The Wild Atlantic way refers to a route (named in 2014) that travels up and down the West Coast of Ireland.  We actually drove the entire country, however most of the driving portion followed along the Wild Atlantic Way and it’s a spectacular journey!  Ireland is full of grassy green hills, beautiful old retaining walls, sheep, and rain! 

We started our portion of the WAW in Malin Head, the most Northern part of Ireland.  I had my FIRST Irish Guiness in old general store in a family owned inn while in Malin Head.  And we traveled all the way to the southern most point – Mizen Head.  We successfully ended the Wild Atlantic Way with a flat tire….I sweat things like that only happen when Matt is around and THANK GOD!

The drive goes through nine counties and sticks along the coast – so the views are jaw dropping.  There are a so many sights along this drive you would have to take 6 months to see everything.  But here are the highlights we enjoyed:

Malin Head – most Northern point in Ireland

Slieve League – sea cliffs that are almost 3x higher than the Cliffs of Moher

Galway – Old Irish town with tons of pubs and restuarants – very lively

Cliffs of Moher – can’t NOT see the Cliffs of Moher

Shannon Estuary

Dingle – my FAVORITE Irish town – they still speak Gaelic (the old Irish language)

Ring of Kerry – another must do

and finally – Mizen Head – gorgeous scenery with a bridge that spans over a deep chasm that takes you to the lighthouse!

The best part of this particular trip were the surprises – on every road trip I create a loose itinerary that tightens up along the way.  A lot of things I originally plan on seeing drop off only to make room for other stuff I didn’t know existed.  I try to talk to locals to get a feel for whats really worth seeing, and what isn’t.   To make an itinerary specific to what works for you check out the Wild Atlantic Way website.

And to make it even EASIER there are multiple Wild Atlantic Way apps! Technology today….  🙂

*** All photos taken with GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition ***

XO, Shannon