Staycations 2025: A holiday for your tastebuds
Dining at the Eccles Hotel, Glengarriff, Co Cork, one of Kate Ryan's personal selections for a good food staycation.
Spring has sprung, and the wanderlust is upon me. But where to go?
Beara Peninsula and Westport are destinations I keep returning to with so much to explore, see and do with great places to stay, characterful pubs and wonderful restaurants. Equally enchanting is the Garden of Ireland — County of Wicklow. Generously endowed with stunning scenery and a storied past, perfect for the active at heart, and a very exciting artisan food and drink scene.
On the southwest coast, Beara Peninsula shares a county border with west County Cork and south County Kerry. The picturesque Ring of Beara connects Glengarriff on the Cork side with Kenmare on the Kerry side.
Quiet meandering roads, Healy Pass, rugged coastal driving routes, hidden coves, island life, great food.
- Explore the Ring of Beara
- Sail to Garnish Island from The Blue Pool, Glengarriff
- The Ewe’s outdoor gallery among forests and waterfalls
- Dursey Cable Car
- Derreen Gardens and Cafe, Lauragh
- Sea Swimming at Zetland Pier, Kenmare
- Cuas Pier Sea Caves, Ardgroom
- Bronze Age Uragh Stone Circle, Gleninchaquin Park and Waterfall
- Walk with alpacas and learn to weave their wool at The Naked Sheep
- The Sarah Walker Gallery on the water’s edge, Castletownbere.
The old-world exterior of the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff marries comfortable modern rooms and a gorgeous outdoor spa with sea views. The food ethos of Executive Head Chef, Edward Attwell, is all about local, seasonal and farm-to-fork with veggies and edible curios grown in the gardens.
Newly opened The Jewel, Glengarriff, combines luxury boutique apartment stays with an onsite riverside spa for the ultimate zen escape.
Calm the spirit with a stay at Dzogchen Beara Buddhist Meditation Centre, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean with private cottages, rooms in the Spiritual Care Centre, or a hostel, and a vegetarian café on site.
Sail away to Wild Atlantic Glamping on Bere Island, backdropped by Slieve Miskish and the Caha Mountains, to experience luxury bell tent glamping under the stars. Fall asleep to the gently lapping of waves, book a kayaking tour, or walk the island at sunrise.
- A bowl of Bantry Bay mussels and a pint of Murphy’s at Helen’s Bar in Kilmackillogue Pier.
- The Sharing Box from The Chef’s Table, Castletownbere, is a feast of fresh-off-the-boat langoustines, white fish, calamari, scallops, crayfish and perfect chips!
- Book a Kenmare Foodies food tour and make a baguette, sip wine, taste cheeses, and more.
- Visit Dursey Island via Ireland’s only cable car with the best chippy dinner from Murphy’s Mobile Catering.
- Beara Barista’s fresh crab rolls at Allihies post steam in the beachside mobile sauna.
- Stock up at Manning’s Emporium, Ballylickey, for your Beara adventure.
- Book a foraging and wild food skills course at the edible gardens of Two Green Shoots, Glengarriff.
- Fine dining rooted in a sense of place at Lagom, Kenmare.
- Head for a pint at the iconic McCarthy’s Bar in Castletownbere, then visit the unique Fisherman’s Loft for a taste of maritime history, whiskey and gin at Beara Distillery.
- Drop into Tom Crean’s brewery and tap room in Kenmare founded by the famous Antarctic explorer’s granddaughter, Aileen Crean O’Brien.
Well-marked hiking routes are plentiful around Ring of Beara, including from Allihies that takes in the towering brick sentinels of the long extinct tin mining industry.
For a clash of eras, drive to the ruined 15th century Dunboy Castle, the ancestral seat of the O’Sullivan Beara’s, and its near neighbour the sprawling abandoned Puxley Manor, once destined to be Ireland’s first six-star hotel.
The Nature Reserve in Glengarriff offers calming peaceful walks for all abilities, including a climb to the top of Lady Bantry’s Lookout with breathtaking views over Glengarriff Bay.
Westport, designed around a central octagon, is an ideal base for exploring County Mayo’s rugged and remote landscape on exhilarating day trips to feed the soul. In the evening, restaurants and characterful pubs keep you well fed and satiated.
Wide open spaces, towering mountains and ocean vistas; historic houses, island life, ancient landscapes, vibrant contemporary food scene.
- Westport House and Gardens.
- Cruise the 365 islands of Clew Bay (one for every day of the year) with a storyteller.
- Hike Croagh Patrick, for your sins.
- Experience Ireland’s original Dark Sky Reserve and marvel at the Milky Way on a clear night.
- Breathtaking Keem Bay.
- The unique food culture of the Achill Island Food Trail.
Overlooking Westport’s Octagon, designed by the hotel’s namesake, James Wyatt, in 1780, The Wyatt Hotel offers tastefully furnished rooms, a characterful bar and restaurant. Pet-friendly, too.
Knockranny House Hotel boasts the best views in Westport overlooking Croagh Patrick and Clew Bay. Go all out and book the Penthouse Suite, relax in the spa, and indulge in fine dining at The Fern Grill restaurant with breathtaking sunset vistas.
