We spent about two weeks driving Ireland on our last trip, from Dublin through Connemara, Clare, and Kerry. This 10-day Ireland honeymoon itinerary comes straight off those roads, and it answers the question most couples ask: is 10 days enough? It is, as long as you don’t try to see the whole island.
We did it by campervan, but a rental car works exactly the same on this route, and it’s the easier choice for a first trip. You get a hotel bed at the end of each day and you’re not reversing a van down a boreen in the dark.
The trick with 10 days is picking a handful of bases and doing day trips out from each, rather than packing and repacking every morning. Slow it down. This is a honeymoon, not a checklist.
Below I’ll walk you through the route day by day, the best time of year to come, where to stay if you want a castle hotel or a quieter retreat, what driving in Ireland is actually like as a couple, and the stops I’d cut first if you’re short on time.
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Quick Answer:
This Ireland honeymoon itinerary runs 10 days as a loop from Dublin through Galway, Connemara, County Clare and the Ring of Kerry, then back via the Wicklow Mountains. You base in a few spots and drive day trips out from each, mixing castle hotels with coastal B&Bs. Late May to September gives the longest days and mildest weather.
Best Time of Year to Honeymoon in Ireland
If you want the easy answer, aim for late spring or early fall. May, June, and September give you the longest days, the mildest weather, and prices that haven’t hit peak. That’s the sweet spot for an Ireland honeymoon itinerary.
July and August are warmest and busiest. You’ll get the most daylight and the liveliest towns, but you’ll also pay the most and fight for a table. Book your castle hotel and any big-name restaurant months out if you come in high summer.
We drove the route in shoulder season, from late September into early October, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. The crowds thin right out, the fall light on the coast is great for photos, and the pubs still had trad sessions going most nights.
The trade-off with autumn
Shoulder season is a trade. We drove the Ring of Kerry under low cloud with a named storm coming in, and the big viewpoints weren’t at their best. The Cliffs of Moher were overcast the day we hiked out from Doolin too.
None of that ruined the trip. Rain in Ireland is just part of the deal, and it usually blows through in an hour. But if clear coastal views are the whole reason you’re coming, weight your dates toward June and pack layers regardless of the month.
Winter is the quietest and cheapest, and I’d steer honeymooners away from it. Short days, a lot of rain, and some rural spots and smaller boat trips shut down. The warm-pub-on-a-cold-night picture is real, but you lose too much daylight for a driving trip.
My pick for a first Ireland honeymoon is September. You get warm-enough days, long-enough evenings, fewer people at every stop, and the shoulder-season prices leave more room in the budget for a nicer room.
The 10-Day Ireland Honeymoon Itinerary
Here’s the route we’d send a couple on, day by day. It bases you in a few spots and does day trips out from each, so you unpack less and drive smarter. Every stop below works the same by rental car as it did in our van.
Day 1: Arrive in Dublin
Fly in, drop your bags, and don’t try to do anything clever on day one. We stayed at Fitzsimons in Temple Bar on arrival and walked straight into Darkey Kelly’s on Fishamble Street for a first pint.
Temple Bar is touristy and you’ll pay more for a Guinness there, but it’s a fun first night when you’re jet-lagged and just want music and food within stumbling distance of the bed.
Day 2: Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse
Give Dublin a full day before you drive west. The Trinity College grounds are free to wander, and the campus around the Campanile and Parliament Square is worth an hour even before you pay to see the Book of Kells.
The Guinness Storehouse is the classic afternoon, and it earns the hype for the rooftop Gravity Bar pour. If you prefer whiskey, do what we did and book the Jameson Distillery tour on Bow Street instead. The glass-ceiling bar and the tasting flight are worth the ticket.
👉 Read our full guide to the Guinness Storehouse.
Day 3: Galway and the Aran Islands
Drive across to Galway and make it your base for a couple of nights. We stepped out of the taxi our first evening and heard trad music coming from Monroe’s Tavern on Dominick Street. We walked in to find 20 people mid-session, and that was our first ten minutes in the city.
Get chips from Prátaí on Shop Street and eat them walking, and end up in Tig Coilí for more music. One tip from our last trip: book the good restaurants ahead. We couldn’t get into Kai or Oscar’s Seafood Bistro and regretted leaving it to chance.
