Wild Atlantic Way North: Derry to Galway (4 Days)

This is the missing middle of the Irish coast. North of it the Causeway Coastal Route runs out at the Giant’s Causeway; south of it the road to Dingle starts in Galway. In between, 469 kilometres of Atlantic edge that most people fly over — driven the way it is written here, out to Slieve League and home through Connemara rather than cutting inland.

Day 1 — Derry to Donegal town (77 km)

Leave Derry westward and you cross into the Republic within twenty minutes. There is no checkpoint and nothing to show, but three things change at once: the speed signs go from mph to km/h, the money goes from pounds to euro, and your rental insurance may or may not still apply — see the note at the bottom, and sort it before you drive.

Donegal town is small and makes a good base for the day after.

Day 2 — Slieve League and down to Sligo (163 km)

The longest day, and the detour is why. West of Donegal town the road runs out at Slieve League, where the cliffs drop straight into the Atlantic from among the highest sea cliffs in Europe. There is a lower car park and an upper one behind a gate; the walk between them is the point.

Going out to the cliffs and back doubles the day — the direct road to Sligo is 64 km — and it is still the right call.

Then south into Sligo, under the flat table of Benbulben. Yeats is buried at Drumcliffe in its shadow, which is why half the county is named after his lines.

Day 3 — Sligo to Westport through Mayo (104 km)

The emptiest stretch of the four. The road crosses into Mayo and finishes at Westport, a planned Georgian town that feels transplanted from somewhere richer.

Croagh Patrick stands over the bay outside town — a two-hour climb on scree if you want it, a good photograph from the road if you do not.

Day 4 — Connemara to Galway (125 km)

The best of it. The N59 turns inland through Connemara: bog, quartzite hills and water in every direction. Kylemore Abbey sits on its lake with the mountain behind, and it is worth the ticket even with the coaches.

Finish in Galway, where this drive hands over to the road down to Dingle.

No tolls, the whole way

There is not a single toll on this route. Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Connemara are toll-free, and so are Derry and the Causeway Coast behind you.

The one to know about is the M50 around Dublin, which you will only meet if you fly into Dublin and drive up. It is barrier-free with no booth: you pay online by 20:00 the day after you cross, or an automatic penalty of about €46 follows the plate — and with a rental, it follows you.

Before you book the car

This drive crosses a border, and the paperwork is the only hard part of it.

Most companies charge a cross-border fee of roughly €30–40 for taking a car between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and some policies limit the collision cover to one jurisdiction — “Republic of Ireland only” is a real clause. Tell them your route when you book and get the cover confirmed in writing on the rental agreement, not over the phone.

What it costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your exact dates. With no tolls anywhere on the route, the variable costs are fuel, beds and the cross-border fee — and Connemara has fewer petrol stations than you expect, so fill up in Westport.