ITS OFFICIAL!!! Well – at least according to Lonely Planet!
The Wild Atlantic Way earned a great (and well deserved) boost this week when it came in at number 21 on L.P.’s latest list of 500 unmissable global travel experiences. This stunning 2,500km route up along our west coast showcases the best of what Ireland can offer any traveler – its all here – ocean and mountain, beach and countryside, island and harbour, village and city, Celtic Cross and Norman castle, surf and cycle, food and drink …. and….. lots of craic along the way!
This is actually huge! – imagine – its up there with Petra, Uluru, the Galapagos…..
This wasn’t the only good news for Irish tourism – a total of 8 locations on the island made it onto the list – not bad when you look at the size of us on the globe!!!
Wild Atlantic Way (21)
Giant’s Causeway (102)
Ring of Kerry (114)
Connemara (163)
Brú na Bóinne (289)
Titanic, Belfast (298)
Slieve League (389)
Trinity College Dublin (423)
I think they chose well overall. Regular readers among you will know that I’ve been singing the praises of Slieve League and the Ring of Kerry over the past few weeks. Yep folks – I’ve obviously got my finger on the pulse of trending international travel!!! Of course, along with Connemara, Slieve League and the Ring are actually located on the WAW. Prehistoric Brú na Bóinne is definitely worthy of a place on the list. Trinity and Titanic are interesting inclusions in a relatively short catalogue of places. My least favourite is the Giant’s Causeway. I know its a unique landscape but I’m always disappointed with the scale of the site – it looks so much bigger in photos!
While lists and tables such as these may evoke cynicism in many, there’s no doubting their influence. The Irish tourism Industry will be looking forward to the time when they can maximize the interest and benefits generated by such attention. Meanwhile, we domestic tourists should try to make it to these wonderful sites / sights whenever we can.
And as for all my international readers, I’m sure by now you realise what you’re missing here and are making (longterm!) plans to visit when you can. Of course you do know that you’ll have to stay for at least 2 months to fit everything in!
Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter,
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after.
A thousand welcomes when anyone comes…
That’s the Irish for You!
(Traditional Proverb)
I agree, well deserved. As for the time it takes, in 10 years I haven’t seen everything, but enough to keep a great memory of it.
Ah sure there are plenty of places I haven’t seen myself…and places I haven’t visited in years. This will hopefully promote the tourism industry a bit…. XXXMarie
Wow that is fantastic for the area! It certainly does seem to offer so much. Already on the bucket list as I’ve seen so many wonderful pictures.
Well that’s good…. you won’t regret it! XXXMarie
Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing!
Thank You Michael. You’re very welcome. XXMarie
By the time I visit it will be so popular there will be traffic jams everywhere !
🚗 🚕 🚙 🚌 🚎 🚐 🚚 🚛 🚜 . You’ll be grand – Sure all us Irish will have left the country having been starved of foreign travel 😅 😂
I was just reading about it yesterday, Marie. It was great to see many of Irelands attractions listed on their ultimate travel wish list and as such as we’ve been exploring our backyard for the past year, I can’t wait to do it all again. So happy that we have the Wild Atlantic Way right on our doorstep! That makes my day. Have a good weekend, Marie. I hope all is well 😃 Aiva
You are so well placed there in lovely Sligo. I thought we’d make it over to Mayo before the weather turned too cold – its not a county I know very well. We’ll leave it now until next year…
We’re doing ok …. I thought we’d get away for a night or two each month but that plan didn’t go far! I’m sure you’re like us – glad we did the bit of touring during the summer while we could…. XXXMarie
Yes, I’m glad we explored Ireland during the summer and had even more plans for rest of the year; mostly a weekend here and there to brake up the bleak winter. But all that has to wait now. And so does seeing friends and family. Take care xx
Ah same as ourselves then. I think it’ll be Sligo walks for you for a while! You’ll know the county well by the end of all this. Stay Safe… XXXMarie
The creation and promotion of the WAW has been impressive and I imagine it has brought (and will continue to bring) new sustainability to the towns and villages of the west. A bit surprised the Cliffs of Moher don’t figure but I personally think the Visitor Centre there has spoilt the whole thing.
Never been to the Giant’s Causeway, but I was similarly disappointed when I saw Stonehenge in the flesh for the first time.
To Alison above ^^ go off-season, or seek out the lesser travelled roads, stay awhile instead of rushing to each transaction. Hidden Ireland is magical.
Its such a clever idea isn’t it – and so simple – just let the scenery speak for itself…
Moher might have been on a previous list – I agree with you re the Visitor Centre. My husband is from Clare so we would have been in the county a lot over the years… you could head out to the cliffs for a walk any time you wished.
Amazing pics! Great post, thanks for sharing!
Thank you – luckily I was in a few parts of the Wild Atlantic Way over the summer so had fresh photos from Kerry and Donegal. XXMarie