Donegal Tours

About Donegal

County Donegal occupies Ireland's remote northwest corner, a sprawling county of mountain, bog, and Atlantic coastline that feels more distant from Dublin than its 270 kilometres suggest. It holds some of the most dramatic landscapes in the country — and some of the least visited, because its position beyond the reach of the main motorway network keeps the crowds at bay. Slieve League, on the southwest coast near the fishing port of Killybegs, is the county's most dramatic single feature. The sea cliffs rise to 601 metres — nearly three times the height of the Cliffs of Moher — making them among the highest accessible sea cliffs in Europe. You can drive to the Bunglas viewing point or walk the One Man's Pass ridge for vertiginous views of Donegal Bay and the Sligo Mountains beyond. Below, at the harbour of Teelin, a memorial marks the departure point of fifth-century monks who sailed to Iceland. The northern coast is a different world. Fanad Head Lighthouse, at the tip of the Fanad Peninsula, has been voted one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the world. The drive around the peninsula — a 75-kilometre loop via the Harry Blaney Bridge connecting Fanad to the Rosguill Peninsula — follows the edge of Lough Swilly past white-sand beaches and clear Atlantic water. Malin Head, on the Inishowen Peninsula, is the northernmost point of mainland Ireland and the start (or end) of the Wild Atlantic Way. The rocks here are among the oldest in Ireland, and the headland was used as a filming location for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Between the coasts, Glenveagh National Park covers 16,000 hectares of mountain, bog, and lake in the centre of the county. The castle at its heart, a 19th-century building overlooking Lough Veagh, is surrounded by gardens that include species from around the world. The Inishowen 100 — a 160-kilometre signposted driving loop around the Inishowen Peninsula — takes in Malin Head, the Gap of Mamore, Five Finger Strand, and the walled town of Derry at its eastern end.