Western Ireland / Wild Atlantic Way

Spots worth hitting in Sligo/Mayo:
Strandhill is nice, lovely cafe/restaurant there for fish and chips called Shells
If you’re spending some time in Sligo town, Lyons and kates kitchen are also good for food
Heading south, aughris pier is lovely for a dip, quite sheltered so usually calm and clear water, and beside the beach bar for some food and a decent pint of Guinness
Further south you’ll hit Easkey, but there’s a right turn before you come into the town for a loop around past O’Dowds castle, and if the swell is good it’s usually full of surfers and campers - also a decent camp spot if winds allow. There’s a tidal pool here call Poll Gorm that is lovely for a dip if it’s not busy or high tide
Easkey has a lovely bougie grocery store with fresh food, but doesn’t open Monday or Tuesday if that influences planning
Next down from there you’re into Enniscrone, which is where I’m based. Nice Victorian style seaweed bath there worth a visit, and a few decent pubs. B. E. Hopkins worth a visit for a cracking Guinness if it’s not busy
South of there you’re into Ballina which is well known for salmon fishing and a favourite place of the late Jack Charlton
From there you’ll head along the coast to downpatrick head (totally worth a slight deviation), and the ceide fields. Mary’s cottage in ballycastle is a decent shout for a breakfast or cake along the way
There’s really not much aside from strong winds til you hit belmullet, and out onto the mullet to black sod bay
From there it’s fairly quiet again til you hit achill island
And from there you can take the great western greenway into Westport which is a lovely town
From Westport you’ll head through the stunning Connemara to clifden, another nice little town, with boat trips out to some of the smaller islands if you fancy it. If you’re camping, eco beach in clifden is a nice place to stay, otherwise I’d recommend rosleague manor in letterfrack if you can get a booking. It’s worth climbing diamond hill while you’re in the area
From clifden you’ll head to Galway which is worth spending a night in

Beyond there I’m a lot more vague on the hot spots

Wow, thanks a lot! I'll have a trawl through all your recommendations and see what we can include. Food spots are definitely appreciated as there's nothing more frustrating than searching for 30 mins for somewhere to eat when hungry and with tired legs.

It’s a while since I rode in Donegal, but if you get good weather it’s a stunning place to ride bikes. Just bring some climbing gears!

Oh and the grocery store in Easkey is called pudding row, 100% worth a visit for their donuts alone

The Ice House in Ballina is fairly bouji but the food is nice, I imagine the rooms are nice to stay in as well

As Colm says downpatrick head is worth it, and I'd say a must if you're nearby- and if you stay in Ballycastle which is v close by, there is a really very good museum of art there that opened last year.

If you then do as Colm says and head to Achill, Keem bay was voted like the prettiest beach in ireland but it is a schlep out to it. Hy breasal is cheap but comfortable lodgings in Achill sound, or there's a large and decent campsite at Keel by the beach.

Mayo4Sam

Mayo4Sam

Ha ha, I’m from neither Mayo nor Dublin, and not a big follower of GAA, but I think the entire country was rooting for Mayo on Saturday!

Just remembered there’s a really popular food truck in Connemara that’s attracting all of Instagram called misunderstood heron, not been but I believe it’s very good. Might be one to add to the list if you’re stuck for a bite to eat in Connemara.

i am hoping to be in Galway late September, my first trip no bikes and only for four nights taking the GF for oysters and champagne festival. fingers crossed that we are good with covid travel.

Any tips much appreciated, we have NHS letters confirming both double jabbed, which i will need for the plane, car hire and hotel stay.

passenger locator forms required, right?
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ab900-covid-19-passenger-locator-form/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/locatorform/

also the Covid App for Ireland currently
https://www.gov.ie/en/service/da832-download-the-covid-tracker-app/#

Just back from an excellent 10 days down the west coast. We ended up getting the train from Dublin to Westport and riding down to Killarney for the train back. 600km in total, taking it quite easy.
Absolute highlights were Doolough Valley, the endless peat fields of Connemara, and Macgillycuddy's Reeks.
Connor's pass into Dingle was also an excellent road, but unfortunately we were in the rain and clouds for all of it.
We've definitely now got the motivation to find time to come back and ride the top half from Derry back down to Westport.
Met loads of lovely chatty locals, and most importantly, not too many Americans yet. Inishmor and Moher were a little busy as expected, but it was still manageable. Also getting up and on the bikes before 9 meant we always had a good few hours riding before the rest of the country woke up. It was definitely strange to be somewhere where cafes serve 'breakfast' from 10am!
My wife posted a few pictures on the 'gram if yer interested: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTwcJ14op2n

Thanks everyone in here for the tips!

Playing with the idea of West or South Coast of Ireland as potential source for touring/bikepacking trip. Avoiding flying currently so plan would involve ferry and then rail to starting point.

Things I'm interested in hearing thoughts and feelings on

*Ferry services: Hollyhead - Dublin; Liverpool - Dublin; Rosslare - Fishguard
*If using Dublin, where is a recommended starting point if connecting by rail
Rail map; guide to carrying bikes on Irish rail service
*Interested in a greatest hits route for about 5-6 days riding

Any suggestions more than gratefully received

My trip above could easily be shortened to 6 days if you were riding 100km a day.
Connemara and Kerry were the most enjoyable which is nice as they bookend the route.

