A 10-day drive along Ireland's Atlantic coast from Killarney to Donegal: the Ring of Kerry, the 260-metre Kerry Cliffs and Valentia Island, the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara's bog landscape, Westport's island-dotted bay, and the 601-metre sea cliffs of Slieve League.
The Wild Atlantic Way is 2,500 kilometres of Ireland's Atlantic coast, from the cliffs of Donegal in the north to the harbour of Kinsale in County Cork. It is too long to cover in any reasonable holiday. This ten-day itinerary covers the best of its southern and western sections: Kerry's mountain-fringed lakes and cliff-edged peninsulas, the Burren limestone plateau and the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara's dark bog and lough landscape, and the extraordinary height of Donegal's sea cliffs.
Drives between overnight stops range from 1.5 to three hours. Fly into Kerry Airport or Shannon, pick up a car, and fly home from Ireland West Airport Knock or Belfast City Airport.
Killarney is the logical start: well-connected by road and rail, with Kerry Airport 15km away and Shannon Airport 2.5 hours north. The town itself is busy in summer but the national park around it is magnificent regardless of crowds.
Spend day one driving the Ring of Kerry — a 180km loop around the Iveragh Peninsula. Go clockwise: tour buses run anticlockwise, so going the other way means you pass them at passing places rather than behind them. Ladies View (named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, who admired the lake panorama below) is the iconic viewpoint. The Skellig Ring detour to Portmagee adds 30km and the best views of Skellig Michael, the pyramid-shaped monastery island that appeared in Star Wars.
On day two, leave the car and explore the national park on foot or bike. The Muckross Lake cycle path circles the lower lake through ancient yew and oak woodland. Torc Waterfall is a 20-minute walk from the main Muckross car park and impressive after rain.
Practical note: Hire bikes in the town centre. The park's jaunting cars (horse-drawn open carriages) cover the routes between the Abbey and Muckross House if you would rather not cycle.
Six cathedral cities, one unforgettable drive: this England cathedral cities road trip connects York's Viking heritage with Bristol's maritime story, threading through Lincoln, Lichfield, Hereford and Gloucester in ten days.
From Killarney, drive south on the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Cahersiveen — the same road that forms the Ring of Kerry. Allow two hours with stops. Moll's Gap and Ladies View you may have already done; instead, take the Skellig Ring detour south of Waterville to the headland at Bolus Head for your first view of Skellig Michael rising pyramid-like from the sea.
Cahersiveen is a small market town at the end of a long estuary. The main reason to be here is the landscape immediately around it. Drive north on the R565 to the Kerry Cliffs — 260 metres above the Atlantic, free to visit, and almost entirely free of the tour buses that crowd the Cliffs of Moher. On a clear day, the Skellig rocks are visible 15km offshore. The monastery on Skellig Michael was occupied continuously for 600 years until the twelfth century; its cells, walls and stairways are in near-perfect condition.
On day four, cross to Valentia Island via the bridge at Portmagee. Walk to Cromwell Point lighthouse at the island's northern tip, inspect the disused slate quarry (whose stone was used to pave the streets of New York and London), and stop at the Skellig Heritage Centre for the scale model of the monastery that explains the site better than any visit can.
Practical note: Skellig Michael boat trips from Portmagee are strictly limited by permit and sell out months ahead. Book online if you want to visit the island itself; the Kerry Cliffs are the best alternative viewpoint without a booking.
From Cahersiveen to Lahinch takes about three hours via the N70 north to Killarney, then the N21 through Tralee and the N68 along the Clare coast. Lahinch is a beach town with a consistent Atlantic swell, a famous links golf course and the kind of fish-and-chip cafes that stay open year-round.
Spend day five on the Cliffs of Moher, 12km south of town. The cliffs run for 8km at up to 214m above the Atlantic — the most-visited natural sight in Ireland, and genuinely impressive despite the crowds. Go at opening time to walk the cliff-edge path north from the visitor centre to O'Brien's Tower, and then on to the headland at Hags Head, before the tour buses arrive from the nearby cities.
Day six is for the Burren — the 250 km2 limestone plateau that stretches east and north from the cliffs. The landscape is extraordinary: bare karst pavement cracked into angular blocks, with alpine and Mediterranean wildflowers growing through the joints in late spring. Poulnabrone dolmen (a 5,500-year-old portal tomb) is visible from the R480 and worth a five-minute stop. Caherconnell stone fort is a well-preserved Iron Age enclosure with a small museum.
Practical note: Cliffs of Moher car park is pay-and-display; arrive before 10:00 in summer. Lahinch Surf School offers lessons on the beach year-round — the swell is consistent and the water warmer than Scotland.
