Two nights in Co. Donegal
 

I thought that I had our itinerary planned for our June trip to Ireland, but now I'm not sure. Originally we would be driving from the Giant's Causeway to B&B near Carrowbeg on the Inishowen Peninsula. The next day we would explore the Peninsula, then drive to a B&B just south of Donegal town. I realize that this would make for a very long day.

Should we cut out the Inishowen Peninsula, and spend two nights in Donegal town? I don't want to miss any spectacular sights on Inishowen but I also don't want to be in the car all day. If we skip Inishowen, where could we stop on the drive from the Giant's Causeway to Donegal? Once there, we'll be visiting the Slieve League Cliffs. Are there any must see towns/villages near Donegal?

Any suggestions?

Well, hard question. It sounds like you'll have visited the Giant's Causeway the day before? If you skipped Inishowen you could stop and spend a few hours in Derry on your way to Donegal, then two nights in Donegal. We spent a day on the Inishowen Peninsula a couple of years ago, as we rented an apartment for a week in Rathmullan, north of Letterkenny. We liked Derry. We enjoyed visiting the murals in the Bogside. The Bloody Sunday museum/visitor center is very moving.

Parts of Inishowen were beautiful, like Malin head. But there's been a lot of holiday home development (sprawl) in many parts of the peninsula. It's not an area we rave about. Other parts of Donegal are stunning.

Slieve League is beautiful. We loved Glengesh Pass and Glenveagh National Park. The roads through the center of Donegal are lonely and beautiful. We drove one after a day at Glenveagh that was covered with napping sheep and lined with abandoned stone cottages from the famine. I think the road was R 254. Not the kind of place you forget.

I would recommend forgoing the Inishowen, if you only have two days.

I have a REALLY long trip report over at http://www.IrelandYes.com that details OUR three days in Donegal in June of 2007. The relvant parts would be on Page 2.

The Fodor's link (to the links) is:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...#comments-open

Bob

rosetravels - Thank you for the R254 tip. I can only hope that we see the same sight!

Bob - Your trip report is full of amazing details! We've decided to skip Inishowen, which would give us more time exploring Slieve League and Glencolumbcille.

I've been to Inishowen, and have to concur with everyone else - we were hoping for someplace 'wild' but it was just *covered* with holiday cottages.
Slieve League is amazing, and there's a great B&B in the town of Kilcar - Dun Ulun House, run by a delightful couple, Dennis and Anne Marie Lyons. If you go there, don't miss Studio Donegal - one of the last weaving studios with hand-operated looms. The prices there are much lower for the same goods (and you'll see there goods elsewhere in Ireland). Have a great time!