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As noted in a previous post, I ignored the advice of so many other travelers to base ourselves in one or two spots in Ireland, and instead I spread our route across the south, the west, and the far north. Our route from Galway to Donegal was designed simply to move us farther up the island because Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-A-Rede Bridge were must-see items on my list. That said, I’m glad we got to see both Galway and Donegal albeit briefly.

I have to confess, I was a wee bit frustrated with Galway. I’m going to chalk it up to timing and lack of research. From the photos I had seen prior to the trip, I thought Galway would be more compact and easy to navigate like so many of the quaint little towns we explored earlier in the week. I now know that Galway is the forth largest city in Ireland! We arrived during heavy rush hour on a weekday (technically Day 3 of our road trip) and we were up against a deadline trying to arrive at our B&B for check-in, so some of the very busy one-way streets flustered us. If I had known it was so big, we would have timed our arrival differently to avoid the traffic. Once we were settled and walking around the city center though, I discovered the vibe that so many people love about Galway.

City size aside, we were especially excited about checking out the live music scene in Galway. After dinner and drinks, we headed straight for Tig Cóilí based on so many recommendations. The pub was filled to the point of standing room only, but we eventually made our way to the front for a prime spot. The band’s lively trad session kept Tig Cóilí packed and full of craic.

After sleeping in a wee bit the next morning, we took off on Day 4 for the three-hour drive to Donegal without much of a plan except getting to our destination. We had been having good luck with winging it and discovering points of interest, little villages, and great pubs in which to grab lunch, so I didn’t research the route ahead. We didn’t end up stumbling onto any food around lunchtime, and after several rounds of, “maybe the next town?” we gave up and ate fast food. At least it was something new to us – Ireland’s answer to the drive-thru, Supermac’s.

When we arrived in Donegal, we found the town center to be a little sleepy, but interesting nonetheless. Fifteenth-century Donegal Castle sits right in the middle of town, though it was just about to close by the time we wandered over to it.

We saw our third traditional Irish session of the week at The Reel Inn where the owner played accordion accompanied by a friend on the guitar. Their hilarious stories and commentary entertained a huge crowd and I could have listened to those two guys all night (except we were exhausted and only lasted until about 10:30pm).

It would have been nice to have more time in County Donegal, nicknamed the “wild child” of Ireland. We enjoyed staying in the Arches Country House and visiting the town, but we only experienced a sliver of the area and I would have loved to see the Slieve League Cliffs. We gave the cliffs a miss in order to get on the road towards Northern Ireland (especially since we had already visited the Kerry Cliffs and the Cliffs of Moher), and I’m glad we did – more on that in the next post!

Out of all the must-see sights in Ireland recommended by blogs, guidebooks, and friends/family who have been to Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher ranked high on everyone’s list, and now Chris and I know why! After staying in Killarney for two nights, we hit the road early and made our way up the west coast toward Galway with a plan to spend the afternoon at the cliffs.

But first, we stopped in the sweetest village, Adare, on the way. Famous for its thatched-roof cottages built in the 1820s, friendly little Adare charmed my socks right off. Chris and I wandered the village, ate a leisurely lunch, and enjoyed a take-away bakery dessert while sitting in a beautiful park nearby. Our road trip might sound like a crazy whirlwind with a lot of mileage, but we had plenty of serene moments where we soaked in our surroundings. This was one of them.

After our lovely time in Adare, we continued onto the Cliffs of Moher. I admit I didn’t know what to expect other than a long stretch of rocky walls along the ocean that I had seen in pictures. Photos simply do not do the dramatic coastline justice; it has to be experienced first-hand along with the crazy winds! I also didn’t realize you can walk the length of the cliffs on the Burren Way, and because we had such a beautiful day that’s exactly what we did.

For most of the trail along the cliffs towards Doolin there are two paths – one is right along the ridge, and one is down low alongside a short wall (see photo below). We chose the perilous option for the views, although on a rainy, slippery day I might have opted for the protection of the wall! A sign warns visitors that this part of the cliffs are on private farmland and while you are allowed to walk there, the farmers are not liable for your fate. (Gulp.)

It was so windy! This isn’t a good look for me.

The one thing I did plan very specifically was the timing of our visit. I aimed to photograph the cliffs in the afternoon when the sun (if not behind clouds) would be shining into the side of the cliffs. The lighting was incredibly gorgeous while we were there (around 4-5pm). We absolutely lucked out with the weather and enjoyed sunshine for nearly two hours; it only started sprinkling just as we were leaving.

I had also hoped to see The Burren on the same day as the Cliffs of Moher if the schedule allowed, and we did drive through the national park, but we were indeed short on time and didn’t get to see any of the attractions found deeper into the park. So The Burren goes onto the list for a future trip when we can give it a proper amount of time. The reasons to go back to Ireland are adding up!