finance a small Irish village for a month. Emergency numbers (999 or 112) connect to services accustomed to helping tourists who have misjudged hiking trails, weather, or their ability to match locals drink for drink.

Pub etiquette includes round-buying customs where each person purchases drinks for the entire group in rotation. American tipping practices (20%) exceed local expectations (10% is standard), meaning you can simultaneously be generous and save money – a rare travel win-win. Remember that Irish “good craic” (fun) often involves gentle mockery; if locals tease you, it means they like you enough to include you in their cultural practice of affectionate verbal sparring.