What makes a great road trip? Of course, there have to be exciting roads. Those roads should be embedded in a beautiful landscape with great views behind every corner. And ideally, there are little towns to stop for a coffee break or rest after a long day of exploring. You might be tempted to think of the countries surrounding the Alps and considering the name of this website, you might guess it is Italy. Even though this would be a perfectly valid answer, we at Con Crema can think outside the pizza box as well. And so, there is another candidate that ticks all the boxes: Ireland. Let Con Crema take you on a tour along the Irish coast and enjoy a virtual ride through this picturesque country.

We start our journey in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Nowadays, this city is mostly known for hosting the headquarters of many US tech companies. Besides this, there are quite a few historic buildings to explore as well. Trinity College might be the best-known university in Ireland and one of the best universities in Europe. There, you can explore the campus with its historic buildings and visit the spectacular “Long Room”, a 64m long room in the library of the college.
Furthermore, there are two cathedrals in Dublin, and one of them is even named after the well-known Irish patron saint of Ireland St. Patrick. But it is not all dry history in Dublin. Quite the opposite in fact. At night, the city is lively and the pubs in the Temple Bar district are full of people. You certainly pay the price for this, but nevertheless, the atmosphere in the Temple Bar is the best, and in the evening, there is always live music.

We at Con Crema are always on the lookout for where the locals are going. In Dublin, this is quite easy. A few minutes walk from the city centre is where the Dubliners live and where we find a nice local pub. Sitting at the bar, it is easy to connect with the friendly Irish.
After an entertaining evening, Con Crema tries to find some breakfast to prepare for the upcoming drive. There are a few nice cafes that offer good coffee, tasty sandwiches and even some croissants (but unfortunately without crema).

The next stop will be Kenmare. This is a small town on the Atlantic coast where the Ring of Kerry starts. This will be our goal for today. The Ring of Kerry is a panoramic road along the coast. Coming from Kenmare, the surroundings look almost like Sweden: The Kenmare Bay is a long extension of the ocean that resembles a lake. Driving further west, we pass vast stretches of green grass, and after some bends and hills, we suddenly see the ocean. There is a beach with white sand, but even though Con Crema visits in August, the temperatures are still a little too low for our comfort zones. Therefore, we drive on. Turning east at some point, the landscapes change dramatically again. Suddenly, we are driving along small, twisty roads between green hills. Even the weather matches the new atmosphere.

While it was sunny when we were at the beach earlier, there is now a lot of fog and some rain while passing dramatic scenery. But the views are only part of the experience.

At this point, the driving has become a lot of fun. The tight corners and the bumpy roads make you feel like you are a rally driver on the hunt for the best sector time. Images and text can only describe this feeling to a certain point. There is only one advice for all the readers eager to book an Ireland trip right away: Choose a small rental car. The roads are really narrow, and even though there are only very few other cars along the road, being in a small car makes everything a lot easier.

After some exciting stretches of road, we return to Kenmare. Together with Killarney, those towns make for a good base to explore the National Park. Con Crema favours Kenmare as it is less frequented than its bigger brother, Killarney. Therefore, in the evening, we find ourselves sitting in front of a pint in one of the pubs with colourfully painted shop fronts on Henry Street in Kenmare. Even though there aren’t a lot of shops, make sure to plan some time for exploring the village. Just do not lose yourself deciding what kind of clothing made from wool from a local sheep you would like to purchase. We need to move on. The next stop on our journey will be Dunmore Head. Just as it should be for a good road trip, getting to our destination is already an adventure in itself. Shortly after leaving Kenmare, we already need to stop at Muckross House. This traditional property radiates Downton Abbey vibes, and you can easily envision yourself preparing the roses for the upcoming regional flower contest. After a short walk around the mansion and its gardens, we drive on.

*It takes only one turn and the view can change completely*

Along the route is the small town of Dingle, where small shops and cafes invite for a visit. As the weather in Ireland can be a little jumpy even in the middle of August, having an indoor retreat at hand ensures the mood stays uncoupled from the weather swings. Therefore, we try the coffee at The Hare’s Corner, where we can observe the street through a large window in the quiet and cosy room upstairs. If the weather surprises you, the people at Outwest Clothing have you covered. There, you will find everything from waterproof jackets to warm hoodies that keep you warm throughout the rest of your trip.

Driving further west, we take the land route, which is again very fun to drive, and after one of the many hills, the shoreline opens up in front of your windscreen. Arriving at the parking spot for Dunmore Head, we are certainly not alone, but the limited capacity of the space helps control the number of visitors very well. Because of this, you have all the space you need to enjoy this beautiful place. Because Dunmore Head is located further offshore than the surrounding coastline, you have a fantastic view. Driving away from this scene is quite difficult as the road along the coast has a lot of twisty bends, and your gaze is always drawn to the rearview and side mirror, where you can still see the coastline. At this point, being in the passenger seat has a lot of advantages.

*Hey human, of course, we would like to share our views with you*

*It’s okay Sir, we are almost finished here*

After making our way through the Irish countryside, we park our car a few hundred metres from one of the most recommended spots along the coast: The Cliffs of Moher. Google Maps describes this as spectacular, and we have to believe them, as they were hiding pretty well from us in a fog so thick you could merely assume there were cliffs based on the waves of the ocean in the distance. All Con Crema can tell you is that there is a hiking trail along the cliffs where there are large puddles when it is raining and a cafe in the visitor centre that gets crowded quite fast. But the pictures from Maps look impressive.
The good thing about Ireland is that, if you do not mind a little adventure, you can easily find other stretches of coastline that are almost equally beautiful and the missing bits are made up by the fact that you are probably alone there. Almost at least, there might be some sheep wondering why you are obstructing their views.

Before our journey concludes in Galway, we are exploring the area around Clifden. This is another small town with little shops and Pubs, but again it is all about the landscapes around. There is the Connemara National Park with Diamond Hill. The hikes to the top of this hill are quite frequented but this has a good reason as they offer stunning views. In one direction, you can see the Atlantic Ocean, and in the other direction, there are vast stretches of green mountains as far as the eye can see. If this wasn’t enough, there are a lot of lakes and even a Fjord. The whole area is screaming hiking paradise, and you could spend days wandering around.

The last halt on our journey is the town of Galway. It has a beautiful city centre with colourful shops, restaurants and bars. Make sure you visit the market and when you finish shopping, take some time to walk over the Eglinton Canal Sea Lock and along the pier where the locals use the grass to chat with friends, enjoy the sun or read a book.
We covered a lot of kilometres with this road trip, but we at Con Crema fell deeply in love with the Irish countryside, the roads and the friendliness of the Irish, and we can not wait to come back and explore even more.

Bends and Breakfast

Take a break