Ireland Road Trip: 4 days of the best scenery in Ireland

Get inspired for 4 days in Ireland exploring the Dingle Peninsula, Ring of Kerry, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney National Park and so much more. The wild scenery of Southern Ireland makes it a great destination for a scenic road trip. Here’s my guide to the ultimate Ireland road trip in 4 days.

Updated: February 2025  

Ireland is known as the ‘Emerald Isle’. It really does have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. From stunning coastlines and beaches to impressive mountains, Ireland has got something for everyone. An Ireland road trip is the perfect way to get off the beaten track and explore some of Southern Ireland’s most beautiful scenery.

You could easily spend weeks driving around Ireland and seeing all of the amazing sights. But, if you’re short of time, you can visit some of Ireland’s best scenic locations in a 4 day road trip in Ireland. You can visit some of Southern Ireland’s highlights such as Killarney National Park, the Gap of Dunloe, the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. All of these amazing places are within easy driving distance from each other in the South West corner of Ireland. In 4 days, you can spend a day in each of these places and get a flavour of what Ireland has to offer.

As well as driving in Ireland on an Ireland road trip, you can spend time exploring the areas on foot. There are lots of hiking opportunities in this part of Ireland, or you can try kayaking or swim in the sea. And of course, no trip to Ireland is complete without visiting a traditional Irish pub. So keep reading for how to plan the best 4 day itinerary for your Ireland road trip, and everything you need to know to plan the best trip.

When is the best time of year to do an Ireland road trip?

The best time of year to do an Ireland road trip is definitely in the summer. I recommend visiting the South West corner of Ireland in May to September. At this time of the year, you’ll have quite long daylight hours, which are perfect for long driving days and exploring nature. The weather in Ireland in the winter can be bad and stormy, so a road trip in Ireland in the winter could be challenging. A lot of places will be shut in the winter as well. Doing an Ireland road trip in the summer gives you the best chance of long daylight hours, good weather, and all the tourist facilities being open. All of the best places in South West Ireland such as Killarney National Park, the Gap of Dunloe, Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula are all at their best in the summer.

What is the weather like in Ireland in the summer?

When I was planning my Ireland road trip, I read a lot about how it rained in Ireland all the time. So I was prepared for a lot of rain in Ireland in the summer. But when I did my 4 day road trip in August, the weather was ok! Of course there was some rain, and not too many perfectly sunny days. But for what I wanted to do, the weather was nearly perfect. I could explore Killarney National Park, the Dingle Peninsula, Gap of Dunloe and Ring of Kerry and enjoy all of them. And being at the top of a mountain in a cloud just added to the experience and the views.

If you’re visiting Ireland in the summer and planning to spend time outside on the coast, you’ll need to be prepared for varied and changeable weather. You might get lucky and have some warm, sunny days when you can wear shorts and t-shirt all day. Or, you might have some cooler weather, with wind and rain. The weather can change multiple times on the coast, even within the same day. But as a skipper on a sailing trip once said, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad choice of clothing. So pack a rain coat and a variety of different layers, and go and enjoy.

Hiring a car for your Ireland road trip

Hiring a car is absolutely necessary in Ireland to give you the freedom to explore the wilderness and fully enjoy your 4 day Ireland road trip. The public transport in Ireland just isn’t frequent enough to be able to see all of the scenic highlights in this corner of Ireland in 4 days. Having a car allows you to go off the beaten track and plan your own schedules. So you’ll need to hire a car for your Ireland road trip.

There are lots of companies offering car rental from the airports in Ireland. Make sure you book car hire in advance for the best choice and prices. You don’t need a big car – the smaller, cheaper cars are actually easier to drive in Ireland, as some of the roads can be quite narrow. Just remember that Ireland drives on the left, like the UK, which might be a shock if you’re coming from mainland Europe or the USA!

Where to stay for your Ireland road trip

There are lots of different accommodation options for 4 days on an Ireland road trip. You could choose to change accommodation every night. There are lots of small guesthouses and B&Bs, and you could plan your driving route to hope around a couple of different ones.

