Wild Atlantic Way South: Kinsale to Moher

Counties Cork, Kerry and Clare · Ireland

Easy10 daysEurope~£1,300 est.

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Overview

The Wild Atlantic Way runs 2,500 km up Ireland's west coast; trying to drive it all in one go flattens it into windscreen scenery. This is the southern half done properly — Kinsale to the Cliffs of Moher over ten unhurried days of peninsulas, pubs and weather. Start with harbour chowder in Kinsale and the Old Head, round Mizen Head's signal-station bridge, then give the Iveragh and Dingle peninsulas two days each: the Skellig Ring with Skellig Michael pyramiding out of the Atlantic off St Finian's Bay, and Slea Head, where the tarmac squeezes between drystone walls and the surf. The moment is topping the Conor Pass out of Dingle in clearing rain, the whole peninsula laid out in shafts of light. Finish across the Shannon ferry in Clare, walking the cliff path from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher rather than fighting the visitor-centre coaches, with a session in Gus O'Connor's afterwards. The variables: single-track detours halve your average speed — plan 150 km days at most; Dingle and Doolin beds vanish in July and August; and rain is a certainty, not a risk. Around £1,300 per person in B&Bs, hiring from Cork airport.