Day trips from Donegal Town

Day trips worth taking

Any weather Best on a dry day

Choose an outing from Donegal Town

These trips return to Donegal Town. The Diamond, Castle Street and harbour belong to the local visit, while the destinations above need another journey. Slieve League is a southern outing, while Glenveagh and Dunfanaghy take you north. These trips start in Donegal Town; a stay in Buncrana or Dunfanaghy puts you near different sights.

Give each day one main destination, with time to look around before returning to Donegal Town. Slieve League can be the main southwest outing, while Glencolmcille provides a separate day visiting cottages and learning about local life. Ardara and Assaranca make a smaller car plan. Glenveagh and Dunfanaghy are larger northern outings from this base, so give each its own day if it is a priority. Leave room to walk at Glenveagh or Ards instead of driving between every corner of the county.

Which journeys work by bus

Expressway route 64 connects Donegal Town with Sligo and Letterkenny. Sligo is the more straightforward destination for a town visit, with art at The Model and the ruined abbey to visit after arrival. Route 480 is another relevant corridor, and Bundoran's transport guide lists it as a resort connection. Choose a journey that lists Bundoran as a stop, with time for the seafront before the bus back.

For Glenveagh, the public-transport journey continues from Letterkenny on Local Link 971 to the visitor centre. The park then has its own journey to the castle area, either on foot or by visitor transport when available. Allow for all these stages on the outward and return journeys. Check operators' sites before you go for bus connections, the park's visitor transport and attraction dates. The intercity coach gets you to Letterkenny, where you still have the Local Link journey and the trip inside the park.

Coastal days and indoor replacements

Slieve League and Ards are outdoor destinations. Save the cliff viewpoint or a forest trail for suitable weather, and cut the exposed extra stops if the weather deteriorates. Assaranca can be admired from the roadside visitor area, but it is still outdoors. Keep rainwear for the stop, even though you can see the waterfall without a long walk from the roadside area.

Glebe House and Gallery offers guided house visits and art as an alternative to the exposed coast. The Model in Sligo also offers time indoors, while Sligo Abbey is exposed. In persistent poor weather, staying in Donegal Town for the castle and railway museum may be more useful than making a long outward journey. Save the longer drive for a day when you can enjoy the forest, gardens or coast outside.

Families, bigger routes and what to leave for another stay

For a family seaside day, choose Bundoran's central beach and bowling on Main Street as a separate indoor activity. For a heritage day, the folk village offers cottages and a beach opposite. Ards adds marked trails and a playground near the shore, but it needs its own substantial northern outing. Give the beach, cottages or forest a day of its own, choosing the activity the children will enjoy. Adding all three means another journey north as well as the southern seaside and heritage stops.

Keep Malin Head and a broad Inishowen circuit for a peninsula stay when possible. From Donegal Town, adding them after Glenveagh would leave little room at the park or coast. If the holiday needs both Slieve League and Inishowen, compare a moving itinerary with repeated return trips. Stay in southern Donegal for Slieve League and move to Inishowen for Malin Head and the peninsula's museums. Separate nights leave time at the sights instead of another return to Donegal Town.