Looking for ideas and itineraries

Hello everyone

We plan to discover ireland next summer, during 2 weeks in August. We are a family, 2 adults and 2 children (12 and 15)
We will arrive on Cork by the ferries, and we will move by car. We are looking for 4 or 5 places to rent a little house or a flat in order to discover thé area  coming back on the evening at the house. 

Do you have any idea of a nice tour, with places bit to far from places to see around, mostly in the south ? But we want also to go du Dublin during oue irish trip 

Of course, we are looking for ideas on differents websites, but maybe you will have nice ideas to share ?

And don't forget to share nice tips for accommodation, restaurants, typical pub, brewery..

Thank you so much !

Bonjour Eric,

How nice that you are planning to spend next Summer here on the Emerald Isle with your family! Travelling by car and picking a few bases is a great way to explore Ireland at a relaxed pace, especially with teenagers.

First of all, here are some ideas of charming towns and villages along the Wild Atlantic Way (where you'll start your journey) and in Ireland's Ancient East (where Dublin is). This should give you a few options to choose from.

I would personally try to space my bases evenly to avoid longer drives. You could perhaps make your first stop in West Cork (Clonakilty, Baltimore), then County Kerry (Dingle town, Killarney), then continue to County Clare or County Galway (perhaps in Doolin, Galway or Clifden), then reach Dublin (perhaps stay along the coast) and finally a stop before going back to Cork, such as The Wicklow Mountains or Kilkenny for instance. Each of these stops has plenty of day trip options, which I linked above whenever applicable. If you want more suggestions and have an idea of driving times between places, our trip ideas page might help you.

For restaurants and dish suggestions, we have some right here, but I can definitely suggest a few more once you decide on an itinerary. One thing you can check out for sure are traditional music pubs (kids are allowed until 10 pm in the summer if they want to listen to music). For accommodation, I can suggest B&Bs to have a taste of Irish hospitality (and a good breakfast)

I hope these suggestions help you see things a bit clearer! We also have activities for families right here that could help you pick day trips. Please let us know what you had in mind for your itinerary and if some of these places interest you or if you have any "must-sees"

A bientôt et une bonne année 2026 !

Antoine