See more of Ireland.
Hand-picked places and honest, practical guides to the best days out, road trips and hidden corners of Ireland.
What are we doing this weekend?
Pick a county and your dates, and we'll build a day-by-day plan: things to do, one-off events on while you're there. Then make it yours: swap, reorder, add. No account, the plan lives in the link.
Featured guides
Ireland's best scenic drives – nine mountain passes and coast roads
Nine Irish drives ranked by what you actually see from the road: high passes, hand-cut tunnels and coast loops where the Atlantic fills the windscreen.
Read →
Ireland's lesser-known islands
Six islands off the Irish coast you can actually plan a day around, from a drive-to Gaeltacht to seabird rocks you only ever see from a boat.
Read →
The most beautiful lakes in Ireland
Six Irish loughs worth the drive, ranked – from Wicklow's Guinness Lake to a Kerry horseshoe under a dark-sky reserve, with parking, walks and honest caveats.
Read →
Hikes Near Dublin by DART, Bus and Luas
20+ hikes near Dublin reachable by DART, bus or Luas. Howth cliffs, Glendalough, Ticknock, Bray Head and more with transport details and trail maps.
Read →
Ireland's best hidden beaches, from Dingle to Donegal
Eight Irish strands worth the drive, from a five-kilometre Blue Flag spit on Dingle Bay to a Cork cove with no facilities, ranked and with the tide caveats.
Read →
The best mountain walks in Ireland for a big view and a short day
Nine Irish summits ranked by reward for effort, from a 20-minute Dublin climb to Kerry's 952m Brandon, with the honest ones where you need to navigate.
Read →
Lesser-known Irish castles worth the detour
Eight quieter castles and tower houses, from a Mountbatten silhouette to a pirate queen's roofless shell, that pay back the back-road drive.
Read →Browse by theme
All guides →
Editor’s picks
Browse all →Slieve League – cliffs and One Man's Pass
donegal
At 601m, Slieve League is Ireland's second-highest sea cliff and a fraction as busy as Moher. A short walk from Bunglass gets you the full drop; the sure-footed can carry on over the knife-edge of One Man's Pass. It roars after rain and barely whispers in a dry spell.
View →
Sky Road – Clifden's cliff-top loop
Clifden, galway
The Sky Road is a 16 km loop out of Clifden that climbs to a clifftop viewpoint over Clifden Bay and the islands. It's free, open year-round, and takes an hour to drive or a good half-day with the walk to Clifden Castle and a stop at Eyrephort beach.
View →Conor Pass – Dingle's high mountain road
An Chonair, kerry
The Conor Pass climbs to 456 m over the Dingle Peninsula on a narrow, single-lane road of tight bends and sheer drops, one of the highest and most dramatic drives in Ireland. From the summit car park the views run south across Dingle Bay to the Skelligs and north towards Brandon Bay, and on a clear day as far as the Aran Islands. Vehicles over two tonnes are banned, and winter weather can close it.
View →
Kerry Cliffs – closest view of the Skelligs
Portmagee, kerry
The Kerry Cliffs rise over 1,000ft above the Atlantic just outside Portmagee, the nearest mainland vantage point to the Skellig Islands. It's a privately run site: €5 gets you in and parked, and a 10-minute walk reaches three viewpoints, the left one best for the Skelligs. On site there's camping, 24-hour toilets, a café and resident alpacas, donkeys and horses.
View →
Mizen Head – Ireland's south-west edge
Mizen Head, cork
Mizen Head is the most south-westerly point of the Irish mainland, at the tip of the Mizen Peninsula in West Cork. A former Irish Lights signal station sits on an offshore crag, reached by an arched bridge and 99 steps, with seals, seabirds and, in summer, whales in the water below. The whole site is private and locked when the centre is closed, so check the opening times before driving out.
View →
Inch Beach
Inch, kerry
Inch Beach stretches five kilometres of golden sand along the Dingle Peninsula, backed by rolling dunes and framed by the Iveragh mountains. Lifeguarded in summer and popular with surfers, walkers and families, it offers free access and a range of watersports.
View →Lough Tay – the Guinness Lake
Roundwood, wicklow
Lough Tay's dark water and imported white-sand beach make it look like a poured pint of Guinness, framed by the granite cliffs of Luggala. The lake and its shore are private, with no public access, but viewpoints along the Sally Gap road give the classic photo and the Wicklow Way passes close by.
View →Explore by region
All counties →
