Ireland Coastal Scenery

Ireland's most dramatic coastal walk — 214m sea cliffs, 30,000 nesting seabirds and views to the Aran Islands on a clear day. Arrive early or late to avoid the crowds.

Ireland's only true fjord — a 16 km glacial inlet walled in by the Maamturks and the Sheeffry Hills. Boat tours leave from Leenane village; the Aasleagh Falls cascade at the eastern end.

Ireland's largest island — reached by bridge from Westport — with horseshoe-shaped Keem Bay tucked beneath towering cliffs, a 5 km Blue Flag beach at Keel and the ghost village of Slievemore on the mountainside.

A wild Atlantic headland with a sea stack (Dún Briste) that separated from the cliff in 1393 — one of Mayo's most dramatic coastal stops.

Sea cliffs rising to 601 metres — nearly three times the height of the Cliffs of Moher — on the southwest Donegal coast.

Ireland's most northerly point — a windswept Donegal headland with a Napoleonic signal tower, sea stacks called the Devil's Bridge and Hell's Hole, and the raw North Atlantic weather that puts Malin in the shipping forecast.

UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Antrim coast — 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns formed by ancient volcanoes, freely accessible at any time. The cliff-top walk to Dunseverick is outstanding.

Ireland's most famous scenic drive — 179km around the Iveragh Peninsula with mountain passes, glacier-carved lakes and views of Skellig Michael. Drive anti-clockwise to avoid the tour buses.

A rugged Atlantic peninsula with early Christian monuments, Slea Head's views over the Blasket Islands, and the town of Dingle as a base.

Ireland's most south-westerly point — a signal station on a cliff-edge island connected by a footbridge, with Atlantic views in three directions.

A rocky peninsula 15 km from Dublin — the cliff walk from Howth village to the East Pier takes 90 minutes with open sea on three sides. Stay for fish and seafood straight off the trawlers at the harbour.

A 5-kilometre sand spit pushing into Dingle Bay — one of the longest beaches in Ireland, with excellent surf and a legendary pub at the entrance.

A working lighthouse on a Donegal headland between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay, guiding ships since 1817. The surrounding coastline has sea caves accessible at low tide and views south over Portsalon's Blue Flag beach.

The westernmost tip of County Clare — a working lighthouse on dramatic sea cliffs where the Shannon estuary meets the Atlantic.

A group of uninhabited islands 3 km off the tip of the Dingle Peninsula — evacuated in 1953, and the source of three of the most significant works of 20th-century Irish literature.

Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island — a 25-minute ferry from Ballycastle with one of Ireland's largest seabird colonies at its western cliffs.

A privately managed cliff viewpoint near Portmagee with some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Kerry — sheer drops to the Atlantic, sea stacks, and on clear days a direct view of Skellig Michael on the horizon.

An 18th-century domed library perched on a 120-metre cliff above the North Antrim coast — built by Frederick Harvey, Bishop of Derry, who reportedly allowed local Catholics to use the library for Mass. One of Ireland's most dramatically sited structures.

A dramatic Atlantic headland overlooking a perfect horseshoe harbour, with Classiebawn Castle (former home of Lord Mountbatten) rising above the beach. On big winter swells, Mullaghmore becomes one of the world's premier big-wave surf spots.

A quartzite headland rising to 180 metres above the Atlantic on the northwest Donegal coast, with views from Malin Head to Slieve League on clear days. The cliff drive around the head is one of the finest 10 km circuits in Ireland.

A boat trip from Teelin harbour under the 600-metre face of Slieve League — the tallest accessible sea cliffs in Europe. From the water you see the full scale of the cliffs in a way the clifftop path cannot give you.

A 13 km loop from Clifden along a narrow cliff-edge road above the Atlantic — arguably the finest short scenic drive in Connemara. The views take in the Twelve Bens, Clifden Bay, and the outline of Turbot Island on the horizon.

Two back-to-back curved beaches south of Roundstone forming a tombolo — a sliver of land with Atlantic on both sides. Dog's Bay is composed of foraminifera shell rather than quartz sand, giving it a unique white colour. Free to visit, rarely crowded outside July/August.

The only cable car in Ireland — a small box suspended over Dursey Sound at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, carrying 6 passengers (or a cow) the 500-metre crossing to Dursey Island. Remote, raw and genuinely unlike anything else in the country.

Guided whale and dolphin watching from Baltimore harbour — fin whales (the second-largest animal on earth), humpbacks, minkes and large common dolphin pods in the waters off west Cork. Ireland's most reliable whale-watching location, with sightings on most trips from August to October.

Whale watching from the picturesque village of Courtmacsherry in Seven Heads Bay — humpback whales feed regularly in these waters from September to November, alongside fin whales and large pods of common dolphins. A quieter alternative to the Baltimore boats.

A high-speed RIB boat safari around Dingle Bay and the Blasket Sound — sea stacks, caves, grey seal colonies and bottlenose dolphins in the bay that Fungie the wild dolphin made famous. The fastest and most exhilarating way to see the Dingle Peninsula from the sea.

A Victorian cliff path of bridges, tunnels and caves cut into the basalt sea cliffs at Islandmagee — originally built in 1902 by Berkeley Deane Wise of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway to attract visitors to the Antrim coast. Restored and reopened in 2015.

A 7 km cliff-edge loop at the northernmost tip of the Mullet Peninsula — one of the most remote headlands in Ireland, with views north to Donegal and west toward Iceland on clear days. No entry fee, no facilities, just raw Atlantic edge.

A free man-made tidal sea-water pool on Blacksod Bay at Belmullet, built in 1984 by the women of the local swimming club — a beloved year-round swimming spot at the gateway to the Mullet Peninsula.