Today I’m sharing the second half of our Ireland trip overview which we spent at The Cliffs of Moher, in Galway and Dublin. In case you missed it, I shared everything we did during the first half of our trip in Killarney here.
THE CLIFFS OF MOHER
Our first stop en route from Killarney to Galway was The Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are conveniently on the way to Galway so it’s a perfect way to fit seeing them into your trip. We got very lucky with a beautiful day. The tough part about the Cliffs is that if the weather is bad, you can’t see much! The photos below speak for themselves and truthfully don’t do the Cliffs justice. The only think I was disappointed by and most surprised by was how commercial and touristy the Cliffs were. I really kind of took some of the magic out of their beauty. We spent about an hour and a half taking photos and enjoying the different views in the area and then headed straight to Galway.
GALWAY
When we arrived in Galway we quickly realized that our sleeping arrangements weren’t going to work out. We were trying to squeeze our group of 12 into one apartment that we didn’t realize only had one bathroom (typical Europe) so we ended up rending another apartment form a complex called City Point Apartments which are part of The Western Hotel. If you are looking for a place to stay in Galway, these apartments are really nice!
I thought the main strip of Galway was really fun but overall it wasn’t my favorite city I’ve ever been to. We only had one full day in Galway so we took that time to do some shopping, relax and recoup. Ryan and I ate at an amazing restaurant called Ard bia. It is so cute and cozy inside and the food is fantastic – very farm to table. While we were shopping I discovered an incredible new fragrance brand local to Ireland called Cloon Keen Atelier. I got a perfume and Ryan and I got two candles that we burn constantly at home to remind us of our trip. For our second night in Galway we had dinner along the main strip and then went to Quays Bar which was a blast. I highly suggest stopping there if you’re looking to go out in Galway.
DUBLIN
The next morning we were off to Dublin for our last two and a half days. On our way, we stopped in a tiny little town called Athenry and stumbled upon an amazing restaurant called The Old Barracks Pantry and Bakery. It ended up being some of the best food we had all week.
That evening when we arrive in Dublin, we did a music pub crawl through the Temple Bar area. If you’re interested in learning more about traditional Irish music, this was a really cool experience. To be honest, I was exhausted that night so I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have! It was really interesting!
The next day we toured the old Jail in Ireland called Kilmainham which was so much more interesting than I thought it would be.The Jail is incredibly old and they’ve kept so much of it in its original state which is incredible. I definitely suggest doing this tour. You’ll learn a lot about Irish history – not just the Jail.
After the Jail tour, we grabbed lunch at a place galled Farm near Grafton Street – another great restaurant! We did a little shopping and then headed over to the Guinness Storehouse experience. I’m not a big beer girl but still had a blast seeing the process of how it’s made and there are tons of really interesting exhibits about Guinness in the storehouse. If anything, you have to go to learn how to pour the perfect pint! That was really fun!
We spent our last day in Dublin doing some shopping because shopping in Europe is always SO much better! Ryan and I had lunch at Elephant & Castle which had incredible wings (they have an NY Location as well). The rest of day was spent strolling along Grafton Street. For our last night we had dinner at MarketBar which is awesome for a large group. We ended the night with one last drink at The Brazen Head, the oldest bar in Dublin!
Overall, we had such an amazing time. As I mentioned I think my favorite part of the trip was our time spent in the Killarney area but the trip wouldn’t have been the same without seeing in Galway and Dublin as well. I know there is still so much to see in Ireland so I’m excited to go back again someday!
Also, a huge thank you to Ryan for taking all of these amazing pictures!
