Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way Bike Tour
COMBINING TOURS: We schedule our United Kingdom tour dates to make longer adventures possible. You can combine our Ireland tour with Scotland or England for the ultimate U.K. cycling experience!
Itinerary
Day 01
Westport: a pilgrimage site and a lovely ride.
Meals
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
The Westport PlazaDistance
30 miles (48 km)Elevation
+1,942 ft / -1,942 ftArrive in Dublin where you’ll meet your guide and transfer westwards to Mayo. After a bike fit, we hit the road, heading across to Westport where we will arrive in time for lunch. Leaving the bustling market town on two wheels, you will pedal past the conical summit of Croagh Patrick mountain. This sacred location has been a pilgrimage site since ancient times. Even today thousands of pilgrims flock here each year. Stay at .
Day 02
Cycle through Ballycroy National Park - Ireland's greatest wilderness.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
The Talbot HotelDistance
56 miles (90 km)Elevation
+2,238 ft / -2,256 ftDay 03
Sea-cliffs buffer the green hills of Mayo. Stop for tea and scones at Ireland's most important Neolithic site.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
Lodging
The Talbot HotelDistance
63 miles (101 km)Elevation
+2,401 ft / -2,348 ftDay 04
Ride up through the Ox Mountains and down to Sligo on the coast. Enjoy some traditional Irish music.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
The GlasshouseDistance
47 milesElevation
+1,922 ft / -1,923 ftTransfer from Belmullet to another seaside town, Enniscrone, in the morning. Pedal into the Ox mountains, otherwise known as St. Patrick’s Mountains. The landscape and the views get wider and wilder as you climb through open pasturelands. Roll on to Sligo for a two-night stay at the award-winning and modern right in town. Sligo is one of Ireland’s bastions of traditional music and has some of the country’s liveliest pubs, so you can explore as you like from the hotel. You may also want to pay a visit, or homage, to well-preserved Sligo Abbey dating back to the 13th century!
Day 05
Pedal poetic Sligo, William Butler Yeats' "land of heart’s desire," and relax with a seaweed bath.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
Lodging
The GlasshouseDistance
48 miles (77 km)Elevation
+2,627 ft / -2,626 ft“Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride (my bicycle) with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!”
“Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I (rode with) such friends.”
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t (cycled with yet).”
Day 06
Cycle from mysterious, fortress-like Benbulben mountain to stay in a castle in Donegal.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Lough Eske Castle HotelDistance
64 miles (103 km)Elevation
+3,624 ft / -3,455 ftDay 07
Lough Eske and the Bluestack Mountains.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch