Wild Atlantic Way

The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland's number one landmark — and rightly so. This 14-kilometer-long cliff wall rises up to 214 meters vertically from the Atlantic and offers a sight that is both sublime and humbling. When you stand at the edge and the wind almost knocks you off your feet, while the surf thunders deep below you and the lush green of the Irish fields glows behind you, you understand why over 1.5 million people come here every year.

The O'Brien's Tower at the highest point of the cliffs (built in 1835 as a viewing tower for "Victorian tourists") offers the best panoramic view — on a clear day, you can see the Aran Islands, the Twelve Bens of Connemara, and even the mountains of Kerry. The visitor center, cleverly built into the hill, features an exhibition on the geology, flora, and fauna of the cliffs. The cliffs are one of the most important seabird breeding sites in Europe: puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes, and cormorants nest in the rock walls.

The Cliff Walk leads from the cliffs northwards over 18 km to Doolin — one of the most spectacular coastal hikes in Europe, but without railings and potentially dangerous on windy days. The shorter version southwards to Hag's Head (4 km) is less frequented and at least equally scenic.

The Burren (from the Irish Boíreann, "rocky place") is one of the strangest and most fascinating landscapes in Europe: 360 square kilometers of bare limestone, extending in bizarre terraces, crevices, and formations to the Atlantic. It looks like a lunar landscape — but one teeming with life.

The peculiarity: In the rock crevices (Grikes), Arctic and Mediterranean plants grow side by side — a botanical phenomenon unique in the world. Gentians from the Alps, orchids from the Mediterranean, and Arctic mosses thrive side by side because the limestone stores the sun's warmth and the Atlantic's moisture nourishes the plants. In May and June, the seemingly barren landscape transforms into a subtle carpet of blooms.

In the midst of the Burren lies the Poulnabrone Dolmen — a 5,800-year-old portal tomb, whose massive stone slab balances on two thin posts. It is one of the most photographed prehistoric monuments in Ireland and appears in the stark Burren landscape like a portal to another time. Freely accessible, no barriers — you just stand in front of it and marvel.

The Burren National Park (free) offers several marked hiking trails. The Mullaghmore Loop (7 km) is the most beautiful and leads over the typical limestone slabs with wide views over the entire region. The Aillwee Cave (stalactite cave, €16) offers underground insights into karst geology, and the adjoining Birds of Prey area showcases birds of prey in flight demonstrations.

Galway is the unofficial cultural capital of Ireland and the liveliest place on the entire west coast. This city at the mouth of the River Corrib into Galway Bay pulses with energy: In the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter, street musicians play on every corner, traditional music emanates from the pubs, and the atmosphere has something magical that is hard to put into words. Ed Sheeran busked here on the street before he became famous. The city is colorful, bohemian, musical, and deeply Irish.

The Shop Street and the adjacent lanes (Quay Street, High Street, Cross Street) form the heart of the city — a pedestrian zone full of pubs, restaurants, boutiques, and street performers. At the Spanish Arch (a remnant of the medieval city wall, named after the Spanish traders who once docked here), hundreds of people sit by the riverside in good weather and enjoy the atmosphere.

Pubs & Music: Galway has the highest pub density in Ireland, and almost every pub offers live music. The Tigh Neachtain (Cross Street) is Galway's most famous pub — a confusing labyrinth of small rooms with an open fireplace, where students, tourists, and locals mingle. The Crane Bar (Sea Road) is the best place for Traditional Irish Music — the Trad Sessions here are legendary and attract musicians from all over Ireland. At Monroe's Tavern, there is Set Dancing (Irish folk dance) on Tuesday evenings — beginners welcome!

Culinary: Galway is Ireland's oyster capital. The Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival (September) is the oldest oyster festival in the world. Fresh oysters are available year-round at McDonagh's (Quay Street) — from €12 for half a dozen, along with a pint of Guinness. On Saturdays, the Galway Market takes place at St. Nicholas Church — Irish cheese, smoked salmon, crepes, and the best coffee on the west coast.

Connemara is what most people imagine when they think of "Ireland" — and yet the reality surpasses any imagination. West of Galway stretches one of the last truly wild landscapes in Europe: endless bogs in all shades of brown, shimmering lakes between bare rocks, whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs, Connemara ponies on the hills, and the majestic Twelve Bens mountain range as a backdrop.

Connemara is one of the last Gaeltacht areas — here, Irish (Gaeilge) is the everyday language, the road signs are in Irish, and you hear the Celtic language in the shops and pubs. The landscape is sparsely populated and possesses a silence that has become precious in our overstimulated world.

The Connemara National Park (free) offers several hiking trails, including the popular Diamond Hill (7 km loop, 2–3 hours, 442 m ascent). From the summit, you have a 360-degree view of the Twelve Bens, the coast, and the islands on a clear day — one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Ireland. The park is home to Connemara ponies, red deer, and a rich bog landscape.

The Sky Road near Clifden (12 km loop) is one of the most scenic roads in Ireland — it winds over the hills above the coast with breathtaking views of the islands and the open Atlantic. Clifden itself is Connemara's main town — a pretty little town with colorful houses, good restaurants, and the annual Connemara Pony Show (August), the oldest pony breeding show in the world.

The Kylemore Abbey (€14) — a neo-Gothic abbey on the shore of a lake, surrounded by mountains — is one of the most photogenic places in Ireland. Originally built as a castle for a wealthy Englishman (as a token of love for his wife!), it has been inhabited by Benedictine nuns since 1920. The Victorian Walled Garden and the woodland walk by the lake are enchanting.

