☘️IRISH PUBS AND WHISKEY TOUR -10 DAY, SELF DRIVE TOUR
Tour Description
In Ireland, we enjoy the pub & distillery culture responsibly. Travel the length & breath of Ireland enjoying the magnificent, world famous Pubs, Breweries & Distilleries, and the ‘CRAIC (pronounced "Crack", Gaelic for good times and conversation). Ireland, the Emerald Isle, is a land steeped in history, culture, and of course, a legendary pub scene. This tour is the Ultimate in discovering the best of the Irish Distilleries, Breweries and Pubs, and the worldwide respect that they have earned.
Benny's Tip
**Enjoy the pub culture (responsibly) - Pubs are more than places to drink—they’re community hubs. Live music, storytelling, and friendly chats with locals are part of the magic. **Learn a few Irish phrases (just for fun) - Most people speak English, but tossing out a “sláinte” (cheers) or “craic” (fun/good times) always earns a smile.
"Hi, I'm Benny, a native of Ireland, born and raised in Ireland."
Tour Highlights
Dublin City Guinness Storehouse Irish Whiskey Museum Wicklow Brewery Kilkenny City Smithwick’s Experience Old Midleton Distillery Cork City Ballyvolane House Beara Peninsula Franciscan Brewery,Cork Ki...
- Dublin City
- Guinness Storehouse
- Irish Whiskey Museum
- Wicklow Brewery
- Kilkenny City
- Smithwick’s Experience
- Old Midleton Distillery
- Cork City
- Ballyvolane House
- Beara Peninsula
- Franciscan Brewery,Cork
- Killarney Brewing Company
- Ring of Kerry
- Jarvey’s Rest
- Dingle Peninsula & Slea Head
- Dingle Distillery
- Inch Beach
- Cliffs of Moher
- The Burren
- Doolin
- Connemara
- Galway Whiskey Trail
- Kilbeggan Distillery
- Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre
- Irish Whiskey Museum
- Slane Castle & Distillery
- The Boyne Valley
- Irish Whiskey trail in Galway
Tour Itinerary
FAMILY & GROUP RATES ALSO AVAILABLE – PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US DAY -1/ WELCOME TO IRELAND Upon arrival transfer to your city centre hotel. Explore Ireland’s Capital City discovering the north and south side of the River Liffey. Wandering around the Heart of Historic Dublin—the Liberties—you will find one of Ireland’s leading visitor attractions, The Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction, offering an immersive experience into the history and craft of...
FAMILY & GROUP RATES ALSO AVAILABLE – PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US
DAY -1/ WELCOME TO IRELAND
Upon arrival transfer to your city centre hotel. Explore Ireland’s Capital City discovering the north and south side of the River Liffey. Wandering around the Heart of Historic Dublin—the Liberties—you will find one of Ireland’s leading visitor attractions, The Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction, offering an immersive experience into the history and craft of Guinness beer.
The Guinness Brewery
The Guinness Brewery in Dublin is Europe's largest stout producing brewery and home to the Guinness Storehouse. Opened in 1904, the Storehouse was an operational plant for fermenting and storing Guinness.
Today it houses a very fine exhibition dedicated to the Guinness story. Visitors will discover what goes into the making a pint of Guinness—the ingredients, the brewing process, the time, the craft and the passion.
The exhibition shows how the brew has been marketed and how it is today sold in over 150 countries.
Once the tour has finished, you are invited to the Gravity Bar to enjoy a pint of Guinness.
Regular demonstrations on the art of pulling a pint of Guinness also take place in the Storehouse.
Overnight: Dublin area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -2/ DUBLIN TO KILKENNY
The Wicklow Brewery
opened its doors in September 2014. The brewery is now producing several craft beers, which can all be tasted at Mickey Finns Pub, a rustic & welcoming Irish pub.
You can also enjoy a guided tour of the brewery where you will enjoy a first-hand experience in a working brewery! Continue towards Kilkenny, often referred to as “the Marble City”.
A medieval city of 24,000 people, it is characterized by many beautifully restored buildings and winding slipways—it is small and compact enough to explore on foot, yet full of fascinating historical buildings and contemporary shops, design galleries and restaurants.
The Smithwick's Experience
No visit of Kilkenny can be considered complete without a visit to the Smithwick's Experience—home to one of Ireland’s most popular ale. The Brewery opened its doors in July 2014.
