What to Do in Ireland for 14 Days: A Fortnight of Mischief, Myths, and Memorable Pints

Your Road Map: What To Do In Ireland For 14 Days Without Losing Your Sanity (Or Passport)

Fourteen days in Ireland presents the perfect interval between a rushed highlights tour and an extended sabbatical. This carefully plotted itinerary delivers a blend of iconic must-sees and hidden treasures that will make American visitors feel both wonderfully foreign and surprisingly at home. The route allows moderate driving distances between major hubs while providing ample time to pause when a particularly photogenic sheep demands attention.

Days 1-3: Dublin’s Literary Legacy and Coastal Escapes

Begin where most Irish adventures do—in Dublin, a city where literary giants have spilled more ink than bartenders have spilled Guinness. While Trinity College’s Old Library and the Book of Kells ($20) rightfully draw crowds, the lesser-known Marsh’s Library ($5) offers the unique experience of browsing where readers were once locked in “cages” with valuable books—presumably the 18th-century solution to Amazon’s “look inside” feature. The building remains virtually unchanged since 1707, making it the literary equivalent of finding an untouched time capsule.

As evening approaches, skip the crushing tourist thoroughfare of Temple Bar on weekend nights, when it transforms into Ireland’s bachelor party theme park with the authentic charm of a Lucky Charms commercial. Instead, join a literary pub crawl ($25) where professional actors perform works by Joyce, Beckett, and Wilde between establishments where these writers actually drank, argued, and occasionally paid their tabs. For maximum enjoyment with minimum crowd battle, visit Temple Bar on weekday mornings when the cobblestones aren’t sticky and the street musicians haven’t yet reached their full volume.

Day trips from Dublin reveal why Irish people consider 30 miles a significant journey. The coastal village of Howth offers cliff walks resembling Maine’s rugged shores, but with the added attraction of 800-year-old abbey ruins where medieval monks presumably contemplated the same waves. The seafood here rivals anything in Boston’s finest establishments but comes with Atlantic views unmarred by skyscrapers. Alternatively, the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough monastic site (1.5 hours from Dublin, $8 parking) provide a spiritual quietude that explains why early Christians found Ireland so appealing for contemplation—before everyone discovered whiskey.

Accommodation options span from the gloriously excessive Shelbourne ($450+/night), where you’ll sleep near rooms where the Irish Constitution was drafted, to the centrally located Kelly’s Hotel ($180/night), to dorm beds at Abbey Court Hostel ($30/night) where the included breakfast will fortify you for urban exploration.

Days 4-6: Galway and the Wild Atlantic Way

Transitioning westward requires decisions about transportation that reveal one’s true character. The bus or train from Dublin to Galway (3 hours, $30) allows peaceful contemplation of the surprisingly green midlands, while rental cars ($40-70/day plus $20-30 daily insurance) grant freedom but require adapting to left-side driving—an adventure comparable to voluntarily writing with your non-dominant hand while someone occasionally shouts directions in Gaelic.

Galway itself feels like what would happen if Berkeley, California were compressed into medieval streets and subjected to 200 days of annual rainfall. The pedestrianized center bursts with buskers, colorful shopfronts, and enough traditional music venues to make Nashville question its credentials. The Crane Bar offers nightly sessions with no cover charge (though the unspoken two-drink minimum seems reasonable considering the quality of musicianship that unfolds in its intimate upstairs room).

What to do in Ireland for 14 days must include coastal exploration. Day trips to Connemara National Park (free entry, $4 parking) reveal landscapes so dramatically barren they appear deliberately designed for melancholy Instagram posts. Nearby Kylemore Abbey ($20) presents the incongruous sight of a Victorian mansion nestled among mountains seemingly stolen from Montana, complete with walled gardens where even Americans with notorious black thumbs feel inspired to attempt horticulture.

The Cliffs of Moher ($10 entry) deliver the vertical Atlantic drama promised in travel brochures, though sharing the experience with tour buses from every corner of Europe somewhat dilutes the spiritual impact. Informed travelers might instead visit the less-celebrated but equally spectacular Cliffs of Slieve League—higher than their famous counterparts and frequented primarily by sheep who remain unimpressed by the 2,000-foot drop to the crashing Atlantic below.

For accommodations, consider the Galmont Hotel ($200/night) with its harbor views, the centrally located Jury’s Inn ($120/night), or the clean, well-managed Snoozles Hostel ($35/night).

Days 7-9: Cork and Kerry’s Peninsular Paradise

Traveling southward reveals Ireland’s remarkable regional personalities. Cork City proudly refers to itself as the “real capital” with the conviction of someone who has clearly won an argument no one else is having. Its English Market (dating from 1788) resembles Seattle’s Pike Place but with stalls selling black pudding, tripe, and crubeens (pig’s feet)—foods that demonstrate the Irish tradition of utilizing animal parts Americans typically prefer to remain ignorant about.

Nearby Blarney Castle ($20) transcends its kiss-the-stone tourist gimmick with surprisingly extensive grounds featuring poison gardens, prehistoric stone circles, and woodland walks where visitors can contemplate why they just paid to kiss a rock that thousands of others have also kissed. Public health concerns aside, the castle’s medieval construction impresses even visitors from countries where “old” typically means “built before Netflix.”

