Starting points · Dublin
Arriving via Dublin? You're three hours from the coast.
Flights, ferries from Holyhead, trains from Belfast
Most international visitors land or arrive here. Dublin is on the wrong side of the country for the Wild Atlantic Way — but it has the cheapest flights, the biggest hire-car fleet, and the ferry from Holyhead. The honest play is to get the car, drive west the same day, and sleep on the coast that night. Don't waste your first WAW day in Dublin traffic.
Where are you heading — north or west?
West · Wild Atlantic Way
3 hours direct to Galway.
Galway, the Cliffs, Connemara, Kerry. The classic west-coast trip — read on below.
Keep readingNorth · Causeway Coastal Route
2 hours up the M1 to Belfast.
Belfast, the Glens of Antrim, the Giant's Causeway. The shorter trip with no border to think about.
Open the Belfast & the Causeway Coast guideThe drive
3 hours direct to Galway. 3.5 to Westport.
Route: M4 / M6 motorway nearly the whole way — Ireland's best road.
Pick up the car, point it west, drive. Stop in Athlone for lunch if the timing works. Don't book Dublin city centre for night one unless you genuinely want a Dublin trip — you'll lose half a day to traffic getting back out.
Sleep here night one
Galway City
The natural Dublin landing pad. Three hours door-to-door, walkable city, the cultural heart of the west, and a launchpad for Connemara, the Burren and the Aran Islands. Sleep here night one.
Open the Galway City guide
Then where
The next 48 hours
Connemara
An hour west of Galway. Sky Road, Kylemore, the Twelve Bens. The classic 'this is why I came' day.
Cliffs of Moher & Doolin
An hour south of Galway. The cliffs everyone comes for, then Doolin for the music.
Westport
Two hours north-west of Galway if you'd rather skip the city. A planned town that works, the Greenway, Croagh Patrick.
Honestly
If you've only got 5 days, don't try to do the whole Wild Atlantic Way from Dublin — you'll spend more time driving than looking. Pick a base (Galway or Westport) and explore from there. The full coast deserves 10+ days; we'll help you plan either way.
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