Cliff of Moher Sunset — Postcard from Ireland

One week left to 2025 and I am going back to recap my travels from earlier this year. 2025 flew by quicker than I thought, but one of the highlights was definitely the trip to Ireland. It’s the first real international trip he and I took together, one where both of us learned how to drive on the other side of the road. I had visited Dublin a few years back on a short weekend trip to a work travel to London, but this time the countrysides of Ireland brought me so much more.

Day 1 - Arrival into Rainy Dublin

We landed in Dublin on a chilly and rainy mid September morning, after a go-around with the landing due to strong winds. We took our sweet time with the Dublin Express bus into city center, and walked a short distance to our hotel, NYX Christchurch in the middle of Temple Bar. It was 5:30 in the morning when we arrived, and still too early for breakfast. We freshened up in the bathroom and stopped by a convenient store to look for my favorite Haribo Fizzy Cola Candy - it’s surprisingly difficult to get in the US, and we ended up trying a Tangfastics version that I believe is specific to Europe? Once the sun was starting to rise and the rain cleared up a bit, we headed to Stage Next Door Cafe, coined “the best breakfast in Dublin”. It was already packed inside so we sat outside under the awning. The owner Alan was super nice and friendly, and told us they have been using the same coffee supplier for 26 years so we had to try their coffee.

We got our Irish breakfasts to fill our bellies, and walked from Temple Bar over to The Liberties area for the earliest reservation at the Guinness Storehouse. Nothing says you’re ready for Ireland than splitting the G at 9:30 in the morning, right? The museum building on the inside is actually designed to shape like a pint glass - something I hadn’t noticed the last time I visited back in 2019. I had also missed out on the tasting last time and made up for it this time - you learn how to properly enjoy a pint, which is to take a generous gulp so you don’t end up only with the foam. We ended our visit with our pints at the Gravity Bar, and the sun has come out fully for us to enjoy the views of Dublin from the top floor.

From one drinking stop we walked to the 2nd drinking stop - Teeling Whiskey Distillery. This one was a guided tour, and our guide Jack explained to us the history to whiskey brewing in Dublin and walked us through the brewing process. Stout is made up of 4 ingredients - barley, water (95% of Guinness is water), hops and yeast, while whiskey has 3 of the same ingredients without the hops. Whiskey gets distilled down are aged in barrels, and the angels’ share is portion of whiskey that evaporates during the aging process. What’s interesting about Irish whiskeys is that they can use any wood barrels for the aging, and they often reuse other barrels from rum, port, Madeira wine to give the whiskey a different taste. At the end of the tour was a tasting, and we got to sample 3 different whiskeys - the single grain that smells and tastes like red wine, the small batch that is more like a traditional whiskey, and the single malt which was very smooth. At the bar we also tried the shochu limited edition that used shochu barrels that gives the whiskey a lychee taste. After getting fully buzzed before noon it was time for a late lunch!

We walked from The Liberties through St. Patrick’s Park (which was very nice around lunch time when the sun is out and people are out enjoying themselves), and to the riverbank for The Winding Stairs. It turns out I actually dined here before but completely forgot until I recognized the decor when I walked in. We ordered the fish plate, the lamb and the beef tongue and all were delicious! After lunch we took a stroll down the more commercial streets of Dublin and towards The Spire, and then headed back to our hotel to check in for a much needed nap as the jet lag was hitting hard.

When we woke up from our sweet nap it was time for dinner and I quickly made a reservation to dine at Pichet, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant just a short walk away. The food did not disappoint - the short ribs were very tender, the gambas and crab dishes were great and I fully enjoyed the halibut and cauliflower with hazelnuts. After dinner we walked to Temple Bar and stopped at the actual Temple Bar for a pint of Guinness for the full experience. All the rooms were packed and the live music was fun. Dublin was still how I remembered it, but this time experiencing it with someone else feels different.

