The Wild Atlantic Way Clare

The Wild Atlantic Way Clare

Clare has some great places to visit and things to see and do, its full of history, cool landscapes and great attractions. The Wild Atlantic Way is a route that covers 2,500 kilometres around a coastal route in Ireland. The Wild Atlantic Way route is from Kinsale in Cork to Inishowen Pennisula in Donegal, it’s one of the best road trips you will ever take.

Clare is included in the Wild Atlantic Way route, it has some of the best scenery you will see, some unreal coastal areas and you will be taken lots of photos of these magical coastal areas!!!

I’m going to cover some the route in Clare in this article that I have travelled many times and mention some of the places I love and I hope you will check out and enjoy!

If you have some spare time while visiting County Clare, try this driving route you won’t be disappointed. You can drive this route whichever way you want to, I have included some info about the areas that you will be travelling through, and you will see the view changing many times along the route!!!

See my post here on The Best Pubs on Clare!

1 – Loophead Lighthouse Kilbaha Clare

This area is full of beautiful scenery, the lighthouse is a cool attraction to visit. You can go inside and check it out, its 5.00 euros for adults and 2.00 euros for kids to go inside the lighthouse! The road to the lighthouse is spectacular, its what the Wild Atlantic Way is all about!

The area around the lighthouse is a great area for photos or selfies! Leave Loop head and drive towards Carrigaholt. Keating’s pub and restaurant is located close to the lighthouse if you want to stop off for some breakfast, lunch or dinner!

2 – Carrigaholt Clare

Travelling towards Carrigaholt you will see some nice scenery on this route!
Carrigaholt is a small Irish village, there is a nice pier in the village and the remains of an old medieval castle. It’s a lovely little village with a few pubs, and some good food on offer. The castle dates back to the 15th century.

3 – Kilkee and the Kilkee Cliffs

Travelling from Loop head to Kilkee is a lovely route to drive, the Kilkee cliffs are FREE to visit, they are just unreal its shows some of the coastline that makes the Wild Atlantic Way so famous!

Kilkee has a beautiful beach to check out, its very popular with Irish people who would go there on summer holidays or own a holiday home in Kilkee. Get onto the N67 road to Doonbeg. This is a link to the Kilkee Cliffs location on Google Maps.

4 – Doonbeg Clare

The route to Doonbeg has some lovely scenery, green fields, cows and beautiful coastline. Doonbeg is home to the Trump International Hotel and Golf Course, its a really nice hotel in a great location.

Doonbeg is a small village located in the West of Clare. It’s a beautiful little village and full of Irish charm! Leave Doonbeg on the N67 and drive towards Quilty and Spanish Point.

5 – Quilty Clare

From Donnbeg to Quilty hopefully, you will see some incredible scenery that showcases the best of the Wild Atlantic Way route! Quilty is a coastal village, there’s a really nice beach in Quilty. You will see some great views of the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher and Connemara. You can hire a currach boat (Irish boat) and go out to Mutton Island, its around 3 kilometres from the shore at Quilty.

6 – Spanish Point

The road from Quilty to Spanish point is a scenic route, Spanish Point has a wonderful beach, a golf course and some great accommodation options. The area is named after the Spanish Armada ships that were wrecked off the coast of Clare way back in 1588, a thousand men lost there lives. Spanish Point is a busy seaside resort, a large number of Irish people visit Spanish Point, especially in the summer months.

Spanish Point has some greats seafood on offer, the Armada Hotel is a great spot to stop to get some good food and recharge the batteries. Stay on the N67 towards Lahinch, this route has some great scenic views, its full of the amazing Wild Atlantic Way views!

7 – Lahinch

Lahinch is a coastal town with some great things to see and do. There is golf, surfing, swimming and coastal walks to check out. The town itself has some great pubs, some nice hotels. Surfers flock to Lahinch all year round to catch a few large waves, its a great area for surfing.

