The headlands, glens and villages the guidebooks skip — and the famous ones, done properly. Researched, dated and written so you can decide whether to go before you go.
Off the beaten track
A headland on the north coast of Sligo Bay and one of the best-known surf spots in Ireland — a place we describe here without a precise map, because the headland and its dunes are fragile and the land is not all public.
A hillside hermitage above a small lake near Smerkistown on the Cork–Kerry border — the traditional home of St Finbarr, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in the country, and a walk that is easy to find and hard to forget.
The aquarium in Dingle town — penguins, sharks, Asian otters and rays under a glass dome on the main street, the classic rainy-day stop on the Iveragh and one of the best places in the country to do with kids.
Worth the queue
Two kilometres of cliff falling up to 214 metres into the Atlantic, above the village of Doolin — the most visited natural site in the country, and still worth going to, if you know how.
A small, steep island off the Iveragh Peninsula, home to an early Christian monastery of beehive huts — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great places in the country.
The largest island off the west coast, linked to the mainland by a bridge over Achill Sound since 1887 — wild Atlantic headlands, black-pebble bays, a lighthouse with a story, and a landscape that has shaped Irish life for a thousand years.
The editorial promise
Practical details — access, fees, when to go — are checked, dated and sourced. When details get old, the page says so.
Some links earn us a referral. Every one is labelled, and we never dress an advert as an article.
Fragile habitats and private land get a protected view — no pin on the map, no pressure to push through.
The launch route
From Malin Head at the northwestern tip of the island to the Sligo headlands: the wildest coastline in the country, with some of the highest cliffs in Europe and the quietest villages on the route.
Achill, the Aran Islands, Croagh Patrick and Connemara: big water, bigger mountains, and a landscape that has shaped Irish storytelling for a thousand years.
The Cliffs of Moher, the limestone plain of the Burren and the estuary where the Shannon meets the sea. The most-visited stretch of the west coast, with far more to it than the famous viewpoint.
Skellig Michael, the Blasket Islands, the Iveragh and Dingle peninsulas and the walled town of Kinsale, where the Wild Atlantic Way ends at the head of a warm little harbour.
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