thekittchen

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Privacy Statement
  • Recipes
    • breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Appetizer
    • Side Dish
    • Dessert
    • Cocktails
  • Travel
  • Home
  • Life
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Press
    • Press Page
    • Services
    • Speaking Engagements
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Privacy Statement
  • Recipes
    • breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Appetizer
    • Side Dish
    • Dessert
    • Cocktails
  • Travel
  • Home
  • Life
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Press
    • Press Page
    • Services
    • Speaking Engagements
×
Home » Travel

What To Do In Donegal, Ireland

Published: Sep 26, 2017 · Modified: Aug 22, 2018 by Kit · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

When my sister and I decided to go to Ireland, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to stay in a castle. Ireland has several castles that have been turned into hotels, and we chose to stay at Lough Eske in Donegal. We picked Lough Eske because its location on the North West side of the country gave us the opportunity to drive through Northern Ireland visiting historic sites and natural wonders on our way to Dublin. We loved Donegal, we loved Lough Eske, and we loved our self-guided driving tour of Northern Ireland. I don’t think we would change a single thing – except the sometimes rainy weather.

Speaking of the rainy weather – Donegal is notoriously rainy. They consider a day when it doesn’t start raining until 2pm to be a nice day! It was about 60-65 degrees, misty/drizzly/rainy, and windy while we were there the first few days of September. We were prepared. We packed our much loved Keen Coven Waterproof Hiking Boots, sweaters, and rain jackets. And honestly, the weather didn't bother us at all since Donegal is so gorgeous.

Despite the at times challenging weather conditions, Donegal is stunning. The small town is situated between coastal cliffs, green valleys, and mountains. The green color of the land is the greenest most intense green I have ever seen. We loved just driving around enjoying the views!

Lough Eske was about a 3 ½ hour drive from the Dublin Airport, but it went by quickly. Just be prepared to drive through lots of roundabouts. Oh my goodness do the Irish love roundabouts! Also be aware that most rental cars at stick shift and they drive on the other side of the road. I know that might sound intimidating, but take comfort in the fact that we didn’t experience much traffic at all in Ireland. And a heads up that some tolls only accept Euros, but there are cashiers and you don’t need exact change.

We loved Lough Eske. The castle offers guest modern and luxurious accommodations. They have a pub, a fine dining restaurant, gardens, and a full spa. Our room was in a newer section of the hotel, that is attached to the castle, but not in the castle itself. It was large and had a modern European look.

We didn't really spent much time in the room and opted to explore castle instead. The castle has several beautiful rooms for hanging out. What could be better than sipping a cocktail by the fire on a chilly night?

On our first day, we checked into our room at Lough Eske and then drove to the coast to watch the sunset. The locals told us that it is almost always cloudy at sunset so we were very lucky to have a nice sunset. We drove to the beach, but there was also a pub up on a cliff where we could have spent our time.

Once the sun had set we made our way back to the hotel for dinner. I had booked our room with daily breakfast and one dinner included, and the dinner was a multi-course feast! The food at Lough Eske was fantastic and it was a great deal to book a room with dinner included.

A kind waiter at the hotel recommended that we go to Slieve League, the highest cliffs in Europe, which is a short drive from Donegal. There is one very important thing to know. When you arrive you will see a parking lot, and then a gate. We thought that the gate meant that we had to park and walk the rest of the way. It looked like the cliffs were less than 500 yards away. We were so very wrong on all accounts. The cliffs were a 30-minute uphill hike away (I chose not to change into hiking boots since we couldn’t see how long the path was) and the gate is only there to keep the many sheep who graze in the area from running away. Trust me, open the gate, drive through it, close the gate so the sheep don’t escape, and then drive all the way up to Slieve League.

Slieve League is not as famous as the Cliffs of Moher, but the cliffs are nearly three times higher. It also wasn't crowded at all. We weren't ready for lunch yet, but there was a little truck selling lobster rolls.

 

After Slieve League we continued our drive up the coast to Ardara, a small town where we stopped at Nancy’s Bar for lunch and each had half orders of the Guinness Stew. Nancy's Bar is a classic Irish pub with several connected rooms and a cozy atmosphere, it seemed to attract a mix of locals and tourists.

That night we had dinner at a great Indian restaurant called Chandpur. We picked the restaurant because it was ranked first on TripAdvisor out of all the restaurants in the town, and we wanted to mix things up a little after a couple meals of heavy Irish food. We got a table right away, we loved our meal, and it was easy to arrange for a taxi from the hotel to the restaurant and back so that we didn't have to navigate the twisty turny roads in the dark.

After dinner, we went to the pub at the castle. They had live music and it was wonderful. That evening a pair of guitar players were singing a mix of Irish songs and American classics.

We spent a total of two nights and about a day and a half in Donegal, and we felt like that was just the right amount of time. Next week I will tell you all about our self-guided Game of Thrones Tour of Northern Ireland.

Donegal, Ireland Travel Guide: This small town in Ireland is filled with beauty and charm  #travel #donegal #ireland

More Travel

  • Casa Beatnik - A Charming Boutique Hotel in Galicia
  • Kennebunkport Travel Guide | Things to Do in Kennebunkport
  • Nantucket Itinerary for Kids
  • Milwaukee Itinerary for Kids

Comments

  1. Tanja / The red phone box trav says

    September 27, 2017 at 7:44 am

    great place to stay at!:)
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome!

Welcome! I'm Kit and The Kittchen is all about my two biggest loves: Food and Travel! Here you can discover delicious and practical everyday recipes, plus travel destinations to feed your wanderlust. Thanks for stopping by!

More about me

Recipes

  • The Best Chicken Chili
  • Brisket Enchiladas 13
    32 Favorite Freezer Meals
  • Easy Recipes for Beginners
  • Buffalo Chicken Dip | Classic buffalo chicken dip served in an edible bread bowl.
    Best Game Day Recipes

Travel

  • 200 Things to do in Maine
    200+ Things to do in Maine | What to Do in Maine
  • A Weekend in New Buffalo - A Mom's Retreat
  • Covent Garden 7
    Best Things to Do in London with Kids
  • Things to Do in New Buffalo, Michigan

Home

  • Upgrading Doors on a Budget
  • Cottage-Core Inspired Entryway Design
  • Chicago Balcony Design Reveal
  • Big Plans for Our Back Balcony

Footer

↑ back to top
thekittchen
About
First Time Here?
Contact
Press

Copyright © 2025 The Kittchen. Disclosure and Privacy Policy

  • 24