Day 2 - Roadtrip begins

We woke up late on Day 2 to a rainy morning. We packed our bags, checked out of our hotel and tried to grab breakfast nearby but a few places were busy. We ended up in Panem by the riverbank and got another Irish breakfast to fuel up before we called a Bolt to Heuston Train Station for our train to Cork. I slept for majority of the 2.5 hour train ride and Cork was rainy when we arrived. We took a taxi from the Cork train station to Cork airport to pick up our car, spent a little time at the parking lot to get used to driving on the left before my boyfriend took the wheels to head to Killarney where we’ll be spending 2 nights.

One note about renting a car in Ireland that we found out through our research - not all credit cards cover the insurance for renting in Ireland! You’ll need to make sure your credit card company provides a proof of insurance letter. The car we rented actually had a lot of previous damages on the left side, likely from other American drivers who are not familiar with driving on the left. It was very weird sitting on the passenger seat and especially nerve-racking on the narrower roads of the Ring of Kerry.

The drive was about an hour and a half to Killarney and mostly on highways so it wasn’t bad at all. By the time we made it to town it was already 5PM, and we settled into our hotel at Randles Townhouse, an outpost to the Randles hotel. We had booked the hotel via our credit card portal so we didn’t know that we actually booked the Townhouse, but it turns out to be a nicer and newer setup than the hotel (we were skeptical because there very few Google reviews and potentially some older photos from before renovations). Since we had skipped a meal while traveling we walked straight to town as we didn’t want to take the car, and by the time we settled on a spot that could take us it was already 7PM. We had seafood at Kitty O’Se’s Seafood and Grill Restaurant (our first choice was Cronins Restaurant but they were fully booked), stopped at a VERY local Irish pub next door to try a Murphy’s Stout (which was very chocolaty and how I like it), and then to Murphy’s Ice Cream (they are from Dingle and we’re visiting the town in a few days) to try the chocolate whiskey and Irish strawberry flavors.

Day 3 - Ring of Kerry

It was an early morning as we had planned a hike today, and referenced The Irish Roadtrip’s tried and tested 1 day Ring of Kerry itinerary. The first stop was pastries and matcha at the Ri-Ra Drive Thru, a very cool set up from a shipping container. We picked up our goodies and kicked off the day at Ross Castle at 8:20AM. It was before opening so we got the whole place to ourselves. The castle was built 500 years ago and is situated right by the lake so the views were stunning.

I took the wheels and drove to our next stop Muckross Abbey, just a 10 minute drive away. It’s a short walk from the parking lot but the abbey is very well preserved considering it was built towards the end of 15th century. You can even go up the stairs and get to the 1st floor (see what I did there?)

From Muckross Abbey we took a quick bathroom break at Muckross House and we’re off to do our hike of Torc Mountain! We had spent time looking at the optimal route and locating the parking on Google Maps last night so we it was a breeze finding parking and starting our hike. The first part of the hike was pretty flat and it almost felt like a moss garden, and the it transitions into the path up the mountain. Parts of the hike were rocks and parts planks, with streams running over them at times. We stopped along the way to admire the views in the overcast weather, and it actually started clearing up as we made it to the summit. The sun even came out for a little bit for us to geth a good clear view of the surrounding lakes.

The whole hike took us around 3 hours out and pack, and by the time we were done it was 2PM. We saved the Torc Waterfall last as there is a much closer parking lot, just 200m from the waterfall. We snapped a few pictures and I continued the drive through the Ring of Kerry, sharing very narrow roads with tour buses, making stops at Ladies’ View and Moll’s Gap. We saw some animals along the way, mostly sheep but also a deer!

After a much needed snack break at Moll’s Gap, we headed to the town of Kenmare. We made stops at the Cromwell’s Bridge and Henry Street, but it was rainy afternoon with not much going on in town.

