Dublin

Wed 2/9/26

Today we would be heading back to Dublin and return the rental car at the airport. Today's plan was only do sightseeing in Dublin city centre so we would be taking public transport. Initially we wanted to stop by Rock of Dunamase which we skipped on the way from Wicklow to Portmagee due to road closure / diversion. But we decided to forego it today to give more time to spend in Dublin.

We checked out from our apartment at 9.30am after having our self made breakfast and drove to Dublin. The journey took about 3 hours via the highway (motorway) covering 250km. We stopped by at a petrol station near the airport to fill up the tank before returning the car at the Avis car rental in Dublin airport. 

From the car rental return, we took the shuttle bus to Terminal 1 and then took the free Hilton Dublin airport shuttle bus from Zone 16 coach parking to the hotel. We reached Hilton Dublin airport  at 1.30pm and our room was ready for check in (EUR 159.20 or RM 769 per night) although we got a room with disabled toilet. 

While we were at Terminal 1, I bought the 1 day pass Leap card from WH Smith store which we would be using today to reach the city centre and back to the hotel. The 1 day pass cost 8 EUR per person. 

After having lunch of fried rice and sandwich in our room which we had prepared back at the apartment in the morning, we set out to Dublin, taking the bus no. 15 using the Leap card which we have to tap in upon entry. We alighted at Eden Quay by the Liffey river. 

We walked along the river towards Ha'penny bridge then walked to the Temple Bar, crossed the bridge to take the tram from Abbey Street to St Stephen's Green park and spent some time at the park sipping tea. 

Ha'penny bridge by the Liffey river

Temple Bar area

St Stephen's Green park

From St Stephen's Green park, we walked to Stephen's Green shopping centre to buy some souvenirs. We then went to Lidl and bought some shortbread there. 

Stephen's Green shopping centre

For dinner, we had qabuli pilau with lamb at D'Grill halal restaurant nearby. After dinner, we took the bus back to Eden Quay, enjoyed sitting by the river until sunset and then took the bus no. 15 back to Hilton Dublin airport. It was a very brief adventure in Dublin city (and skipping Trinity college and the Book of Kells library, although we did pass by, saw it from the tram). 

qabuli pilau with lamb

sunset by river Liffey

Back at the hotel, we packed our luggage for early check out next morning. We would be taking the free shuttle bus at 5am and catch our flight back to Kuala Lumpur via Doha at 8.15 am.

Connemara

Tue 1/9/26

Today we would be driving 145 km from our apartment in Lisdoonvarna to Connemara National Park to do the Diamond Hill hike. It took us 2.5 hours of driving to reach there. The beautiful views of the lakes near to the national park more than made up the long journey there. We would only stop for pictures on the way back after completing the hike.

lake view otw Connemara national park

lake view otw Connemara national park

We reached the car park (free of charge) at 11am and started the hike to the Upper Diamond Hill Red route (3.5km loop). The upper trail goes up to the summit of Diamond Hill, with views  of the Twelve Bens mountain range and Kylemore Abbey at the top. However it was very windy and cloudy today, so we only got the views of the Kylemore, Bunnaboghee, Touther, Maladrolaun lakes and the Atlantic ocean from Big Rock viewpoint via the Lower Diamond Hill (Blue Route).  There were wildflowers also along the route. We had a lunch stop of our packed sandwich at the Big Rock viewpoint while enjoying the views. 

at the start of the trail

view of the bay from the lower Diamond hill trail

view of Kylemore lake 

 upper Diamond hill trail

at the top of Diamond hill

view from Upper Diamond hill trail

going down from the Upper Diamond hill trail

Diamond hill

surrounded by wildflowers

We finished our hike at 2.30pm (including stops), covering a distance of 8.14km with 481m elevation gain. After going to the restroom, we drove to Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden nearby. We only took pictures from outside and then enjoyed scones with coffee latte at the restaurant there. 

Diamond hill Lower and Upper loop trail

Kylemore abbey

enjoying latte and scone 

Before going back to our apartment in Lisdoonvarna, we stopped by the Kylemore and Inagh lakes to take pictures of the beautiful views with a group of sheep by the roadside. You could also choose to feed the sheep at a stall near Inagh lake. 

sheep by the Inagh lake

Inagh lake

We had another stop at a beautiful park at Oughterard Park on the way back with the calming Rivervista. 

Oughterard Park

Oughterard Park

Last photo stop of the day was Dunguaire castle by the Kinvarra bay. We only took pictures from the outside as the castle is currently closed. There is a free car park nearby for the castle visit. 

Dunguaire castle

Next, we stopped by Corkscrew hill view point near our apartment. We finally reached our apartment at close to 7pm and called it a day. We had our self prepared dinner at the apartment.