Connemara begins as you head north from Lahinch. The N67 passes through Kinvara and Clarinbridge, skirting Galway Bay, before the N59 cuts west into the bog. Clifden (about two hours from Lahinch) is the region's main town — small, with good cafes and a few places to eat.
On day seven, drive the Sky Road: an 11km clifftop loop above Clifden Bay giving wide views over the coast and offshore islands. Drive anticlockwise in the afternoon for the best light over the water. Then head 30km east on the N59 to Kylemore Abbey — a neo-Gothic castle built in 1868 by a Manchester industrialist for his wife, now a Benedictine monastery on the shores of a black mountain lake. The restored Victorian walled garden is the most complete of its kind in Ireland.
Day eight is for the landscape itself. The bog road south from Clifden through Roundstone gives the most immediate access to Connemara's wilderness — dark pools, cotton grass, distant quartzite peaks. Roundstone has an excellent pub lunch.
From Clifden, the N59 north to Westport (about 80km, 1.5 hours) cuts through the edge of the bog before entering County Mayo. Westport is an 18th-century planned town built on a river, with a long mall of lime trees along the water and a harbour a kilometre away at Westport Quay.
The main reason to be in Westport is Achill Island, 50km to the north-west via a causeway over Achill Sound. The Atlantic Drive loops around the island's southern shore, passing sea stacks and coves. At the northern end, the deserted village on Slievemore Mountain — 80 stone houses built before the 1845 famine and never reoccupied — is the most atmospheric ruin on the route.
Croagh Patrick (764m), the conical mountain above Clew Bay visible from most of western Mayo, is Ireland's holiest mountain. The climb from the carpark at Murrisk takes about 2.5 hours return; the summit view over the 365 islands of Clew Bay is exceptional on a clear day.
Westport's Matt Molloy's pub (owned by the Chieftains' flute player) has traditional music most evenings.
The drive from Westport to Donegal takes about 2.5 hours on the N5 and N15 via Sligo. Donegal Town is small and functional; the main draw is the surrounding landscape.
Drive south-west to the Slieve League sea cliffs. At 601 metres above the Atlantic, these are nearly three times the height of the Cliffs of Moher — and far less crowded. Park at Bunglass (the road up from Teelin is narrow) and walk the Slieve League Loop for clifftop perspectives that are breath-taking on a clear day. Allow two to three hours.
If time and energy allow, Glenveagh National Park — 28,500 hectares of mountain and blanket bog north of Donegal Town — is Ireland's second-largest national park. The Victorian castle on the shore of Lough Veagh can only be reached by shuttle bus from the visitor centre; the walled garden next to the castle is a surprise in this bleak landscape.
Fly home from Ireland West Airport Knock (90km south), Donegal Airport (40km north-west), or Belfast City Airport (2.5 hours east).
Getting there and back: Fly into Kerry Airport (KIR), Shannon Airport (SNN) or Cork Airport (ORK). Fly home from Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), Donegal Airport (CFN) or Belfast City Airport (BHD).
Best time: May to June and September. July and August bring the most reliable weather but also the biggest crowds on the Ring of Kerry and the Cliffs of Moher, and accommodation prices peak. October can be stormy but the west coast is beautiful in the autumn light.
Roads: Ireland drives on the left. A standard car is fine for all main roads. Peninsula roads (Iveragh, Achill) use single-track lanes with passing places. Download offline maps before heading into Connemara and Donegal, where mobile data coverage can be patchy.
Weather: Ireland's west coast is wet and changeable at any time of year. Bring layers and rain gear even in summer. The light after rain is exceptional.
Budget: Mid-range. Attraction entry is modest (Cliffs of Moher: €8, Kylemore Abbey: €14). Accommodation in the shoulder season: €80-140 per night for a comfortable guesthouse double. Seafood in Killarney and Lahinch is excellent value (main course €16-24).
This section of the Wild Atlantic Way works because it keeps moving. Each overnight base has a distinct character: Killarney's Victorian tourist town, Cahersiveen's remote peninsula isolation, Lahinch's surf-town ease, Clifden's bogland wildness, Westport's Georgian elegance, Donegal's raw remoteness. The landscape escalates as you go north, which is why driving south-to-north rewards patience. Arriving at Slieve League on day ten, having driven 450km of Atlantic coast to get there, gives the cliffs the weight they deserve.
A practical pre-departure checklist for getting your car road-trip ready: tyres, fluids, brakes, battery, lights and an emergency kit, with the UK figures that actually matter.
The full route — stops, maps, and driving times — is on Routebook by Kington.
Ten days along Ireland's Atlantic seaboard from Kerry to Donegal: the Ring of Kerry, the 260-metre Kerry Cliffs above Valentia Island, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren at Lahinch, the bog-and-lough landscape of Connemara, Croagh Patrick above Clew Bay, and the 601-metre sea cliffs of Slieve League.
