Where to base yourself
- Westport: the all-rounder — restaurants, music, greenway and mountain close at hand.
- Sligo town: a workaday county town on the Garavogue River with good pubs and the Yeats Building; rail access.
- Strandhill: a surf village 8 km from Sligo with cafés, seaweed baths and sunset walks.
- Achill (Keel, Dugort): for beaches and walking; quiet outside July and August.
- Cong: on the Mayo–Galway border beside Lough Corrib, the village of The Quiet Man and Ashford Castle.
Food, drink and music
Westport has more good restaurants than a town of 6,000 has any right to, and pubs where music is the main business — Matt Molloy’s above all. Look for Clew Bay oysters and mussels, Achill lamb and sea salt, and smoked salmon from the north Mayo coast. Sligo town has a strong traditional-music scene of its own (the county gave its name to a fiddle style); try Shoot the Crows or Thomas Connolly’s. Strandhill’s Saturday market and beach cafés are a local ritual.
Climbing Croagh Patrick
- It is short but hard: 7 km return with over 750 metres of ascent, the last third on steep, shifting stones. A stepped path has been built on the upper section to control erosion.
- Start early, carry water, food and a waterproof, and take a walking stick (they are rented at the car park).
- The summit is often in cloud while the bay is clear. If you cannot see the top, consider the lower shoulder only.
- Some pilgrims still climb barefoot. Visitors should not.
Saving money and practicalities
- Beaches, mountains, the Greenway (apart from bike hire), Drumcliffe and Downpatrick Head are free.
- The Heritage Card covers Carrowmore, the Céide Fields and Sligo Abbey.
- Many beaches have strong currents: swim at lifeguarded beaches such as Keel, Rosses Point or Enniscrone in summer. Strandhill is for surfing, not swimming.
- Fuel and ATMs are scarce in north Mayo and on Achill outside the main villages.
Sample plans
One day
Based in Westport: a morning walk round the town and quay, the Greenway by bike from Mulranny to Achill Sound, then drive on to Keem Bay for the evening light.
Two days
Add Croagh Patrick in the morning and the Doolough Valley and Killary Harbour in the afternoon.
Three days
Drive to Sligo by the coast or direct: Carrowmore, a walk up Knocknarea, Drumcliffe and Glencar, with sunset and a seaweed bath at Strandhill.
