Donegal Bike and Walking Tour

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Posted by Utah Traveler on 04/19/23 09:33 PM

We are planning to be in Donegal on a Friday evening and Saturday in June.

We will have just the one evening and most of the next day in Donegal. We are staying in town.

Is there a walking tour of town that might be available for a few hours around dinner time and evening that anyone can recommend (and is it worth it?)
We plan to rent ebikes the next day in Carrick and ride for 5-6 hours out to the cliffs, etc. Is biking a reasonable way to see the main sites? It looks like a bit of a hassle to get to Carrick by bus (we have no car) to get to the bike rental at a reasonable time in the morning. Is there some sort of reasonable car hire that would work better?

Thanks so much for the advice!

Posted by Morfal

France

04/20/23 05:53 PM

40 posts

Why don't you contact the Donegal town tourist office and ask? They're very friendly and helpful. That said, Donegal town itself is not much of a tourist attraction. It's more of a base from which to explore other parts of the county, as well as shop, dine, drink, listen to music, etc.

Given your limited time and needs, you might want to see if you could take the "Donegal Wild Atlantic Sightseeing" minivan tour from John at Walking Ireland (walkingireland.ie). It leaves from Donegal town in the morning and you visit Killybegs, the Slieve League Cliffs, Silver Strand Beach, and Glencolmcille in I think something like 4-5 hours.

The ebikes are super fun and the best way (IMHO) to really experience the natural beauty of this region, BUT you really need a full day to see all of the above sites. If you just want to see the Slieve League Cliffs, you could take the bus to Carrick in the late morning, then take the bike to the cliffs and spend a good time there, and make it back to Donegal town via bus by mid-afternoon.

Whatever you do, make sure you have reserved accommodation first. Lodgings in County Donegal are exceptionally rare at the moment and totally unavailable at some moments in summer -- due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees living in area hotels, hostels, and B&Bs.

Posted by Utah Traveler OP

04/21/23 02:43 AM

10 posts

Thank you for the help! I would love to make the bikes work if I could. It seems like a much more fun way to do it. But the van tour may be an option as well.

Posted by Cyn

Colorado Mountains, USA

04/21/23 03:37 AM

7937 posts

We did a 2-week tour by regular bikes in 2012 (I don’t think eBikes were a “thing” back then), and had decent weather on all but one day, when a sudden storm rolled in and soaked us before we could even get our rain gear out of our packs. We pulled in to the next town down the road, and got a B&B room to dry out for the next day’s journey.

Just a reminder that it is Ireland, so the next rain isn’t too far off. You may have plans all laid out, and weather might have other plans. Be prepared, in case you need to consider a Plan B.

Posted by Morfal

France

04/21/23 08:46 AM

40 posts

FYI. For the Ireland by Bike ebike single day tour from Carrick, the bicycling part of it takes about 3 - 3 1/2 hours (1 hour round-trip to the Slieve League Cliffs, then 1 hour to the Silver Strand Beach, and another hour or so to return to Carrick via Glencolmcille). I spent 45 - 60 minutes at each of the three stops, plus had lunch in a restaurant. That made for a full seven hour day.

There are three different bus companies traveling around county Donegal -- Local Link, Bus Eireann, and McGeehan. Your timing might work out better making a transfer in Killybegs.

I also echo the point about unpredictable Irish weather. I had beautiful sun for my bike trip, but horrific wind. Thanks to the ebike, my muscles weren't sore, but the wind was exhausting.