Ireland, we decided: the west coast of Ireland. Offseason, when accommodations would be inexpensive. That’s how our party of three childhood friends found ourselves tooling along the Dingle Peninsula’s breathtaking Slea Head Drive on a (mostly) sunny day in February as the occasional squall came and went.
Our 10-day adventure was minimally planned; choose the dates, buy the tickets, book a place to sleep in Dublin, rent a car and go. Each night, we would hover over our phones when we came across Wi-Fi to debate our next destination.
Following a loosely sketched route along the country’s west coast, we traveled on easy highways until we got to Connemara, slowing as its country roads became narrow and winding. We headed to Clifden, then continued south, stopping in Galway and on to sightseeing at the Cliffs of Moher. After that, the roads became comically treacherous.
We spent two nights in Dingle. In the evenings, we had pints in local pubs and scribbled sightseeing suggestions from the other patrons on our coasters. Driving back to Dublin, we agreed that we need to see more of the west coast when we return to Ireland. It’s not a place you can only visit once.
