12 days: Kinsale to Derry
Kinsale → Derry / Londonderry · 12 days · ~34h 25m total driving
Finishing in Derry rather than Malin Head makes the flights easier and sets you up for the Causeway Coast if you ever come back. Twelve days is a comfortable pace for the full route.
Heading north · 12 days
Kinsale → Derry / Londonderry
~34h 25m total driving
Day 1 · Cork
Kinsale
Southern start of the WAW. Forts, food, harbour town.
- Charles Fort
- Old Head of Kinsale
Day 2 · Cork
~1h drive
Clonakilty
Inchydoney beach. Black pudding country. Michael Collins' patch.
- Inchydoney Beach
- Michael Collins House
Day 3 · Cork
~50m drive
Skibbereen & Baltimore
Sailing town, the Beacon, ferries to Sherkin and Cape Clear.
- Skibbereen Heritage Centre
- Lough Hyne
Day 4 · Cork
~1h 15m drive
Mizen Head
The signal station footbridge. Ireland's true south-west corner.
- Mizen Head Signal Station
- Barley Cove Beach
Day 5 · Kerry
~2h 20m drive
Kenmare
Where the Beara and Iveragh peninsulas meet. Stone circle, food town.
- Kenmare Stone Circle
- Gleninchaquin Park
Day 6 · Kerry
~3h drive
Dingle Peninsula
Slea Head Drive, the Blasket Sound, Fungie's town.
- Slea Head Drive
- Blasket Centre, Dunquin
Day 7 · Clare
~4h 15m drive
Cliffs of Moher & Doolin
The cliffs everyone comes for. Doolin for the music after.
- Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience
- Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk
Day 8 · Galway
~1h 30m drive
Galway City
Latin Quarter, Spanish Arch, the cultural heart of the west.
- The Latin Quarter & Shop Street
- Spanish Arch & the Long Walk
Day 9 · Galway
~3h drive
Connemara
Clifden, Roundstone, the Twelve Bens, Kylemore Abbey.
- Kylemore Abbey
- Connemara National Park
Day 10 · Donegal
~10h 30m drive
Donegal Town & Slieve League
The castle, the diamond, and the highest sea cliffs accessible in Ireland.
- Slieve League cliffs
- Donegal Castle
Day 11 · Donegal
~6h 45m drive
Malin Head
The northern terminus. Banba's Crown, Hell's Hole, the EIRE sign.
- Banba's Crown
- Hell's Hole
Crossing the border
From here you cross the Foyle into Northern Ireland — pounds, miles, same coast. The Wild Atlantic Way ends; the Causeway Coastal Route begins.
What changes at the border →Day 12 · DerryCauseway Coast
Derry / Londonderry
Walled city, Bogside murals, the Peace Bridge — and the bridge to the Wild Atlantic Way.
- Walk the city walls
- The People's Gallery (Bogside murals)
21 regions skipped to fit your time
- Bantry & Sheep's Head — The quiet peninsula. The walking is the point.
- Ring of Kerry — Sneem, Waterville, Skellig view. Drive it anti-clockwise.
- Tralee & North Kerry — Banna Strand, Ballybunion, the Shannon estuary mouth.
- Loop Head — The lighthouse, the bridges of Ross, dolphins in the estuary.
- Kilkee — Horseshoe bay, the Pollock holes, the cliff walk.
- The Burren — Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan, limestone pavement and rare orchids.
- Aran Islands — Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr. Dún Aonghasa and the Plassey.
- Inishbofin & islands — Ferry from Cleggan. The kind of quiet you forget exists.
- Westport — Croagh Patrick, the Greenway, a planned town that works.
- Clare Island & Inishturk — Granuaile's tower, Knockmore, the quiet of Inishturk.
- Achill Island — Keem Bay, the Atlantic Drive, the deserted village at Slievemore.
- Mullet Peninsula — Belmullet, the long strands, the islands at the end.
- Ballina & North Mayo — Downpatrick Head, Céide Fields, salmon on the Moy.
- Sligo & Strandhill — Yeats country, Knocknarea, the surf at Strandhill.
- Mullaghmore — Classiebawn castle, the harbour, the big-wave reef offshore.
- Glencolmcille — Folk village, the Tower at Glen Head, end-of-the-road quiet.
- Dungloe & The Rosses — Gaeltacht heartland, hundreds of lakes, ferry to Arranmore.
- Arranmore & Tory — Two ferries, two very different worlds. Cliffs, kingship, round tower.
- Dunfanaghy — Horn Head, Killahoey beach, McAuliffe's bookshop.
- Downings — Sheephaven Bay, Tranarossan, the Atlantic Drive.
- Fanad & Inishowen — Fanad lighthouse, the Great Pollet arch, the Inishowen 100.
Driving times are honest mid-range estimates. The WAW is full of small roads, and you'll want to stop. Plan for slower than Google Maps tells you.
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