10 Day Ireland Itinerary Without a Car

In an ideal world, you might be heading off to the Emerald Isle with a month long Ireland itinerary. But if you don’t have quite that long, check out my 10 day Ireland itinerary without a car.

One day, I’d love to rent a car and drive around the whole island, seeing the highlights and stopping to explore small towns off the beaten path. I love the romantic notion of wandering into little seaside towns and finding cute pubs and delicious seafood dinners.

But you can still enjoy time in Ireland without a car and without a month to see everything. Below I’m sharing my 10 day Ireland itinerary without a car hitting the highlights in Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Cork.

This is a quick trip – but think of it as an Irish sampler. Once you’ve seen the highlights and fallen in love, you’ll be dying to book your next trip to Ireland and explore more!

10 day Ireland itinerary (without a car!)

• 2 nights in Dublin
• 2 nights in Belfast, with a day trip to Giant’s Causeway
• 3 nights in Galway, with a day trip to Cliffs of Moher
• 2 nights in Cork, with a day trip to the Ring of Kerry
• A final night in Dublin before you fly home!

Visiting Ireland for the first time? Don’t miss my must-know tips for your first trip to Ireland! 

How to visit Ireland without a car

While Ireland is a beautiful country for a road trip, you don’t have to drive to visit Ireland. You can enjoy a 10 day Ireland itinerary without a car!

Assuming you want to visit more than just the Irish city you fly into, you’ll want to book trains and buses between cities. Book your tickets in advance to save money and enjoy watching the beautiful Irish countryside go by. Since you won’t have a car, I suggest sticking to major cities (like the ones in this itinerary) that have great train and bus connections.

Once in the city, if you’d like to explore smaller places or more of Ireland’s natural beauty, hop on a day tour. Not only are many of these tours affordable, they also take care of organizing everything for you, provide you with lots of information, and ensure you see the highlights.

Of course, you probably won’t see the local, hidden gems as part of a 30+ person tour group, but you can save those for your next trip to Ireland! Or, if you have the budget for it, go on a private tour or hire a private driver to go further off the beaten path.

Ireland itinerary map

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Dublin (2 nights)

We’re starting off our 10 day Ireland itinerary (without a car!) in Dublin. We arrive in Dublin on the night of April 10th after a long day of flying. Since we’ll be jet lagged, the only thing on our Ireland itinerary for that night is to drop our bags off at the hostel and find a pub for dinner. If we’re feeling up to it, I’d also love to head over to Temple Bar and explore that area. I know it’s super touristy and overpriced but would still be fun to see.

Only have a day in Dublin? Check out how to spend 24 hours in Dublin, Ireland!

The next day, we get to spend most of it in Dublin. The plan is to hit two Dublin highlights: the Guinness Storehouse Tour and exploring Trinity College and the Book of Kells. To prepare for this epic library, I’ll definitely try to read some books about Ireland.

If we have extra time in Dublin, I’d love to do some exploring in Dublin, checking out St. Stephen’s Green, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.

And then we catch a train to Belfast, arriving in just over two hours from Dublin!

Belfast (2 nights)

We get to Belfast around 7:00pm on the 11th. I’ve heard the Cathedral Quarter is a cool area to check out, so maybe that’s where we will head. Belfast City Hall is also supposed to look pretty at night, so hopefully we make it there.

On the 12th, we’re off on our first tour: Giants Causeway & Game of Thrones! Yes, this is super nerdy. But it’s also going to be a ton of fun. Colin and I are big GoT fans (or at least we were until that final season). And with such little time to check out Northern Ireland and no car of our own, this is the best way to see the sights. I’m really excited to see Giants Causeway, the rope bridge and the Dark Hedges.

That night, we’re back in Belfast and I’m hoping we visit the Crown Saloon, an old Victorian pub in Belfast. I also want to see some of Belfast’s legendary street art, like the murals and umbrella canopy at Commercial Court.

Don’t miss how to spend the best 24 hours in Belfast! 