The Ring of Kerry driving route has adorned Irish tourism materials since before color photography existed, but the less-trafficked Beara Peninsula delivers equally stunning coastal scenery without the parades of tour buses. Killarney National Park (free) offers lakes, mountains, and the occasional wandering red deer, like a compact version of Colorado but with 19th-century mansions instead of marijuana dispensaries. Boat trips on the lakes ($25 per person) provide the unique perspective of mountains reflected in waters where monks once hid from Viking raiders.

For accommodations in the region, options range from Hayfield Manor ($300+/night) with its old-world charm, to the architecturally interesting Hotel Isaacs ($150/night), to Sheila’s Hostel ($32/night) where international travelers exchange tips about which pubs have the best traditional music sessions.

Days 10-12: Northern Ireland’s Complex Beauty

Crossing into Northern Ireland involves changing pounds sterling but requires no passport control—the only indication often being subtle differences in road signs and a sudden proliferation of Union Jacks or Irish Tricolors depending on the neighborhood. Belfast’s Titanic Museum ($25) delivers six floors of exhibits about a ship primarily famous for sinking, while the more intimate SS Nomadic experience ($15) offers access to the Titanic’s actual tender ship, providing a tangible connection to the era.

Understanding Northern Ireland’s complex history becomes accessible through Black Cab political tours ($50 per person), where knowledgeable drivers explain Belfast’s murals and peace walls with remarkable even-handedness. These tours somehow transform “The Troubles” from an abstract historical concept into comprehensible human experiences without simplifying the underlying complexities.

Northern Ireland’s coastal attractions include the geometric basalt columns of Giant’s Causeway ($15)—like a massive hexagonal tile installation created by either ancient volcanic activity or, according to legend, an Irish giant building a pathway to Scotland. Nearby, the swaying Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge ($12) tests the courage of those who claim not to fear heights. Game of Thrones filming locations dot the region, with the atmospheric Dark Hedges (free) and Ballintoy Harbour (free) allowing fans to stand precisely where Arya Stark and Theon Greyjoy once stood, albeit with significantly less danger and better catering.

Accommodation options include the opulent Merchant Hotel ($280/night) housed in a former bank, the reliable Premier Inn ($110/night) for mid-range comfort, or Vagabonds Hostel ($25/night) for budget travelers.

Days 13-14: Full Circle to Dublin

When considering what to do in Ireland for 14 days, a circular route provides efficient use of limited time. Returning to Dublin, detour to Newgrange and the Boyne Valley prehistoric sites ($10 entry, advance booking essential) where 5,200-year-old passage tombs predate the Egyptian pyramids by centuries. These structures, aligned with the winter solstice sunrise, remind visitors that the ancient Irish were sophisticated astronomers, not just enthusiastic consumers of fermented beverages as modern stereotypes might suggest.

Last-minute shopping opportunities in Dublin include Irish design stores like Avoca and Kilkenny Design, where handcrafted items offer more lasting souvenirs than mass-produced leprechaun figurines. Non-EU visitors spending over €75 can reclaim sales tax, providing the mathematical challenge of calculating whether the refund justifies carrying additional purchases through multiple airports.

For your final evening, The Winding Stair restaurant ($60/person) serves contemporary Irish cuisine above a beloved bookshop, while a final pint at Mulligan’s ($6)—a pub so authentic it seems allergic to tourism—offers proper closure to the Irish experience. Choose accommodations near the airport for early departures, or centrally for one final night of urban exploration.

Dublin Airport’s US preclearance facility means clearing American customs and immigration before departure—arriving in the US as a domestic passenger but requiring arrival three hours before your flight. This system elegantly combines the efficiency of advance processing with the anxiety of potentially missing your flight.

Transportation Strategies for the Circular Route

Navigating this ambitious itinerary requires clear-eyed assessment of transportation options. Rental cars provide freedom but come with challenges beyond cost ($40-70/day plus $15-30 daily insurance). Manual transmission vehicles dominate the market, with automatic options commanding a $15 daily premium. Irish roads range from excellent motorways to rural lanes barely wide enough for a single vehicle plus ambitious sheep. American drivers accustomed to wide lanes and logical urban planning will find themselves using previously undiscovered prayer skills when meeting tour buses on coastal curves.

Public transportation offers stress reduction and impressive coverage of major destinations. Irish Rail ($18-65 depending on route) connects cities with comfortable service, while Bus Éireann ($15-40 for intercity routes) reaches smaller towns and villages. Within Dublin, the DART coastal train ($4) and Luas tram ($3.50) efficiently connect neighborhoods without the parking challenges that make driving in the capital as appealing as performing dental work on yourself.

Guided tour options eliminate logistical headaches while adding educational content, though they sacrifice the spontaneity that often produces the most memorable experiences. The ideal approach for many visitors combines public transportation between major hubs with selected day tours to reach remote attractions—a compromise delivering flexibility without requiring navigation skills normally reserved for military operations.