7 Days Along the Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way runs 2,500 kilometres. Doing the whole thing properly takes about three weeks, so anything shorter is a question of what you leave out.

This Wild Atlantic Way itinerary is the version I would drive with a week: north to south, Donegal down to West Cork, hitting the stretches I think are worth the mileage. It involves more driving per day than my Kerry route, because the coast is simply that long.

A car is essential. Apart from the first day, which is a long haul from Dublin to the north west, the daily legs stay around two hours.

At a glance

• Direction: north to south, Donegal to Cork
• Longest drive: Day 1, Dublin across to Donegal
• Base towns: Glencolmcille, Westport, Galway, Dingle, Killarney, Cork
• Best months: May, June, September

Day 1: Dublin to Donegal

The transit day. Drive northwest, and stop for lunch at the Killybegs Seafood Shack once you reach the fishing port, fresh catch and about as close to the boats as a plate of food gets.

Then start properly with Slieve League, among the highest sea cliffs in Europe at 601 metres. Silver Strand afterwards, a beach tucked into a cove that most people never see.

You are in a genuinely remote part of Ireland by evening and dinner options are limited. An Chistin at Cook's Pantry is the one locals actually use, and it is worth booking ahead rather than hoping. Stay at Aras BnB in Glencolumbkille, a small, well-run guesthouse right in the village.

Day 2: Donegal to Mayo

Start with Sturrall Ridge. Park at the church in Glencolumbkille and walk to the end of the road, then take the trail out to the viewpoint.

Lunch at Foam in Bundoran on the way south, a relaxed cafe with good salads and better cake than you would expect from a surf town.

Then into Mayo for Downpatrick Head and Dun Briste, the sea stack standing off the cliff. There are no barriers here and the blowholes in the ground are real hazards, so watch your feet as much as the view. Dinner at Coveys Gastrobar, gourmet without pretending to be, and a decent wine list if you want one glass before bed. Night in Westport, and the Westport Plaza is a straightforward, comfortable choice to base from.

Day 3: Connemara and Galway

Doolough Valley in the morning, which is one of the most atmospheric drives in the country and almost always empty. Breakfast before you set off if your base has it, since there is little along the way.

Kylemore Abbey next. Its cafe does simple, decent food with local produce if you want to break the walk around the walled garden with lunch there rather than push on hungry.

Then straight to Galway City. Galway is the one place on this route where I would suggest spending the evening in town rather than chasing light: buskers, a session in a pub doorway, the kind of night out the rest of this route does not really offer. Taaffes Bar is a reliable one for live music, and The Dough Bros does the best wood fired pizza in the city if you want dinner before the pints start.

Day 4: Clare to the Dingle Peninsula

Breakfast at Dodi Cafe in Lahinch, small, unfussy, and better coffee than a surf town this size has any right to have.

Cliffs of Moher in the morning, approached from Hag's Head rather than the visitor centre. Fewer people, better angle, and you only pay for parking.

Lunch at Beag Cafe before the ferry, local produce and homemade food in a room that does not try too hard. Then the Killimer to Tarbert ferry across the Shannon, which saves a long drive around. Afternoon on the Slea Head Drive, clockwise, with stops at Coumenole Beach, Dunmore Head and Dunquin Harbour.

Dinner back in Dingle town at The Fish Box, also known as Flannery's Seafood Bar, fresh and unfussy. Áras de Staic is my pick for the night, a small boutique hotel that does not try to be anything other than comfortable.

Day 5: Dingle to Killarney

Breakfast at Bean in Dingle before you leave, a small cafe that roasts its own coffee and does it properly. Then Inch Beach on the way out, one of the few beaches in Ireland you can drive onto.

Lunch in Killarney at The Tan Yard, then the National Park for the afternoon: Ross Castle and Muckross House. An easier day after two hard ones, and you will want it.

Dinner at The Lane at the Ross Hotel, one of the trendier rooms in town, and worth it for the cocktail list alone. The Brehon is the stay to book if you want a proper spa evening to close the day out.

Day 6: Mizen Head

The longest single push south, from Kerry to the most south westerly point of the island. Mizen Head itself, with the bridge and the cliffs, and then Three Castle Head very close by.

Three Castle Head is a short hike up from the parking area following the signs, and you can walk right around the ruins. Good footwear required. Finish in Cork City.

Day 7: Cork and home

Breakfast in Cork City, then a walk through the English Market, a covered Victorian market hall with some of the best food stalls in the country. St Fin Barre's Cathedral is a short walk from there, a Gothic Revival building worth the detour for the stained glass alone.

From Cork it is the drive home, or on to the airport. If you have an hour to spare on the road, stop in Cashel and take in the Rock of Cashel, a cluster of medieval buildings on a limestone outcrop that is visible for miles before you reach it.