County Donegal
Ireland's north-west runs on long roads and Atlantic weather: sea cliffs at Slieve League, Gaeltacht villages in the west and Malin Head at the top. Give it days, not hours.
Wild Atlantic Way
Nine counties of Atlantic coast in one route, from Malin Head to Kinsale: cliffs, islands, surf beaches and harbour towns, taken slowly.
Drive it in sections or drive it whole: the route follows the Atlantic seaboard from Malin Head in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. It passes through nine counties, linking headlands, surf beaches, island ferry ports and fishing villages with some of Ireland's most celebrated scenery, from Slieve League and the Cliffs of Moher to the Ring of Kerry and West Cork's peninsulas.
Taken whole or in sections, it rewards a slow pace: detours to lighthouses, walks on empty strands, seafood in harbour towns and traditional music in the evenings. Each county along the way has its own character, Irish-speaking Connemara and west Donegal, the Burren's limestone coast, Kerry's mountain peninsulas, so the route feels like several Irelands rather than one.
Highlights
Slieve League, Donegal
Towering sea cliffs in Ireland's northwest, among the highest in Europe.
Connemara, Galway
Bog, mountain and coastline beneath the Twelve Bens, with island views.
Cliffs of Moher, Clare
Ireland's best-known sea cliffs, with the Burren's limestone landscape behind them.
Ring of Kerry and Dingle, Kerry
Two great peninsulas of scenic drives, early Christian sites and harbour towns.
West Cork Peninsulas
Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen Head: quieter roads, island ferries and harbour villages.
Counties
County Leitrim
Ireland's least populous county keeps things small and slow: lakes, the Shannon at Carrick and a coastline of just a few kilometres near Tullaghan. Come for the quiet.
County Sligo
Yeats Country under Benbulben's flat top, with surf at Strandhill and Enniscrone and music in the south. The poetry and the coast take equal billing.
County Mayo
Clew Bay's islands sit under Croagh Patrick, Westport anchors the corner, and the north coast empties out towards Achill and Erris. Mayo is big, and the distance is part of it.
County Galway
The city runs on festivals and music, and west of it Connemara opens out: bog, mountain and lough under the Twelve Bens. The Aran Islands sit offshore, on their own older rhythm.
County Clare
Traditional music runs the evenings from Ennis to Doolin, and the days belong to the coast: the Cliffs of Moher and the limestone Burren behind them.
County Limerick
The Shannon shapes the city and the county: King John's Castle on King's Island, the Golden Vale inland and the Ballyhouras for walking and biking in the south.
County Kerry
The classic road-trip county: the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula and Killarney's lakes under the Reeks. Start early and the big drives are yours for a while.
County Cork
Eat first, then drive: a food city on the Lee, harbour towns along the coast and three peninsulas, Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen, reaching into the Atlantic. Cork is Ireland's largest county, and it takes time.
What we would choose ourselves
The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
Cliffs & coastal tours
Dublin to Cliffs of Moher, including Wild Atlantic Way and Galway (Wild Rover Tours)
The Cliffs of Moher are the one sight nearly every first trip to Ireland is built around, and this is the day trip we point people to. It runs about thirteen hours from Dublin, out along the Wild Atlantic Way to the cliffs, then into Galway for a couple of hours on the cobbled streets before the run home. It leaves from College Green in the city centre. The numbers are hard to argue with: from US$88.21 a head, rated 4.9 from nearly 24,900 reviews, the largest count of any cliffs tour on Viator, with free cancellation up to a day ahead.
Best for: Anyone whose trip is built around the cliffs and who would rather not hire a car. It is a long coach day of about thirteen hours, so travellers who like to set their own pace may prefer to drive the coast themselves.
University College Cork, beside the manor
Hotel in Cork
Hayfield Manor Hotel, Cork
Hayfield Manor is Cork's five star manor house, tucked off Perrott Avenue by University College Cork, about a fifteen minute walk from Patrick Street. It is a quiet, formal house with the Orchid Restaurant, Perrotts Garden Bistro and the Beautique Spa, plus an indoor pool and gardens that shut out the city noise. Travellers rate it 4.8 on TripAdvisor from more than 5,500 reviews and 9.4 out of 10 on KAYAK. Coming home to Cork, this is the address I give people who want the full manor house treatment without leaving the city.
Best for: Travellers who want the five star manor house treatment without leaving the city. It is a quiet, formal house by University College Cork, about fifteen minutes on foot from Patrick Street, and rooms were seen from 257 dollars on KAYAK (as seen 25 Oct 2026).
High Street, in Killarney town centre
Hotel in Killarney
The Killarney Park, Killarney
The Killarney Park stands in the town centre, a two minute walk from the edge of the national park, and it is the hotel other Killarney hotels get measured against. It is a five star with the Peregrine restaurant, a Garden Bar, a spa and a 20 metre pool, and the service is what reviewers talk about most. TripAdvisor rates it 4.9 from 2,583 reviews, the strongest score of any hotel on this page. Rooms are priced at the top of the Killarney range, and for a special trip, this is where we would put the money.
Best for: Special trips, and anyone who wants the national park two minutes from the door. Rooms sit at the top of the Killarney price range, so it is a splurge rather than a base you barely sleep in.
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