Exploring Donegal: An Ireland Road Trip
For my boyfriends birthday, we decided we wanted to do a little Ireland road trip, which was something totally different than anything we’d ever done before. Although we live in Ireland, we typically opt for hotels or Airbnbs when visiting different parts of the country. This time we decided to rent a campervan for the weekend, and drive up north to Donegal. Unfortunately, the company we rented the campervan from is no longer in business, but you can find a similar company HERE.
We had no real agenda in mind. Essentially we planned to just roam the countryside, stopping off to photograph anything and everything along the way.
The Irish countryside in Donegal is particularly stunning, as the landscape offers beautiful coastal and mountain views.
If you want the true Ireland experience, then this Ireland road trip adventure is for you. You will get to see sheep being herded across the streets, traditional Irish style homes, and plenty of rolling meadows.
One of the biggest reasons we went on this trip was to photograph the Milky Way.
Of course, you can do this in other parts of the country, but we wanted to go off the beaten path and spend our first night in the van under the stars.
We picked a random logging road, and parked the van there for the night. It was truly such a peaceful and magical experience.
I’d also recommend driving through the Gleniff Horseshoe. It’s actually not a horseshoe at all but a six-mile loop of single lane road surrounded by spectacular mountain views.
We stopped here for about an hour and set up the tripod to snap a few photos. The weather was perfect with minimal wind, so we actually had an opportunity to fly the drone as well.
There are some nearby paths and hiking trails, and there is even a large cave at the top of one of the mountains, which you can climb up to if you wish.
We were not prepared for that, but plan to go back to explore it on our next Ireland road trip.
If you have time, hiking to the Glenevin Waterfall is a must. It was not difficult to find at all, and there is a designated parking lot. The hike itself is pretty easy, on a dirt path that is mostly flat.
I’d recommend wearing comfortable shoes, as the rocks near the waterfall are slippery.
It takes about 20 minutes or so to get to the waterfall, and there are lots of great photo opportunities. Along the trail we saw several goats and sheep roaming freely, which was fun to see.
Although there were a few families there as well, it definitely was not over-crowded, and was easy to get our photos in.
Another must is hiking down to Murder Hole Beach. Despite it’s name, this is the most beautiful beach I’ve been to in Ireland.
To get there, you actually have to hike through a field full of cows, which was quite the experience in itself.
We arrived at the beach just before sunset, and got some amazing drone footage as the sun began to set.
Donegal is known for its spectacular sunset views, so be sure to stop along the way to enjoy them.
We set up our tripod and took a time lapse as the sun set.
In conclusion, we truly enjoyed our adventures in Donegal, and would recommend you add it to your list if you plan to do your own Ireland road trip.
For a full campervan tour and Donegal vlog, be sure to check out my YouTube video below!
Still looking for more? Check out my blog post on A Weekend in Kilkenny, Ireland!
