Ireland travel guide: The best things to do and see in Ireland

A trip to Ire­land wouldn’t be com­plete with­out a vis­it to the cap­i­tal city of Dublin. Famous for its cul­tur­al her­itage and charm­ing hos­pi­tal­i­ty, the city ben­e­fits from beau­ti­ful Geor­gian archi­tec­ture and pic­turesque parks such as St Stephen’s Green — which com­bine to make it the most per­fect city. It is also extreme­ly well-known for the renowned lit­er­ary fig­ures that have come from here such as Yeats and Joyce (to name but a few). No sur­prise then that it was dubbed a UNESCO City of Lit­er­a­ture in 2021.

Some of the key attrac­tions in Dublin that you should see are The Lit­tle Muse­um of Dublin, Dublin Cas­tle and the Nation­al Muse­um of Ire­land. Trin­i­ty Col­lege is prob­a­bly the best spot to start your tour of Dublin. Inside the col­lege you can vis­it the extra­or­di­nary per­ma­nent exhi­bi­tion of the 9^th cen­tu­ry Book of Kells.

Ire­land has oodles of famous cities to choose from such as Cork, Gal­way and Belfast! If you’re head­ing to Cork, the sec­ond largest city in the Repub­lic of Ire­land, you’ll find plen­ty of things to do such as vis­it­ing the St. Fin Barre’s Cathe­dral and Blar­ney Cas­tle. The famous Eng­lish Mar­ket locat­ed in the heart of Cork is one of the world’s old­est munic­i­pal mar­kets, and is a big lure for locals and tourists alike. After a morn­ing spent explor­ing the mar­ket, why not stop for a bite of fresh local food at Far­m­gate Restau­rant? Our mem­bers have some great options for home swaps in Cork such as this love­ly fam­i­ly home near the city cen­tre. The host rec­om­mends a num­ber of fun local spots such as Eco restau­rant and South Coun­try Bar for some Irish singing!

There are plen­ty of things to see such and do in Belfast such as The Titan­ic Muse­um and St George’s Mar­ket, which is the last sur­viv­ing Vic­to­ri­an cov­ered mar­ket in Belfast! Most impor­tant­ly, take a day trip to the breath­tak­ing Giants Cause­way. To get here, enjoy the 11-mile bus jour­ney from Col­eraine, cycle route 93 or book with a tour group through Trip Advi­sor. For Game of Thrones fans, there is a whistlestop tour of GoTs most icon­ic scene loca­tions! If you need some­where cosy and homey to go back to after a long day of explor­ing, our mem­bers have lots of love­ly home swaps to choose from. This fam­i­ly home locat­ed in the cen­tre of Belfast is near to all the main attrac­tions. Unpack your bags (to work up an appetite!) and head to Il Pira­ta, Neills Hill or Made in Belfast for a tasty treat. Or if you’d rather just go for a drink, give The Mer­chant a go!

You can start any­where along the 111-mile-long scenic route, but many peo­ple choose to start at Ken­mare or Kil­lar­ney — where our mem­bers hap­pen to have some love­ly home exchanges. This mag­nif­i­cent home in Kil­lar­ney has stun­ning views, so after a long day of walk­ing you can enjoy even more of Ireland’s nat­ur­al beau­ty. Make sure you stop for din­ner at Garret’s for some deli­cious home-cooked food!

You might not think of Ire­land as a des­ti­na­tion for a beach hol­i­day – but you’d be wrong to dis­count Ireland’s stun­ning beach­es and white sands as the ide­al back­drop for some sea­side escapades! The pret­ti­est part of Ireland’s coast­line is hot­ly debat­ed – as an island, they’re sur­round­ed by the sea after all! – but IB4UD (Ire­land Before You Die) has come up with a fan­tas­tic round-up of the best and most beau­ti­ful beach­es in Ireland.

Try as we might, it’s impos­si­ble to come up with a defin­i­tive list of the best things to see and do in Ire­land. Stun­ning scenery, a rich his­to­ry and a warm wel­come away you – plus a drop of Guin­ness and whiskey! Acquaint your­self with the best Irish whiskies before your trav­els, and book your­self into the Guin­ness Store­house in Dublin for an unfor­get­table tour. If you’re plan­ning a wider explo­ration of UK (and why wouldn’t you – these coun­tries are all so excit­ing!) then you might find our round-up of the Top UK Love Home Swaps of 2020use­ful. If you’re still mak­ing your mind up on where you want to go, our trav­el guide to Scot­land and Eng­land trav­el guide should also come in handy. And of course, don’t for­get that we love to hear from our mem­bers. Share your tips on trav­el­ling in Ire­land through our social media chan­nels using our Love Home Swap hash­tag — #welove­home­swap or head to our friend­ly Face­book groups to share hints and tips. If you need a lit­tle help in plan­ning your itin­er­ary around Ire­land, then get in touch with us today.