Corkscrew hill viewpoint

Moher cliffs

Mon 31/8/26

Cliffs of Moher 

We will be going to the famous Cliffs of Moher today, but I didn't want to go to the touristy "Cliffs of Moher experience" where all the tour buses and crowds go. After some research, I decided to do the free 6.5km Cliffs of Moher walk from Doolin town to Surfers Path. We took the free Burren & Cliffs Explorer Shuttle Bus (which operates in Summer) from Lisdoonvarna bus stop opposite Spar supermarket. It was just a short walk from our apartment to the bus stop. The free shuttle bus brought us until Doolin town where we alighted and walked a bit to the Cliffs of Moher walking trail.

Although there is a sign there saying the cliff walk is closed, but do read carefully. It said the cliff walk is closed 5km ahead, so it means the 5km walk is indeed open. Just walk through the small gap at the barrier. We passed through some privately owned farms and there were friendly horses to take pictures with along the way. 

Cliffs of Moher walking trail

easy walking trail

Cliffs of Moher walking trail

friendly horses

The best view of the cliffs is nearer towards the "Cliffs of Moher experience". Be careful not to walk or stand to near the edge. At the Surfers Path, the route was totally blocked so there was no way to pass through. We thought of continuing the walk towards the "Cliffs of Moher experience", but there was a signage prohibiting pedestrians to walk on the road. We completed the Cliff walk with 5.9km distance and 176m elevation gain.

view nearer towards the "Cliffs of Moher experience"

Luckily not long after, the free Burren & Cliffs Explorer Shuttle Bus passed by our way, and 2 hikers in front of us flagged the bus, and it stopped for them, so we joined in to take the free shuttle and alighted at the "Cliffs of Moher experience" entrance. 

There was indeed so many people and tour buses here. We only spent 30 minutes here to take pictures then went back to the bus stop to take the free shuttle back to Lisdoonvarna. We then did some grocery shopping at the supermarket there and walked back to our apartment to have our packed lunch at the apartment gardens.

view from "Cliffs of Moher experience"

zoom in Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher walking trail

Burren

After resting and refreshing a bit, I decided to do the nature trail walk at Burren national park. We could take the free shuttle bus there, but we drove instead. We first went to take pictures at a few nearby castles - Newtown and Ballyporty castle.

Newtown castle

Ballyporty castle

The route to the Burren national park is surrounded by limestone hills. From a distance they looked purplish like lavender, however upon closer inspection, they are actually limestone. 

There is no proper car park, hikers parked their cars by the roadside, or took the free shuttle bus. We took the 1.9km Nature Trail (white route), packing with us scones and hot tea to have as a picnic. The trail passes through hazel woodland and open limestone pavement. There were views of Mullaghmore mountain and the Lough Gealain lake.  

Burren national park 

Burren national park

limestone hill in the distance

start with wood trail

lake in Burren national park

On the way back to the apartment, we passed by Poulnabrone dolmen tomb, three standing portal stones built by Neolithic farmers from 3800 and 3200 BC. Parking here is free. Next to it is the Caherconnell stone fort. We didn't enter the fort, just viewed from outside. Ticket is required to enter the stone fort.

We then called it a day and prepared dinner at our apartment.

Dingle peninsular

Sun 30/8/26

Today would be a long drive from Killarney to Lisdoonvarna in County Clare via the Dingle peninsular for a scenic drive. The drive would cover 330 km with stops at Dingle peninsular along the Wild Atlantic Way. We set out for our drive at 9.30am after having our self made breakfast at the apartment. It was sunny this morning.

Our first stop was Minard castle, a castle ruin by the beach. The road to the beach was narrow and there is a small, free car park. It rained briefly here.

Minard castle ruins

Minard beach

We then drove onwards to Coumeenoole beach. There is a free car park here. We made our way down to the beach. There was a signage prohibiting visitors to swim but I did see someone swimming. It did also rain briefly here. We had our packed sandwich for lunch at the bench with views of the beach and Atlantic Ocean. Better to arrive here early as when we were about to leave at 1pm, we were blocked briefly by a tour bus which was just arriving. 

Coumeenoole beach

Coumeenoole beach

Coumeenoole beach

Our next stop not far away was Dun Chaoin or Dunquin, with beautiful views of the cliffs. Be careful not to go to near the edge. The car park was also free here.

Dunquin

Dunquin view point

Moving on to the next stop at An Chonair or Connor Pass with scenic view at 151m (1496 ft). There is a free car park to stop for photographs. We skipped the nearby waterfall as it was raining at the time and the rocks might be slippery. 

Connor pass

We then made our way to County Clare via Caherconree scenic route, a single lane paved road with beautiful views. We stopped by the road at a pullover when there was no other cars to take some pictures then quickly continued driving as there was no proper car park. 

Caherconree scenic route

We finally arrived at our Apartments Balinsheen House and Gardens (EUR 386 or RM 1864 for 3 nights) at almost 6pm. Our host, Mary welcomed us with scones, how lovely of her. Finally Partner In Crime managed to get the scones he had been craving for.

scones with jam, butter and milk

lovely kitchen

For dinner tonight, we prepared fried rice at our self catering apartment.