The Wild Atlantic Way: Ireland’s Epic Coastal Road Trip
5 min read
If you only do one thing on a trip to Ireland, make it the west coast. The Wild Atlantic Way stitches together 2,500 kilometres of cliffs, beaches, peninsulas and harbour towns from the top of Donegal to the bottom of Cork - one of the longest defined coastal routes in the world, and arguably the most beautiful.
The north: Donegal and Sligo
The route begins in rugged, under-visited Donegal, where the Slieve League cliffs rise nearly twice as high as the more famous Moher, and Atlantic beaches stretch empty for miles. Sligo, just south, is Yeats country - the poet is buried “under bare Ben Bulben’s head”, beneath the great flat-topped mountain that dominates the landscape.
The middle: Mayo, Galway and Clare
Through Mayo and Connemara you get the wildest, most elemental scenery in Ireland: bogland, mountains and stone walls under enormous skies, with the Irish language still alive in the Gaeltacht. Galway city is the cultural heart of the west, buzzing with music and food. Further south in Clare stand the Cliffs of Moher, where the land simply ends in a 200-metre drop to the sea, and the strange limestone moonscape of the Burren.
The south: Kerry and Cork
Kerry brings the famous loops - the Ring of Kerry and the quieter, many would say finer, Dingle Peninsula, with its beehive huts, surf beaches and the highest mountains in Ireland. Off the coast lies Skellig Michael, the dizzying island monastery now known to a new generation from the screen. The journey ends along the indented coast of West Cork, with its food towns, islands and gentle, southern light.
Tips for the road
Take it slowly - the joy is in the detours, the unexpected beach and the chat in a small-town pub. Drive on the left, allow far more time than the map suggests for narrow roads, and don’t try to do it all in one go; even a few days on one stretch is unforgettable. Our trip planner can help you map a route and pace it sensibly.
More guides: The Claddagh Ring and the Symbols of Ireland · Traditional Irish Food: A Guide to the Real Thing · The Irish Diaspora: How the Irish Scattered the World