- Ginger and Wild café inside Ballycroy Visitor’s Centre at Mayo Dark Sky Reserve for gorgeous homemade cakes, bakes and traditional lunchtime plates.
- Seven Wanders Café, Louisburg, for perfect flat whites and Anzac biscuits. Keep an eye out for Supper Club events and velo-meet ups during summer.
- Cornrue Bakery for outstanding sourdough and deli for picnic bits.
- Savoir Fare is a little bit of French bistro in Westport, pouring low intervention wines, nose to tail cooking, and fabulous snacking packs for long journeys.
- This Must Be The Place for great toasted Cornrue sourdough sambos, perfect breakfast things, seasonal plates, incredible cakes, fab coffee.
- An Port Mór serves modern Irish food celebrating the best local produce. Michelin recommended; always delivers.
- Sage for casual fine dining that lives up to the hype.
- Urban Gruel (formerly Corkscrew & Pantry) now serving casual funky dishes with local flavour.
- The Gallery was Ireland’s first wine bar to serve natural and low intervention wines. Pair with incredible grazing boards.
- Take a tour of Mescan Brewery and taste their range of Belgian-style beers, (May-Aug only, book online).
- Pub Life: Matt Molloy’s for the perfect pint, The Grainstore for its Irish and American Whisk(e)y selection, McGigs for live music.
Walk the rugged beauty of Claggan Mountain Coastal Path boardwalk snaking over wild boglands backed by windswept mountains and deep black pools.
Nestled deep in the woods, Moore Hall, burned during the Civil War and abandoned, emerges fairytale-like from the forested canopy. Explore tunnels and an enormous walled garden.
Bertra Beach tomobolo (two beaches back-to-back), at the foot of Croagh. Perfect for zoomies with your dog.
On the east coast, the Garden of Ireland is bordered by sea to the east, mountains to the north, and vast pasturelands to the west. It couldn’t be more different to its neighbouring county of Dublin yet is less than an hour from the capital.
Best For: Contrasting landscapes, grand historic houses, vibrant local food, Glendalough’s Hollywood-worthy epic scenery, the Bray-Stones scene.
- Walking the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough.
- Fun for kids, big and small, at Beyond The Trees in Avonmore.
- Cycle the Blessington Greenway to Russborough House.
- Dip in at Greystones South Beach, then chill out at The Happy Pear Café.
- Learn to cook with renowned chef, Catherine Fulvio, at Ballyknocken House.
- Killruddery House on Saturdays for the farmer’s market, house tours, garden visits, and delicious dining options all about local Wicklow fayre.
BrookLodge at Macreddin Village is the place to stay for food lovers. The Strawberry Tree restaurant was the first in Ireland to offer a fully organic menu, and the onsite Food Village with courses in foraging, preserving, smoking, curing and cheesemaking makes for perfect gourmet escapes.
Hunters Hotel has been in the Gelletlie family for five generations and is Ireland’s oldest coaching inn dating back to 1650. Located beside the river Vardy, Hunters has bags of character and gorgeous gardens, including a kitchen garden that serves the onsite restaurant.
Powerscourt Hotel offers a moment of five-star grandeur nestled among the Powerscourt Estate that encompasses the historic Powerscourt House and gardens, golf course and whiskey distillery.
Experience a unique woodland escape by overnighting in a tent suspended among the trees and cooking over fire at Tipi Adventures Ireland, Rathdrum.
- Little Acorn, Baltinglass, a food lover's café making the most of local Wicklow and Irish ingredients in homely, deeply delicious plates, and local Roasted Brown coffee.
- Roundwood Stores, next to The Coach House, is baking bread and supporting local producers making it the perfect spot to compile a picnic for a day out at Glendalough.
- Catalyst Coffee on Bray seafront is beloved spot of the Dryrober Club doing great coffee and sambos.
- Iconic Scéal Bakery in Greystones is making all the cakey-bakey things you spend too long ogling on Instagram. Eat it all in real life.
- Daata, Bray, for opulent interiors and outstanding Pakistani cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Mortimer’s, Ashford, where anything could be on the menu, and anyone could waltz through the door. The kind of place Wicklow reclusive movie and rock stars go to in their Birkenstocks to drink Burgundy wine. Hidden gem; eccentric.
- Caladh, Greystones, serving modern Irish food in a sleek interior with impressive menus that name-check the best of Irish ingredients. Great wines, great service.
- Wicklow Way Wines make wine from Irish-grown fruits and marries Californian wine-making technique to create juicy, complex wines. A winery tour followed by a tasting of Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry wines is a must!
- Powerscourt Distillery is reopening their pioneering Food & Whiskey pairing experience for the summer season. A novel way to appreciate small batch craft Irish whiskey in the grounds of beautiful Powerscourt Estate.
Wander Arguably, the best way to experience the majesty of Wicklow is from up high, so take a hike to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.
Brittas Bay boasts 5km of powdery sandy beach and dunes. Perfect for a romantic stroll, a picnic and a bottle of fruity wine while watching the waves roll in.
Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort is home to an 18-hole championship golf course on the banks of Blessington Lakes with panoramic views and gorgeous wild flora. Former host of the PGA EuroPro Tour three years running, Tulfarris has gained recognition as an acclaimed golf course with awards to match in a county peppered with great places to golf.