Since we had made our way about 1/3 down the Ring of Kerry, we decided to push through to Staigue Stone Fort that was about an hour away (we wouldn’t have time tomorrow as we have another activity tomorrow morning planned). We were rushing against time because we wanted to get there before sunset, and betting on the skies clearing. We got stuck on the country roads behind cows for a little bit but we were in luck! The drive to the fort was well worth it because we got to enjoy the sunset at the fort all by ourselves. We climbed the stairs to the top of the fort and took pictures with the golden hour as our backdrop.

Once we hopped back into the car we made another impromptu decision to go to Derrynane Beach to catch the last bit of the sunset. With 5 mins to spare we made it to the beach and it was one of the most beautiful sunset I’ve seen. Really glad we decided to just go for it and added this stop to conclude day 1 of Ring of Kerry.

That concluded our epic day 1 of Ring of Kerry, covering an entire half of the ring. The drive back to Killarney took an hour and 20 mins (in dark and narrows too). It was super late already when we got back into town and most places have already ended dinner services so it was fast food at DenJoe’s and a stop at the convenient store to close out the night.

Day 4 - Skellig Michael and Rest of Ring of Kerry

Morning call was at 5AM this morning as we need to be out of the hotel in Killarney and make our drive to Portmagee Marina half way across the Ring of Kerry to make our Skellig Michael landing tour. The tour was originally supposed to depart at 9:45AM, but based on weather conditions they have moved up the departure time the day before. There are a limited number of licensed boats that does the tour between the months of May and October, and the island only allows 180 visitors each day. We were very lucky because just the day before the tour was cancelled due to weather, and we were greeted with incredible weather this morning. I drove in the dark and made it to the Portmagee Marina where we were scheduled to depart. Our little boat probably had a total of 10 passengers and left right on time but oh man that ride was so choppy! I was definitely on the verge of getting seasick and it felt like the longest 45 mins. The photos I tried to get on my phone are slanted because I could barely hold onto my phone and get the photo before losing balance, but I am glad to be off that boat.

There was not a cloud in sight when we got to Great Skellig, which was perfect for us to do the 600 steps climb to the top! We got our safety instructions right before the climb, and it was a steep way up these stone steps but boy the views are amazing! The steps were so steep that when you look down it feels like you’re on the edge of the cliff, and it was like nothing I have seen before. We made it to the top to the Christian monastery, dated from the 6th century. This is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to puffin colonies (unfortunately they have all departed around early August) and the filming location of Star Wars. We had about 2 hours to explore on our own, climbing into beehive nuts, and there were also guides to help with any questions. The place is very well preserved, and I am just in awe with how well designed everything was.

We made our way back down the steps (definitely not for the faint of hearts - I don’t know if you could tell from the photos) around 11:30AM, and the boat circles around the Great Skellig for us to catch a sight of the lighthouse at the other end of the island that’s not accessible to visitors. We also went around to Little Skellig, the smaller of the Skellig Islands and home to northern gannets, a seabird native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Once you get up close you’ll see the large number of birds circling the island and it’s a beautiful sight. You also get to see Little Skellig against Great Skellig!

The ride back to the marina was much calmer thankfully and we had lunch at The Moorings at Portmagee. The restaurant is actually part of the hotel but the food was surprisingly good. We got a soup and shrimp appetizer but the highlight was the scallops and the fish!

After lunch we drove over to Geokaun Mountain, which is the highest point of Valentia Island north of Portmagee, and continuing the rest of the Ring of Kerry tour from yesterday. It is a priced entry but you get access to a few viewing points. As with typical Ireland weather it got cloudy after lunch so it was a bit of a gloomy view, but the Fogher Cliffs against the Atlantic Ocean was still pretty stunning.

We drove all the way up to peak and got a view of Portmagee and the surrounding islands, and even Great and Little Skellig further off into the distance right before the clouds rolled in.

