Travel Guides: All Countries / Europe / Ireland / County Donegal
 |  | Destination Guide : County Donegal |
|
| | | Bleak and dramatic |  | Why go on holiday to County Donegal?
Donegal extends farther north than Northern Ireland and is often described as the bleakest place in Ireland.
Bleak and dramatic - with cliffs, mountains, peat bogs, wonderful sandy beaches but often with cold and rainy weather, Donegal offers you empty vistas, some visitor-free coastlines and authentic Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) ambience.
How much does it cost?
A scheduled flight to Donegal Airport from London costs about £170 or you can fly into Derry for less and it is one hour from Donegal.
Ferries run from Holyhead to Dublin and cost from £169, rising in high season. Check for any offers on fares, such as high-season family tickets from £214 for a 10-day ticket.
Rail, ferry and air fares can vary greatly and you should always check with the operator for exact prices.
One week's self-catering in Bundoran including ferry, based on four adults in own car, from £130.
When should I go?
The warmest weather is in July and August, which brings the crowds, making costs the highest and accommodation harder to come by.
In the winter the weather can be miserable and tourist facilities shut. June and September are probably the best times. Summer 15C-20C (58F-68F), winter 2C-10C (35F-50F).
Why go on holiday to County Donegal?
Donegal extends farther north than Northern Ireland and is often described as the bleakest place in Ireland.
Bleak and dramatic - with cliffs, mountains, peat bogs, wonderful sandy beaches but often with cold and rainy weather, Donegal offers you empty vistas, some visitor-free coastlines and authentic Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) ambience.
How much does it cost?
A scheduled flight to Donegal Airport from London costs about £170 or you can fly into Derry for less and it is one hour from Donegal.
Ferries run from Holyhead to Dublin and cost from £169, rising in high season. Check for any offers on fares, such as high-season family tickets from £214 for a 10-day ticket.
Rail, ferry and air fares can vary greatly and you should always check with the operator for exact prices.
One week's self-catering in Bundoran including ferry, based on four adults in own car, from £130.
When should I go?
The warmest weather is in July and August, which brings the crowds, making costs the highest and accommodation harder to come by.
In the winter the weather can be miserable and tourist facilities shut. June and September are probably the best times. Summer 15C-20C (58F-68F), winter 2C-10C (35F-50F).
|
|
|
|
|
| | | Dance to Irish music | | What should I do when I'm there?
Spend some time in Donegal Town enjoying the ambience, the sound of Gaelic being spoken all around and the music in the pubs.
Then head for remote Lough Derg to make a pilgrimage on tiny Station Island - be warned: refreshments on the island consist only of dry bread and black tea.
Go fishing, cycling or walking over the Blue Stack Mountains. Anglers will be in their element, although permits are needed.
What's Donegal Town like?
It's a pleasant, popular little place worth spending a bit of time in. Overlooked by the Castle perched on a rocky outcrop over the River Eske, the town harbours the ruins of a Franciscan friary - now the site of the "Diamond Obelisk".
This obelisk is a memorial to the "Annals of the Four Masters" which chronicle the history and myths of the Celts up to 1618.
You can fish with a permit in most of the local rivers just outside the town, and every year in late June/early July Donegal has a three-day Donegal Town Summer Festival with song, dance and storytelling as well as arts and crafts of the Gaelic people.
What about some countryside?
Head to Lough Eske and the Blue Stack Mountains with their great views. Or go up to North West Donegal around Dungloe Town (where they party for 10 days and choose the "Mary of Dungloe" in late June).
Here you'll find the Glenveagh National Park with the eponymous castle and the Bloody Foreland shore opposite the bleakly remote Tory Island.
Tory Island is worth a visit, as is the smaller, spectacular Arranmore further west. Both islands are inhabited and offer a warm welcome in from the cold.
Where's good on the coast?
South Donegal: Bundoran is the most popular, with arcades, shops, fish'n'chips - it's a kiss-me-quick town. Unspoilt Rossnowlagh with its five-kilometre stunning sandy beach is often deserted apart from a few surfers.
Head past pretty Montcharles and down to Dunkineely which has some good dive sites. You'll smell fishy Killybegs before you'll see it, but the broad harbour filled with trawlers is an amazing sight - and the fresh fish'n'chips are delicious too.
For more unspoiled scenery explore the Inishowen peninsula that ends in Malin Head and the truly spectacular Malin Bay.
What else is there to visit?
