When we leave Ashford Castle on the tail-end of our 14-day Ireland trip, we are headed to Westport via Clifden and the coast. Spend the night in Westport and drive to Sligo, again via the coastal drive with a stop at Carrowmore. Spend the night in Sligo, and here it gets dicey. I planned on driving to Northern Ireland to maybe Portstewart to see the Giant's Causeway and maybe Carrick-A-Rede Ropebridge, spend the night, get up and drive back to Dublin for our last night. I know this is a lot of driving, but we want to see these area's. I just want to make sure it is doable! I've done the driving distances, but I also know the actual driving time is what I have to consider on the Ireland roads. Can I get some advice on here as to these routes and times. Basically I have the last 3 days of our trip here.
Posted by
CA, USA
333 posts
You can get from Westport to Sligo in about 2 hours. From Sligo, it's about 4 hours to the Giant's Causeway and the Carrik-a-Rede. I personally would drive to Derry from Westport the first day (about 4.5-5 hours), drive the Antrim Coast to Belfast, stay in Belfast for the night and then drive back to Dublin (about 3 hours) the next morning. You'll be motorway the whole time save the Antrim Coast and around Westport.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
We drove this route last year. I agree with Tyson. You'll be in Sligo earlier than you think. We left from Westport in the morning and were in Sligo for lunch. Nothing against Sligo, but you're not going to want to spend half a day plus an overnight there. You can definitely go further that day. We overnighted near Letterkenny & then had a couple nights along the coast near Bushmills. Spent the following 2 nights in Belfast. The roads weren't bad anywhere along the way.
Posted by
Edmonton, AB, Canada
668 posts
Assuming you are renting a car, make sure you are allowed to take it into N. Ireland.
Posted by
OP
Trenton
31 posts
It sounds like we can do the scenic drives between Cong and Westport.Spend the night. Then the scenic drive on the coast to Sligo. Then we'll go on toward the Antrim coast to spend the night before heading back down to Dublin. Yes, we'll have to pay the extra fee to drive our car in N. Ireland. Thanks a lot! This site is wonderful!