First International Trip to Ireland for a Solo Canadian!

Hello, lovely community on the Ireland Tourism page, I'm Lauren! I'm planning my first solo trip across the seas to see your rolling green hills. I've dreamt of doing this since I was a kid, and finally I'm done waiting and I'm coming over. Alone. It'll be a trip to remember with Me, Myself and I.

That said, I'm dying to hear everyone's opinions on what I should do while I'm here. My trip is from September 10-26 (part of my birthday gift for the 13th) 2026 and I know the weather can be mild with rain for the most part. My basic idea so far is to land in Dublin and leave from Dublin. 
Ideally I hope to travel counter-clockwise from Dublin to Belfast-Galway-Cork-Dublin. I'm not sure if that is a good idea or not. My mother refuses to believe I can drive while over there, so she thinks I should tour bus or cab/train everywhere. I'm not even sure if that's possible.
The sights I'm dying to see are: - The Giant's Causeway - Cliffs of Moher -Dublin Temple Bar Street -Trinity College Library (not really for the Book of Kells, but to see the library!) - Belfast -Galway -Cork

I've never travelled on my own before, and I'm a rather lax person. I don't want to stress myself over time constraints and the like, but I do want to see all that you'd recommend.
Fair warning though, I'm a strange one. I want to see the world and smell the air, see the sights, take a step in someone else's path... Just be part of something else for a little bit.

If anyone has any good ideas on what else a solo Canadian should do, please let me know. Or tips on where to stay and how far ahead should I book things. I hope hostels and B&B's are welcoming for random drop-ins. (More than anything I'm hoping my flight doesn't get cancelled with the fuel things going on...)

Thanks so much for reading!

LF

Hello Lauren!

It's great to welcome you here to the community and for your time with us in September. Our weather at that time of year is usually quite nice, still sunny most of the time, and the shorter days are starting to come in.

Your plan to land and leave through Dublin is good, and there is nothing wrong with travelling anticlockwise as you tour the island of Ireland. A few days in and around the city sounds excellent, with plenty of things to see and do. Trinity College is a super place to visit. I would recommend booking online as there are timed slots throughout the day. Our accommodation page is a handy place to find your accommodations. Just scroll down to the Where do you want to stay section and use the filters to refine your search by type and location. It is always recommended to book ahead, but at that time of year, you may have more luck with the "spur of the moment" booking. The first and last are the most important to make sure you have these in place.

As far as getting around is concerned, there are plenty of public transport options, from buses, trains, taxis, and day tours. Transport for Ireland has a handy journey planner to help you find the best way to get from A to B. From Dublin, the bus or train takes about 2 hours city to city. For travel to Northern Ireland, you will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in your passport. One option to get around in the city is the City Sightseeing bus, which even goes to the Giant's Causeway as a day trip. There is no direct transport from Belfast to Galway; you will need to travel via Dublin, so a look at the Transport for Ireland journey planner will give you some options. It's about a 5-hour trip, but you will get to see lots of countryside on the way.

As part of our day tours website search, there are plenty of choices to get you to where you want for the day. For the Cliffs of Moher from Galway, there are the Galway Tour Company, Lally Tours, and if you want to go it alone, Bus Éireann service 350 will take you there too!

The journey from Galway to Cork is best by bus, with a couple of options from CityLink or Bus Éireann. While in County Cork, local services will be available to get you to places to see.

The trip back to Dublin, depending on the time of your flight, can be via the city or straight back to the airport, CityLink has a 707 service to help with that.

Hopefully, that has all helped, plenty to look at and consider. Let us know if you need more help! ☺️