However, I chose to base myself in one cottage for my 4 day Ireland road trip. When I travel, I like to have a base for a few days. I don’t really like changing accommodation every night. So I chose to stay in one place for my 4 days. It meant slightly longer driving days sometimes to get back to base, but I think it was worth it.

I stayed in a cottage on the Dingle Peninsula. The cottage was really secluded, and had amazing views across the bay. It was lovely to have that to look forward to each evening. Here’s the view from the cottage – I think it’s safe to say when I first drove up here and saw the view that I’d have all to myself for 4 days, I was super excited and my camera got a lot of use that first evening!

Keep reading for my day-by-day itinerary of my 4 day Ireland road trip, visiting the top highlights in the area including the Dingle Peninsula, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney National Park and the Ring of Kerry.

Day 1: Dingle and the Dingle peninsula

One day 1 of my Ireland road trip, I decided to explore the Dingle Peninsula. The Dingle Peninsula in Ireland is a really scenic part of South West Ireland in County Kerry. It gets its name from the small town called Dingle, which is on the peninsula. It’s worth spending some time in the small town of Dingle before heading out to explore more of the Dingle Peninsula.

Dingle Town in County Kerry, Ireland

I spent about an hour exploring the town on Dingle in the morning. It’s a really cute town, with colourful streets and quirky shops.

Even in August, the town wasn’t very busy so it was easy to park and spend some time walking around. I enjoyed just walking around, without a strict plan, and seeing what I discovered. I found a really cute music shop in Dingle, which was just one of many cute and quirky independent shops in Dingle.

The Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

After exploring the town of Dingle, I got back to my car and started my Dingle Peninsula road trip. The Dingle Peninsula is a small area of land, and there aren’t many roads to choose from. So you can choose how far you want to go. Driving the Dingle Peninsula is really easy. I recommend taking the R559 road, which takes you out to the end of the Dingle Peninsula. The road is small and fairly narrow, but as long as you drive carefully it’s easily passable.

The end of the Dingle Peninsula has amazing views. There are places along the road where you can park, and then you can get out of the car to see the view and take photos. There are several viewpoints with amazing views. I just loved the wild coastal scenery on the Dingle Peninsula. There are hiking trails here as well. So you can park the car and follow one of the hiking trails along the cliffs to soak up the scenery.

Back to Dingle Town to the pub

On my road trip on the Dingle Peninsula, the weather changed in the afternoon and the rain started coming in. I decided to abandon my plans of hiking on the Dingle Peninsula and head back to Dingle town. What better to do when it starts raining than spend some time in a pub in Dingle.

It was great to spend time in a traditional Irish pub. This was my first time trying Murphy’s, an Irish stout I’d seen around a lot. I wasn’t convinced by the slightly gravy-like texture of the first few sips, but quickly got used to it, and discovered I actually enjoy drinking stout ale.

The town of Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula is a great place to start your Ireland road trip. Keep reading for days 2, 3 and 4 of your itinerary, where you can also visit the Ring of Kerry, Gap of Dunloe and Killarney National Park.

Day 2: Driving the Ring of Kerry

On Day 2 of my Ireland road trip, I decided to drive around the Ring of Kerry. A road trip around the Ring of Kerry was one of the things I most wanted to do in Ireland, and driving the Ring of Kerry in Ireland was just magical.

The guidebooks all said it was easy to drive around the whole of the Ring of Kerry in one day. I did the Ring of Kerry drive in one day, and I took a few detours and spent time looking at viewpoints. And while it was an amazing day, it was a long day of driving. I think in total I was out for about 8 hours, and I was very tired by the end. The views were amazing and it was worth it, just be warned it’s a long day of driving.

Driving around the Ring of Kerry, County Kerry, Ireland

The Ring of Kerry is 179km long. It starts and ends in Killarney, but it’s a circular route. So you can start and finish your drive around the Ring of Kerry at any point, depending on where you’re staying in Ireland. The drive around the Ring of Kerry follows the route of some main roads, including the N70, N71 and N72.