The Aran Islands are the standout day trip from here, reached by ferry from the coast. We didn’t make it out to them and that’s near the top of my list for next time, so if the weather’s good, take the boat. If you’d rather not sort the logistics yourself, you can book the Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher cruise on GetYourGuide and let the boat do the work.
Day 4: Connemara and Kylemore Abbey
This was the highlight of our whole trip. Drive the N59 west out of Galway through Connemara National Park, all bog and heath with the Twelve Bens rising up around you. Stop at the pull-outs, there’s no rush.
Kylemore Abbey sits on a lake with the Victorian walled garden behind it, and the reflection shot is as good as everyone says. In Clifden, stop at Guy’s Seafood Bar for chowder, the best we ate anywhere in Ireland.
We camped at Clifden Eco Beach with the van facing the Atlantic, lit a bonfire, and I swam in the ocean in shoulder season. It was colder than it looked but clearer and bluer than I expected. If you’re in a car, Clifden town has plenty of B&Bs for the night.
Day 5: Drive to County Clare and the Cliffs of Moher
Head south into County Clare and base yourself in or near Doolin. We stayed at Nagle’s, walking distance from both the pubs and the cliff trailhead, which makes an easy evening after a long drive.
The move here is to walk the coastal path from Doolin rather than just park at the visitor center. The trail hugs the cliff edge with a sheer drop to the ocean on one side and cows grazing on the farmland on the other. Dress in layers and wear proper shoes, the wind never really stops.
Have dinner at Gus O’Connor’s, a pub open since 1832. We had fish, chips, and mussels there and it’s a great spot for a pint after the hike.
Day 6: The Burren and Coastal Clare
Take the R478 up into the Burren, a stretch of cracked limestone pavement that looks like nowhere else in Ireland. It hides ancient tombs like Poulnabrone dolmen and small pockets of wildflowers between the rocks.
If you’d rather trade one famous cliff for a wilder one, drive out to Loop Head Peninsula. It impressed us more than the main Cliffs of Moher viewpoint. The black sea cliffs are more dramatic, there are far fewer people, and our photos out there came out better.
Days 7-8: The Ring of Kerry
Give Kerry two nights so you’re not rushing the drive. Base in Killarney or Kenmare and run the Ring of Kerry on the N70, going clockwise from Killarney to keep the tour buses off your bumper.
The underrated stop is Staigue Fort, an Iron Age dry-stone ring fort hidden up a narrow boreen off the main road. Most cars drive straight past the turn. We had one of Ireland’s best ancient forts almost entirely to ourselves, and it’s worth the detour.
Kenmare is a colorful little town for a coffee or a pub stop, and the Bronze Age stone circle sits just off the main street among the shops. Two nights here also gives you room to swing over to the Dingle Peninsula if the weather cooperates. If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else that day, you can book the Dingle and Slea Head day tour on GetYourGuide straight from Killarney.
Day 9: The Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough
Point the car back east toward Dublin and break the drive in the Wicklow Mountains. Glendalough is the stop to make, a glacial valley with two lakes and the remains of a 6th-century monastic settlement, including a round tower that still stands.
Walk one of the marked lakeside trails and give it a couple of hours. After a week of coast, the still water and the forest make a nice change of pace before your last night near the city. If you’ve already dropped the car back, you can still reach it on a day trip and book a Wicklow and Glendalough day tour on GetYourGuide out of Dublin.
Day 10: Final Morning and Departure
Keep the last morning light. Return the rental car with time to spare, and if you’re flying out of Dublin, have a final Guinness at the airport. It’s a small tradition and a good one.
If you’ve got a few spare hours before your flight, the Smithfield and Stoneybatter side of Dublin is worth a wander. We wished we’d given it more time, so build it in if the schedule allows.
Where to Stay: Castle Hotels and Romantic Retreats
We slept in the van most nights, so I won’t pretend we tested the castle hotels. But the route above bases you in a few clear spots, and each one has a room worth spending on for a honeymoon if that’s the plan.
My advice is simple: pick one or two nights to splurge on something special and keep the rest practical. A good B&B near the coast does the job most evenings, and you save the budget for the one room you’ll actually remember.
Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle sits on Lough Corrib up in County Mayo, and it’s the full turreted-castle version of the honeymoon splurge. It’s the expensive end and it books out well ahead, so if you want it, lock the date in months before you fly and build the rest of the route around it.