Soon after we were done at the peak the rain started to pick up, and we made our way back down and towards Kerry Cliffs. The guides have all said this is the Cliffs of Moher’s closest contender and since we are going to visit the other later on the trip we had to see it for ourselves. The Kerry Cliffs is on private land so it’s another priced entry. By the time we got to the parking lot the rain and wind has fully picked up. I don’t know why I thought my water resistant pants could withstand the strong rain and wind of the cliffs (I actually had rain pants in the car too), but we braved the storm and hiked our way over to the cliffs. The views were indeed great even in the poorest visibility and I feel like you had to have experienced this kind of weather to say you’ve been to Ireland. The cliffs look even more grand in the storm.

I had forgotten how long we were there at the cliffs but by the time we were done and made it back to the car the torrential downpour has started. We put on the heat in the car, tried to drive to the next viewpoint which was just 3 mins away but there was literally nothing visible with the heavy rainfall. It was getting late, so decided to wrap up the drive and head to Dingle after changing out of our wet clothes in the car.

On the way we did make one last stop on the Ring of Kerry at Rossbeigh Beach. We made it before sunset but the beach was pretty empty given the weather. We watched two brave souls dipped into the ocean, and my boyfriend explored the beach a bit while I stayed back in the car as I was still too cold from the rain earlier to wander too far.

By the time we made it to our airbnb in Dingle it was already 8:30PM, and a nice neighbor came out to help us park our car on the narrow street and even lended us an umbrella for us. We went straight to dinner at The Half Door Restaurant as the kitchen was still open! We got soup, mussels and foie gras as starters and split the duck breast main, which was our favorite dish of the night. Before heading back to the airbnb we took a little stroll around town and stopped by Dick Mack’s Pub, a place my coworker had recommended. We were too tired to get a drink after a very long day but the space was really cool with different themes and vibes in each of the rooms. I was really glad to be able to do laundry after a very wet day.

Day 5 - Dingle Peninsula, Adare and Cliffs of Moher

It’s another early day for us because we wanted to be out of the airbnb by 8:30AM to kick off the **Slea Head Drive** around **Dingle Peninsula**. We woke up to gorgeous weather which was a huge contrast from yesterday. We returned the umbrella we borrowed to the kind neighbor, drove to a gas station to get gas and picked up some breakfast and snacks, and off we go on the Slea Head Drive. The entire loop without stopping only takes about an hour, so we thought it would be perfect morning activity if we selected a few key stops. The Irish Roadtrip website was a great resource for us to do the planning and we largely followed the guide.

The sun was fully out when we got to our first stop, The White Cross. This is an iconic first stop that is easy to miss because it doesn’t look like a stop and there is only maybe space for 4 cars on the side on an already pretty narrow road. There were people with equipment pointing towards the ocean, and maybe they were looking for whales or dolphins? Marine life here is very rich as there was a famous Dingle dolphin named Fungie who lived in the Dingle Harbor (the theory was that he got separated from other wild dolphins and stayed in the harbor, and became the the oldest solitary wild dolphin in the world).

We also stopped at a viewpoint of Dunmore Head - the Radharc na mBlascaoidí viewpoint. It’s just a 2 min drive from The White Cross, but it’s not a marked on Google Maps for some reason. Here’s the pin because I think the view is definitely worth a quick stop!

Next up is Coumeenoole Beach, a secluded beach surrounded by rugged cliffs and another filming location for Star Wars. You can access the beach through a path and can go in between the cliffs and rocks. It was still pretty early when we visited so we had the whole beach to ourselves. If you get lucky you may even see a seal on the beach!

One of the highlights and must dos on the Slea Head Drive is the Dun Chaoin Pier, probably the most iconic because if you google Dingle, this is the first photo that comes up. We went all the way down to the pier and also took some photos from up above at the viewpoint. We managed to get no one in the photos as it was still pretty early in the day. It was time to head back to Dingle after the pier and we drove the remaining Slea Head Drive to soak the views in. The scenery was amazing, and we even caught a glimpse of the Irish rainbow.

Back in Dingle I picked up some postcards, stopped by the Fungie Dolphin statue and did a quick walk around town before we drive to Adare, about 2 hours away.