The three Aran Islands — Inis Mór (Inishmore), Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), and Inis Oírr (Inisheer) — lie at the mouth of Galway Bay and offer Ireland's most fascinating island experience. Here, at the far western edge of Europe, a way of life has been preserved that has long disappeared on the mainland: Irish is the everyday language, stone walls divide the barren land into tiny fields, and fishermen still go to sea in traditional Currachs (light, tar-black rowboats).

Inis Mór (Inishmore), the largest island (about 830 inhabitants), is the most popular destination. Its star is Dún Aonghasa — a prehistoric stone fortress sitting right at the edge of a 90-meter-high cliff, with a view over the Atlantic that takes your breath away. You lie on your stomach, crawl to the cliff edge, and look straight down into the depths — there is no railing, no net, just you and the abyss. The island is best explored by rental bike (€15/day, directly at the pier) or by minibus tour (€15).

Inis Oírr (Inisheer), the smallest and closest island to the mainland, is even more authentic and less visited. Here lies the famous shipwreck of the MV Plassey on the beach — stranded in 1960 and slowly dismantled by the sea since then, a photogenic monument to the power of the Atlantic. The island is so small that you can walk around it in 2–3 hours.

Getting there: Ferries from Rossaveal (west of Galway, 40 min ride, €28 return) or from Doolin (15 min to Inis Oírr, €25 return) with Aran Island Ferries or Doolin Ferry. Alternatively: 8-minute flight with Aer Arann Islands from Connemara Airport (€60 return) — the shortest scheduled flight in Europe!

The Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne in Irish) is, for many Ireland connoisseurs, the most beautiful corner of the entire island — rougher and more authentic than the more famous Ring of Kerry, less crowded, and with a concentration of archaeological sites unmatched in Europe. National Geographic called it "the most beautiful place on earth".

The Slea Head Drive is the peninsula's most famous coastal road: A 47 km loop west of Dingle Town, running along dramatic cliffs, past ancient beehive huts (Clocháns) and prehistoric forts. At the westernmost point, you look out over the Blasket Islands — an island group inhabited until 1953, whose residents wrote some of the most beautiful books in Irish literature. On a clear day, you can see the Skellig Islands on the horizon.

Dingle Town is a lively fishing town with colorful houses, excellent restaurants, and pubs where Trad Sessions take place every evening. Dingle became famous through Fungie, a bottlenose dolphin who lived in the harbor basin from 1983 to 2020 and became the town's unofficial mascot. Fungie has disappeared, but the boat tours in Dingle Bay continue — now for observing dolphins, seals, and seabirds.

The archaeological density of the peninsula is breathtaking: Over 2,000 prehistoric and early Christian monuments in an area of a few hundred square kilometers — Ogham stones, ring forts, monasteries, high crosses. The Gallarus Oratory, a perfectly preserved early Christian stone church in the shape of an inverted boat hull (circa 7th–8th century), is architecturally astonishing: Built without mortar, it is still completely watertight after over 1,200 years.

The Ring of Kerry is Ireland's most famous panoramic road — 179 kilometers around the Iveragh Peninsula, past rugged coasts, emerald green valleys, medieval ruins, and viewpoints that take your breath away. The route connects Killarney in the east with Kenmare in the south and passes through villages like Caherciveen, Waterville, Sneem, and Portmagee.

The highlights along the route:

• Ladies View — A viewpoint over the Lakes of Killarney, named because Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting squealed with delight here in 1861
• Moll's Gap — Dramatic mountain pass with views over the Black Valley
• Staigue Fort — A 2,500-year-old ring fort, one of the best-preserved Iron Age forts in Ireland
• Derrynane Beach — One of the most beautiful beaches in Ireland, with fine sand and turquoise water (yes, even in Ireland!)
• Valentia Island — Accessible by bridge, with the Skellig Experience Centre and views of the Skellig Islands
• Kerry Cliffs — Less known than the Cliffs of Moher, but similarly spectacular and with views of the Skellig Islands (€4)

Direction: The tour buses travel the route counterclockwise (from Killarney via Killorglin). For a more stress-free experience, drive clockwise (from Killarney via Kenmare) — this way you meet the buses on the wider road sections and have the narrow passages to yourself.

Plan a full day (at least 8 hours), better two, for the Ring of Kerry. The road is winding and narrow, and the temptation to stop for a photo every ten minutes is great. To avoid the crowds, take the Skellig Ring — a lesser-known loop off the main route via Portmagee and Valentia Island.

Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhichíl) is one of the most extraordinary places in the world — a pyramid-shaped rock peak rising 218 meters from the Atlantic, 12 km off the coast of Kerry, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. At its summit cling the remains of a 6th-century monastery — six beehive huts (Clocháns), two oratories, and a small cemetery, reached via 618 steps carved into the rock without railings.

The monks who lived here between the 6th and 12th centuries deliberately sought solitude at the edge of the known world. Their life on this storm-battered rock — without heating, without running water, exposed to the Atlantic and its storms — is a testament to faith and human willpower that leaves one speechless.

Skellig Michael gained worldwide fame in 2014 when Disney/Lucasfilm chose the island as a filming location for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Luke Skywalker's exile on the planet Ahch-To — that is Skellig Michael, and it looks just as surreal in real life as in the film.

Getting there: Boats depart from Portmagee or Ballinskelligs (season: May–October, weather-dependent). The crossing takes 45–75 minutes and can be very rough in choppy seas. On the island, you have about 2.5 hours. The places are strictly limited (about 180 people per day) and must be booked weeks to months in advance. Cost: €80–100 per person.

If you cannot or do not want to travel to Skellig Michael itself: The neighboring island Small Skellig (no landing allowed) hosts one of the largest gannet colonies in the world — over 25,000 breeding pairs. On the boat tours, the boats circle Small Skellig, and the sight of the thousands of white birds is breathtaking.