👉 View Ashford Castle Availability and Pricing
Dromoland Castle
Dromoland Castle in County Clare puts you close to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren on your Clare days. It’s another real castle stay at the top of the budget, so book early and treat it as the anchor your dates are built around.
👉 View Dromoland Castle Availability and Pricing
Ballynahinch Castle Hotel
Ballynahinch Castle Hotel sits in the woods near Recess in Connemara, along the same N59 stretch we drove, and it fits Day 4 of the route. It’s a country-house hotel rather than a fairytale turret, which suits that wooded corner of Connemara, and it’s the more relaxed castle option of the three.
If a castle night is on the list, check rates early, because the good rooms go first.
👉 View Ballynahinch Castle Hotel Availability and Pricing
Quieter retreats and coastal B&Bs
Not every night has to be grand. Clifden town is full of B&Bs a short walk from the pubs, and it makes a warm, easy base for the Connemara section without the castle price tag.
Down in Kerry, Kenmare is my pick for a romantic base over busier Killarney. It’s a small colorful town with good pubs and restaurants, and you can run the Ring of Kerry out from it and come back to somewhere calm each evening.
Wherever you land, book the coastal places early. We found that out with restaurants in Galway, and rooms in the popular towns go the same way in shoulder season and summer alike.
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Driving in Ireland: What Couples Should Know
Driving is the part most couples worry about before they come, and it’s fine once you settle in. You drive on the left, most rental cars are manual with the shifter in your left hand, and the first hour feels backwards. By the end of day one it stops being a thing you think about.
If you’ve only ever driven an automatic, pay the extra and book one. Wrestling a stick shift with your off hand while also relearning which side of the road you’re on is a lot to take on together on your honeymoon. Book it early too, automatics are limited and go first. We usually compare car hire deals on Discover Cars to line up an automatic before prices climb.
The roads are narrow, and that’s the fun of it
The famous routes are wide and easy. The N59 through Connemara and the N70 around Kerry are proper roads with room for two cars and a tour bus. It’s the small stuff that catches couples out.
The R478 up into the Burren and the little boreens out to places like Staigue Fort narrow down to one lane with grass up the middle and stone walls on both sides. When a car comes the other way, one of you reverses to the nearest wide spot. It’s normal, and a wave and a nod sorts it out every time.
Split the jobs as a couple. One drives, one navigates and watches for oncoming cars on the blind bends. Swap over when whoever’s driving has had enough, and don’t try to do a huge day behind the wheel after a night in the pub.
Parking, towns, and getting around
Don’t try to drive into the middle of the towns. Galway in particular is a headache to park in, so we left the van on the edge and taxied in using the FreeNow app, which is how a lot of visitors get around. Do the same with any rental and you’ll save yourself circling the same streets.
Fuel is sold by the liter and it isn’t cheap, so build gas into the budget. Roundabouts come thick and fast and you go clockwise around them, which feels odd for about a day and then clicks.
Take the tolls and the speed limits seriously, and know that rural limits are often posted higher than you’d ever actually want to drive a twisting coast road. Go at your own pace, pull over for photos, and let the fast local traffic by. Nobody’s timing you.
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What to Pack for an Ireland Honeymoon
Pack for four seasons in one day, because that’s what Ireland gives you. The single most useful thing you can bring is layers you can pull on and off without thinking, plus a real waterproof jacket that isn’t just water-resistant.
The rain is rarely the drama people expect. It blows in, soaks you for twenty minutes, and clears. But the wind on the coast is constant, so a jacket with a hood beats an umbrella every time. An umbrella turns inside out on the first cliff path.
The essentials that actually earn their space
- A proper waterproof shell jacket, not a fashion one, for both of you.
- Waterproof or broken-in hiking shoes for the coastal walks and the wet grass at ruins like Glendalough.
- Warm layers: a sweater and a light fleece, even in summer, for cool coastal evenings.
- A swimsuit, because the Atlantic is swimmable in shoulder season if you’re brave, and plenty of hotels have a spa.
- A day bag small enough to carry on the cliff trails while your main luggage stays in the car.
For the nice dinners and the castle-hotel splurge, throw in one smart outfit each. Most Irish restaurants are relaxed, but a few of the fancier country-house hotels like a collar at dinner, so pack one thing you’d feel good in.
The small stuff couples forget
Bring a power adapter for Irish three-pin sockets and a car phone mount. You’ll be running Google Maps on every drive, and a phone sliding around the dash while you take a narrow bend is the last thing you want as the navigator.
