Donegal area

Posted by Susan and Monte (Granite Bay, CA) on 11/30/25 04:50 PM

We went to Ireland in 2019 and drove from Dublin down south and then up the west coast ending in Connemara. We LOVED Ireland!! This time I thought we would start in Connemara and head to the north west. We have two weeks or more and we will rent a car.

I'm not sure about the Donegal area. I've heard people say it was one of their favorites, but I'm not clear why?

When I watch You Tube videos of the area most people are hiking. We won't be able to hike due to a chronic injury. But, we love castles, music in pubs, the awesome Irish people, and love to stay in beautiful BnB's.

Will we be able to find enough things to do there, or is it mostly a relaxing/hiking area?

Posted by KimberlySEA

Seattle, WA & Bordeaux, France

11/30/25 06:06 PM

555 posts

In my opinion, County Donegal is the prettiest place in Ireland. It is more rural with many activities being outdoors. However, there are still pubs in every town, lovely Irish people, beautiful BnB's, lovely coastlines with beaches and lighthouses. To me, it is definitely more laid back than the more "touristy" areas but I think it's worth a visit. There are local micro-breweries in the county (Kinnegar and Donegal Brewing are two.) If you like animals, there's the Wild Alpaca Way, which is an alpaca farm close to Malin Head lighthouse. This is a good map that outlines some popular activities in the county: https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/the-best-things-to-do-in-donegal/

Posted by Susan and Monte OP

Granite Bay, CA

11/30/25 06:48 PM

2016 posts

Thank you so much for that link! It looks like a lot to see in the area.

Can you suggest some home bases? We will start in Dublin and then head to Clifton in Connemara and then from there head north. I was wondering about Ardara or Donegal Town, Sligo, Dunfanaghy or Downings. Any thoughts on those or other ideas?

Thank you!

Posted by Cat VH

London

11/30/25 06:53 PM

889 posts

There's plenty to do but most of the activities centre around the natural beauty of the area (lots of really nice beaches, Slieve League, Malin Head, Mount Errigal, Glenveagh National Park). I don't know much about castles but there are definitely pubs and Irish people (including the largest concentration of Irish speakers on the island).

Posted by wasleys

Lincolnshire, UK

11/30/25 09:52 PM

2788 posts

We spent a week in Donegal and loved the area. It is much less touristy than the south. It was the kind of place to wander and get lost in, discovering so many small villages that never merit a mention in the guide books. The countryside is unspoilt and has a timeless feel to it. The scenery and especially the coast is superb and of course there is Slieve League , which knocks spots off Cliffs of Moher...

We were based on the outskirts of Letterkenny which we decided afterwards wasn't the best place to have chosen as we preferred the western part of Donegal more than the eastern bits.

Posted by jjgurley

Mountains of S. Oregon

11/30/25 10:29 PM

1009 posts

Two weeks may go by fast!

On our 2023 trip, we spent 10 days in the northern half of the island. We started in Belfast (x3) (straight from DUB), Portrush, Dunfanaghy(x2), Donegal Town(x2), Westport, Clifden, then Galway and farther south. We know we missed a lot, so we're going back next year to add more time including Belfast x2more, Cushendall x2, Letterkenny x2, Tory Island, Sligo x2, Clare Island x2, Belmullet x2, Inishbofin x2, Cong, Galway, Cavan, and Trim. Most of my planning revolves around finding trad music sessions will seeing lots of stuff while moving between towns. I think we failed at music only 3 of 20 nights of the 2023 trip. You might peek at my trip report at http://user.cavenet.com/jgurley/travel/2023_Ireland.pdf for details.

The Reel in Donegal has changed owners lately, so I'm not sure how guaranteed the music is now, but I'd guess it's still regular.

We prefer staying within walking distance of music pubs, so we miss some of the most scenic country B&Bs.

There are some pretty short yet scenic walks that might be possible? I'm 75 with a bad back and knees and neuropathy, but I always find something.