Ireland 5 Day Itinerary

Ireland 5-Day Itinerary: Dublin, Kilkenny, and the Southeast

The Aircoach bus from Dublin Airport costs a fraction of a taxi and that single fact should shape your first hour in the country. A taxi into the city runs 25 to 35 euro by day and climbs past 40 after dark, while Aircoach tickets start around 6 euro one way if you book online, with coaches running every 15 minutes and continuing through the night. Skip the taxi queue unless you have heavy luggage or a very early flight.

Day 1 - Dublin

Land, drop bags, and head straight to Trinity College for the Book of Kells Experience. Timed tickets sell out days ahead in summer, so book online before you fly rather than showing up and hoping. Adult admission runs from roughly 21.50 to 25 euro depending on the exact package, and it covers the Long Room library as well as the manuscript itself. The queue-free trick locals use: go for the first slot of the day, before the tour buses unload.

From Trinity it is a short walk to Dublin Castle and St Patrick’s Cathedral, both worth an hour each rather than a rushed half hour. Temple Bar looks great in photos but a pint there routinely costs 8 to 9 euro, noticeably more than a pub two streets over, so treat it as a place to look rather than drink. For the Guinness experience, book the Storehouse in advance too, expect 26 to 36 euro for a standard adult ticket with dynamic pricing pushing weekend rates higher. The self-guided tour runs seven floors and ends with a pint in the Gravity Bar, which has the best view in the building, not the best pint in the city.

Day 2 - Dublin and Surrounds

Take the DART train out to Howth for a cliff walk and fresh seafood at the harbour, it is a 25 minute ride and one of the cheapest good mornings you will have in Dublin. Back in the city, the Jameson Distillery Bow St tour is a reasonable alternative to Guinness if you already did whiskey elsewhere, though I would rank Guinness Storehouse ahead of it for a first-timer. Phoenix Park is free, enormous, and home to a wild deer herd that has lived there since the 1660s, worth the walk even without a car.

For evening trad music, O’Donoghue’s and The Brazen Head both draw big crowds and both are genuinely good, but sessions start later than tourists expect, closer to 9:30pm than 7pm. Arrive early to actually get a seat near the musicians.

Day 3 - Kilkenny

Kilkenny is about 75 minutes from Dublin by car or Bus Eireann coach, and it rewards a slower pace than most day-trippers give it. Kilkenny Castle and its grounds are free to walk around outside opening hours, useful if you arrive late. Walk the Medieval Mile down to St Canice’s Cathedral, and if you are willing to climb a narrow stone spiral staircase, the Round Tower gives a rooftop view over the city that most visitors skip entirely.

For dinner, Zuni on Patrick Street and Petronella both get repeat local praise for food that is not chasing tourist trends, and Aroi is worth seeking out if you want something other than another pub dinner, it is regularly cited as one of the better Asian kitchens in the country. Skip Smithwick’s Experience unless beer history specifically interests you, it is fine but forgettable next to Guinness Storehouse.

Day 4 - Waterford and Wexford

Waterford is roughly 40 minutes south of Kilkenny. The House of Waterford Crystal factory tour shows the cutting and blowing process up close and is more engaging than it sounds on paper. From there, push on to Hook Lighthouse on the Hook Peninsula, one of the oldest operational lighthouses anywhere in the world, dating back to monks maintaining a beacon on the site since medieval times. It is a detour of over an hour each way from Waterford city, so this day works best if you commit to it fully rather than trying to squeeze in extra stops.

Wexford Town rewards a wander through its narrow main street, and the Westgate Heritage Centre gives useful context on the old town walls. Overnight in Wexford or nearby Enniscorthy rather than doubling back to Kilkenny, the driving math does not favour backtracking.

Day 5 - Wicklow and Return to Dublin

The Wicklow Mountains close the loop back to Dublin. Glendalough’s monastic site and lakes are the highlight, arrive early, the car park fills by mid-morning in summer and overflow parking means a longer walk in. Powerscourt House and Gardens charges separately for the gardens and the waterfall, there is no combined ticket, so decide in advance which one actually interests you rather than paying for both out of habit. The gardens alone are worth two hours.

Bus Eireann connects Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow if you are skipping a rental car, though the Wicklow leg back to Dublin is genuinely easier with your own car given how spread out the mountain sights are.

A few practical notes worth carrying with you. Citizens of most countries need only a valid passport for a short tourist stay, but check current requirements before booking flights since rules shift. Tipping in restaurants sits around 10 to 15 percent and is appreciated but not obligatory the way it is in the US. Ask before photographing people directly, particularly in smaller towns where a camera pointed at a stranger reads as rude rather than curious.