Housed in a restored Victorian building the multi-sensory experience takes visitors on a journey through the medieval origins of brewing on the site, to the arrival of John Smithwick’s in the 1700’s up to the present day.
During the tour, the brewing process will be brought to life with visitors having the opportunity to experience the smells, tastes and textures of the raw materials involved in creating the perfect pint of ale.
Immerse yourself in the story of Smithwick’s, told as only a local knows how. Where 300 years of history combine with extraordinary brewing innovations, to create the Smithwick’s tour – an experience like no other.
Overnight: Kilkenny area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -3/ CORK & SURROUNDINGS
This morning travel south towards county Cork. On the way stop at Ballyvolane House, a historic country house with amazing gardens, a farmhouse, luxurious and welcoming accommodation. Built in 1728 for Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, the house was later modified in the mid-19th century into its current Italianate style.
But first and foremost house to an award winning Gin: Bertha’s Revenge.
Bertha’s Revenge
The story starts with a cow named Bertha and 2 friends sharing the same passion for food & drink.
With time they created an amazing little business and produce a great Gin that has to be tasted! The distillery is not open to visitors but we suggest a stop at the house to enjoy the surroundings and why not lunch with a side of gin! Continue to Midleton,
The Old Midleton Distillery
was founded by the Murphy brothers in 1825. The guided tour of the distillery commences with a short audiovisual, after which visitors are taken on a tour of the old distillery. Follow the old distillery trail through mills, maltings, stillhouse, warehouses and kilns and view the largest pot still in the world.
The tour ends in the distillery pub, where all are invited to enjoy a glass of Irish Whiskey. Continue on to Cork City, where you will hear the funniest and some say sexiest accent in Ireland, listen to words such as “langer” and “ye boyo”.
A modern, vibrant and progressive urban centre, Cork was awarded as the European Capital of Culture 2005.
The Franciscan Well Brewery
Once in Cork, we recommend a tour of the Franciscan Well Brewery, which has combined modern technology with the age old tradition, brewing classic beer styles including lager, ale, stout, and wheat beer, putting innovation at the forefront of the brewing process!
They offer guided tours from Monday to Friday at 6.30 pm and you would get a chance to taste one of Ireland’s favourite beers. Don’t worry if you arrive over the weekend, you can always have a look at their Brew Pub based on the site of an ancient Franciscan monastery, and later the centre of Guinness bottling for the people of Cork.
Overnight: Cork area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -4/ THE BEARA PENINSULA & KILLARNEY
This morning leave Cork and travel to County Kerry on the way exploring the Beara Peninsula - the wildest and most romantic of the peninsulas. The peninsula stretches for a distance of 48km from Glengarriff to Dursey Island and back to Kenmare. It presents a magnificent landscape, which sweeps from the spine of the Caha Hills down to the shores of Bantry Bay and Kenmare Bay. The Beara is desolate, a harsh and rocky landscape. This area enjoys a tropical climate due to the close proximity of the Gulf Stream and the local flora is lush and sometimes exotic.
The Killarney Brewery
Upon arrival in Killarney, why not pay a visit to Killarney Brewery. Killarney Brewery revives the age old art of craft beer production in the town for the first time since the 1800’s.
The brewery tour offers beer enthusiasts the insiders view to one of Ireland’s premier craft breweries. Friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining tour guides take guests on an informative and exciting journey through the beer brewing operation.
During the tour, guests will navigate 
the entire beer making process, smell the different varieties of malts, rub their hands in some of the aromatic hops, overlook the packaging facility and get a bird’s eye view of how all these ingredients are carefully combined in a state of the art brewing facility.
Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co. is a prominent independent brewery and distillery located in Fossa, County Kerry, Ireland.
Overnight: Killarney area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -5/ THE RING OF KERRY
Today enjoy touring the Ring of Kerry—the most famous and panoramic route in Ireland. The astonishing beauty of this large peninsula, Iveragh, comes from the great diversity of its scenery, which offers incessant contrasts. En route around the Ring, take in spectacular scenery—mountains, peat bogs, lakes and magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean as one travels along the coast road. Leaving Killarney pass through Killorglin then to Glenbeigh where the cliff road affords panoramic views of the Dingle Peninsula and Dingle Bay.
