Places to visit in Ireland

Why would you go on holidays in Ireland?

Ireland holiday packages open up easy access to Dublin, the Republic's capital, sitting just west of the United Kingdom. The scenery alone has earned this stretch of coast a reputation for being genuinely welcoming to visitors — the kind of place that pulls you back, if only to see it all again.

Among its best-known stories is the Leprechaun, a mischievous, magical figure who's become something of a global export — usually pictured as an elderly gentleman in green, red-haired, four-leaf clover in hand.

There's plenty to fill a trip here, particularly if you're travelling with family or in a group. From the Kerry Islands to the Cliffs of Moher and the Connemara region, the views rarely let up. Motorhome travel across the Irish countryside suits more adventurous visitors especially well — landscapes, wildlife, pubs, history, and small traditional towns, all within easy reach.

The Aran Islands rank among Ireland's most striking natural areas — Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer make up this small archipelago, shaped as much by the surrounding ocean as by its own culture and traditions. Historically, Aran sailors navigated these waters in wicker boats wrapped in tarpaulin, fragile vessels for genuinely rough seas. Fishing remains the area's economic backbone, and the islands take their name from herring, still central to the local diet — surströmming, a fermented herring delicacy, counts among the country's more distinctive culinary traditions, and is sold in tins.

The archipelago's network of stone walls and centuries-old forts is genuinely captivating, as is the Burren nearby, with its vast limestone plateau drawing hikers from well beyond Ireland's shores.

Add-ons to any Ireland trip might include lake excursions, private tours, cultural city stops, or a look at some of the more unusual corners of the "Kingdom" of Ireland.

Ireland's nickname — the "Green Island," home to "forty shades of green" — doesn't tell the whole story, though. The Burren, running along the western coast, is proof of that: a limestone plateau threaded with streams and lakes, carved through with labyrinthine caves, and covered in a surprisingly varied spread of plant life.

Dublin is, without much argument, the natural first stop on any Ireland trip — worth at least two full days. Beyond being genuinely lovely, the city doubles as a living record of the nation's history, much of it accessible through free museums. There's a mood to the place that's hard to describe until you're standing in it. Make time for the pubs, where the beer — Guinness chief among them — is worth the visit alone, and the brewery's own museum sits right there in the city. Honestly, there's no need for a rigid itinerary in Dublin; let your instincts steer the day instead.

Ireland's cultural range, paired with the famously warm welcome the Irish extend to visitors, rounds out this picture of a country painted in a thousand shades of green.

The weather here is more unpredictable than you'd expect, especially in summer. But there's beauty in that too — watch how the light transforms a landscape freshly soaked by rain, and a grey sky starts to look like something other than bad luck.

Known as "The Steps of the Ocean," the Giant's Causeway comes wrapped in legend — folklore has it that giants carved the path toward Scotland, determined to reach a rival across the water. Geologists tell a rather different story: around forty thousand interlocking basalt columns, some reaching twelve metres in height, formed by volcanic lava flows over sixty million years ago as the rock cooled and cracked into its now-famous hexagonal shapes. As Northern Ireland's single most visited attraction, it's a genuinely essential stop, whatever version of the story you find more convincing — and it's easy enough to combine with a day exploring the wider Antrim coastline, from Carrick-a-Rede's rope bridge to the ruins of Dunluce Castle perched above the sea.