‘Up here it’s different’- The tagline of County Donegal is authentic.

Traveling to the northernmost corner of Ireland, to visit County Donegal, was an eye-opening experience for us. The road trip to cover this distance is the longest we have traveled continuously. Being Ireland’s northernmost county, as well as sharing its border with Northern Ireland, County Donegal has a distinct cultural identity.

County Donegal-Steep slopes and houses at the foot of the hill, flocks of sheep grazing around, reminding me of the pictures that we used to draw as a child.

There was so much to see and 3-days to explore, along with the long distances to be covered. So this 3-day itinerary is how we explored the iconic sites of County Donegal.

How To Reach Donegal

“So it is always better to download all maps before traveling if you are like us and rely heavily on maps.”

When traveling from Dublin to Carndonagh, there are 2 options.

Route 1-This takes 3.5 hours and passes through some portions of Northern Ireland.

Route 2-This route takes us through Sligo and takes 4.5 hours. We chose to go through this route.

Just a few days before our travel, we decided to add a short visit to Cork (visiting friends) before traveling to Donegal. And so, though the route was similar as we are passing through Sligo, it would take an additional 2 hours.

“It’s like stepping out into an alternate universe; some parts of the landscape covered with pine-like trees, and some with rolling greenish landscape filled with grazing sheep, yellow furze bushes, and houses with inclined rooftops and bay windows.”

In order to make it easier, we started a day before and stayed overnight at our friends’ house in Limerick before covering the 4.5 hours to Carndonagh through Sligo.

Important Tidbit– When traveling to Donegal your phone might not have a network at many places. So it is always better to download all maps before traveling if you are like us and rely heavily on maps.

For a change, this time we learned to rely on signs along the way instead of just focusing on maps.

Since, we travelled from Dublin to Cork and then to Donegal, it took a total of 6.5 hours to travel to reach our first destination in Carndonagh in County Donegal.

Day 1- Malin Head, Culdaff Beach, Stay At Joyce’s Inishowen

Carndonagh, County Donegal

Carndonagh in Co Donegal is known as the “Hub” of Inishowen, the largest peninsula in Ireland.

The landscape of Carndonagh is completely different from the rest of Ireland. It’s like stepping out into an alternate universe with some parts of the landscape covered with pine-like trees, some of it along the Wild Atlantic Way, and some with a rolling greenish landscape filled with grazing sheep, yellow furze bushes, and houses with inclined rooftops and bay windows.

“Big cheers to them for their passion and hard strenuous efforts to cycle along these mountain roads.”

Important Tidbit- In many places along the road, there is no hard shoulder. So we need to be conscious of cyclists as well.

We traveled to Co Donegal in the month of April 2022. It was the start of the spring season and luckily we were favored with sunny days and warm temperatures, so there were a lot of cyclists out and about. Big cheers to them for their passion and hard strenuous efforts to cycle along these mountain roads.

“Startled enough to take the thumb out of her mouth.”

In addition to cyclists, in some places, we need to be cautious about hikers as well. Then sheep. Lots and lots of sheep. As well as baby sheep or lambs. They look so cute cozying up to their mother, some of them suckling and the others grazing around.

At one point we saw 2 startled lambs as we passed by (they were on the other side of the fence), and my husband said they looked like Bhavi. It was hilarious because sometimes she has this same look. Startled enough to take the thumb out of her mouth. (Thumb sucking is one of Bhavi’s passionate hobbies).

And so our trip through Donegal began.

1. Malin Head

We reached our first destination in Carndonagh at around 6. It was the famous Malin head, the north-westerly tip of Ireland. Or the most northerly point in Ireland.

Also popular as the spot where many scenes from the movie ‘The Last Jedi’ were filmed, Malin head was beautiful in a ferocious way. The stark cliff points, sharp drops to the sea, harsh winds blowing, yes wild and beautiful.

“Malin head, the most northerly point in Ireland.”

Being the north westerly tip of Ireland, we do feel we are traveling to the edge of the world. The pressure difference, ears getting blocked out, throat getting parched. So, make sure you are well hydrated, or else the whole journey becomes tiresome at the beginning itself.

“The stark cliff points, sharp drops to the sea, harsh winds blowing, yes wild and beautiful.”

Though we didn’t drive or hike up the cliff, I am sure the views were awesome. It had rained as we were reaching and we were sure we were not fit enough to hike up the last 2 km as well. So we had a walk along the lower roads and then drove to our next destination, Culdaff beach.

Important Tidbit– Though the Google map showed us the route to Culdaff beach to travel back the way we came from, we decided to continue along the route from Malin head. Best decision ever. As we continued on the same road, we were able to get awesome views of the waves lashing against the cliffs.

2. Culdaff Beach

A blue flag beach in Carndonagh, Donegal of north-west Ireland, Culdaff is a beautiful sandy beach. Having a playground nearby makes it even more attractive to children. They have good car parking space and benches as well.

The playground can be accessed from the car park as well as from the beach.

“Best decision ever. As we continued on the same road, we were able to get awesome views of the waves lashing against the cliffs.”

Children playing around, dogs hiking up the sandy beach, people relaxing while fishing, sandcastles being filled up with waves, with the wonderful views of sunset, it was a beautiful way to relax at Culdaff beach after the long drive we had.

ITB – To get the best views of the beach, climb up the small hill from the playground.

Stay

Joyce’s Inishowen was our stay for the night. 12-minutes drive from the Culdaff beach, Joyce’s was a really good find as their rooms are reasonably priced and for its prime location. Though they do not have any restaurant downstairs, only a bar, there are so many restaurants nearby.

They have so many cafes, restaurants and shops nearby reminding me of why Carndonagh is known as the “Hub” of Inishowen.

All the bookings were done through booking.com.

Caffe Banba

We visited Caffe Banba as well, which is famous as the ‘Ireland’s most Northerly Bakery and Coffee Shop’. To visit Carndonagh and not eat at least a croissant from here would have made our trip incomplete.

They love to be called as ‘van on wheels’ as they also have a café at the top of Malin Head.

 

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A post shared by Dominic Mcdermott (@caffebanba)

Fancy a hike up the Malin Head? Or maybe a drive?

Who wouldn’t love a sweet treat and a hot coffee while watching the horizon waiting for magic to happen.