A Guide to the 5 Best Places in Ireland & Comparing eSIM Options

Forget the glossy brochures for a minute. I want to tell you about the real Ireland.

I remember it clearly. I was in a little rental car, a grey thing that felt ridiculously tiny on the winding, narrow roads of the Dingle Peninsula. A soft, thick mist was rolling in from the Atlantic, blurring the edges of the green hills and the grey stone walls. The only other living things seemed to be the sheep, who stared at me with a kind of blank, ancient indifference as I drove past. It was beautiful, wild, and I was completely, utterly lost.

The car’s sat-nav had given up the ghost about ten miles back. The paper map I’d bought was proving useless against the drizzling rain. And my phone? One single, mocking bar of signal that would appear for a second and then vanish into the ether. I felt a tiny prickle of panic. It’s a funny feeling, being properly lost. It’s romantic for about five minutes, and then it’s just a bit stressful.

That moment taught me a valuable lesson. Ireland is a country that invites you to get lost down its beautiful backroads, but the real magic is in knowing you have a reliable way to find your way back again.

The One Bit of Kit I Nearly Forgot

Before the trip, I nearly didn’t bother sorting out my phone. I thought, ‘Ah, it’s Ireland, my UK plan will probably be fine.’ It was only a last-minute check that reminded me about the joys of post-Brexit roaming charges. A nightmare waiting to happen. The old alternative, faffing about at Dublin airport for a local SIM, just felt like a hassle I didn’t need after an early morning flight.

So, I decided to finally try this eSIM thing I’d been hearing about.

I know, it sounds a bit techy, but it’s honestly not. It’s a digital SIM that’s already in your phone. You just download a data plan to it. A few days before I flew, I had a quick look at the different eSIM Options online. I found a site my mate had recommended called Commbitz, and it looked dead simple. I picked their Europe plan which covers Ireland, paid about a tenner, and they emailed me a QR code. I scanned it with my phone, and that was it. Job done. I promptly forgot all about it… until that moment, on that misty road in Dingle.

A Journey Through the Emerald Isle (My Top 5 Moments)

My trip was a loop, a wonderful road trip through some of the country’s best spots. The list of must-sees is long, but these are the five places, the five moments, that really stayed with me.

1. The Cliffs of Moher – Where the Edge Meets the Sky

I’ll never forget the first time I stood at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher. The wind was so strong it felt like it was trying to push me backwards, and the Atlantic crashed below like an angry giant. I could smell the salt in the air, taste it even, and the sound of the waves was so loud it swallowed everything else.

What surprised me wasn’t the view—I’d seen a hundred photos before I got there—it was the feeling. That raw mix of awe and fear, standing so close to something so huge and untameable. I pulled out my phone to take a video, and thanks to my eSIM, I was able to send it to a friend back home right there and then. She replied within seconds: “That looks terrifying.” It was. And it was wonderful.

2. Galway City – Music, Pints, and Late-Night Craic

Galway is like a pint of Guinness—it just goes down easy. I wandered into a tiny pub one evening, the kind with wooden benches worn smooth by years of elbows and laughter. A band was playing in the corner, fiddles and bodhráns keeping a rhythm that made you tap your foot even if you didn’t mean to.

At one point, an old man leaned across my table and asked, “First time in Galway?” I nodded, and he smiled like he already knew. That’s Galway for you—it makes you feel like you belong, even if you only just walked in.

Here’s where being online helps, too. I looked up “near by attractions” while sipping my pint and found a late-night walking tour that started just around the corner. Without my eSIM, I’d have been wandering aimlessly. Instead, I was following a storyteller through narrow streets, hearing ghost stories under the glow of gas lamps.

3. The Ring of Kerry – A Road Trip of Rainbows

Driving the Ring of Kerry is a bit like being in a postcard that constantly changes. One minute it’s sunny, the next it’s pouring, and then suddenly there’s a rainbow so bright you want to pull over and applaud. I did exactly that once—pulled the car over on a bend, rain still dripping off my jacket, just to watch a double rainbow arching over the hills.

It was one of those small moments where everything stops. No traffic, no noise, just me, the rain, and that impossible sweep of colour. Later, I used my eSIM to upload the photo to Instagram before the rainbow even faded. My mate back in London messaged: “That can’t be real.” But it was. That’s Ireland.

4. Dublin – A City That Never Quite Sits Still

Dublin has this restless energy. By day you’re walking past Georgian doors in perfect rows, by night you’re swept up in Temple Bar with its neon signs and music spilling out onto the cobbles. One morning, I joined the crowd outside Trinity College, waiting to see the Book of Kells. Inside, the Long Room stretched out like something from Harry Potter—oak shelves, ladders, and that smell of old books that feels like history breathing.

What I remember most, though, is standing on O’Connell Street later, trying to find a decent coffee shop. Instead of aimlessly wandering, I checked my phone. My Commbitz eSIM had me connected instantly, and I found a little café tucked away on a side street. The flat white wasn’t perfect (let’s be honest, it rarely is outside of Melbourne), but it was cosy and exactly what I needed.

5. The Giant’s Causeway – Nature’s Puzzle

Up in Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway feels almost unreal. Thousands of hexagonal stones stacked together, stretching out into the sea like some giant’s forgotten game of dominoes. I crouched down, ran my hand over the smooth surface, and tried to imagine how something so strange could be natural.

The wind whipped my hair into my eyes, kids clambered over the rocks like mountain goats, and I just stood there trying to take it all in. I remember thinking, “If I’d missed this, my trip wouldn’t be complete.”

Later that evening, sitting in a pub with damp shoes and a pint of cider, I booked a spur-of-the-moment tour of Belfast using my eSIM. No hunting for Wi-Fi, no worrying about roaming charges—just a quick tap and I was sorted for the next day.

So, Which eSIM Options Should You Be Looking At?

Look, there are plenty of eSIM Options out there. But for a trip like this, you just want something that works everywhere, from a Dublin pub to a misty Kerry hillside. The reason I was so chuffed with my choice from Commbitz was that it piggybacked on the best local Irish networks. It didn’t fail me. When I needed it most, in the middle of nowhere, it came through. It just… worked. The best part? You can choose from different eSIM options depending on how much data you actually need. If you’re someone who likes streaming maps and videos all day, you pick a bigger plan. If you’re more of a “just messages and Google Maps” type, there’s a lighter one. It’s flexible, and that’s what travel needs to be.

The Freedom to Get Lost

The best part of my trip wasn’t the famous sights, though they were incredible. It was the unexpected discoveries, the wrong turns that led to the right places.

The real magic of travel, I think, is in the freedom to take that wrong turn. And the secret to that freedom is knowing you have a reliable way to find your way back. That’s what a good bit of tech does for you. It doesn’t distract from the adventure; it enables it.