Bundoran and Ballyshannon sit about ten minutes apart at the southern end of the county, and between them they cover most of what draws people to south Donegal: the Peak reef break, Tullan Strand for learners and an 1894 links course on one side; Rory Gallagher’s bronze statue and a June bank holiday festival on the other. Ballyshannon, chartered in 1613, is the quieter and less crowded base of the two.
Most of the rest of this list runs along the north-west coast, in and around the Gaeltacht. Bunbeg, Derrybeg and Crolly are in Gweedore; Dungloe and Burtonport sit on The Rosses; Falcarragh and Gortahork make up Cloughaneely further north. Irish is the everyday language in these villages, and several work better as bases than as destinations, with Errigal, Muckish and Bloody Foreland all a short drive away. The island ferries leave from Magheroarty for Tory and from Burtonport for Arranmore, and the Tory crossing depends on the weather.
Away from those two clusters you are driving. Buncrana is the main town of Inishowen, strung along the eastern shore of Lough Swilly, with two waymarked shorefront walks and the start of the Inishowen 100. Glencolmcille and Glenties are in the south-west under the Bluestacks, and Glenfin is inland near the centre of the county.
Ireland's surf capital, with the Peak reef break, learner waves at Tullan Strand and an 1894 Harry Vardon links course above Donegal Bay.
Claims to be Ireland's oldest town, chartered in 1613, and fills each June bank holiday for the Rory Gallagher festival and his statue.
An Irish-speaking Gweedore village with a tiny working harbour, ferries to Tory and Gola, and Bád Eddie half-buried on Magheraclogher strand.
The main town of Inishowen on Lough Swilly, with two waymarked shorefront walks, O'Doherty's Keep and the start of the Inishowen 100.
A Gaeltacht fishing harbour on The Rosses where the year-round Arranmore ferry takes fifteen minutes, cars included, with free parking at the pier.
29 of 29 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Bundoran, donegal
Bundoran is Ireland's surf capital – the Peak reef break, Tullan Strand for learners, and a Harry Vardon links course from 1894 above Donegal Bay. Beyond the waves it's a classic seaside resort that stays busy with festivals through the summer.
Ballyshannon, donegal
Ballyshannon claims to be Ireland's oldest town, chartered in 1613, but most people come for Rory Gallagher – the blues-rock guitarist was born here, has a bronze statue on the main street and a festival over the June bank holiday that draws about 8,000 people. It's also a handy, less-crowded base for south Donegal's beaches, ten minutes from Bundoran.
Bunbeg, donegal
Bunbeg is an Irish-speaking village in Gweedore, where the Clady and Crolly rivers reach the sea. It has a tiny working harbour – often called the smallest in Europe – with ferries out to Tory and Gola Islands, and a kilometre of strand at Magheraclogher known for the wreck of Bád Eddie, half-buried in the sand since 1977.
Buncrana, donegal
Buncrana is the main town of the Inishowen Peninsula, strung along the eastern shore of Lough Swilly. Two waymarked Slí na Sláinte walks trace the shorefront and Swan Park, passing O'Doherty's Keep and the old pier. It's also a natural place to start the Inishowen 100 scenic drive.
Ailt an Chorráin, donegal
Burtonport (Ailt an Chorráin) is the working harbour where the year-round Arranmore ferry runs a 15-minute crossing, cars and all. It's a Gaeltacht fishing village on the Rosses, with a flat old-railway walk, free harbour parking, and Magheroarty's surf beach a short drive north.
North-west County Donegal, donegal
Cloughaneely is a coastal Gaeltacht district in north-west Donegal, centred on the villages of Falcarragh and Gortahork, where Irish is spoken daily. Its standout day out is the passenger ferry from Magheroarty pier to Tory Island, weather permitting; on land there is hill walking, a nine-hole golf course on an old estate, and the standing stone the district is named after.
Dungloe, donegal
Croithlí sits on the river dividing Gweedore from The Rosses, at the foot of the Derryveagh hills. The 1901 factory here wove carpets for Buckingham Palace and made the famous Crolly Dolls; today it is a working whiskey distillery with hourly tours, a bar and trad sessions. Outside, the Crolly Stone carries its wishing legend, two waymarked loops start in the village, and Leo's Tavern, home of Clannad and Enya, is up the road.