Letterkenny, the largest town in Donegal, with its four-day international festival of music and dance at the end of August, has a neo-Gothic Cathedral with intricate Celtic carving and a good Museum.
Some salmon and trout rivers and lakes surround the town - permits are available to visitors.
The nearby Newmills Corn & Flax Mills has a visitor centre explaining the history and production of flax. From there head to Glebe House and Gallery with its good collection - including some "Tory Island" artists - as well as lovely gardens.
Back in South West Donegal you'll find Glencolumbcille with its Folk Village Museum.
What should I do when I'm there?
Spend some time in Donegal Town enjoying the ambience, the sound of Gaelic being spoken all around and the music in the pubs.
Then head for remote Lough Derg to make a pilgrimage on tiny Station Island - be warned: refreshments on the island consist only of dry bread and black tea.
Go fishing, cycling or walking over the Blue Stack Mountains. Anglers will be in their element, although permits are needed.
What's Donegal Town like?
It's a pleasant, popular little place worth spending a bit of time in. Overlooked by the Castle perched on a rocky outcrop over the River Eske, the town harbours the ruins of a Franciscan friary - now the site of the "Diamond Obelisk".
This obelisk is a memorial to the "Annals of the Four Masters" which chronicle the history and myths of the Celts up to 1618.
You can fish with a permit in most of the local rivers just outside the town, and every year in late June/early July Donegal has a three-day Donegal Town Summer Festival with song, dance and storytelling as well as arts and crafts of the Gaelic people.
What about some countryside?
Head to Lough Eske and the Blue Stack Mountains with their great views. Or go up to North West Donegal around Dungloe Town (where they party for 10 days and choose the "Mary of Dungloe" in late June).
Here you'll find the Glenveagh National Park with the eponymous castle and the Bloody Foreland shore opposite the bleakly remote Tory Island.
Tory Island is worth a visit, as is the smaller, spectacular Arranmore further west. Both islands are inhabited and offer a warm welcome in from the cold.
Where's good on the coast?
South Donegal: Bundoran is the most popular, with arcades, shops, fish'n'chips - it's a kiss-me-quick town. Unspoilt Rossnowlagh with its five-kilometre stunning sandy beach is often deserted apart from a few surfers.
Head past pretty Montcharles and down to Dunkineely which has some good dive sites. You'll smell fishy Killybegs before you'll see it, but the broad harbour filled with trawlers is an amazing sight - and the fresh fish'n'chips are delicious too.
For more unspoiled scenery explore the Inishowen peninsula that ends in Malin Head and the truly spectacular Malin Bay.
What else is there to visit?
Letterkenny, the largest town in Donegal, with its four-day international festival of music and dance at the end of August, has a neo-Gothic Cathedral with intricate Celtic carving and a good Museum.
Some salmon and trout rivers and lakes surround the town - permits are available to visitors.
The nearby Newmills Corn & Flax Mills has a visitor centre explaining the history and production of flax. From there head to Glebe House and Gallery with its good collection - including some "Tory Island" artists - as well as lovely gardens.
Back in South West Donegal you'll find Glencolumbcille with its Folk Village Museum.
|
|
|
|
|
| | | Delicious fresh seafood | | Where's good for nightlife?
In Donegal there are many pubs on Main and Upper Main Street - Scotsman has a friendly local crowd ready to sing at the drop of a pint.
In Letterkenny for live music try Central Bar, Upper Main St and the emerald green Cottage Bar on Thursday nights. On remote Tory Island the Club Soisialta Thoraigh (Tory Social Club) has regular traditional music sessions, as does Ostan Thoraigh.
During summer you will find most places you visit will have bustling pubs that will often have live music.
What's the food like?
Make sure you indulge your taste for seafood in Killybegs - try Melly's, where fish is so fresh it melts in your mouth.
In Glencolumbcille Folk Village Museum you'll find a shebeen selling wines made from seaweed, fuchsias and other curious ingredients and a cafe selling excellent examples of delicious Irish cakes, apple tart and breads.
Irish food is generally very meaty, served with potatoes (colcannon - mashed with butter and green onions if you're lucky) and cabbage. Lunch is usually the biggest meal of the day.
Expect Irish bread to be good - especially speciality breads - and cakes to be rich. Guinness and Murphys are the usual pint, Irish whiskey is mellower than the Scottish version, Irish springwater should quench the thirst.
What should I buy?
You will find tweed and knitwear in most places in Donegal County. For real Donegal Tweed try Magees in The Diamond in Donegal - it has its own garment factory and also sells tweed from the roll.