Continuing to Cahirciveen, you’ll pass the birthplace of our national hero, 
Daniel O’Connell.
Next, continue on through peat bogs to the town of Waterville. Travel to Sneem Village, famous for its brightly coloured houses.
The road then continues through the mountains to Molls Gap and Ladies View with superb views of the famous Lakes of Killarney and on to Muckross.
Located in Muckross, The Jarvey's Rest is an award winning Irish pub. You open the door and feel the heat of the welcoming fire.
A Jarvey’s Irish Night Show
is a genuine Irish pub experience with great food and entertainment and is not to be missed! (Optional) The evening consists of an authentic Irish dinner using the best ingredients from the Kerry area. The mixture of traditional tunes, rousing ballads and Irish music performed by Onora creates a magical atmosphere. Added to this is The Torc Irish Dancers, award winning dancers performing jigs, reels and heart pounding Irish dances.
Overnight: Killarney area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -6/ THE DINGLE PENINSULA & SLEA HEAD
This morning you will depart Killarney and explore the Dingle Peninsula, famous for its Celtic, pre-Christian monuments and Christian churches. It is also a “Gaeltacht” – Irish speaking area, where the Irish language and traditional ways of life are preserved. Dingle town itself is a thriving fishing town and offers plenty of opportunity for shopping or simply savouring the atmosphere of a typical country Irish town. The road between Dunquin and Slea Head is dotted with beehive huts, forts and church sites. Visit Inch Beach - a long beach bordered by dunes and made famous by David Lean’s movie “Ryan’s daughter”. Admire the Iveragh Peninsula and Rossbeigh Beach.
The Dingle Whiskey Distillery
Dingle town hosts the Dingle Whiskey Distillery - a modest distillery crafting their whiskey, and small batches of gin & vodka in hand crafted copper pot stills and a small swan neck pot still. When the first spirit trickled from the stills in 2012 it represented a milestone in the history of distilling in Ireland. Their unique Dingle Whiskey is maturing in the mild, moist climate of Ireland’s south-west coast and now visitors can enjoy the fruits of their labours in the form of Dingle Original Whiskey, Gin and Vodka.
Their output of whiskey is 2 casks per day and their aim is to create a whiskey of superlative quality and unique character, the essence of Irish pot still distilled and matured on the far Atlantic coast of Ireland.
They take the best Irish malted barley and make pure pot still malt whiskey. No whiskey in Scotland or Ireland experiences a maturation process like theirs.
Overnight: Dingle area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -7/ THE CLIFFS OF MOHER & THE BURREN REGION
This morning you will explore County Clare, known as “the music county” due to its strong tradition for Irish music and dance. Continue to the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular 5-mile long cliff, which rises almost 200m above sea level situated on the Atlantic Ocean and bordering The Burren. On a clear day it is possible to see the Aran Islands as well as the valley and the hills of Connemara. The cliffs reach their highest point just north of O’Brien Tower, built by a descendant of Brian Boru, he who defeated the Vickings in battle.
Doolin
Next travel to Doolin, a charming small seaside village on the northwest coast of Co. Clare. Traditionally a fishing village, it is now renowned world-wide as the traditional music capital of Ireland.
Continue exploring the Burren Region—a unique place, part of which forms the 100 square kilometre Burren National Park. It contains dozens of megalithic tombs and Celtic crosses as well as a ruined Cistercian Abbey dating back to the 12th century. You will discover small villages abandoned during the “Famine” period and greenroads on which you can walk for miles without ever seeing a car.
The flora on the Burren is a mixture of Artic and Mediterranean with rare flowers such as gentian, orchids and bloody cranesbill. Travel onward to County Galway, just north of The Burren.The Burren's distinctive karst topography features vast expanses of exposed limestone pavement, interspersed with deep fissures known as grikes. This environment supports a remarkable array of flora, with over 700 species of plants and ferns recorded, including Arctic-alpine and Mediterranean species growing side by side .
Overnight: Galway area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -8/ SPECTACULAR CONNEMARA
Today enjoy touring the Connemara area. Journey through one of the most romantic parts of Ireland full of lakes and rivers, bogs and mountains. A land of small villages where Gaelic is still the spoken language and where little has changed since the beginning of time.
