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Ireland Tours & Travel Packages 2025/2026
251 Ireland trips. Compare tour itineraries from 26 tour companies. 2,047 reviews. 4.5/5 avg rating.
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Top Ireland Attractions
- Touring Dublin with its mansions and townhouses, not to mention impressive literary legacy (home of James Joyce, Brendan Behan, and Oscar Wilde)
- Hiking through rolling green hills at the Ring of Kerry on the Iveragh Peninsula, overlooking the craggy outcroppings, ancient ruins, and the sea and islands beyond
- Kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, near Cork (hint: it requires some effort)
- Drinking a Guinness – with foam expertly shaped into a shamrock -- in an Irish pub, while gabbing with the locals for hours and listening to toe-tapping music
- Sailing with the amazing Irish coastline in view
- Taking a short cruise to places like remote Skellig Michael Island, eight miles off the coast of southwest Ireland, and climbing 600 stone steps to the top for a picnic lunch and incredible views
- Stepping across the thousands of basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway, remnants of an ancient volcano that extends into the North Channel in Northern Ireland
- Exploring the incredible ruins and archaeological sites
- Enjoying water adventures such as surfing or fishing in opal-blue waters of the Dingle Peninsula
Ireland Tours & Travel Guide
Ireland Attractions & Landmarks Guide
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Ireland is open to foreign travelers.
Upon arrival, visitors must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine and fill out a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form to indicate where they intend to self isolate.
Read more about Countries Reopening for Tourism
The name "Ireland" conjures up images of rolling green hills and valleys, coastal promontories and rugged offshore islands, shamrocks and fisherman-knit sweaters, the Blarney Stone and the gift of gab, St. Patrick and not-so-saintly leprechauns, literary giants and the Giants Causeway, charming small towns and sophisticated cities, and of course music-filled pubs serving up pints of Guinness to thirsty locals and travelers. All of it is true (though the leprechauns may be in hiding) and much more, on the Emerald Isle.
Ireland is one place that seldom disappoints – it’s exactly as you imagine it.
That is, if you imagine it as a land of emerald green, with impossibly scenic coastlines and rolling hills dotted with grazing sheep; that’s steeped in culture, especially its rich legacy of writers, poets and dramatists; and that’s populated with many great talkers and storytellers who haunt its pubs, often lubricated by pints of Guinness and shots of Irish whiskey.
Not to mention a certain amount of blarney, whether found in a legendary stone or in tales of mischievous leprechauns and lucky shamrocks.
Ireland fashion seems most comfortable in fisherman-knit sweaters and rain slickers to ward off the damp; while Irish history is reflected in a mix of grand country estates, smart Dublin townhouses, and gritty Belfast Victorians as well as hilltop castle ruins and occasional graffiti remnants of The Troubles that plagued the island throughout much of the 20th century following its partitioning in 1921.
The Emerald Isle has now been at peace with itself throughout the 21st century, and it’s helped to focus more on the similarities between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and less on the latters allegiance to staying in the United Kingdom, which isn’t necessarily due to any great love of the British. Ireland is very much its own island, despite its historical class and sectarian differences.
The Main Cities - Dublin and Belfast
Many Ireland tours begin in Dublin, and deservedly so. James Joyce immortalized it in Ulysses, Oscar Wilde studied art and aesthetics at Trinity College, and playwright Brendan Behan declared “I’m a drinker with a writing problem” here, having sampled most of the city’s 750-some pubs.
Among Dublin sights and experiences not to miss are:
- The ancient Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript kept well-guarded in the Old Library at Trinity College;
- St. Stephen’s Green, the city’s nicest and most popular park, lined by brick Georgian buildings and the famous Shelbourne Hotel;
- Merion Square, the heart of Georgian-era Dublin;
- The National Gallery of Ireland, for great artworks;
- A visit to the Guinness Storehouse, for a look at the history of Ireland’s magic elixir, complete with samples at the end;
- The vibrant nightlife in the Temple Bar area, known for its pubs, and the lively atmosphere of Grafton Street, Ireland’s best known shopping street.
Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, which is part of Great Britain, is perhaps most recognizable as the site of turmoil between Protestants and Catholics in the late 20th century.
But since a peaceful settlement was reached in 1998, Belfast has blossomed into a pleasant base for exploring one of the most scenic and historic regions of the entire island. You can get a good pint of Guinness here, listen to Irish music, and even tour the shipyard where the Titanic was built.
The Scenic Southwest of Ireland
If you enjoy hiking over hills and dales with scenery galore – including lush vegetation, herds of sheep and gushing waterfalls -- it’s hard to top County Kerry in southwestern Ireland. The town of Tralee is the gateway to the county’s Dingle Peninsula, while the town of Killarney is the gateway to the equally spectacular Iveragh Peninsula. Killarney National Park contains some of the country’s best known hiking trails, and the 135-mile-long Kerry Way loops around the entire peninsula.
The little fishing village of Portmagee is the base for boats that ferry passengers to Skellig Michael, an island off the craggy coastline that served as the setting for the dramatic last scene in the most recent Star Wars film, The Force Awakens.
The island is home to beehive-shaped stone huts that are remnants of a 1,400 year old Christian monastery, as well as winding hiking trails to the top.
Elsewhere Around the Republic of Ireland
In County Cork in southern Ireland, you can kiss the precariously situated Blarney Stone, located at Blarney Castle. While it may be the most touristy activity in the entire country, you may wish to join the fun if you want to acquire the gift of gab (as it’s reputed to impart). Just don’t try a selfie, since it’s a long drop down if you let go of the hand gripper.
You’ll find the dramatically situated Cliffs of Moher in County Clare on the west coast, and, a bit farther north, Galway Bay, with the Aran Islands sitting at its mouth. The islands are strongholds of traditional Irish culture: language, music, food, and fashion.
Throughout Ireland you’ll find towns with familiar names that beckon you to explore them: Limerick, Kilkenny, Donegal, Sligo…the list goes on.
Elsewhere Around Northern Ireland
Perhaps surprisingly, Northern Ireland is actually the region where Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick, did most of his missionary work in the 5th Century AD. You can visit some of the key sites of his life here; the St. Patrick Centre in County Down is a good place to start. (To be sure, St. Patrick also did some of his work in southern Ireland as well – at the Rock of Cashel, he’s said to have converted the King of Munster to Christianity.)
Northern Ireland’s winding Antrim Coast is home to the Giant’s Causeway, a geological wonder whose thousands of step-like columns appear to lead the way to Scotland. (A myth claims that a giant built it.) Many scenes from the HBO series Game of Thrones were shot nearby. Also nearby is the Old Bushmills Distillery, which may have you believing in giants and the Iron Throne after a few samples.
Whether or not it’s St. Paddy’s Day, or whether or not you have any Irish blood coursing through your veins, you can uncover your own inner Irish person by booking a tour to Ireland. And that’s no blarney.
Ireland Reviews & Ratings
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Walking in Kerry
The Ring of Kerry is one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland and doing a walking trip is one of the best ways to see it. This trip gets you well away from the t...
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Trusted Customer
Nov 2024
Written on
Irish Highlights
The tour visited so many sights. It was very busy without a feeling of being rushed.
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Patrice Demski
Oct 2023
Written on
Wonders of Britain and Ireland
This itinerary gave us a wonderful taste of both Great Britian and Ireland. We were part of big city, and small town cultures. The itinerary kept us hopping, but w...
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Glenna Lee
Oct 2023
Written on
Wonders of Britain and Ireland
We enjoyed this tour, but realized while taking part that we would not choose another tour that required 2 days of "ferry". We originally wanted a tour that showed...
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Trusted Customer
Sep 2023
Written on
Wonders of Britain and Ireland
The tours was everything I had planned for and then some. However, some not all hotels were subpar for what I had expected. As for the coach read my previous commen...
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