Our lunch stop was at Adare, a halfway point between Dingle and the Cliffs of Moher. My boyfriend had made a late lunch reservation at the The Carriage House at Adare Manor, a restaurant within a 5 star hotel. Lunch was on the fancier side but the portions were huge! After lunch we walked around the gardens, the golf course and deven drove over to the actual Adare Manor to admire the gardens.

I took the wheels after lunch and head to the Cliffs of Moher, and arrived just before 6PM. Since the visitor center closes at 7, we did that first, got postcards at the giftshop, then went outside to admire the cliffs. The views were amazing around this time of day, and we decided to stay and watch the sunset over the cliffs. The cotton candy skies against the Cliffs had me in awe.

Once it got dark we drove 10 mins into Doolin for a quick dinner - we were actually still full from our huge lunch and the place we wanted to to dine at was closed for a wedding, so we opted for the takeaway menu instead. The fish and chips were huge and so was the chicken burger.

The last activity of the night was to drive ourselves to Galway to return the car. The drive was fine but once I got to Galway the turn lanes got confusing and I almost drove into oncoming traffic at a traffic stop. We topped up the gas and drove the car to the parking garage for drop off, and returned the keys t0 the office before walking over to our hotel.

Day 6 - Galway and back to Dublin

Got a chance to sleep in a little bit today after a few days of driving. We checked out of the hotel around 11:30AM, stored our bags and I stopped by the post office to drop of my postcard. We walked through Eyre Square and down Shop Street, to the Charlie Byrne’s Bookstore and the Hall of Red Earl, an archaeological runs from medieval times. We continued onto Quay Street (pronounced ‘key’) which is the Latin Quarter, and discovered Thomas Dillons Jewelers, the original makers of the Claddagh Ring that represents friendship, love and loyalty.

From there we walked to the Spanish Arch, saw an outdoor exhibit of the current Irish President Michael D Higgins who studied in Galway, continued down The Long Walk (which wasn’t exactly long) but a lovely stroll along the stream. We stopped for a quick lunch at Ard Bia at Nimmos, which had delicious small bites.

A quick walk along the River Corrib to the Galway Cathedral, built in 1965 at the site of a former jail.

We headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags (and this is when my boyfriend realizes that is an extremely nice gym that’s part of the hotel we could have used), and made our way to the Galway train station to catch the afternoon train back to Dublin.

Dinner was at Cooper Alley Bistro and we tried the beef Guinness stew. I was fully stuffed and we took a nap at the hotel before we headed back out to the pub and grabbed a spicebag at Summer Inn, the ultimate Irish late night takeaway. It was delicious with the 3 euros curry sauce.

Day 7 - Last Day in Dublin and Trinity College

It’s the last day of our Ireland trip and we booked the Book of Kells Experience at the Trinity College for the morning. The weather is gorgeous and we walked from our hotel to the college through St. Patrick’s Park.

Our walking tour begins with our guide Sadhah (pronounced ‘sive’) taking us through some history of the school, founded in 1592. The symmetric set of buildings in the front of the bell tower are the exam hall and the chapel, also labeled heaven and hell. We got to see the inside of the museum building (which I did not get to see on the last visit) - they used different materials and colors from all around Ireland when designing the building, and the flowers along the walls are all unique flowers in Ireland.

The tour concluded with a self guiding tour of the Book of Kells and the Old Library, which is currently undergoing restoration so there is a new digital experience built. There is also a new globe that wasn’t there before in the Old Library so I got a brand new experience this time around.

It was already noon time when we finished with the tour so it was tome for lunch at The Bank on College Green, another establishment that I dined at. We got the soup, tried some expensive oysters, and Shephard’s pie as our last meal in Ireland.

It was a jam-packed 7 days around Ireland with all sorts of weather, various modes of transportations (plus driving on the opposite side for the first time) and a lot of nature. I am glad I have a great travel buddy to do it all with. ❤️

Ireland. September 2025