We finally checked Ireland off our list with a five day jaunt around some of the country’s biggest highlights, only to put it right back on our list because there’s still so much to see. Ireland in September was truly incredible! My mom and my husband’s mom also accompanied us on our trip, and it was both their first time visiting this part of the world, so we began our trip in London (which I feel everyone needs to visit at least once in their life if possible!). We’ve already been to London (and I covered it extensively on the blog here and here), so I mainly want to recap our time in Ireland.
We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time, so without further ado, let’s get into everything we saw, ate, and did in Ireland in September!
Weather + What to Wear in Ireland in September
One of the toughest parts of planning this trip was planning around the notoriously tricky Irish weather! We ended up having the perfect weather almost every day, and even when it was raining, it only added to the atmosphere. The highs were in the very low 70sF and the lows were around 55F each day, and we never felt very cold or like we needed more than a light sweater, but layering and bringing a rain jacket was key.
If you’re curious where I got any of the outfits pictured below, I highly recommend renting clothes for vacation through nuuly – my nuuly review here and a discount code for $30 off here!
Galway
We took one of the earliest flights from LHR to Dublin, and immediately hopped in a rental car for Galway. Rather than starting our trip in Dublin, we wanted to take advantage of already being at the airport where the big rental car center is and begin our trip on the road. Plus, we had already spent a few days in busy London, so it was nice to get to the “countryside” for a few days.
Galway met every single expectation I had of Ireland and then some. It’s a bit of a tourist hot spot, so definitely expect a crowd, but the natural beauty and old world charm of the streets made the crowds easy to overlook!
Where to stay in Galway?
I cannot recommend The Dean Galway enough. We only stayed for one night, but the second we checked in, I already regretted that we didn’t have enough time to stay a few nights! If I lived locally, I think I’d crave a staycation here at least once a year. The lobby and hotel restaurant were dramatically retro, the rooms were luxe and even outfitted with a record player (my new favorite hotel feature is a speaker, makes getting ready so much more fun!), and even a pool!
We also looked at The Hardiman and Glenlo Abbey, but ultimately very happy we went with The Dean. If you have a bigger budget than we did, Ashford Castle is supposed to be amazing!
Where to eat in Galway?
The food in Galway was some of the best on our trip. Highly recommend these spots:
- Ard bia at Nimmos – amazing lunch and the coziest atmosphere, right on the water. We all split a bottle of red with a toastie and soup, one of my favorite moments on the trip.
- Ruibin – we ate here for dinner (partially because it was one of the only highly recommended spots that was open when we were here on a Monday, but we still loved it!).
- Murphy’s Ice Cream – there are several Murphy’s locations all of the country, it’s top notch ice cream with very unique flavors. I loved the Irish bread flavor!
- Moran’s on the Weir – One of the most beloved pubs in all of Ireland, I was DEVASTATED when I realized this place was going to be closed on the only day we were nearby! If you’re not in town on a Monday, make sure you make time!
- Kai – apparently this is a must, but it was closed on the day we were there!
- Dough Bros Pizza – we didn’t quite have enough time to eat here, but it’s recommended in all of the Ireland guides I looked through before our trip! If Galway is a later destination in your Ireland road trip, pizza could be a nice change from all the (also delish) Irish food.
- Pascal – also heard many great things about this breakfast spot but didn’t have time!
- Pubs – more in the following section!
What to do in Galway?
The must do in Galway is pub hopping at night! Even on a Monday night, almost every single pub lining the main street had live music almost all evening long. Just pop around and enjoy the tunes!
Our two favorite pubs were Tig Choili (trad music) and The Quays bar (more modern tunes but still an Irish flair!). And you have to order at least one Guinness while pub hopping in Ireland, it’d be illegal not to!
If you have more time in Galway, definitely spend some time outside of Galway City – I wish we’d had time to drive around Connemara National Park, Ashford Castle area!
Cliffs of Moher
What to know before visiting the Cliffs of Moher?
The next day, we set out early for the Cliffs of Moher. The way there felt very surreal, I’ve always heard about the majesty of this area so it definitely felt like a big day.
On your way to the Cliffs, you’ll definitely want to stop at Dunguaire Castle. It’s a fun little pit stop that feels like true Ireland!
At the Cliffs, make sure you purchase your tickets in advance online for a slight discount. We also skipped the visitor center and the shops here, just not really why we were in the area! And after the Cliffs, we ate at Vaughn’s Anchor Inn, which was one of the most delicious meals we had on the entire trip.
Kerry
From the Cliffs, we headed down to County Kerry. It was a lot of driving in one day, very grateful my husband was such a pro at driving on the other side of these teeny roads. We were just in awe of the beauty in Kerry, and I actually found a really great guide that I think does a great job at explaining everything you need to know before setting out on this iconic road trip. Here are some of our best shots from the trip, but we really took thousands of pictures while we were in this area!
Where to eat in Kerry?