Jackets cost about £150, skirts £60, Aran sweaters £100. Also try Donegal Craft Village with small art and craft workshops: pottery, crystal, batik and jewellery are all made and sold there.
Glencolumbcille Woollen Market 3km south of the village has Rossan knitwear and Donegal tweed jackets, caps and ties plus lambswool scarves and shawls, as well as Aran sweaters and handwoven rugs.
In Rossan itself at Lace House you'll find a selection of the local knitwear and other craft articles.
What is there for children to do?
Donegal Railway Heritage Centre tells the history of the steam railway that ran from Ballyshannon to Derry until 1959.
Malin Bay's Malinmore Outdoor Pursuits Centre with canoeing, snorkelling, fishing, orienteering, boat trips and other activities could be perfect for older kids/teenagers with active parents.
There are many heritage centres and museums. Watch a handloom weaver work at the Ardara Heritage Centre.
Tourist office
Tourism Ireland, 103 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1QS. Tel.0800 039 7000.
Where's good for nightlife?
In Donegal there are many pubs on Main and Upper Main Street - Scotsman has a friendly local crowd ready to sing at the drop of a pint.
In Letterkenny for live music try Central Bar, Upper Main St and the emerald green Cottage Bar on Thursday nights. On remote Tory Island the Club Soisialta Thoraigh (Tory Social Club) has regular traditional music sessions, as does Ostan Thoraigh.
During summer you will find most places you visit will have bustling pubs that will often have live music.
What's the food like?
Make sure you indulge your taste for seafood in Killybegs - try Melly's, where fish is so fresh it melts in your mouth.
In Glencolumbcille Folk Village Museum you'll find a shebeen selling wines made from seaweed, fuchsias and other curious ingredients and a cafe selling excellent examples of delicious Irish cakes, apple tart and breads.
Irish food is generally very meaty, served with potatoes (colcannon - mashed with butter and green onions if you're lucky) and cabbage. Lunch is usually the biggest meal of the day.
Expect Irish bread to be good - especially speciality breads - and cakes to be rich. Guinness and Murphys are the usual pint, Irish whiskey is mellower than the Scottish version, Irish springwater should quench the thirst.
What should I buy?
You will find tweed and knitwear in most places in Donegal County. For real Donegal Tweed try Magees in The Diamond in Donegal - it has its own garment factory and also sells tweed from the roll.
Jackets cost about £150, skirts £60, Aran sweaters £100. Also try Donegal Craft Village with small art and craft workshops: pottery, crystal, batik and jewellery are all made and sold there.
Glencolumbcille Woollen Market 3km south of the village has Rossan knitwear and Donegal tweed jackets, caps and ties plus lambswool scarves and shawls, as well as Aran sweaters and handwoven rugs.
In Rossan itself at Lace House you'll find a selection of the local knitwear and other craft articles.
What is there for children to do?
Donegal Railway Heritage Centre tells the history of the steam railway that ran from Ballyshannon to Derry until 1959.
Malin Bay's Malinmore Outdoor Pursuits Centre with canoeing, snorkelling, fishing, orienteering, boat trips and other activities could be perfect for older kids/teenagers with active parents.
There are many heritage centres and museums. Watch a handloom weaver work at the Ardara Heritage Centre.
Tourist office
Tourism Ireland, 103 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1QS. Tel.0800 039 7000.
|
|
|
|
|
| | Available rental properties in County Donegal |
|
| |  | | Donegal shore house.
Inver Port, a brand new luxurious seafront townhouse, with fantastic sea views, own boat parking and slipway. Sleeps 8, from £595 per week.
|  | | Holiday Cottage Sleeps 8
Luxurious New 3 Bedroom/3Bath Detached Dormer Holiday Cottage Sleeps 9 on Atlantic Drive Downings close to Beach,Water Sports,Golf,Restaurants,Pubs,Horse Riding.
|  | | Teach Ruari Holiday Cottage
A newly built bungalow situated on 1.5 acres enjoying spectacular sea views of Mulroy and Sheephaven Bays. The bungalow is very comfortably furnished
|  | | BRAND NEW COTTAGE IN DONEGAL
Our brand new cottage was completed Easter 2004, Experience what Ireland is realy about.
|  | | Red Door Holiday Apartments
Just two minutes walk from the beautiful sandy beach yet right in the centre of the picturesque village of Rathmullan.
| | Click here for more properties... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
