Traveling Ireland Wild Atlantic Way

Our visit in June 2014 was an eye opener with regard to the "Wild Atlantic Way", the western coastal route designed to showcase Ireland's natural beauty.  We've fallen in love with the West Coast of Ireland for years and Tourism Ireland is doing a wonderful job of advertising this route and making it a major tourism push.

What is the "Wild Atlantic Way"

From Donegal to Cork, the Wild Atlantic Way is the coastal route which features rugged coastline, culturally rich towns and stunning beauty of each county along the western coast of Ireland.

We've never driven the entire Wild Atlantic Way completely as it would take a good 10 days or more to really enjoy the route rather than through the car windscreen. 

County Clare offers lots of attractions so we flew into Shannon on the West Coast and drove directly to Doolin, one of my favorite towns in Ireland and known as the "Traditional Irish Music Capital of Ireland."

Now that I was aware of the "Wild Atlantic Way" marketing, we saw signs everywhere, pointing us to the coastal routes we've always taken and making sure we hugged the coast as much as possible.

Along the way you'll find many pull-offs for gorgeous ocean views, mountains and generally great scenery.  You'll pass through small towns where you can stop for a pint and chips, a little shopping or even the night. 

"Wild Atlantic Way" Road Signs

From Donegal to Cork you'll see signs similar to this one where you have the Wild Atlantic Way icon and pointing you in the direct to follow.

We even saw this sign on the Tarbert/Killimer Ferry, taking us over to our next stop, Dingle... hugging the coastal route along the way.

Overall, the Wild Atlantic Way is a marketing scheme for a route that many already follow.  We kind of like it because the signage is good and allows you to meander rather than reading a map to carefully find your next stop.