As well as driving on the main road, it’s definitely worth taking detours off the main road. There are lots of small roads that lead to some really beautiful isolated areas, where you’ll feel like you’re the only tourist who’s seen that place. And you never know who or what you’re going to see on one of your stops!

But be warned – the roads can get narrow. And on one of my detours, I literally got herded away, in my car, by two border collie sheep dogs. Don’t laugh, it literally happened. Here’s the picture to prove it.

Down a small narrow lane, these dogs would not let me pass their house. They just ran out barking and stood in front of the car. I ended up having to turn around (ever so slowly, as the dogs were constantly running around the car, and I didn’t want to run over any paws). Even when I was trying to drive back the way I came, I was surrounded and being barked at, and the tyres of the car were being nipped. So yes, in Ireland, two dogs win against a car…

Viewpoints along the Ring of Kerry

The highlight of an Ireland road trip around the Ring of Kerry is the absolutely breath-taking views. There are so many coastal view points. But this was my favourite viewpoint along the Ring of Kerry. It was one of those moments where you just turn the corner and your jaw drops, you say wow, then quickly park and run out of the car with your camera and selfie stick at the ready.

There were so many more amazing viewpoints. Many of the best viewpoints along the Ring of Kerry road have parking areas. So you can park the car and get out to take photos. It means that the entire journey can take a long time, if you want to stop at every viewpoint. But the views were so amazing, I couldn’t stop myself stopping and constantly taking photos.

One section of the Ring of Kerry road trip goes through Killarney National Park. The views here are lovely as well, with great views of the mountains in the distance.

My day driving around the Ring of Kerry was the highlight of my Ireland road trip. The sunny weather definitely helped, as the sun made the coastal views even more amazing. But it was honestly such a beautiful part of the world. It was a long and tiring day, but definitely worth it.

Keep reading for day 3 and 4 of your Ireland road trip itinerary.

Day 3: Hiking and Kayaking in Killarney National Park

Day 3, I went to Killarney National Park. Killarney National Park is a beautiful area in South West Ireland. It’s inland, meaning you’ll get coastal and lake views but no sea views. It’s a great place for a day of hiking, kayaking and other outdoor activities.

Hiking in Killarney National Park

There are lots of hiking trails in Killarney National Park. I think Killarney National Park is one of the best places in Ireland for hiking. The hiking trails around the lake, Lough Leane, are some of the most scenic and most easily accessible. There are more mountainous hiking routes as well. But if you’ve just got a day to spend in Killarney National Park, I recommend focussing on the easier hiking trails around the lake. You can also walk to waterfalls and around forests.

The hiking trail to Torc Waterfall is a great option for a morning hike. The waterfall is really beautiful, and really impressive. Even in summer, there’s usually plenty of water going over the waterfall. The walk to get there through the forest is lovely.

Ross Castle, Killarney National Park

If you park at the Killarney National Park Visitor Centre, you can walk to Ross Castle. Ross Castle is on the edge of the main lake, Lough Leane. I didn’t go inside the castle, but I really enjoyed looking at it from the outside. It looked really impressive on the edge of the lake with the mountains in the background.

Kayaking in Killarney National Park

Then one of my many highlights of my Ireland road trip was kayaking in Killarney National Park. I booked a two-hour kayaking tour with Mor Active Tours and it was great. I highly recommend it.

The company provide wetsuits and all the kayaking equipment and take photos of your trip. The only thing you need to bring is swimming stuff to wear under the wetsuit, and trainers you don’t mind getting literally soaked (you need to walk in the lake up to your knees). The only thing I wish I’d known is that there aren’t any changing rooms, they just have a van full of wetsuits, so getting changed in the car was a bit interesting…but just added to the fun!

I probably had about 1 hour 30 on the water, which was a nice amount of time. It was long enough to enjoy it, and I was only in moderate pain by the end. I think a few more weeks (or months…or years…) at the gym are needed before I’d want to kayak for any longer! But the scenery was so beautiful, it made up for the mild aches and pains. It was so peaceful being on the water. And it was great to get more views of the mountains from the water.

