“It’s not about the destinations. It’s getting there that’s the good part.” – Morgan Matson

This week Hattie and I went on a gals road trip from Galway to Cork. We followed the Wild Atlantic Way from Galway to Kenmare and then headed straight for Clonakilty and up to Cork and off we went back to Galway. It was so very enjoyable and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone considering a staycation! I thought I’d do a quick round up of our trip before I go into more detail about some of the spots we visited in other blog posts.

I enjoyed our road trip so much because not only was it stunning weather and we had loads of fun but there’s nothing quite like showing off your own country to a visitor. Hattie, my friend from Des Moines, Iowa came home with me from Spain to spend 10 days. I’ve never been so impressed by or felt so proud of Ireland. Our little island is perfect. The views around every corner are just out of this world. I couldn’t recommend doing and Irish road trip highly enough. I can’t wait for the next time I can do another one! While I was travelling around I saw just how much there is to see and I’m dying to go back and see the things I missed and more!

We didn’t do the Wild Atlantic Way in it’s entirety because unfortunately we didn’t have enough time. But this was what we got to do:

Day 1: Salthill- Kinvara – Ballyvaughan – The Burren Perfumery – The Black Head – The Cliffs of Moher

Day 2: Clare- Adare – Dingle

Day 3: Dingle – Killarney – Torc Waterfall – The Ring of Kerry from Waterville to Kenmare and on to Clonakilty where we visited Ireland’s number 1 beach, Inchydony.

Day 4: Clonakilty – Cork – Salthill

Our route was perfect for us, but obviously everyone can decide their own Wild Atlantic Way. We stopped off places we wanted to see and other places we wanted to visit to meet up with friends – that’s the fun of it. You can really stop as often or as scarcely as you want. Everyone’s WAW is different. Our route started in Salthill from my granny’s house, we went to Dingle because I’ve heard so very much about it and it was everything I had imagined, we stopped in Killarney for coffee with Maeve our friend from Santiago and ended in Clonakilty, Cork visiting Rosski. You can curate your own Wild Atlantic Way and chop and change the things you want to see and do as you go along.

We stayed with friends and family all along the way so I don’t have any recommendations for accommodation – apart from in Dingle where we camped (in a campsite called Dingle Activities camping!). It was wonderful, it also happened to be the hottest day of the year which was a bonus. We got cheese from The Little Cheese Shop in Dingle and had a picnic after we pitched our tent and then we went for a drink in Foxy Johns!

We also went out on the boat and got to see Fungie the Dolphin! I was delighted because (as I said here) I love both boats and dolphins, so it was the perfect combination. As always, Clonakilty was perfection. We went for dinner in The Dunes Bar in Inchydoney and we went for a drink in the famous De Barras! Our favourite!

I’m going to write another post all about the wondrous Cliffs of Moher and the surprisingly stunning Burren Perfumery – so keep an eye out for them. They were both amazing and definitely worth the trip.

If you have any questions about our trip – please don’t hesitate to ask, I’d love to help a fellow roatripper out! You can catch me on snapchat (imperfectlyfree), facebook, insta or twitter. Enjoy the Wild Atlantic Way this summer if you get the chance – even do day trips from wherever you are in Ireland if you can!

Winging it,

R x