Why You Should Visit Amazing Achill Island
On Achill Island, you will meet the pirate queen Grace O’Malley at Kildavnet Tower, then mingle with the sheep on rocky headlands, drive like an airplane on the mountainside before you hit the golden sands at Keel and Keem Beaches. This is a must drive!
Read on to find out how to make the most of your time — decide which places you should visit, see which photos fascinate you, as well as get links to our custom Google maps and itinerary planning information.
Author & Photographer: George Mitchell
Our content and advice are derived from our personal experience and knowledge, gained from living in Europe for seven years and studying its art and architecture. Our recommendations are not influenced by affiliate links – we do not have any. Ireland is one of our favourite destinations.
All of our recommendations are top-rated by Google Maps, which is based on the opinions of everyone, not just tourists. Each place recommended in our posts and our custom Ireland North Itinerary Map is appended with a Google Maps Rating (G0 to G5).
The Achill Itinerary
It was an inauspicious (cloudy) start to the day, so we made the best of it, looking for photos to take in Mallaranny.
One of the guests at our Westport B&B was only impressed with Keem Beach and was scared by the steep cliffside road to get there. But they thought there was nothing else worth seeing. I believe they only took the inland highway R319.
Unfortunately, the tourist pamphlets show only this road as a scenic route. It is not!
Rhododendron Trees
Soon after the bridge crosses to Achill Island, you should turn left onto local route L1405. This is a must drive!
The first part of the road was decorated with colourful purple Rhododendron trees. The Brits have a fascination with these trees from the Nepali Himalayas, and everyone has Rhodo gardens. This reinforces why May is a great month to visit.
Kildavnet Tower
Next stop at Grace O’Malley’s Castle, also called Kildavnet Tower (1429). It is just a simple tower, but it belonged to the legendary pirate queen, Grace O’Malley, who is anything but simple.
Grace O’Malley was a great captain, leader and clan chief who assumed control of the family “shipping and trading business” – aka piracy. The O’Malley Clan ruled Clew Bay for 300 years! Supposedly, she could read Latin. Read the heritage sign for the fascinating story of Grace O’Malley meeting Queen Elizabeth I. In fact, all the OPW signs are worth reading.
The Western Coast Road
Highway L1405 is very scenic. It is narrow but with virtually no traffic.
But the most scenic part of the island starts at the Cloghmore Viewpoint in the southwest corner of the island.
Once again, our good weather bubble appeared just at the right time. It was magical.
The narrow road has little traffic and passes through iconic sheep country along the cliffs.
The Ireland Travel Tips (FB) group gave amusing explanations a while back about these being girl (pink) and boy (blue) sheep. Very cute, but not true.
The real answer is that farmers share access to open land (and road sides) so their sheep would intermingle. Each farmer selects a colour that identifies their sheep. The dye serves another purpose. It lets them know which sheep have not been “dosed” (inoculated). The dye lasts ca. three months.
The road is scenic until Dooega, where there are more cliffs and a beach.
The K Beaches
Keel Beach
The road then rejoins route R319. The first K Beach is at Keel. The beach is a huge expanse of white sand, but it is not “cute”. What is photogenic are the views from the beach.
Keem Beach
The scariest tourist sight may just be a mountain-hugging road without any barriers. Taking photos on the cliff edge is breathtaking, literally.
Humans take photos from high up pull-offs before descending to the beach.
The pièce de résistance is Keem with its crescent beach and turquoise waters.
A small stream meanders down the beach to the ocean. Sheep watch the silly humans from their cliffside pastures.
Waves crash on the rocky headlands. Children make sand castles near the stream. The sand is silky smooth.
The last beach at Dugort is nice, but it is no match for Keem.
Final Comments on this Itinerary
This is an action-packed itinerary for one of our favourite parts of Ireland. The places we recommend are all highly rated by local people, as shown by the high Google Map Ratings. Remember, the most important “destination” is meeting the people.
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Itinerary Maps & Guides
Ireland West Map – our custom Google map
Ireland North Map – our custom Google map
The Amazing Achill Island route is the last destination of our Ireland West itinerary or the first destination of our Ireland North itinerary. It is also part of our Best Places for 2 Weeks in the North of Ireland itinerary.
If you have more than a week, then combine this tour with nearby places in the Ireland West and Ireland North itineraries below.
Google Maps Ratings
Google Maps provides a rating from 0 to 5 for all sights, hotels and restaurants (but not cities). All of our recommendations are appended with the rating (prefixed with a G) from Google Maps. As it is based on feedback from tourists and locals, it is much more reliable than travel booking websites. We consider a score of 4 to 4.39 to be Very Good; 4.4 to 5 to be Excellent.
Ireland FAQ
The Ireland FAQ post answers Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) like:
- Where should I go in Ireland?
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- What is the best clothing?
- Where should I go? What are the must-sees?
- How much time do I need for Ireland?
- Can I see everything in a week?
- How safe is Ireland?
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- Should I rent a car? Take a Taxi?
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