The shape of the place
Achill (Oileán Acla) is Ireland’s largest offshore island, 36,500 acres off the west coast of County Mayo, and you reach it by driving across a bridge rather than catching a ferry. The Michael Davitt Bridge links the island to the mainland at Polranny; it is open 24 hours and free. Around 2,300 people live here, and the island is a Gaeltacht, so Irish is spoken alongside English in villages like Achill Sound, Dooagh and Dugort. The ground is mostly peat-covered hill, sea cliff and sheltered cove, and Achill anchors this part of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Getting there and around
- By road: the Davitt swing-bridge connects Achill Sound to Polranny. The island’s roads are single-carriageway and narrow but well kept; drive carefully, especially around livestock.
- By bus: Bus Éireann route 450 links Westport, Newport and Louisburgh with the main villages, several times a day and more often in summer.
- By bike: the Great Western Greenway ends at Achill Sound, a traffic-free 43.5 km route to Westport. On the island, three looped trails (12 km to 44 km) cover most fitness levels. Bike hire is in Achill Sound and Mulranny.
- Hubs: Westport (about 50 km) and Castlebar (about 60 km) have car hire and a wider choice of beds. Ireland West Airport Knock is about 80 km away.
The Atlantic Drive
The Atlantic Drive circles the island over roughly 55 km and is one of the better-known coastal routes in the country. The stops worth stopping for:
- Croaghaun: at 688 m, Ireland’s highest sea cliffs. Peregrine falcons are a regular sight along the drops.
- Minaun Heights: a short, winding climb to a 360-degree view over Keel, Keem Bay and the open Atlantic, and a popular sunset spot.
- Ashleam Bay: a pebble cove under 30-metre white cliffs, a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point.
- Slievemore: the island’s high point at 671 m, with mountain trails and a view down onto the Deserted Village.
Beaches and water
Achill has five Blue Flag beaches and they are not interchangeable:
- Keem Bay: a horseshoe of golden sand walled by steep cliffs at the western end, past Dooagh. If you only swim once, swim here.
- Keel (Trawmore) Strand: a four-kilometre beach with surf schools, wheelchair-friendly access and summer lifeguards.
- Dugort Beach: under Slievemore, the venue for the New Year’s Day Atlantic dip.
- Golden Strand and Dooega: quieter coves for kayaking, walking and dodging the crowds.
Surfing and kitesurfing centre on Keel, with diving along the underwater cliffs near Croaghaun.
Annagh Lough Woods
On the western fringe of the island, Annagh Lough Woods is a mixed-species woodland fringing Annagh Lough, the lowest corrie lake in Ireland at just 15 m above sea level. It is a Special Area of Conservation, home to Arctic-alpine plants including juniper and rare mosses on the limestone. The Annagh Lough Loop is a well-marked 2 km circuit through birch, hazel and ash, passing the Pump House hide. Early mornings bring the calls of red-billed choughs, with peregrine falcons and the odd migrating golden eagle overhead, and the lake draws mallard, wigeon, goldeneye and scaup. A short walk from the wood reaches the Keel machair, a wind-blown sand plain that fills with wildflowers in summer. Birdwatching Mayo runs guided outings from the car park.
History on the ground
People have lived here since the Neolithic, when early farmers cleared the forests and raised megalithic tombs on Slievemore. Iron Age promontory forts and medieval tower houses sit along the coast.
- Kildownet Castle: the 15th-century tower house associated with Granuaile (Grace O’Malley), the pirate queen, near Dooega.
- The Deserted Village: a cluster of 80 to 100 stone cottages at the foot of Slievemore, abandoned during the Great Famine and well preserved.
- Achill Mission Ruins: founded in the 1840s by Rev. Edward Nangle at Dugort, with a Franciscan monastery and a historic cemetery.
- Achill Archaeological Field School: Ireland’s longest-running field school, which has dug across the island’s prehistoric and medieval sites. Note that its accredited courses are paused for 2026.
Food, drink and events
The Grace O’Malley Festival in late May marks the pirate queen with circus arts, music and heritage walks, and the Heinrich Böll Memorial Weekend brings writers and artists for readings, workshops and nature walks. Trad sessions run in the pubs, particularly in Keel and Achill Sound. For food, look to seafood and Mayo lamb; the Beehive Coffee Shop in Keel has sea-view seating, and Ted’s Bar in Cashel South does traditional fare. The visitor centre in Achill Sound holds Mayo’s first public aquarium of native Atlantic fish, which earns its keep on a wet day.
Practical information
- Opening and admission: the island’s trails are open year-round and free.
- Parking: small car parks serve most beaches and trailheads; larger free parking at Minaun Heights. Arrive early in peak season.
- Accessibility: Keel Beach has wheelchair-friendly routes; most lakeside and woodland paths suit pushchairs and mobility aids, but cliff-edge sections need supervision.
- Dogs: welcome on most trails and beaches. Keep them on a lead from May to September and near livestock.
- When to go: late spring to early autumn for milder weather, machair wildflowers and long daylight. Spring and autumn are best for bird migration.
- Safety: check tide times before any coastal walk, wear sturdy footwear on the hills, and carry warm layers even in summer; the Atlantic weather turns fast.