Short escapes in Ireland
Long weekends, close to home
From an hour down the road to a proper west-coast adventure. Pick where you're travelling from to see drive times, or filter by county.
Co. Donegal · About 3 hours 45 minutes from DublinInishowen PeninsulaThe very top of Ireland: empty beaches, a mountain pass, an ancient hilltop fort and, on a lucky winter night, the Northern Lights.
Co. Mayo · About 3 hours 45 minutes from DublinBelmullet & ErrisSea stacks, Stone Age fields under the bog, empty white beaches and the darkest skies in Ireland. Erris is the Wild Atlantic Way at its wildest.
Co. Tipperary · About 1 hour 45 minutes from DublinCashelA rock crowned with medieval ruins, a castle on an island and the Galtee Mountains on the horizon.
Co. Antrim · About 3 hours from DublinBushmillsBasalt columns, a rope bridge over the sea and some of the best coastal walking on the island.
Co. Antrim · About 1 hour 45 minutes from DublinBelfastTwo hours up the line from Dublin, with world-class museums, a buzzing food scene and history on every corner.
Co. Wexford · About 2 hours 15 minutes from DublinHook PeninsulaThe world's oldest working lighthouse, a famine ship and a run of beaches in Ireland's sunniest corner.
Co. Westmeath · About 1 hour 20 minutes from DublinAthloneIreland's oldest pub, a castle on the river and a lake full of islands, right in the middle of the country.
Co. Leitrim · About 2 hours from DublinCarrick-on-ShannonBoats, bars and some of the quietest countryside in Ireland, two hours from Dublin.
Co. Clare · About 3 hours 15 minutes from DublinKilkeeA horseshoe bay, a lighthouse you can climb and dolphins in the Shannon estuary.
Co. Galway · About 3 hours to Rossaveal, then a 40-minute ferry from DublinInis Mór, Aran IslandsLeave the car on the mainland, hire a bike and spend a weekend on the edge of Europe.
Co. Kerry · About 4 hours from DublinKenmareA colourful little town, a bay full of seals and a peninsula that most Ring of Kerry traffic never finds.
Co. Cork · About 2 hours 40 minutes from DublinCork CityMarkets, pubs, a harbour full of history and a city that would quite like you to know it's the real capital. Drive times are estimates, so allow extra time for traffic, especially on bank holiday weekends.