Two days in Carlingford is enough to see most of the village twice and still feel like you have not rushed. Here is how to actually spend it, written by people who live here.
Friday evening
Drop your bags and go straight to PJ's or the Carlingford Arms for a proper feed. Both have local seafood and both stay busy through the weekend. After dinner, walk the harbour. The Lady's Finger and King John's Castle are both lit at night and the lough catches the last of the light until late summer evenings.
If there is music on, head to PJ's back room or to Taaffes. Trad sessions are not nightly, but they happen most weekends from spring through autumn.
Saturday morning
Breakfast at the Carlingford Bay or Belvedere House, then put on something you can move in. The morning is for the activities the village is known for. Hen and stag groups will fill up Carlingford Adventure Centre and Skypark, but solo travellers and families are welcome too. Archery, kayaking on the lough, the high ropes course, and the zipline all run on bookings made in advance.
If you would rather walk, the Slieve Foy trail starts at the bottom of the village and gives you the full loop in about three hours. Bring layers. The lough side stays mild but the ridge is exposed.
Saturday afternoon
Lunch at Ghan House or, if it is a day for snacks rather than a meal, the food trucks on the harbour run from late morning. The Oysters and Brews festival weekends in August are particularly good for casual eating outdoors.
In the afternoon, do the medieval Carlingford walking tour. It runs daily from the Heritage Centre, takes about ninety minutes, and unlocks the four Norman buildings most people walk straight past. If you have a car, drive up to Greenore and walk the strand. It is rarely busy.
Saturday evening
If you only do one nice meal in the village, book Ghan House. It is family run, the food is properly ambitious and the dining room is in the original 18th century house. Reservations are needed at least a week ahead in summer.
Pub-wise, locals tend to favour PJ's or O'Hare's. Avoid the impulse to stay in one place. The whole village is a fifteen minute loop, and most people end up in three or four different pubs over the course of an evening.
Sunday
If the weather is good, take the ferry across to Greencastle on the Northern Ireland side. It runs from the harbour, takes fifteen minutes and gives you a different view back at the village. There is a small castle to see on the other side and a coffee shop near the pier.
Lunch on the way home at the Lily Finnegans pub on the Cooley Road, or at the Bay Tree in Greenore. Both do proper Sunday lunch and neither requires a reservation outside of holiday weekends.