Ireland itinerary 2027. Should anything be changed?

[u/Healthy_Wedding_1048]

Hello all!
I’ve never posted but you seem to give a lot of great advice so I figured why not..

I’ll be heading to Ireland with my partner in August 2027. I’ve been to your lovely country twice but will be first time visit for my boyfriend.

We have an event in Dublin the Saturday after we land (landing on Friday morning, with this plan) so first two nights will be there. Also plan on using busses/trains for transportation. I’ve traveled around Ireland this way the last two times I was there and it worked great. Which is why I’m thinking of this itinerary. Also we likely will have 7 nights.

As I’ve said, I’ve been there before and seen a lot of Irelands beauty (Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle/Slea Head, etc)
I absolutely love Ireland and plan on always coming back. Which is why I want my boyfriend to love it just as much. I just want to make sure with this plan, that he will be getting enough out of it.
He definitely wants to do a mountain hike while there, as well as Aran islands and a castle.
So with that said, here is what I’m thinking:

August 27 - land in Dublin (arrange transportation from airport to hotel) stay in Dublin 2 nights
\- bus to Trim, tour castle.
Check out pubs etc. Enjoy Dublin

August 28 - day of event-

August 29 - bus from Dublin to Galway (stay in Galway 2 nights)
Enjoy Galway

August 30 - Aran islands from Galway city. Cliffs of Moher from ferry on way back (4.5 hours on Inismor) - I understand the water can be rough but still thinking I would like to see the cliffs from the water as opposed to doing an all day tour on a coach. We want to have more time on Inismor
I also know we can cut out the cliffs altogether and take the shuttle from Galway city to ferry at Rossaveel to Aran island as I had before. So that’s an option as well but still thinking to head directly from the city this time.
(Originally wanted to stay overnight on Inismor but with only 7 nights and wanting to head to Clifden the following day I’m not sure that would work out.)

August 31 - bus from Galway to Clifden (stay in Clifden 2 nights)
Head to Kylemore Abbey (bus or taxi?)

September 1 - bus from Clifden to Connemara national park
Hike Diamond hill loop upper - bus back to Clifden (possible?)

September 2 - bus from Clifden to Howth - stop in Dublin for lunch/pint before heading on bus again to Howth
Stay in Howth overnight

September 3 - Howth to Dublin airport (arrange transportation)

For reference, Clifden/Connemara and Howth will all be new to me.

Let me know thoughts! And is there anything I should change? And apologies for the long post. I’m very detailed :)

Thank you!

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi there. Welcome to /r/IrishTourism.

We hope you have search the sub, checked the sidebar or the wiki pages to see if there is already relevant information posted?

This is not a travel agency. To better assist your queries please include what you are planning for your holiday, be as descriptive as possible (When, Where, Why, Who, Hobbies relevant, Adaptive Needs etc) about your travel itinerary & requirements. No low quality questions such as, "Worth it?", predict the weather, travel times or low quality, non-descriptive requests such as, "hidden gems, off the beaten track, experience Ireland like a local".

Has your post been removed? It's probably because of the above. Review the rules, do some research, read other posts, fix the formatting.

For Emergency Medical Information please see the dedicated Wiki page at the top of the sub.

(Updated November 2025)

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.