A land characterised for its stone walls and thatched cottages. On its northern shore the land is harsher and more secretive, with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and the beautiful fjord of Killary Harbour,
Whiskey Tasting In Galway
Travel back to Galway City for an evening of whiskey tasting. You may wish to join a Whiskey Trail Group where you will get to taste a real flavour of Ireland. Taste handpicked uniquely Irish whiskeys in the company of our local experts, offering only the best tasting experiences and the discovery of some of Galway City’s famous traditional pubs! On these tours you will taste the best Ireland has to offer including Jameson, Teeling, and Connemara Whiskeys for example.
Overnight: Galway area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -9/ GALWAY TO DUBLIN
Today travel back to Dublin via Ireland’s midlands— Counties Westmeath and Offaly. Westmeath is also home to the oldest licensed pot still whiskey distillery in the world - Kilbeggan Distillery.
Kilbeggan Distillery
Start your tour in 1757 and discover how Irish Whiskey was made at the time of the Lockes ownership of the distillery and then follow on to see how 
Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey is now being made in the traditional manner which includes a 180 year old pot still. The distillery was producing a traditional pot still Irish Whiskey for almost 200 years, before it closed in 1954. The doors and production reopened in 2007 and the distillery now hosts a museum where visitors can experience a real working distillery run by a team of young enthusiastic craftspeople (and a few wise old heads too).The guided tour follows the process of making triple distilled Irish Whiskey, from the grinding of the grain to the casking of the final product. At the end of the tour you will receive a complimentary sample of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey.
Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre
Before continuing to Dublin, make a stop at the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, home of the internationally renowned brand. Visitors can wander through the various recreated working stations that were at the distillery such as malting, bottling or cooperage areas and learn how the whiskey was made. Throughout the tour visitors can interact with the artefacts, admire bees collecting honey for the production of Irish Mist, try outfits worn on canal barges in the 1850's and learn about the history of Tullamore town. After your visit and tasting, return for your final stop in Dublin.
Irish Whiskey Museum
On arrival you can visit the Irish Whiskey Museum, which will give you the history of whiskey making in Ireland, its downfall and its revival in the last years.A last tour to check if you have memorised all that you’ve learned along the way! Alternatively, you could just drop your bags off before enjoying your new favourite Irish drink, whether beer or whiskey, in one of Dublin’s many pubs.
Overnight: Dublin area (Bed & Irish breakfast)
DAY -10/ FAREWELL
Slane Castle Distillery
If time allows we suggest you visit the Slane Castle Distillery situated North of Dublin, just a short drive from Dublin Airport. The new distillery pays homage to the resilient nature of Irish heritage . Allow their storytellers to immerse you into the wonderful world of whiskey. Finish the tour in the best way possible, with a taste of our signature triple casked blend, Slane Irish Whiskey. Travel to Dublin Airport for the return flight
About this trip
Capture the charm of Ireland's pub and distillery culture.
Steeped in rich history and vibrant culture, Ireland offers a one-of-a-kind journey through cobbled streets, countryside towns, and coastal hideaways where every pint tells a story. This is the ultimate tour for those seeking to experience the very best of Ireland’s celebrated drinking traditions and the global acclaim they’ve rightfully earned.
Raise a glass, make new friends, and uncover the true soul of Ireland — one pub at a time!
Why Choose this Tour
**Flexibility to wander wherever you wish during your visit
**Visit Ireland's most famous bucket list destinations
**Stress-Free Planning – All the details are handled, so you can relax and fully enjoy the experience
Additional Info
Inclusions and Services:
*9 nights’ accommodations at 3/4 Star Hotels and B&Bs with full Irish breakfast each morning
*Service charges and taxes at existing rates
*Admission to the Dingle Distillery
*Admission to the Kilbeggan Distillery
*Admission to the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre
*Admission to the Killarney Brewing Company
*Admission to the Smithwick’s Experience
*Admission to the Old Midleton Distillery
*Admission to the Wicklow Brewery
*Admission to the Guinness Storehouse
Hotels or Similar:
Gresham Hotel, Dublin - 4* River Court Hotel, Kilkenny - 4*
Isaac's Boutique Hotel, Cork - 4*
Randles Court Hotel, Killarney - 4*
Benners Hotel, Dingle - 4*
Leonardo Hotel, Galway - 4*
NOTE: In Ireland, we enjoy the pub & distillery culture responsibly.
Call Benny