6 Day Ireland Tour: Paddywagon All Ireland from Dublin

Room Options and Prices

Backpacker is a bed in a small to medium mixed hostel dorm, male and female together as is standard in Europe, sharing with other tour members, with a basic breakfast. Economy is a private room in a B&B, apartment or budget hotel with breakfast each morning, and you confirm your room type, twin, double or triple, after booking. Economy single is the rate for one person in a private room. Rates are per person sharing.

Table source: Paddywagon's listing on Viator.

Included in Every Option

The listing lists these inclusions: 5 nights of accommodation in Belfast, Derry, Galway, on the Dingle Peninsula and in Killarney, breakfast each morning, an air-conditioned coach, a professional guide with live commentary on board, WiFi and USB charging points at every seat, the Cliffs of Moher, skip-the-line admission to the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre and entry to the Titanic Experience in Belfast. On Day 2 the listing also names an included in-depth walking tour of Derry's walls and the Bogside.

What You Pay For Yourself

Food and drinks other than breakfast are not included, so budget for lunches and dinners every day. Hotel pickup and drop-off are not included, and gratuities are not included, with a norm of about €2 to €5 a day for guides on multi-day tours in the Republic. Two optional activities are organised and paid to the driver or guide: the Belfast Black Cab Tour of the Peace Wall and murals, and the Killarney horse and carriage ride or horse riding through Killarney National Park.

The route cannot be modified on request, and changes to your pickup point need a phone call or email before 17:00 the evening prior, guaranteed only once confirmed in writing.

Day 1: Dublin to Belfast

The coach leaves Dublin and stops first at Monasterboice, a monastic settlement the listing dates to year 501, with Celtic crosses and a round tower. In Belfast the group visits the Titanic Experience, with entry included, and the optional Black Taxi tour of the Peace Wall and political murals is recommended. The first night is in Belfast, the second-largest city on the island with about 351,927 residents, whose shipyards built RMS Titanic.

Day 2: Belfast to Giant's Causeway to Dunluce Castle to Derry

A North Coast touring day with stops at the Dark Hedges, an avenue of beech trees planted around 1775 of which about 75 remain, the Giant's Causeway and Derry. The Giant's Causeway ticket covers skip-the-line admission to the visitor centre, which charges from £16 for adults on its own booking page. There is an included walking tour of Derry's walls, built between 1613 and 1619 and about one mile around, plus the Bogside district.

The night is in Derry, with the listing mentioning leisure time and an evening in Letterkenny.

Day 3: Derry to Wild Atlantic Way to Strandhill to Galway

The drive runs along the Wild Atlantic Way, a 2,500 km coastal route launched in 2014 that runs from Donegal to Kinsale. The coach stops part way in Strandhill, County Sligo, for lunch, with the listing suggesting the Strand Bar and a walk to beaches known as some of the finest surfing waters in Europe. Arrival in Galway is by mid afternoon, with a free walking tour on offer.

The night is in Galway, the Republic's fourth most populous city with 85,910 residents at the 2022 census.

Day 4: Galway to Burren to Doolin to Cliffs of Moher to Dingle

The busiest day. The route crosses the Burren, about 530 km2 of karst limestone where over 70 percent of Ireland's flower species grow, then stops in Doolin for lunch. At the Cliffs of Moher, which run for about 14 km and reach 214 m, the admission is included.

The listing then has the coach crossing the River Shannon near Limerick and stopping at Adare before the night on the rural Dingle Peninsula.

Day 5: Dingle to Killarney

The day is spent on the Dingle Peninsula, whose western end is a Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking area, and which ends at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of mainland Ireland. Stops include Inch, Dingle town, with 52 pubs for about 2,000 people per the listing, and the Slea Head drive with views of the Blasket Islands, uninhabited since the 1950s. The night is in Killarney, a town of 14,412 residents that draws about 1.1 million tourists a year.

Day 6: Killarney to Dublin

The morning offers the optional horse and cart ride or horseback ride through Killarney National Park, Ireland's first national park at 102.89 km2. The coach then crosses the Cork and Kerry mountains to Blarney Castle, whose current keep dates from 1446, with about 2 hours on site to kiss the Blarney Stone and see the gardens. After lunch the drive passes through the Golden Vale, arriving back in Dublin late afternoon.

Check These Before You Book

All sales are final and no refund is available for cancellations, so buy cancellation cover with your travel insurance and be sure of your dates. The from price buys a shared hostel dorm bed, so if you need a private room, book the Economy option from $1,706.86 or a single from $2,001.77. The coach holds up to 56 passengers, so if you dislike big groups, look at the 5-Day South West Ireland Tour, capped at 16, or the 7-Day Ireland Tour, capped at 12.

The tour is not accessible by wheelchair, though folding chairs and motor scooters are stored for travellers with walking limitations. There is no minimum age, with infant seats available, but long coach days suit some children better than others. Days 4 and 6 are long, with multiple stops and a 2-hour castle visit, so bring food for the road since lunch is not included. Walking at the Giant's Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher is on uneven ground in Atlantic weather. Solo travellers pay the single rate of $2,001.77 for a private room or share a mixed dorm at the Backpacker rate. If you want a slower pace over the same northern and western ground, the 10-Day Ireland Tour runs it in a group of up to 15 with far more admissions included. For Northern Ireland only, the 5-Day Northern Ireland Tour covers Antrim, Derry, Donegal and Mayo in a group of up to 16 with free cancellation 21 days out.

Reaching Dublin

Dublin Airport is 7 km north of the city centre. Dublin Bus routes 16 and 41 cost €2 to €3.30 and take 30 to 50 minutes, with route 41 running around the clock. Aircoach route 700 costs about €8 to €10 in 30 to 40 minutes, and Dublin Express runs from 4am to 12:30am for about €9.

A taxi to the city centre costs roughly €30 to €45 and takes 20 to 30 minutes. The departure point for the tour is the pickup point in your booking, and changes need to reach the operator before 17:00 the evening prior.

Adding Days Before or After

Because the tour crosses into Northern Ireland on days 1 and 2, check the UK ETA rule. Visitors who need an ETA for the UK must hold one to visit Northern Ireland even when arriving via the Republic, and each traveller including children needs their own, valid for two years. Northern Ireland uses the pound sterling while the Republic uses the euro, so carry both if you want cash for the Black Cab tour or lunches in Belfast and Derry.

If you have spare days in Dublin first, a day trip works well: the Cliffs of Moher Tour from Dublin or the Glendalough and Kilkenny Tour. If Killarney lingers after day 5 and you stay on, the Ring of Kerry Tour from Killarney is a 7.5-hour loop from the same town. Killarney's rail station has direct services to Tralee, Cork and Dublin if you extend independently. Browse all Ireland vacation tours to see the alternatives side by side.