Pack light overall. You’re living out of the car for most of the trip, and lifting two giant suitcases in and out of a small rental boot at every B&B gets old fast. One medium case each and a day bag is plenty for 10 days.
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- Clifden Ireland: The Hidden Heart of Connemara
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Best Tours for an Ireland Honeymoon
If you’d rather hand off the driving on a day or two of this route, these are the guided trips that line up with the bases above. Each one saves you a long drive and the hassle of sorting ferries or parking yourself.
Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher Cruise from Galway
This full-day trip from Galway ferries you out to Inis Mór for a few hours on the largest Aran Island, then cruises along the base of the Cliffs of Moher on the way back for the view you usually only get from the top. It covers the day-trip we never managed to fit in ourselves, with the ferry and the cliff cruise both sorted for you.
👉 Check Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher Cruise from Galway Availability and Reviews
Dingle and Slea Head Peninsula Day Tour from Killarney
This one runs out of Killarney and loops the Dingle Peninsula and the Slea Head Drive, the narrow coast road we’d tell you to swing over to on your Kerry days if the weather holds. Letting a driver take the single-lane stretches means you both get to watch the coast instead of watching for oncoming cars.
👉 See what’s included on the Dingle and Slea Head Peninsula Day Tour from Killarney
Wicklow, Glendalough and Kilkenny Day Tour from Dublin
This full-day trip out of Dublin covers the Wicklow Mountains, the monastic ruins and lakes at Glendalough, and medieval Kilkenny in one loop. It’s the tour to book for your Day 9 if you’ve already dropped the rental car and still want to see Glendalough before you fly home.
👉 Check dates and prices for the Wicklow, Glendalough and Kilkenny Day Tour from Dublin
In short
- A 10-day loop covers Dublin, Galway, Connemara, County Clare, Kerry and Wicklow.
- September is the best month: warm-enough days, thinner crowds and shoulder-season prices.
- Base in a few towns and drive day trips out, instead of repacking every morning.
- Book one or two castle-hotel nights early: Ashford, Dromoland and Ballynahinch sell out.
- Hire an automatic car in advance, since automatics are limited and go first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 10 days enough for an Ireland honeymoon?
Yes, as long as you stick to one side of the island. This route runs Dublin, Galway, Connemara, Clare, and Kerry, and 10 days lets you slow down instead of packing every morning. Trying to add the whole north or the far southeast on top is where couples burn their days in the car. Do less and enjoy it more.
Do we need a rental car?
For this route, yes. The best of Ireland is the coast road, Connemara, and the little detours like Loop Head and Staigue Fort, and none of it runs on public transport in any reasonable way. Book an automatic if you’ve never driven a manual, and book it early. Automatics are limited and go first.
What’s the best month for an Ireland honeymoon?
September is my pick. You get warm-enough days, long-enough evenings, thinner crowds, and shoulder-season prices that leave more in the budget for a nicer room. If clear coastal views are the whole reason you’re coming, lean toward June instead. Either way, pack layers and a real waterproof.
Should we splurge on a castle hotel?
Pick one or two nights for it, not the whole trip. Ashford, Dromoland, and Ballynahinch are real castle and country-house stays, and they book out months ahead in summer. Keep the other nights practical in a good coastal B&B and put the saved money toward the one room you’ll actually remember.
Do we need to book restaurants ahead?
In the popular towns, yes. We couldn’t get into Kai or Oscar’s Seafood Bistro in Galway because we left it to chance, and the good rooms in those towns go the same way. Book your castle hotel, any big-name restaurant, and your rental car well before you fly. Pub food you can always walk into.
Final Thoughts
Ten days on this side of Ireland is plenty for a honeymoon, as long as you resist the urge to add more. Pick your bases, slow the driving down, and let the days out from each one carry the trip.
The parts we’d send you back for aren’t the famous ones. Connemara on the N59 was the best stretch we drove, and the quiet detours like Loop Head and Staigue Fort beat the big-ticket viewpoints for us.
Book the things that sell out first, the automatic car, one castle night if you want it, and the good restaurants in Galway. Then leave the rest loose. Some of our best evenings were the ones we didn’t plan.
Bring layers, split the driving jobs between you, and don’t measure the trip by how much you crossed off. This is your honeymoon. Have the extra pint, take the long way around, and let Ireland set the pace.
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