Program Advantages: All Hotels are Prebooked. Create your own daily itinerary as you choose from a variety of rental car or chauffer driven options.

2025 Taste of Ireland Self-Drive - 7 Days/6 Nights

Duration: 7 Days

Price: Starts from $0 USD

Itineraries

Day 1: Dublin
Your trip begins with a day of touring in Dublin. Take a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour, and see all the city’s highlights with the freedom to stop off to explore further as you please. You will have a voucher to admit you to one of Dublin’s top attractions: the Guinness Storehouse, a seven-story attraction telling the story of Dublin’s iconic beverage, complete with a pint at the Gravity Bar on the top floor; Teeling Distillery, the first new whiskey distillery to open in Dublin in 125 years; EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, telling the story of the people who left Ireland and how they shaped the world; the GPO Museum, innovatively detailing the fascinating story of the 1916 Rising, the pivotal event that led to Ireland’s independence; or Jameson Distillery Bow St., the original home of Jameson Irish Whiskey since 1780. Your evening is free to explore Dublin’s pubs and restaurants as you wish.

Day 2: Dublin
Spend your day continuing to explore Dublin with the included vouchers, seeing its vibrant blend of ancient and modern: Trinity College, Georgian houses with colorful doors, and the modern buildings rising by the River Liffey.
(B)


Day 3: Killarney
Pick up your Hertz rental car and depart Dublin, through the legendary green fields of Ireland’s farmlands. Stop for photos of the stately ruins of the Rock of Cashel, rising high above the surrounding plain. You might choose to visit Blarney Castle in Cork, where you can climb the winding staircase to kiss the legendary stone that promises the gift of the gab or wander through the beautiful gardens. Arrive in the friendly town of Killarney, picturesquely set beside lakes with Ireland’s highest mountains, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, forming a backdrop. Check in to your hotel, where you’ll dine this evening.
(B, D)


Day 4: Killarney
You might choose to visit CIE Tours preferred shopping partner Moriarty’s in the beautiful Gap of Dunloe, before embarking on the famed Ring of Kerry scenic drive. The winding 100-mile route reveals breathtaking coastal and mountain views, with plenty of photo stops. Stop for a stroll around the village of Sneem, with its brightly painted houses, and at Moll’s Gap for panoramic views of Ireland’s highest mountains. Return to Killarney to explore and dine independently.
(B)


Day 5: Medieval Castle Banquet | Limerick
Leave Killarney and drive north. You might choose to stop off at the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular wall of sandstone that reaches almost 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Drive on to your hotel in Limerick. In the evening, head out to Bunratty for a medieval-style feast of excellent traditional dishes. During and after the meal the lords and ladies will serenade you with songs and harp music evocative of the Middle Ages. (Please note that January departures may offer a different dining experience.)
(B, D)


Day 6: Dublin
You’ll stay in Dublin tonight. You might choose to first drive north this morning to Galway to explore this lively, artistic city. Walk through its medieval streetscape, listen to the buskers performing, enjoy its many shops and cafes; then travel across the country to Dublin. Spend the final night of your tour exploring the pubs in the lively Temple Bar area or experiencing one of Dublin’s fine restaurants.
(B)


Day 7: Tour Ends in Dublin
Your tour ends after breakfast today. Drive to the airport and drop off your rental car.
(B)


B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner

Highlights

Authentic Local Experiences:

  • Enjoy a feast in a real medieval castle, as you are serenaded by lords and ladies.

Trip Highlights:

  • Medieval Castle Banquet

Dining Experiences:

  • 6 Breakfasts and 2 Dinners (D)

Hotels:

  • Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge | Dublin (2)
  • Killarney Towers Hotel | Killarney (2)
  • Clayton Hotel Limerick | Limerick (1)
  • Academy Plaza Hotel | Dublin (1)

Taste of Ireland Self-Drive - 7 Days/6 Nights

Kerry Cliffs

Medieval Banquet

GPO Museum

Jameson Distillery

Not included

Hotels

Taste of Ireland Self-Drive - 7 Days/6 Nights land tour
SupplierNameSupplierRating DescriptionImage
SupplierName Clayton Hotel BallsbridgeSupplierRating **** This hotel was once a Masonic School and still retains many striking original features that give it a unique charm. Standard rooms are tastefully decorated and boast a fresh and warm feeling. The Brasserie Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with fresh, seasonal and sustainable produce. Tom’s Bar is a great place to relax with a drink or a snack. Set in Ballsbridge, close to the Royal Dublin Society and Aviva Stadium, this property is a short distance from the city center, with good bus service close by.
SupplierName Killarney Towers HotelSupplierRating **** This modern hotel provides guests with 182 rooms that are comfortable and include satellite TV and video facilities. An excellent restaurant serves great Irish breakfasts and carvery dinners while the choice of bars offer live music most nights. Enjoy a strenuous workout or leisurely dip in the pool in the extensive leisure center. Located in the center of Killarney town within easy walking distance of shops, restaurants, pubs and the Killarney National Park. Hotel parking.
SupplierName Killarney Towers HotelSupplierRating **** This modern hotel provides guests with 182 rooms that are comfortable and include satellite TV and video facilities. An excellent restaurant serves great Irish breakfasts and carvery dinners while the choice of bars offer live music most nights. Enjoy a strenuous workout or leisurely dip in the pool in the extensive leisure center. Located in the center of Killarney town within easy walking distance of shops, restaurants, pubs and the Killarney National Park. Hotel parking.
SupplierName Clayton Hotel LimerickSupplierRating **** With views from the beautiful location on the River Shannon waterfront in Limerick City Center, Clayton Hotel Limerick offers free WiFi throughout and access to the Waterfront Restaurant, Grill Bar and Restaurant and ClubVitae leisure center, featuring a 39 foot indoor heated swimming pool, Jacuzzi, gym, steam room and sauna. The light and modern rooms offer CIE Tours' guests a flat-screen TV, tea/coffee making facilities, free WiFi and private bathrooms with soft cotton towels, a hairdryer and toiletries. Grill Bar & Restaurant offers locally sourced flame-grilled food with a view and a bar with contemporary designs where guests can enjoy an extensive European lunch and dinner. For a lighter bite indulge in a handcrafted coffee and specialty teas with freshly bakes snacks throughout the day in Red Bean Roastery. The Waterfront Restaurant in the heart of the city feature views of the River Shannon from wrap around glass walls.
SupplierName Academy Plaza HotelSupplierRating **** This modern and centrally located hotel offers 285 rooms of several types. All public areas are spacious and comfortable, including the large reception and lobby area, Sir Harry's Bar & Bistro, Oscar's Restaurant and Abacus Asian Restaurant. Complimentary WiFi is available throughout the hotel, which is located on Cathal Brugha Street, just off O'Connell Street, one of Dublin’s main thoroughfares. Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, shops, galleries and pubs are all within easy walking distance.