Marisa and I have been married 2 years, and together 10! We took a road trip around Ireland to celebrate.
In 2014, the Irish minister for Tourism (Fáilte [welcome] Ireland) designated a scenic driving route around the entire west coast of Ireland - the “Wild Atlantic Way”. The ~2,500km route is an incredible way to see Ireland - and an amazing way to spend a holiday. There are nearly 200 designated “discovery points”, with 15 specially identified as “signature discovery points”.
We decided to drive essentially the entire route over the period of 10 days, which in hindsight was a bit rushed, but made for an action-packed adventure. In total we drove for 50 hours and nearly 3,000 km to make a full loop from Dublin south to one end of the route in west Cork, along the complete route and back home from Donegal via Derry in the North. We had incredible weather, especially for early in the season (mid-May).
This will be one of the longer posts as I’ll break down the trip day-by-day.
Day 1: Rock of Cashel and Kinsale
We decided to drive the route South-to-North, which required us to drive a few hours down to Cork to start the official route. On the way down we stopped off at a famous site of old church ruins in County Tipperrary. We booked most of the trip on credit card points, including our rental car - a tiny Fiat 500 that proved very useful on narrow Irish country roads. The rate to hire a car with an automatic transmission was roughly 4x, so we stuck with the manual and Marisa became permanent passenger princess.
Day 2: West Cork Peninsulas
On our first full day, we chose not to ease into the trip - we drove over 7 hours out to 3 beautiful peninsulas in West Cork. Mizen head is the southwestern-most point in Ireland, and has one of the highest bridges in the country. We braved tiny Irish country roads and were rewarded with stunning coastal views of lighthouses, cliffs, and more than our fair share of sheep. Our drive included the first half of the Ring of Kerry and ended in Portmagee, where we ended up crashing an 18-year-old birthday party at the local pub.
Day 3: Kerry and Skelligs
Our third day began on a boat tour in the North Atlantic to see the Skellig islands, the site of an ancient monastery and a few recent films. On the way back from the islands we saw a variety of sea birds, a few dolphins and some impressive basking sharks. After the boat tour we drove the Skellig Ring and rest of the Ring of Kerry, then went on to Dingle for the afternoon. After Dingle we drove the Slea Head road around the peninsula, which is where we will run the Dingle Marathon in September. We drove through Conor Pass and on up to Tralee for the night.
Day 4: Kerry to Clare
After a nice breakfast and walk around the Tralee rose garden, celebrating the international Rose of Tralee competition, we made our way up the coast and caught a ferry across the mouth of the River Shannon into County Clare. We experienced one of the few rain showers of the trip while crossing, but it cleared up for the afternoon and evening. We took the detour out to Loop Head and the lighthouse signature discovery point, then went up to Lahinch for a lovely evening in a cute little surf town.
Day 5: Aran Islands and Galway Anniversay
On the day of our anniversary, we took the ferry out from Doolin to Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands. We took a horse buggy ride to a few sights and hiked up to the castle on the island. After lunch at a pub back in Doolin we drove up to Galway and enjoyed a lovely celebratory dinner in the city. It was an amazing way to celebrate 2 years of marriage and the incredible adventure we're on living in Ireland.
Day 6: Connemara and Killary
We had a nice walk around Galway City and along the coast, then took off for Connemara. In a rush to get out of the hotel, we accidentally grabbed the wrong bag from the desk, which we learned when they called us an hour into our drive. After our unplanned detour, we drove through the Derrigimlagh moorlands and Connemara national park. We then drove along the rim of the Killary Fjord and through the Doolough valley among many lakes and even more sheep.
Day 7: Croagh Patrick and Achill Island
Day 7 was our most physically active of the trip - I convinced Marisa that we should hike Croagh Patrick, a historic and significant mountain in the west of Ireland. It's traditional to make a pilgrimage to the chapel at the top of the mountain, some of whom make the climb barefoot. While the hike was only 7km to the top, it was a substantial climb with a brutal final ascent to the summit. After the hike, we drove out to Keem beach on Achill island, attempted to swim in the freezing cold water and laid on the beach. We wrapped up the day at Downpatrick head then made our way to Sligo for the night.
Day 8: Sliabh Liag to Donegal
We set off along the Sligo coast to see Mullaghmore Head, Muckross Head and Sliabh Liag. The walk out to the viewpoint was a challenge with our sore legs from the hike, but it was well worth the views and lobster rolls. The clouds rolling over the cliffs wouldn't quite clear, but we enjoyed the experience and found some nice pins and posters to memorialise the trip. We stayed the night in a small Gaeltacht (primarily Irish-speaking community) in Donegal.
Day 9: Donegal Heads and Derry
On our final touristing day of the trip, we visited Fanad Head and Malin Head in Donegal, visited a nice waterfall, then drove into Derry and spent the evening exploring the town. We paid homage to the Derry Girls mural, walked the old walls, and explored Free Derry, the site of memorials and historically significant events during the troubles in Northern Ireland.
Heading Home
On our final day, we packed up and drove back down to Dublin. It was the trip of a lifetime and will be one of the highlights of our time living in Ireland and our early marriage. We can’t wait to return to many of the beautiful places we visited to experience them as more than a quick stop or view out the car window.