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Posted Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:54 AM
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Group: Community Member
Last Active: Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:54 AM
Visits: 126
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Hello, I'm Valentina from Italy!
I'm going to study English in Cork starting at the end of September.
I would like to travel during the weekends, and also at the end of the course.
I'm going to visit Ireland from 19th December, my flight to come back to Italy from Dublin is on 24th December at 14:30
What is the best tour for those days? Which cities should I visit? And what natural places?
Thanks all of you!
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Posted Sat 5 Sep 2026 8:33 AM
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Island of Ireland
Posts: 276
Group: Community Moderator
Last Active: 2 days ago @ 7:59 AM
Visits: 16.7K
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Ciao Valentina! Cork is a great place to be based for a few months, especially if you’d like to explore Ireland at the weekends. You can easily mix day trips with a few weekends away, rather than trying to see everything at once. - Blarney Castle, Kinsale, and Cobh are easy trips from Cork and make for lovely days out;
- Killarney and the Ring of Kerry are worth dedicating a full weekend to, especially if you enjoy nature. Killarney National Park, Muckross House, Torc Waterfall and Ross Castle are some good places to start;
- Dingle Peninsula is another great weekend option, with beautiful coastal scenery and a very different atmosphere from Cork. For something a little wilder, look at West Cork, particularly around Clonakilty, Skibbereen and the coast towards Baltimore.
- Limerick and the Cliffs of Moher could also make a good weekend trip. You can combine the city with the Burren and the Atlantic coast. Also, I’d recommend spending a whole weekend visiting the Aran Islands.
September and October are particularly good months for getting out into nature, so I’d use those weekends for longer coastal walks and national parks. As you get closer to winter, shorter trips and city breaks become easier to enjoy. For your 19–24 December trip, I’d avoid packing too much into the itinerary. Days are short and Christmas opening hours can affect attractions and transport, so having a few bases rather than changing hotels every night will make things much easier. One option could be: - 19-21th of December - travel to Galway and spend the afternoon and evening in the city. It’s a lovely place to experience Ireland in the run-up to Christmas, with plenty of pubs, music and places to eat.
- 22-24th of December - make your way to Dublin and stay overnight there. If you have time, you could make a stop at Clonmacnoise or Athlone on the way to Dublin. Alternatively, go straight to Dublin and enjoy your last evenings.
And one important thing for December: check opening times and public transport carefully before setting off, as Christmas can change normal schedules quite a bit. A little flexibility will also help if the Irish weather decides to have its own plans. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, you can also write in Italian. Happy planning!
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