Donegal, Antrim and North Coast -  8 Days – Donegal renowned for its remoteness and the Antrim coast for its natural beauty, if you really want to get away from everything this is the one for you.

This tour will take you from Dublin to Donegal town where you will be staying for 3 nights before a night in the North West Gweedore region. After that you will be heading towards the north coastline and spending a few glorious days in Northern Ireland and walking through its glens and along the basalt lined coast.

Day 1: 8:00 a.m.

Pick up the city centre Dublin – Dublin Tourism Office. This is where your journey will begin.

All people will be introduced to each other on the bus. I like to get each person to sing a song from their country to start things off! Your national anthem will do!

The first day will be spent meandering our way up to Donegal town. We will be stopping en route in a few villages, visiting William Butler Yeats grave in Drumcliff, enjoying a lovely beach walk in Mullaghmore or on Rosnowlagh beach picking up the variety of shells it has to offer. Sure, you can make a necklace if you want to; just don’t start hugging trees...Yet!

You will get to see Ben Bulben, our famous plateau mountain and see the landscape through the eyes of some of our famous poets. We will be staying in Donegal town for 3 nights.

Day 2:

We will be discovering the region of Lough Eske and the Bluestack Mountains today. Enjoy a walk around this lake before walking up the Donegal way to the hidden Lough Belshade. We will be having lunch here and your guide will tell you all about the Bluestack mountain range and what hidden flora and fauna there is to find here. It really is a wild countryside up here. Get ready!

We will meander our way back to the bus via another few Loughs to beautiful views over the whole of the Donegal town area.

Day 3:

This is seen as many as the most dramatic sea cliffs in Europe and at over 600 metres in height they really astound you the first time you see them, just the sheer size will overwhelm  you and then to find out that you will be walking over the top of them! What a day is ahead of you. It is a great walk from the upper car park up over ones man pass and to the summit of Slieve League. From there we will be taking the normal route back to the bus. It should take no more than 6 hours for this day and you will want it to last forever!

Day 4:

On day 4 we will be walking in the magical Glenveagh National Park. There are only 6 national parks in Ireland and this one has everything in it; mountains, lakes, wild deer, golden eagles, bog and a castle to drown it down with! We will be walking all downhill today starting from the top of the valley and working our way towards Lough Veagh and Glenveagh Castle, once owned by the inventor of Tabasco Sauce but now in the good hands of our government to look after. We will be leaving the national park and going to the region of Gweedore and Bloody Foreland where we will be staying in the Gaelic speaking area of Donegal.  There is great music to be had in this region of Ireland so enjoy the local pub with your guide tonight.

Day 5:

From the north of Donegal we will be now making our way to historic Derry City where you will get to walk through history. We will take a walking tour of the city walls learning the long and powerful history of the relationship between the Irish and the English. On this day you will only be touching on the deep history between the two communities but it is an excellent introduction. We will visit the Bogside and the Bloody Sunday museum before heading out towards the Causeway coastal route our main aim today. We will stop on a lovely beach for a walk before we get to our accommodation and also get to visit Dunluce Castle, the McDonnell household for years. I just happen to be a McDonnell myself so quiet a special place for me. Great to know that I come from royalty! You will be staying in the village of Ballintoy for 2 nights a charming village with great locals and right beside the rope bridge all you adventurers will be crossing pretty soon!

Day 6:

On your 6^th day with Extreme Ireland you will be walking one of the most beautiful walks in the country the Antrim coastal route to the Giants Causeway. We will start from our accommodation and make our way to Ballintoy harbour, crossing a pebbled beach and following the coastline to Whitepark Bay beach that stretches for what seems like miles to the village of Portbradden which holds the smallest church in Ireland, St. Gobbans. From there you go through the hole in the rock and to Dunservrick Castle where the powerful Dalriada sat. One of only 3 traditional roads in Ireland led to this remains of their castle. But this fact leads us to the conclusion that once this was one of the most powerful places in Ireland. After leaving this castle we are about an hour and a half from the causeway and we will be approaching it from the upper cliffs where you will get the best views of this UNESCO heritage site. Over 40000 hexagonal shaped basalt columns dot the coastline where you will be walking on in a few minutes. Are you excited already? I would be because this is not a site that you will forget. You will then get back to Ballintoy that evening for a nice dinner while you look out at sheep and Rathlin Island and even over to Scotland.

Day 7:

On your pulmultimate day we will be going to Ballycastle but not before experiencing the famous Carrick a Rede rope bridge crossing and just after breakfast! Weather permitting; we may arrange to take the ferry across to historic Rathlin Island with its many lighthouses, world famous bird sanctuary and its coastline surrounded by the treacherous waters of the North Irish Sea. Here we will be doing a circular walk down to the Southern Lighthouse. We also view the treacherous waters of the Corrie Vreckan. If the weather is not with us on this day we will be taking a walk in one of the 9 glens that this coastline has to offer us or a trip out to Fair head and Murlough Bay.  

Day 8:

Unfortunately you will have to depart the tour today and make our way back to Dublin. Say farewell to everyone on the tour and exchange email addresses and lots of tears! We will make a couple of stops on the way back but you can expect to arrive back in Dublin by 5 at the latest on this day. We will be stopping in Belfast on the way back today so you can grab any shopping that has to be done there and visit the City Hall if you so wish. The black taxi tour is also an option if you wish to learn more about the history of this city.