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Itinerary Help--Dublin loop north to Northern Ireland, Donegal and back to Dublin

Two mostly retired couples are spending two weeks traveling south from Dublin in May and have that looped roughed out. My wife has to return home after two weeks and the three of us are planning to explore the North. If you had a week to go north from Dublin and a car, where would you go, what would you see / do and where would you stay? All your suggestions are welcome.

Posted by
3119 posts

High on my list would be Mount Stewart, seat of the Marquess of Londonderry (but it's not near Londonderry, it's east of Belfast in Newtonards). See https://discovernorthernireland.com/Mount-Stewart-Newtownards-P2873/?s=2D3E648A10F7EAB89B3689F760A859B8C03B6984

In Northern Ireland I would also like to visit Giant's Causeway and Hillsborough Castle.

I'd definitely want to explore Donegal, but I don't have specific destinations to point to there.

A little further south along the coast is Classiebawn Castle, which isn't open to the public at all, but I'd like to explore the coast in that area as well as some of the neolithic sites in County Sligo.

Posted by
508 posts

In County Donegal, Glenveigh National Park, Mt. Errigal (both in the far northwest) and the far southwestern village of Glencolumbkille should not be missed. Then there's also "The Northwest Passage." Biddy's Pub in the village has trad most summer nights. On a 1999 trip there, the contemporary trad group Altan - that I had been telling my cycling companion about - happened to be playing in a community center a few miles from town. You never know!

Derry is also worth seeing for the history about The Troubles and the old wall surrounding a portion of it.