UK and Ireland 2024 Road Trip Planning

last modified

NJ Boardwalk home

This page is my attempt on documenting the family trip to see the NY Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies in London on Sunday June 9th and then head over to Ireland (Northern and the Republic) for a road trip around the Emerald Isle.  I'm hoping we can morph/branch from this to document our experience on the trip.

The "road trip" we actually took can be viewed here.

If interested as you browse this page, here are a couple of playlists you can listen to:

You will need a Spotify ID to listen to either

London - NY Mets game

Travel to London:


6/7 - 6/10 - London stay at the Park International Hotel 117 - 129 Cromwell Road, London, England, SW7 4DS


6/9 - 3:10PM Let's Go Mets!!! -  Mets vs Phillies game at London Stadium.


6/10 - Travel from London to Belfast via British Airways flight 1420 departing London 10:10AM arriving Belfast 11:30AM.
          Pick-up car rental at Arrivals Hall. Directions to Cordia Serviced Apartments

Road trip across Ireland

This is a list of Google map routes to the various lodging spots with links to the lodging accommodations as we cross Ireland. I mostly tried to keep around the coasts where I thought it would be interesting to see.  As we identify, places we want to visit, they will be added below.

Here's a Google map view of the Dublin to Belfast points of interests, at least as of this writing.

6/10 - Belfast stay at Cordia Serviced Apartments Lisburn Road,355-367, Belfast, Northern Ireland. 
Places of interest to visit:

6/11 - Travel from Belfast to Derry (3hrs) Stopping at:
  • Carrick-A-Red
    (Rope bridge spanning the dizzying gap over the North Atlantic from the mainland to a small island.)
    Pre-booking essential for rope bridge crossing. Please book online before traveling to the site. book here

  • Giants Causeway
    Follow in the legendary footsteps of giants at Northern Ireland's iconic World Heritage Site.
    Pre-Booking is highly recommended. Please book before traveling to the site. more info and booking

6/11 - Derry lodging at Abbey House Guest House 4 Abbey Street, Londonderry, Northern Ireland. 
Places of interest to visit:
6/12 - Drive from Derry via coastal route to Kilcar, Donegal (3.5hrs) Stopping at:

6/12 - Donegal stay at airbnb in Kilcar on the Wild Atlantic Way. 
Places of interest to visit:

6/13 - Drive from Kilcar to Enniscrone county Sligo (2.25hr)


6/13 - Enniscrone county Sligo stay at airbnb Enniscrone _Cosy 2 bedroom cottage
Places of interest to visit:
  • Kathy's family - if we make contact.
  • Rory Gallagher Statue (Ballyshannon) during drive
  • BenBulben (drive by?)
  • Queen Maeve Park & Sligo sign (Sligo town)(during drive?)

6/14 - Travel Sligo to Galway: we have 2 different coastal routes we can take. The second one is longer and really hugs the coast.
  1. Sligo to Galway via most coastal route (4.55hrs)
  2. Sligo to Galway via most coastal route (6.75hrs)

6/14 - Galway stay at The Western Hotel 33 Prospect Hill, Galway, Galway 
Places of interest to visit:

6/15 - Drive Galway to Cork, there are 2 potential routes from Galway to Cork.
          The second one we can get to Skibbereen/Squince Beach going from Galway to Cork; it is 5.5hrs though.
           Need to consider timing for visit to Blarney Castle either to Cork or from Cork to Dublin.
  1. Galway to Cliffs of Mohrer to Cork (3hrs 48min)
  2. Galway to Cliffs of Mohrer to Skibbereen/Squince Strand(Beach) to Cork (6hrs 45min)

6/15 - Cork stay at airbnb Blarney Countryside Private Guest Studio near Blarney Castle
Places of interest to visit:
  • Blarney Castle - can book tickets online but no pricing advantage. Senior discount available.

6/16 - Drive Cork to Dublin, there are 2 potential routes from Cork to Dublin(car rental drop-off).
          Both assume we visit Blarney Castle and Cobh on way to Dublin.
          The second is longer and would depend on having time to get to car rental drop-off in time.
  1. Cork to Dublin (Car Drop-off  151 Drumcondra Rd Lower, Drumcondra) via Blarney Castle and Cobh (3hrs:45min)
  2. Cork to Dublin (Car Drop-off 151 Drumcondra Rd Lower, Drumcondra) via Blarney Castle and Cobh, Dungarvan, Waterford, Wexford and coast (5hrs)
          Car rental drop-off to hotel: Dublin Car Rental drop-off (151 Drumcondra Road Lower) to the Arlington Hotel at O'Connell Bridge via bus


6/16 - 6/18 - Dublin stay at Arlington Hotel at O'Connell Bridge Bachelors Walk, Dublin, Dublin
         Places of interest to visit:
6/18 - Travel home: flight from Dublin to JFK via Aer Lingus flight EI105 departs DUB 11:05AM arrives JFK 1:29PM