Kerry is a big area, so going to just list all the spots we ate and their locations together.
- The Stables at Sheen Falls (Kenmare) – we probably wouldn’t recommend this spot too much, it was good but not great! I’m always slightly skeptical of restaurants at hotels and this was one of those cases where my suspicions were correct. The hotel also has a fine dining option if you’d rather give that a shot!
- J.M. Reidy’s (Killarney) – a fantastic spot for lunch, and we’ve heard the live music is also excellent here. There is so much history on the walls! They also have a coffee and pastry bar, and I swear the Irish coffee was one of the best I have ever had – highly recommend getting one to go and enjoying on your drive through the scenery (only if you’re a passenger of course!).
- Killarney Brewing Co (Killarney) – we did a distillery tour and had some drinks here, a great time! The drinks were amazing, and the food looked really great.
- Mulcahy’s (Kenmare) – we didn’t get to eat here, but it’s on the Michelin guide so I’m sure it’s delish!
- Bricin (Killarney) – have heard this spot is amazing, but we didn’t have time.
Where to stay in Kerry?
There are many amazing places to stay in Kerry, but since we were here for two nights we wanted to find something a little special where we could all spend time together (aka not two separate hotel rooms!). We found the Little Hay Cottage at Sheen Falls Lodge, and it was truly so special. I can see a big family spending an entire week staying on this property just spending time together in this beautiful part of the world.
Here’s a few glimpses into our time at Sheen Falls Lodge!
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Dublin
We ended our trip in Dublin, and it felt like the perfect last hurrah of our time in Ireland (until we can return some day!). I honestly greatly underestimated how much time we could spend in Dublin, we got a lot of things marked off our list, but it still feels like there’s so much more to explore!
Where to stay in Dublin
We often keep our city hotels simple since we tend to spend more time exploring the city than we do in the hotel! So we just stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Dublin City Centre and found it perfectly met our needs – felt very new.
Where to eat in Dublin
Again, we weren’t in Dublin for long so not too many food spots for us to review, but where we did eat was SO delish.
- Spitalfields – this was SO good. We savored every single bite of this meal, and the atmosphere was incredible. I could have sat at the bar after dinner for a very long time. Book ahead of time!
- Arthur’s Bar at Guinness Factory – we were in a rush before our tour at the Guinness Factory so we decided to eat at their casual spot, and honestly it was delish. They have recommended Guinness pairings with every item on the menu which was really fun.
- The Bank at College Green – our very last meal in Ireland! Very good food and a nicer atmosphere for a celebratory feeling! Their Irish coffee was incredible.
- Bread 41 – amazing coffee and pastries!
- The Palace Bar – very touristy but slightly less so than The Temple Bar, we loved popping in here for a pint just to see the iconic ceiling!
What to do in Dublin
- Guinness Storehouse Tour – The top thing everyone visiting Dublin must do! We booked the connoisseur experience, which was a splurge, but it made the entire storehouse experience mean so much more. It’s an intimate group of Guinness fans gathered around a bar hearing stories from a lifetime Guinness expert. We learned so much! You can either do the experience first and then the regular tour or vice versa, but we liked doing the experience first so that it meant more when we went through the Storehouse experience afterward. For this experience, you need to book in advance and it’s preferable if you actually like Guinness as you’re going to be drinking quite a bit! If you’re just doing the storehouse tour though, it’s probably going to be enjoyable even if you don’t love Guinness.
- Book of Kells Experience – On Trinity College’s campus, the Book of Kells experience felt pricey to me, but I do think it was worth it! They’ve done a great job, and it was a good excuse to visit this historic campus.
- Shopping on Drury St – if you’re still looking for a few last souvenirs, this street is packed with the most unique little stores. We just wandered around for a few hours and found amazing things that we hadn’t seen anywhere else. Highly recommend popping in Irish Design Shop!
There are MANY other things to do in Dublin, seriously the options are endless! We didn’t have much time so just wanted to share what we did, but you can really go crazy with pub crawls, food tours, and more. Also wish we could have done the Jameson Distillery experience – next time!
Where do we still want to go in Ireland?
Ah so that’s it! As you can probably tell, we didn’t feel like we had enough time anywhere! And there are way more places in Ireland we want to see – it’s truly a beautiful country to spend 2-3 weeks in if you can ever swing it. Here are a few other areas in Ireland we’d love to visit:
- Connemara – near Galway, this national park looks amazing!
- Dingle – near Kerry, have heard it makes a great day trip.
- County Cork – home to the “Blarney Stone,” there’s a lot to see here!
- Kilkenney – would love to see Kilkenney castle.
- Wicklow – not too far from Dublin, we’d love to do a trip with Dublin and Wicklow, and head up to Northern Ireland!
- And of course, at some point we need to pop up to Northern Ireland and see all their incredible history.
That’s a wrap on our time in Ireland in September. I hope we can return to this amazing country one day!