And then on the 13th, we’ve got a half day in Belfast. So, just like Dublin, we’re going to try and cram in a lot. Here’s our Northern Ireland itinerary for the day: wake up early and have breakfast at St. George’s Market, which is only open Friday – Sunday. Head to the Titanic Experience. I’m not a huge museum person but apparently this one is excellent. Have lunch at OX, a Michelin-star restaurant in Belfast that actually has a very affordable lunch menu. And then be on our train by 2:00pm!

Galway (3 nights)

To get to Galway, we first have to take a train from Belfast to Dublin (2 hours 15 mins), switch stations, and then from Dublin to Galway (2.5 hours). Sure, it takes a little longer, but if you’re visiting Ireland without a car, it’s the best option.

On that first night, the only thing I’m putting on our Ireland itinerary is to find dinner and find our AirBnB (PS: First time AirBnB-er? Click here to get $45 travel credit!). We’ll be pooped after all the sight seeing in Belfast and train hopping. If we happen to find that dinner at McDonaugh’s, where they’re said to have the best fish and chips, I know Colin will be a happy camper.

On the 14th, we’re off on our next tour. This time, we’re checking out the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. All the pictures of the Cliffs of Moher look absolutely stunning. I’m praying for good weather and small crowds, but I’m not going to hold my breath. We’ll be back in Galway for dinner, and will try to find a pub with some live music.

The 15th: the only full day free in our entire Ireland itinerary! That’s right – every other day we either have a tour booked or we’re busy taking a train, bus or plane somewhere. April 15th is our only completely free day.

But of course, I’ve got a line up of cool things for us to check out in Galway. My list includes brunch at Ard Bia, walking the Salthill Promenade, visiting Galway Market, checking out St. Nicholas and Galway Cathedral, getting touristy on Quay Street and seeing the cute houses on the Long Walk. It’s a long list of things, but they’re all pretty central. Basically, we’re just going to spend the day exploring the city.

On the 16th, we’ll grab some breakfast and then catch our bus to the final city on our Ireland itinerary: Cork!

Cork (2 nights)

We arrive in Cork around 2:00pm on the 16th after a 3 hour bus ride from Galway. The 16th is actually Colin and my 3rd anniversary.

So if we’re feeling ambitious, I’d love if we took the bus to Kinsale, about an hour outside of Cork. It’s supposed to be a really cute town to walk around with some of the most delicious seafood. There’s also a view point out at Old Head. So my dream would be walking the town, taking in the views, and then feasting on seafood for our anniversary dinner, all before heading back to Cork.

But in case we’re not feeling up for more travel, we could spend the rest of the 16th just exploring Cork. There’s St. Finbarr’s Cathedral, Oliver Plunkett Street and probably a great restaurant for us to have our anniversary dinner.

The next day, we’re on another tour. This time, we’re checking out the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula. I know it’s pretty touristy to be going on all of these bus tours but when you only have 10 days in Ireland without a car, it just makes sense. We’ll be back in Cork by dinner and will probably hit up a local pub.

On the 18th, we spend the first half of the day in Cork. I’m planning for us to do a quick visit to the English Market with breakfast at Farmgate Cafe. And then, we’re headed out to Blarney Castle. Apparently, it’s just 10 minutes outside Cork City Centre. So how could we pass up a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone and walk around the beautiful gardens?

And then we’re on a train back to Dublin! For our final night in Dublin, I’m planning for us to enjoy Celtic Nights at the Arlington Hotel. It sounds like it should be a night of Irish music, dancing and food – aka the perfect thing to end our Ireland itinerary. The next morning, we’re off to the airport on our way back to Vancouver.

---

So, that’s our whirlwind 10 day Ireland itinerary without a car. What do you think? Are we seeing the best spots? Are we missing anything crucial?

Like I said, this is just a sampler trip; I know there’s a lot more to see. I’d love to spend more time in the countryside and small towns, or spend the night in a castle or even glamping in Ireland. But we’re really excited to be catching these highlights!

Planning your own trip to Ireland? Check out 3 things you must do in Ireland!