We spent three hours following Google Maps to the wrong side of a mountain.

Not Croagh Patrick’s famous views. Not the pilgrim trail. A farm road somewhere behind it, mud and sheep and nothing else. No car park, no other cars, no sign this was the right place. We’d been navigating to the back of the mountain the whole time. We turned around and dropped the plan entirely.

Fine. Moving on.

Westport for Lunch

We stopped in Westport before pushing on to Achill. á Thai Noodle Bar on Bridge Street was a good call — the food was actually good, not “good for a Bank Holiday weekend in a small town” good. Parking is at the back of the shops behind the restaurant, which saves you the main street lap.

Getting onto Achill Island

Achill connects to the mainland by a bridge, no ferry required. Once you cross it the landscape changes pretty fast — bogland, steep hills, the Atlantic sitting out to the left. We’d been driving for hours at this point but this stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way kept everyone looking out the window.

The island is bigger than it appears on a map. We underestimated it.

Gráinne Ní Mháille’s Castle

Kildavnet Castle is one of the tower houses linked to Gráinne Ní Mháille, Grace O’Malley, the 16th century pirate queen who ran these waters. Depending on what you read, she had more control over this coastline than most men of her era. The castle sits right on the water’s edge.

Honestly, the castle itself is underwhelming. Roofless tower, low wall, can’t go in, here’s a sign. But standing there looking at the water she actually sailed was a different feeling. In Malaysia, history this old lives in museums behind glass. This was just sitting in a field getting rained on for five centuries. I didn’t expect that to land the way it did.

Keem Bay

Keem Bay shows up on every list of best beaches in Ireland. Amphitheatre bay, cliffs, turquoise water, white sand. We’d been looking forward to it.

We arrived the day before an Atlantic storm.

Empty beach. Mist covering the top of the cliffs. Wind the moment we opened the doors, rain that gets in everywhere. The sea was already rough, waves going white on the rocks. We stood there a few minutes, looked at it, got back in the car.

Still worth it though. You could see exactly why it makes the lists, even like that. The beach would be genuinely something on a clear summer day. We just caught the wrong version. If you’re driving up to it, the road is narrow and steep with passing places — take it slow, especially with kids in the car.

Ashleam Cliffs

On the way back across the island there’s a car park on the hill above Ashleam Bay. The cliffs drop down to rough water on the south coast. In storm light it looked dramatic in a grey, bruised sort of way. On a clear day it would probably be exceptional. There’s a free car park right there and the viewpoint is two minutes from the car, so it costs nothing to stop.

Ballina: Twin Trees Hotel

We drove east to Ballina from Achill. By the time we got to Twin Trees Hotel it was evening and nine hours had passed since Dublin, counting the wrong mountain, lunch, the island, all of it. The kids were done. We were done.

The pool and soft play area at the leisure centre sorted the children out immediately. That evening the hotel had a movie on in the drawing room with free popcorn. No agenda, just a nice thing to do. The kids thought it was brilliant, and we didn’t argue.

We stayed two nights. Breakfast and dinner at the hotel were properly good, both evenings. After a day of that much driving, not having to go looking for food or make any more decisions was exactly right.

If you’re doing this trip with kids, Twin Trees is worth treating as a destination rather than just a stopping point. The leisure club alone gives you enough breathing room to actually sit down.

Would We Go Back?

Yes. Probably with better weather locked in for Keem Bay and less time spent on the wrong side of a mountain.

Mayo is far — it’s a proper commitment from Dublin, not a casual drive. But the Wild Atlantic Way section through to Achill is the kind of road that earns it. Ireland gets genuinely dramatic out here.

One practical note: if you’re planning Croagh Patrick, the car park you want is at Murrisk, off the R335 on the south side of the mountain. We know this now.

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Getting there: About 2.5 hours Dublin to Westport via the N5, then N59 out to Achill Island. Ballina is another 45 minutes east on the N59/N26.

Keem Bay road: Narrow, steep, passing places. Take it slow.

Westport lunch: á Thai Noodle Bar, Bridge Street. Park behind the shops at the rear.

Croagh Patrick: Murrisk car park, R335, south side. Not wherever Google Maps takes you.

Ashleam Cliffs: Free car park on the hill, signposted off the main Achill road. Two minutes to the view.

Overnight: Twin Trees Hotel and Leisure Club, Ballina. Pool, soft play, movie nights in the drawing room, and food worth eating.