I've thought about doing something similar but never been back!

I'd recommend heading to Cork, doing some of the coastal roads to Baltimore. There are lots of islands, I took a ferry to Cape Clear, which was great but then got the ferry to Schull. This part of Cork is great.

Healy Pass in Cork would be a must do (again) for me. Then the Beara / ring of Kerry peninsula. The inland roads (Balaghbeema pass I think?) Are great, and there are some options. I'd make time to visit the Skellig island even if it is a tourist attraction, it's quite something imho.

Then you could do Dingle although I found the traffic there some of the worst in Ireland. But I've heard it's scenic. Then back from Killarney or Tralee?

Some stuff I've stumbled across for those giving it some thought

Great photos although their helmet hats are an acquired taste
https://www.rollingexistence.com/routes/cycling-the-wild-atlantic-way/
Monthly rainfall
https://www.met.ie/climate/available-data/monthly-data
Prevailing winds
https://www.met.ie/climate/what-we-measure/wind
Irish rail routes
https://www.acprail.com/maps/ireland-train-map/

I live in the northwest of Ireland if anyone needs any pointers about that part of the route (from Sligo to Galway).

Another vote for Healy Pass. A fantastic, scenic climb and very quiet. I found the Beara the best place I've cycled yet in Ireland. Any advice for Donegal would be appreciated as I'm heading there next.

Would love some tips if possible!
Me and a few mates are going for a relaxed one in a couple of months - so far the only thing booked is a ferry to Dublin and a train to Galway - we were planning on going north, hugging the coast.
5 days to Sligo with enough time to enjoy a few sights and relax along the way, do you think?
They’re not regular cyclists so trying to keep it comfortable - possibly just going to bnb it, rather than lug camping stuff around

Myself and a mate actually rode that in reverse in July 2017 (Sligo town to Galway). We done it over 4 days but we were both young, fit racers at the time, so most days were pretty big and we didn’t hang about, and even then we didn’t go all the way to the edge of Achill, or to the end of the mullet peninsula, the latter of which is worth a visit if you get a nice day (google blacksod bay). The reason we opted not to do either of those is because they’re out and back roads. If you’re trying to cram the trip into 5 steady days I’d say avoid heading out those roads too.

Links to the route we took below:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1835705212

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1835705522

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1838181823

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1838783765

Places worth hitting up:

All of Connemara is incredibly beautiful, Clifden is probably the first decent sized town you’ll hit once you’re out of Galway. If you’re doing it in summer it’ll almost certainly be thronged with tourists. It’s not the quietest of roads either, so you could consider cutting through Maam Cross and heading straight for Leenaun, which is absolutely stunning (google killary fjord). There’s a nice food truck there called misunderstood heron you could hit up for some grub overlooking the fjord.

Heading north into Mayo, Westport is similar to Clifden, lovely town but likely to be chockablock with tourists if you’re hitting it in summer, plenty of decent eateries there. From there you’ll pick up the greenway that’ll take you all the way to the bridge to Achill (again probably suggest dropping off it at Newport if you’re tied for time).

Beyond there you’re into Ballycroy national park which is again absolutely stunning, and you’re following the coast around past the ceide fields. It’s worth a stop in Mary’s cottage kitchen in Ballycastle for a slab of cake, and while you’re in the area you could veer off course to see downpatrick head (google and see if it’s something worth you seeing).

Ballina is the main town in Mayo, some people love it, I think it’s a bit of a non-town, but it is coming up in the world and has a few decent coffee shops that have opened in the past few months, jimmys drive through coffee being the best. It’s well known for salmon fishing, and the late Jack Charlton was very fond of the area. Biden was there last week.

Heading north you’re into enniscrone (where I live), not a pretty town but an incredible beach. Worth a dip in the Atlantic off the pier if you get a nice day for it, few coffee vans at the pier too during summer. Hopkins is the place to go for the best Guinness in Ireland and there’s a cracking pizza spot called la piazetta.

From there you’re making your way to Sligo, Beach bar in Aughris is worth a stop for more good Guinness and a nice bit of food, and then head on into Sligo.

Will come back on Sligo spots of interest, just joining a meeting now…

Awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time - especially the food and coffee recommendations. Not sure we will be beasting quite such long days as you guys. Maybe we will have to do a bit of a venture into ballycroy but turn back to Westport for the train on the final day.
Just figuring out the route we will take in earnest - bit of a debate amongst us regarding camping vs bnbs.
Are the locals likely to be tolerant of wild campers?

I can really recommend BnBs on this route. I'd call ahead and ask about bike storage, but every BnB owner we came across were so accomodating and friendly, it was well worth the small extra expense. Being able to properly dry your stuff out after a potentially wet and windy day is also essential IMO.

As a non-local, I would go against Colm's advise of cutting over at Maam Cross. For me, the landscape in Connemara was one of the most spectaular of the trip. Roundstone is a nice little fishing village with a couple of pubs on the front with good food. Doo Lough is also unmissable.

Our route was 5 days between Galway and Westport, but the other direction. We did Westport -> Tully -> Roundstone -> Rossaveel -> Inishmore -> Doolin then we carried on South rather than heading back to Galway.

I’d probably advise against wild camping, but if you wanted to camp, we stayed at the eco beach campsite in clifden, and a campsite on Achill, both of which I would recommend, but in both cases you’ll be travelling further for food and pints