Wild Atlantic Way Donegal Coast?

By Jeanine In France

Fintra Beach, Southwest Donegal Ireland, On The Wild Atlantic Way

Reader Question: What's the best way to get to the Donegal beaches of the Wild Atlantic Way from Letterkenny or Donegal Town in mid April? Also Tory Island and a day in Belfast? I won't have my car with me because I will fly to Dublin Ireland airport.

Our Reply: You have several options for getting to those attractions from both Letterkenny and Donegal Town...

All Beaches: To visit Donegal's beautiful beaches, it's best to either hire a car or take one or more bespoke guided day tours.

Car hire in Letterkenny is available at Enterprise, and bespoke day tours from Letterkenny at Donegal Tours (links open new windows).

You'll find our article about bespoke guided day tours from Donegal Town here. To hire a car in Donegal Town, contact SR Motors. Their email is: admin@srmotors.ie, and their phone number is: 00353 74 972 3462 from outside Ireland or 074 972 3462 within Ireland.

Bundoran Beach And Tullan Strand: Bus Eireann provides a limited number of daily Expresway (Route 64) services (link opens new window) from Derry, serving Donegal Town and Bundoran seaside resort, where you can visit Bundoran Beach and neighboring Tullan Strand.

These two beaches are connected by a very pleasant clifftop walk. Along the way, you can see almost all of Donegal Bay, framed by the Bluestack mountains, Saint Johns Point peninsula and Mullaghmore Head.

Carrickfinn Beach: If you plan to arrive by flight into Donegal Airport (CFN), you'll be right beside Carrickfinn beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the county. This beach runs parallel to the small regional airport's runway and is partly why Donegal Airport was voted second most scenic landing in the world in 2017.

Tory Island: It's easier to get to Tory Island from Letterkenny than it is from Donegal Town. To visit the island, which is situated off Donegal's Northwest coast, you'll need to catch the Tory Island ferry from Magheroarty. Directions to the ferry are here, and the timetable is here (both links open new windows).

To get to Magheroarty from Donegal Town you'll need to hire a car, and you'll probably require a car to get there from Letterkenny. (See 'All Beaches' above for car hire in both Letterkenny and Donegal Town). However, if you'll be staying in Letterkenny, it's worth asking at your hotel first if any local buses connect with the Tory Island ferry. Small local bus companies occasionally adjust their itineraries or add new routes according to demand.

Tip: Check ahead of time that the Tory Island ferry will be sailing on the day of your planned trip. It's occasionally cancelled due to Atlantic storms.

Belfast: This historic city is in Northern Ireland, a UK jurisdiction. Your best options for getting there from Donegal Town or Letterkenny are to either hire a car and drive there yourself, or to take a bespoke day tour (see 'All Beaches' above for car hire and bespoke day tours from both Letterkenny and Donegal Town). Public transport is another possibility...

Bus Eireann's Expressway Route 64 (.pdf) runs between Letterkenny and Derry, and Route 30 (Donegal to Dublin) serves Donegal Town and Enniskillen. Both Derry and Enniskillen are in Northern Ireland. From either of those points, continue your journey to Belfast on Ulsterbus (all three links open new windows).

Tip:The currency in Belfast and Northern Ireland is the British pound sterling.

Thanks for this and your other great questions...

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