Derrybeg, donegal
Derrybeg (Doirí Beaga) is a working Gaeltacht village in Gweedore, where more than half the people speak Irish daily. It's better as a base than a destination, within easy reach of Mount Errigal, Bloody Foreland and the beaches of north-west Donegal.
Dungloe, donegal
Dungloe (An Clochán Liath) is the main town of The Rosses, a Gaeltacht district on Donegal's Atlantic coast. It's a practical base – pubs, shops and the tourist office – for the beaches, headlands and islands around it, and it fills each July for the Mary From Dungloe festival.
Falcarragh, donegal
Falcarragh is a small Gaeltacht town in north-west Donegal where most people speak Irish daily. It is less a destination than a base: Errigal and Muckish are a short drive, the Tory Island ferry leaves from nearby Magheroarty, and Ireland's tallest Celtic high cross stands at Ray.
South-west County Donegal, donegal
Perched on the rugged southwest coast of Donegal, Glencolmcille blends Neolithic monuments and early Christian pilgrimage sites with a vividly recreated 18th-to-20th-century clachán. Visitors can wander through authentic thatched cottages, join the historic Turas pilgrimage, and enjoy sweeping views over Glen Bay and the Atlantic.
Glenfin, donegal
Glenfin sits at the geographical centre of Donegal, a Gaeltacht parish of about 330 homes where Irish is the daily language. The Heritage Centre marks Home Rule founder Isaac Butt, a free trad session runs the first Tuesday of every month, and Oideas Gael takes over the school each summer.
Glengad, donegal
Glengad is a small fishing place on the northeast coast of the Inishowen peninsula, looking out to Inishtrahull, Rathlin and, on a clear day, the Scottish isles. It is a quiet stop for rock anglers, walkers and birdwatchers on Donegal's wild northern edge – with an unlikely thread linking it to Joe Biden's Delaware.
Glenties, donegal
A compact, much-decorated Tidy Town in south-west Donegal, set where the Owenea and Stranaglough rivers meet under the Bluestack Mountains. It is a walkers' base the Bluestack Way runs through it and the town Brian Friel turned into Ballybeg.
Gort an Choirce, donegal
Gortahork ranked eighth in Ireland for daily Irish speakers in the 2022 census, and the bilingual signs and pub sessions aren't staged for visitors. The village sits in the Cloughaneely Gaeltacht near Falcarragh, with Magheroarty Pier just west – the launch point for the roughly 45-minute ferry to Tory Island.
Killybegs, donegal
Killybegs is Ireland's largest and busiest fishing port, a working town at the head of a deep-water harbour on Donegal Bay. It trades on its pelagic trawler fleet, a hand-knotted carpet heritage that once furnished Buckingham Palace, and its position as the gateway to the Slieve League cliffs and the western Donegal coast.
Muff, donegal
Muff is where the Wild Atlantic Way starts, on the Donegal side of the border with Derry. Its name has given the world the Muff Diving Club, a novelty scuba club that leans hard into the joke, while the Muff Liquor Company distils potato gin and peat-smoked whiskey on the main street. The Fair of Muff has run every 12 August since 1608.
Mouth of the River Lennon, donegal
Ramelton's tall Georgian houses along the Mall were built on 18th-century linen money, shipped down the River Lennon into Lough Swilly. It's one of Donegal's five Heritage Towns, with a free self-guided audio tour of the quay, Ireland's oldest Presbyterian congregation and trad sessions at Conway's thatched bar.
Fanad Peninsula, donegal
On 14 September 1607, ninety-nine Gaelic nobles sailed from Rathmullan's pier into permanent exile, ending the old Gaelic order – the Flight of the Earls. The village that remains has a Green Coast beach, a newly restored Carmelite friary, a Martello-tower heritage centre and a well-regarded microbrewery, all on the sheltered western shore of Lough Swilly.
South-west coast of County Donegal, donegal
Carrigart, donegal
Castlefin, donegal
Inishowen Peninsula, donegal
Frosses, donegal
Greencastle, donegal
Kilcar, donegal
Kincasslagh, donegal
Milford, donegal
Dungloe, donegal
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