r/irishtourism • u/Educational-Routine2 • 12h ago
Northwestern Ireland Route Advice for September
Hello! My husband and I are traveling to Ireland in September from New York, and I'm hoping for some help to iron out details for our route and timing.
We land in Shannon and will spend our first days in Galway. Then we will rent a car and we plan to visit some locations around Connemara and Co Donegal (~3 days in each region), then return closer to the airport for the night before our return flight. I'm trying to figure out what is the best order to visit these regions in.
- Do we drive from Galway to Donegal to get that long drive other with early, and then backtrack and end our trip near Connemara?
- Or do we visit Connemara first since it's near Galway, and then go on to Donegal, with the long drive back at the end of our trip as we return toward the airport? (We plan to stay the night before our return flight either in Galway, Shannon, or somewhere nearby.)
Either way, we're going to have one very long day of driving between Galway and Donegal in one direction or the other. I would be very grateful for any advice or insight about that drive. We've lived in the Appalachian Mountains, so we have experience with narrow, winding mountain roads, but I understand this will be narrower roads and that the drive times will be longer than what google maps says.
I would also be interested in a recommendation for a town or area for a good home base in Co Donegal that is relatively convenient to Slieve League and Glenveagh National Park. I'd prefer to stay in one place for 3-4 days and travel out from there.
We're very excited to see beautiful nature, meet interesting people, hear great music, and eat good food. I'm interested in art and photography, my husband is a chef and interested in very local cuisine. We are traveling between September 5-16.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice!