rachelteodoro
Welcome back to part 2 of Circle the Emerald Island in 15 Days! This is the PERFECT self-driving Ireland itinerary. If you missed part 1 of the trip, we started in Dublin and headed on a counterclockwise tour around the island. We've already explored Northern Ireland and the Antrim Coast and dipped our toes in the Wild Atlantic Way. We will continue exploring Ireland, with this portion focusing on some of the most beautiful rugged coastline and including some outdoor adventure. This part of the trip includes more charming towns and villages as we continue to immerse ourselves in the local Irish culture and hospitality.
rachelteodoro
You know the beloved quote by travel lovers, "I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list!" This sums up how we embrace travel, especially as we are getting older. As a couple, we want to make sure we fully embrace each of the areas we are travelling to because there are so many places on our list, that we want to make sure we see them all, and we don't just scratch the surface with our travels; we want to feel like we really saw them. I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland a few years ago with a travel writers group, and I fell in love with the island in the short time I was there. The diversity of the country, the incredible people, the wonderful food and the tumultuous history, had me wanting to dive in and get back to Ireland to explore it the way we like to explore a place, thoroughly and slowly embracing every moment. My biggest fear was that we had only scheduled 15 days to self-drive the whole island, and I wasn't sure that would allow for us to really immerse ourselves in the culture and not just be bouncing around, but we quickly found that it was the absolute perfect amount of time!
We put hours upon hours of planning every portion of our Ireland itinerary. We found that there were some items that were major hits, and a few that we could have skipped, but overall, it's an itinerary we wanted to share because it was absolutely perfect! Of course, there were a few things we would have changed and those will be noted in the itinerary, but overall, we patted ourselves on the back for our planning! We left Ireland having experienced the food, the culture, making friends with the people and slowly exploring the popular and not so popular spots. If I never get the opportunity to travel back to Ireland, I left feeling like I really got a good taste of the country and to me, that's the most perfect ending to any trip. So come along with me as I share the perfect 15-day self-driving itinerary of Ireland.
