Kerry, Clare and Connemara in six days, with your own driver-guide and none of the coach-tour queues.
Start Point
Dublin, Shannon
or Cork Airport
Duration
6 Days,
5 Nights
Group Size
Couples to
Groups of 26
Six days through the south and west, Ireland at its most postcard-perfect. The Rose of the South West is our 6-day tour of Ireland for travellers who want the classic scenery done properly: Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, the Gap of Dunloe, the Cliffs of Moher, and on into Galway and Connemara, all at your own pace with your own guide. It is the ideal tour when you want the south-west without the coaches, and the time to actually stop and enjoy it.
It works whichever airport you use. Land in Dublin, Shannon or Cork, and the last day is shaped around the airport you fly home from.
Your driver-guide meets you at Dublin, Shannon or Cork airport. Flying into Dublin, you break the journey south at the Rock of Cashel, the hilltop seat of the kings of Munster, whose ruined cathedral you can see for miles across Tipperary. Blarney Castle comes next, where you lean back over the battlements to kiss the Blarney Stone for the gift of the gab. In Killarney, there is time for Muckross House, the Victorian mansion on the lakeshore, and a short walk through the woods to Torc Waterfall, a 20-metre cascade in Killarney National Park.
Overnight: Killarney (2 nights)
The day begins at the Gap of Dunloe, a narrow glacial pass strung with small lakes between the mountains. Then it’s on to the Red Fox Inn for a traditional Irish coffee, the proper way to start a Ring of Kerry tour. Lunch is in Waterville (own expense), the seaside village where Charlie Chaplin spent his summers. From the Coomakista viewpoint, the Skellig Islands sit out on the Atlantic horizon, and below lies Carroll’s Cove, a sheltered little beach. The afternoon brings an ice cream in Sneem, then the road climbs to Moll’s Gap and Ladies View, looking down over the lakes of Killarney National Park.
Overnight: Killarney
A ferry across the Shannon estuary takes you into County Clare. Lahinch is a lively seaside town with a long surfing beach. The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s most visited natural attraction, rise more than 200 metres out of the Atlantic, with viewing platforms and O’Brien’s Tower to explore. Lunch is at McGanns of Doolin (own expense), a village pub famous for its traditional music. The coast road around Black Head then winds through the Burren, a strange and beautiful landscape of bare limestone, before you reach Galway.
Overnight: Galway (2 nights)
Head west from Galway for a catamaran cruise on Killary, one of only three fjords in Ireland, with the mountains rising straight from the water. Kylemore Abbey is next, the castle-like abbey on a lake shore that is home to Benedictine nuns. Connemara National Park follows, where walking trails climb into rugged mountains and open bog. Back in Galway, the evening is yours for the music pubs of the Latin Quarter.
Overnight: Galway
The final full day follows your departure airport. Flying from Dublin? The route runs east to Clonmacnoise, the monastic city St Ciarán founded on the banks of the Shannon, with its round towers and high crosses. Then comes Athlone, where you can explore the Norman castle and have a drink at Sean’s Bar, reputed to be Ireland’s oldest pub. Flying from Shannon? Visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, a living museum of Irish village life, and King John’s Castle, the Norman fortress on the Shannon in Limerick. Either way, you spend the night within easy reach of the airport.
Overnight: near your departure airport
A short transfer to the airport for your flight home. We hope you’ll be back.
Included
Every tour is bespoke, so tell us your dates and group and we will tailor it and quote.
This 6-day Ireland itinerary covers the classic south and west. It begins with Blarney Castle, plus the Rock of Cashel if you arrive in Dublin, then two nights in Killarney for Muckross House, Torc Waterfall and a full day on the Ring of Kerry, including the Gap of Dunloe. On Day 3, a ferry across the Shannon takes you to Clare for Lahinch, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, with lunch at McGanns in Doolin. Two nights in Galway follow, with a day in Connemara for the Killary fjord cruise, Kylemore Abbey and Connemara National Park. The fifth day matches your flight home, with Clonmacnoise and Athlone on the way to Dublin, or Bunratty and Limerick on the way to Shannon. You finish with a night close to the airport, so there is no early-morning rush on departure day.
The Ring of Kerry is a loop of roughly 180 kilometres, about 111 miles, around the Iveragh Peninsula. Driven without stopping, it takes around three and a half to four hours, but nobody should do it that way. With stops for the views, a village lunch and a walk on the beach, it is a full day, and that is how this tour plans it. Your driver-guide starts from Killarney, takes in the Gap of Dunloe, stops at the Red Fox Inn for an Irish coffee, pauses at the Coomakista viewpoint for the Skelligs and brings you back over Moll’s Gap and Ladies View. The roads are narrow and busy in summer, which is exactly why it helps to have someone at the wheel who drives them all the time. That leaves you free to look out of the window instead of at the car in front, with no parking to worry about at any stop.
Yes. The Rose of the South West is built to start from Dublin, Shannon or Cork airport, so you can book whichever flight suits you best. From Dublin, the first day takes in the Rock of Cashel on the drive south. From Shannon or Cork, you are closer to Kerry, so there is more time at Blarney Castle and in Killarney on the first afternoon. The return is just as flexible. On Day 5 the route heads towards Dublin, via Clonmacnoise and Athlone, or towards Shannon, via Bunratty and Limerick, depending on where you fly from, and your last night is spent near that airport. If you would like to fly home from Cork, tell us and we will plan the final day around it. Shannon is a handy choice from the US: it has direct transatlantic flights and US preclearance, so you clear US immigration before you board.
Six days is enough to see the best of Kerry, Clare and Connemara at a comfortable pace, and it is our shortest tour that covers all three. With two nights in Killarney and two in Galway, you get the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher and Connemara without packing a case every morning. What six days will not cover is the north or the east, and Dingle is not on this route. If you can stretch to twelve days, The Emerald Isle adds Dingle, Donegal, Derry and the Causeway Coast. If you only have a day or two in the south, our private day tours from Cork cover the highlights from a single base. You can also add a night anywhere on this tour to slow it down. One easy change is a third night in Killarney, which leaves a free day for the lakes or a trip out to Dingle.
Kerry and Clare are home ground for a Cork company. Creagh Travel has run private tours since 2006, led by Lloyd Creagh, a certified, badged tour guide and a member of the Independent Tour Guides Association. His father Greg has been a driver-guide for more than 40 years, and the family has driven for visiting heads of state.
Rated 5.0 on TripAdvisor, Creagh gets reviews that mention the stories, the laughs, the songs and the punctual pickups. Vehicles range from a Mercedes V-Class for two to a 26-seat coach for a group. To compare routes, browse all our private tour packages.
Tell us which airport you are flying into, your dates and your group, and we will send back a route and a quote.
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