Kilkenny Castle, Ireland (Von Aleena - Adobe Stock)
I’ve put together a comprehensive 10-day itinerary for you based on my own Ireland trip featuring things to do, where we ate and where we stayed. If a day doesn’t include a breakfast or dinner suggestion, it’s either because I got coffee from the local Starbucks or I simply forgot the name of the restaurant and searching of Google Maps proved fruitless.
This list consists of days three and four of the trip which we spent in Kilkenny, Blarney, Cobh and Cork (the city within the county). After driving to Kilkenny, we were able to walk to all of our destinations within Kilkenny, but we did utilize our vehicle a lot on day four to drive from Kilkenny to Cobh and Cork.
Mural on the side of a building advertising the the Smitchwick’s Experience (Tamala Malerk)
Day Three
Breakfast at Zanzibar Locke, Dublin
Drive to Kilkenny and drop things off at hotel: Hibernian Hotel
We had 1 p.m. reservations and our tour group was fairly small.
I enjoyed learning all about the beer and process of making it.
They had a café onsite which offered a great scone and tea option to keep us fueled until dinner.
My favorite part was the Tudor portraits hanging in the castle.
Dinner at Caffe 500
I recommend: The cheesy garlic bread as a starter; it’s pretty much a white pizza. The panna cotta was also great.
Exterior of Kilkenny Castle on a cloudy day (Tamala Malerk)
Day Four
Note that in peak travel times, this place is equivalent to Disney World. There are signs noting that your spot in line is 90, 60 and 30 minutes from the stone. Going during off-season meant that we walked right in.
Also note that the path to the famous Blarney Stone is a lot of narrow stone stair climbing. You will have to arch your back to actually kiss the stone. There are two assistants and holding bars on-site to help you.
We had 2:30 p.m. reservations and lucked out because we were the only people reserved for this time slot, so we had a private tour.
This is the last port stop the Titanic had before its tragic voyage towards New York. The town was known as Queenstown then.
I learned a lot from this tour, and it was a very moving experience.
Dinner at O’Shea’s Bistro at the Commodore Hotel (across the street from the Titanic Experience).
We didn’t need reservations because we went in the off-season, but they recommend reservations during busier times.
I recommend: Chicken Wings and/or the Golden Fries Chicken Tenders
Drive to Cork | Hotel: Moxy Cork
We enjoyed the on-site bar where they have cocktails, mocktails and food. I asked if they had dessert, and they offered cookies and ice cream which came out as a giant ice cream sandwich with a scoop of ice cream on the side.
Man assisting another person while he arches his back to kiss the Blarney Stone (Tamala Malerk)
Click here for days five and six.
Sign at the Titantic Experience about the different port stops (Tamala Malerk)
