The shape of the drive
Donegal holds the longest county stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way, roughly 400 kilometres from the Leitrim border to Inishowen. It is also the least driven, which is precisely why it is the best.
There is no single loop. The coast is a series of peninsulas hanging off a spine, and you drive out and back on each one. Understanding that up front stops you from planning a straight line that does not exist.
Honest driving times
Take whatever your navigation app tells you and add 40 percent. That is not pessimism, it is the arithmetic of single track roads, tractors, sheep and stopping constantly.
- Donegal Town to Slieve League
- One hour. Not the 45 minutes you will be told.
- Ardara to Glenveagh via the coast
- Two hours with stops. One hour ten if you take the inland road, which you should not.
- Letterkenny to Malin Head
- One hour thirty, and three hours if you drive the Inishowen loop properly.
- Glengesh Pass
- Twenty minutes of hairpin descent between Glencolmcille and Ardara. Low gear, and stop at the top.
The three peninsulas, ranked
Fanad first. The lighthouse at Fanad Head is the postcard, but the drive up the western shore of Lough Swilly and back down Mulroy Bay is the real payoff. Half a day.
Rosguill second, via the Atlantic Drive out of Downings. It is short, about 15 kilometres, and it delivers more coastline per minute than anything else in the county. An hour and a half.
Inishowen third only because it needs a full day of its own rather than an afternoon. Do not squeeze it.
What American drivers should know here specifically
Left hand side, manual transmission unless you booked automatic explicitly, and roads that narrow without warning. Book the automatic. It costs more and it is worth every cent on the Glengesh Pass.
Passing places on single track roads are used by whoever is closest to one. Reversing fifty metres is normal and nobody is annoyed with you. Fuel up in towns, because there are long stretches of the north west with no station open after six.
Northern Ireland is a short hop from Inishowen and from the Derry side of the county. Confirm your rental insurance covers both jurisdictions before you leave the airport.
A four day route we would drive tomorrow
Day one, in from Sligo, Rossnowlagh beach, night at Lough Eske. Day two, Slieve League, Glencolmcille, Malin Beg, back over the Glengesh Pass. Day three, north to Glenveagh, then Errigal and the Poisoned Glen, night at Rathmullan. Day four, Fanad and Rosguill, or the whole of Inishowen if you have the appetite.
That is four days without a wasted hour, and it is the itinerary we hand to friends who have already done Kerry and want to know what is next.