Wild Atlantic Week

9 days · 3 driving roads · 1625 miles of them · best May–June, September

Ireland's west coast as a proper holiday, not a weekend. The Wild Atlantic Way is the 1,600-mile corridor from Kinsale to Malin Head; the Burren coast from Ballyvaughan to Doolin and Clifden's Sky Road are the two spurs worth peeling off for. Nine days lets you drive it without treating every peninsula as a tick. Overnight as you go — Galway, Westport, Donegal town.

Getting there

⛴ Pembroke – Rosslare — Irish Ferries, about 4 h, 2/day. Check sailings.

Worth knowing: 1,600 miles of waymarked coast is a touring route: villages, tractors, and the N59. Nine days is still moving every night; a fortnight is kinder. August is gridlock on the Burren and at the Cliffs of Moher. The Sky Road is a single-track loop west of Clifden, not a shortcut. Fuel is in the towns. Pembroke–Rosslare puts you on the south coast to start at Kinsale; Holyhead–Dublin is shorter if you are heading for the north end first.

The roads, in order

1. Wild Atlantic Way WAW waymarked corridor · Kinsale → Malin Head · 1600 mi · 1–3 weeks 🍽️ Fishy Fishy, Kinsale · 📷 Cliffs of Moher · 📷 Keem Bay · 🍽️ Farren's Bar, Malin Head
2. Burren Coast Road R477 · Ballyvaughan → Doolin · 15 mi · 35 min 🍽️ Monks, Ballyvaughan · 📷 Black Head · 🍽️ Gus O'Connor's, Doolin
3. Sky Road Clifden loop · Clifden → Clifden (loop) · 10 mi · 30 min ⛽ Circle K, Clifden · 📷 Sky Road viewpoint

Drive it

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