The golf course is an excellent course to check out, the Dubai Open Golf Competition was held there in 2019. The views of Lahinch beach and surrounding areas are fantastic! Follow the signs for Wild Atlantic Way towards Liscannor and the Burren region. Stay on the N67 towards Liscannor and the Cliffs of Moher!

8 – Liscannor

Liscannor is a coastal village on the Wild Atlantic Way route, there is a nice little pier with some cool views of the Atlantic ocean. Liscannor has some great pubs that serve some very good seafood. Lisacannor is located just a few minutes from the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s best natural tourist attraction!

Liscannor is known for its flagstone that is taken from a local quarry and used for paving al around Ireland. John P Holland came from Lisacannor, he invented the submarine and his original design was later developed by the US navy into the Modern submarines we have today!

10 – The Cliffs of Moher

If you want too, pop into Ireland’s best natural tourist site. The Cliffs of Moher is a special place, its just unreal. You will enjoy it! The cliffs have over 1.5 million visitors per year, its best to go there late in the afternoon when most of the large tour buses have left.

You have to check out the Cliffs of Moher! Drive towards Doolin and check out some more beautiful coastline, thatched Irish cottages and the views of the Wild Atlantic Way!

Check out my full guide on visiting the Cliffs of Moher here!

11 – Doolin Clare

Doolin is full of stuff to see and do. There is a pitch and putt course, an old medieval castle called Doonagore castle, you can take a boat trip to the Aran Islands from Doolin pier or a boat tour to see the Cliffs of Moher from the Atlantic ocean.

Doolin has many nice places to stay, glamping parks, caravan and camper vans parks and some lively Irish pubs. The Irish music scene is alive and kicking in Doolin which some great music sessions in the pubs.

12 – The Burren Region

Follow the road out of Doolin, follow signs for Wild Atlantic Way and the Burren Region. The route starts to get really good from here on in. The Burren Region is one of Ireland’s National parks, it’s full of karst like a lunar landscape. It’s an amazing place to visit.

The area has some beautiful viewpoints where you can just pull in and check out the views. The baby Cliffs are another great place to stop and check out the landscape of the Burren. Follow the signs for Fanore and the Wild Atlantic Way! This road is really good, have your camera ready to go!

13 – Fanore Clare

Fanore has a wonderful beach to check out, it home to a caravan park in some amazing sand dunes. The area has beautiful views of the grey mountain ranges in the Burren that make it so appealing. Fanore is on the Wild Atlantic Way Route.

Fanore used to be an Irish speaking area up until 1956. The area has fishing activities, walking, swimming and loads to explore in the Burren, including some very interesting flower species, and plenty of different wildlife species too see. Follow the road to Ballyvaughan, this is what the Wild Atlantic Way is all about, it’s unreal!!

14 – Blackhead Lighthouse Clare

Drive towards the Blackhead lighthouse and just take in the views, you have the Buren landscape on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. Can you believe your eyes???

This part of the route is just amazing really, it so scenic, it’s possibly one of the best parts of the whole Wild Atlantic Way route! Stop off for some photos and check out the magical views and interesting landscape!!!

15 – Drive towards Ballyvaughan

You are now en-route on one of Ireland’s most scenic routes. This part of the route is special, it has some of the best views you will see. Ballyvaughan is a coastal village that has plenty to keep you busy, it’s close to Poulnabrone Dolmen tomb, Aliwee Cave and Newtown castle, all these attractions are located just outside Ballyvaughan.

When you arrive in Ballyvaughan if you need some food and refreshments, The Monks is a great spot for food, if the weather’s good you can sit out the back of the pub and take in the view of the pier.

This finishes your driving route of the Wild Atlantic Way in County Clare, I hope you enjoyed the route and got some nice photos! I welcome any suggestions or recommendations by email to – info@allthings-ireland.com.

If you want directions to Poulnaborne Dolmen, check out my article here with directions to this really old site!

Thanks
John Conway
All Things Ireland