With traveling being off the cards for many people, now is the perfect time to think about booking the ultimate Irish staycation. With so many stunning places to see and such great hospitality, Ireland is the ideal country to spend time in.
These locations are all amazing Airbnbs which are ideal for large groups or family getaway. The best part is that once you divide the cost of the house between a group, it works out as a super affordable alternative to hotels and resorts.
All you have to do now is round up some friends and get ready to enjoy the ultimate Irish staycation in one of these beautiful Airbnbs…
Best Airbnbs in Ireland
1. Radestown House – Co. Kilkenny
This is an amazing architect designed house set on 11 acres in the heart of Kilkenny, yes less than 10 mins from Kilkenny city centre. It’s proper luxury accommodation, and sleeps up to 35 guests. It’s the perfect house for sophisticated luxury hen parties, special occasions, birthday celebrations or just a weekend away. There’s plenty of space to entertain, with two large outdoor terraces for dining and relaxing.
Birdsong is the loudest noise you will hear, this may include the home’s peacocks who can sometimes be quite noisy! You will have the deepest of sleeps in these supremely comfy beds.
The house sleeps well up to 35 guests and will cost you just under $2,000 a night.
2. Skryne Castle – Tara, Co. Meath
Skryne Castle is a three-storey castle adjacent to a fully run stables in Meath, just 40 minutes from Dublin City. The Castle is new to the market and has been fully restored, so it combines modern day living and old-world charm in castle surroundings. If you wish to Visit the Hill of Tara, Newgrange, or the Battle of the Boyne, Skryne Castle is perfect.
Guests will have the full private use of the Castle when they stay. If you wish to go horse riding, fishing, clay pigeon shooting or any other activities during your stay, just ask the hosts.
The house sleeps up to 15 people and will cost you just over $1,100 a night.
3. City Centre Georgian House – Portobello, Co. Dublin
For charming Dublin vibes, this Airbnb is ideal. A beautifully restored 7 bedroom Georgian house with oak floors, south facing garden with mature trees, a huge Italian kitchen fitted with white quartz counter tops and a Supreme pool table. Plus, it sleeps up to 24 guests! The best thing about this space however, is its unbeatable location right in the celebrated Dublin City Centre neighbourhood of Portobello.
The house has to be seen. It underwent a complete renovation in 2010 and has all the creature comforts. The kitchen (with cookware and tableware for 25) / lounge is 900 sqft and faces south to get the sun all day long, with windows opening onto a raised garden planted with willow, ash, oak, magnolia and rowan trees. The pool table can be also converted to a dining table for 12.
The house sleeps up to 16 guests and costs just over $1200 a night.
4. Lighthouse – Youghal, Co. Cork
The owners of this amazing lighthouse home spent two years renovating this 200 year old building. In May 2020, it featured on RTE’s Home of the Year and became a finalist in the top 7 homes in Ireland.
Irish lights built all 76 lighthouses & keepers houses in Ireland, and this is the only lighthouse keepers house in a town in Ireland! This house was the home of every lightkeeper that manned Youghal lighthouse since the 1800’s. The Lighthouse itself became automated in 2007, and flashes each night at an interval of 2.5 seconds. You’ll never stay anywhere quite like this.
The renovation project means that there is now open plan living downstairs, a sea facing bathroom & bathtub, underfloor heating, new electrics & plumbing, insulation throughout, a conservatory complete with hanging chair and new windows throughout.
The space will cost you just under $500 a night and sleeps up to 6 people.
5. Ballinkeele – Ballymurn, Co. Wexford
Make yourselves comfortable in this grand ‘home from home’. This Irish country house was built to entertain and is perfect for gathering family & friends together for a vacation, a special birthday or anniversary. You’ll be the hero for booking it!
Built in the 1840s by your host’s family, it’s the perfect blend of modern and antique. Seclude yourselves in this rural haven, or get out and explore all that Wexford has to offer.
Self-check in is available here – you do the guided tour of the house and its history and features with a tablet (disinfected of course). Your friendly hosts can wave at you from afar and are at the end of a phone or message if you need them for anything.
The place sleeps up to 16 guests and will set you back just over $1,000 a night.
6. Millbank – Co. Laois
Built in the late 1700s, Millbank is an 18th-century Georgian house; an exclusive self-catering retreat that’s superb for groups. Guests can organise corporate events or incentives or pamper themselves in exclusive 18th century style for special celebrations with family or friends.
The house has been tastefully restored and extended in recent times. From about 1840 to the 1970s, Millbank was home to a bustling flour mill. It was one of the county’s largest producers of flour in the mid 19th century.
Today, Millbank comprises the main house, with 5 large bedrooms (accommodation for a maximum of 13 people), reception rooms, library, swimming pool, sauna and steam room. Just 50 metres from the main house is the Miller’s Cottage, with 3 cosy bedrooms overlooking a courtyard that once was noisy with the traffic of grain and flour traders.
The place will set you back just over $1,200 a night and sleeps up to 16 guests.
7. 15th-Century Castle – Co. Kilkenny
Tubbrid Castle is a unique 15th-century tower house, uninhabited for the last century and now restored to its former glory. The owners have highlighted original features to let you step back in time and added luxury touches so you can indulge your inner prince or princess!
Staying in this authentic Irish tower house doesn’t mean foregoing the finer things in life. Start your day under a powerful rainforest shower or in a deep, bubbly bath. Sip your morning coffee while taking in views of forest and field.
In the evening you can dine at the grand oak banqueting table before curling up with a book or a board game in front of a roaring log fire. However you choose to spend your day, you can look forward to coming home to spend the night under a goose down duvet in a superking four-poster bed!
The castle will cost you a little over $750 a night and sleeps up to 8 guests.
Spending time in the country? Check out 7 Of The Most Beautiful Natural Wonders In Ireland.