I really enjoyed my day hiking and kayaking in Killarney National Park in Ireland. It was nice to have a day of less driving as well. The car was really useful to get to the Killarney National Park, but it was nice to be able to park the car for the day and do some more active things.

Keep reading for the final day of my Ireland road trip itinerary, with a visit to the Gap of Dunloe and also some time at the beach and another pub.

Day 4: The Gap of Dunloe, Inch Beach and the South Pole Inn

On day 4 of my Ireland Road Trip, I finally got the visit the famous Gap of Dunloe. It was another place for great scenery in Ireland. The Gap of Dunloe is a great place to go hiking, with more stunning scenery.

The Gap of Dunloe

I spent a lot of time before going researching the best way to see the Gap of Dunloe. Various options included walking, driving, or taking a pony and cart. I decided to walk, and I’m really glad I did. It was a fairly simple walk from the car park. As long as you don’t mind walking it bit, it definitely isn’t necessary to drive through the Gap of Dunloe. It’s a lovely walk, that is easy to find, and you can take your time with the walk. Plus, walking means you can stop as many times as you want to take photos – something you wouldn’t be able to do when driving. So I definitely recommend walking through the Gap of Dunloe as the best way to see it.

I probably walked for about an hour in each direction, and feel like I saw the best sights in that time. It’s definitely worth walking a bit further than the first bridge so you can see the lake view and reflections in the water.

Inch Beach

In the afternoon, I decided to head to one of the many beautiful beaches in this part of Ireland. The South West corner of Ireland has some stunning beaches and coastline, and no Ireland road trip is complete without visiting at least one of these beaches.

Inch Beach is a great choice. There’s a large car park, and the beach is huge. It’s a beautiful expanse of golden sand. If you’re feeling brave, you can go for a swim in the sea as well! The water is cold, even in summer, and the waves can be quite strong so make sure it’s safe to swim, especially in windy weather. But I really enjoyed swimming in the sea at Inch Beach in Ireland, even though the water was freezing cold so I didn’t stay in too long!

The South Pole Inn, Annascaul, Ireland

After swimming in the cold sea, I needed to warm up in a warm Irish pub. In a small village called Annascaul, there’s an Irish pub called the South Pole Inn. It’s a pub where the Antarctic explorer Tom Crean planned his expeditions with Scott and Shackleton. (It’s not the only pub in the area – I counted 7 pubs, and only around 11 houses in the village). But this one is a really special place.

The inside of the pub is decorated with pictures of South Pole expeditions, and it’s a great place to eat and drink surrounded by so much history. I ordered a Guinness, the traditional Irish stout beer (and yes I did order two beers…just in case I didn’t like the Guinness! But luckily I did so I got to drink both!). The food here is great as well. I really enjoyed visiting the South Pole Inn on my last evening of my Ireland road trip.

Continuing your Ireland Road Trip to Connemara National Park

I loved my 4 day itinerary for my Ireland road trip. I got to visit some of the most famous sights in Southern Ireland, including Killarney National Park, the Gap of Dunloe, the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. A 4 day road trip here really gave me a flavour of the best scenery that this part of Ireland has to offer.

But Ireland has so much more amazing scenery. I definitely recommend extending your Ireland road trip if you’ve got time. After 4 days in this area. I then drove north, up to Connemara National Park. And I spent 3 days exploring Connemara National Park, having some amazing outdoor adventures. You can read all about my outdoor adventures in Connemara National Park, Ireland here.

Hope you enjoyed my 4 day itinerary for the best Ireland road trip! Remember to check out my guide to outdoor adventures in Connemara National Park to extend your Irish road trip and visit more beautiful scenery. Or you could head to Dublin and check out Ireland’s capital city – check out my guide to Dublin in a weekend. For more road trips in beautiful scenery nearby, you can also visit Scotland. Check out my guides to visiting the Isle of Skye in one week, or spending time in Fort William, Scotland.