Hello, fellow travelers! Last November my family of four had an unforgettable adventure in Ireland without breaking the bank. We started in Dublin for a couple days and then drove through some of the iconic landmarks and towns in the southern half of Ireland, working our way to Galway before returning home. Here’s the breakdown of how we made this trip a reality for $8,500.
Trip Overview and Total Cost
Ireland was a dream destination for my husband and me. It was supposed to be our honeymoon 12 years ago, but life happened, so now we had the joy of exploring it with our two kids, aged 10 and 12. Over the course of 9 days, we had an epic road trip exploring major cities like Dublin and Galway and ventured into the breathtaking Irish countryside. We visited museums, castles, cathedrals, pubs, and parks. The charm and friendliness of the Irish people made our trip even more special.
For the entire trip, including airfare, accommodations, food, shopping, and sightseeing, we spent a total of $8,515.17. This might seem steep, but with a little planning, you can adjust this to fit your budget. Here’s a breakdown of the major travel categories:
Airfare to Ireland & Car Rental – $4,049.54
Flights: The biggest chunk of our budget was airfare and transportation, totaling $4,049.54. Flights cost $3,170.52 – that’s around $730 per ticket. The flights included seat selection and the option to cancel because we bought our tickets six months ahead of the trip. Using Google Flights Explore, we found tickets as low as $430 dollars. For a demo of how we found those tickets, you can watch my YouTube video here.
Rental Car: We rented a Kia Sportage (midsize SUV) from Alamo for $578.93. We chose a manual because it was less expense. We also had to buy Alamo’s car insurance because our regular coverage, through our credit card, didn’t extend to Ireland, Israel or Jamaica – that was a surprise, so do your homework on this. Alamo insurance was about $35 per day. We also paid a little extra for tolls covered by Alamo.
A quick note on luggage: We packed one standard size suitcase and 3 carry on size suitcases, and each of us had a backpack/tote. This fit into the car perfectly. Anything more would have been problematic. I want to say to US drivers, the lanes are smaller in Ireland and there are no shoulders unless you’re on the main highways. A bigger SUV would be very hard to navigate and park. The midsize SUV even felt big sometimes. Refueling cost about 60 euros and we had to refuel twice for our 9 day itinerary.
Hotels – $2,157.98
We stayed at a mix of hotels, from Dublin’s Drury Court Hotel to the Club House Hotel in Kilkenny and Galway Bay Hotel. I can say without hesitation that the best hotel of the trip was the Dingle Benners Hotel. This historic hotel is beautifully maintained, with lovely staff, in the heart of Dingle. Whenever possible, we opted for the Bed and Breakfast rate (this is an upcharge) so that we started each day with a traditional Irish breakfast. This saved us some money on the trip as a large filling breakfast allowed us to occasionally skip lunch or have a smaller snack before we reached our next destination for dinner. Pro Tip: if you are also considering a road trip style itinerary, look for hotels that have free parking.
Food – $1,471.19
Food is one of the best parts of travel! It can also be one of the most expensive parts of travel. As mentioned above, we always look for accommodations that offer a free continental breakfast – since this didn’t appear to be a thing in Ireland, we opted for the Bed & Breakfast rate whenever we it was offered. Otherwise we ate pubs and restaurants along the way. Lucky for me, my husband is not shy about stopping people on the street and asking for local favorites.
To ease the cost of eating out we also find grocery stores along the way to get bottled water and car friendly snacks like granola bars, jerky, and chips. A fun idea my daughter had was to create a “Snackle box.” We took a bead storage box and filled the various compartments with different kinds of candy and dried fruit. I love European candy and we were all sad when we finished off the last bits of our snackle box when we returned home.
Shopping & Souvenirs – $563.77
We spent $563.77 on souvenirs, including beautiful wool products from Galway Woolen Market and Irish gifts from Carroll’s. We prefer functional souvenirs – opting for things we can wear or use. Aside from gifts for others, we purchased beautiful bookmarks from the Book of Kells experience at Trinity College, warm wool knit hats, and a flute for my son. A popular shopping destination in Dublin is Grafton Street, but we opted to do most of our shopping on Quay Street in Galway at the tail end of our trip. Pro Tip: Set a souvenir budget ahead of time and focus on items unique to the destination.
Sightseeing – $272.70
When it’s all said and done, I am still amazed at how little we paid to see Ireland’s iconic locations. Many attractions, like the stunning Irish countryside, are free to enjoy, so you can balance your itinerary based on your budget. A list of places we visited that were free of charge include Wicklow Mountains National Park, Kevin’s Chapel in Glendalough, Killarney National Park, Muckross Abbey, and driving the Gap of Dunloe.
Even the sights that we paid to see were very affordable with many giving free admittance to children 12 and under. Highlights included the Book of Kells at Trinity College ($84.80), Blarney Castle & Gardens ($57.75), and Cliffs of Moher ($62.28). Ireland has an amazing mix of historic sites, coastlines, colorful towns, and lush landscapes. There really is something for every type of traveler.
Budget Travel Tips
To wrap up, here are my top tips for budget travel:
- Plan and prioritize: You can find examples of multi-day itineraries for nearly every destination. I often visit Reddit for this kind of information. For Ireland in particular, I recommend the r/irishtourism subreddit.
- Use a dedicated credit card: In addition to identity theft protection, and the potential for rewards, using a dedicated credit card allows you to quickly see how much your spending. Then when you return home, you will hopefully pay that off from your sinking funds and quickly resume your regular budget.
- Be flexible: Traveling during the off-season or staying outside of city centers can help you reduce costs for airfare and accommodations.
Traveling internationally doesn’t have to break the bank. With smart planning and these tips, you can make your dream trip a reality. If you found this post helpful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family.
To watch a summary of our itinerary with pictures and video check out my video here: https://youtu.be/2-wiG7MBjFI?si=ojElViu5IdTs22od.
