The Wild Atlantic Way is set to be Ireland’s first long-distance driving route for tourists, featuring a 2,500km driving route from Donegal in the north to West Cork in the south.
Donegal
The rugged Donegal coast has a shoreline etched with a multitude of beautiful bays and glorious sandy beaches. Donegal promises wild landscapes blanketed in bog and heather, isolated white sandy beaches and a roughly hewn coastline. And when all of the cobwebs have been blown away, thriving little towns with cosy pubs, excellent seafood and a friendly welcome awaits. This county will certainly force you to kick back, slow down and admire the view.
Highlights in this region include a visit to Glenveagh National Park, Inishowen Peninsula or the cliffs of Sliabh League
Perfect Place To Stay:
Rathmullan House or Castle Grove Country House
Sligo
Sligo offers a unique destination with the dramatic backdrop of Benbulben, glimmering beaches, rolling green hills, and magical woodlands, with unsurpassed leisure activities. From water sports and golf to seaweed baths and horse riding or even some leisurely fishing, the county has so much to offer you whatever your interests may be. From the myths and legends of ancient Ireland to the poetry of Yeats and the music of Coleman, Westlife and Dervish, Sligo’s cultural and literary heritage is world-famous and still actively celebrated.
Perfect Places To Stay:
Mayo
From brilliant Blue Flag beaches to spectacularly bleak bogland, Mayo musters up one wow-moment after another. Mayo is also home to Achill Island, at once the largest of Ireland’s offshore islands and the easiest to get to (it’s connected by a short road bridge at Achill Sound). Achill boasts five Blue Flag beaches, wild walking and surfing opportunities, and a deserted village in the foothills of Slievemore Mountain.
“Achill... called to me as no other place had ever done,” wrote Belfast-born artist Paul Henry, who set many of his famous paintings on the island.
Beyond Achill, coastal Mayo is home to over a dozen more Blue Flag beaches, Clew Bay, staging post of the legendary 16th-century pirate queen, Grace O’Malley and Croagh Patrick – an absolute must-see known as 'the crowned mountain of Ireland'. Thousands of pilgrims journey to the top of Croagh Patrick each year.
Places to visit on this part of the drive include Achill Island, Croagh Patrick, Ceide Fields, Foxford Woollen Mills to name but a few.