At 2,500 kilometres, Ireland's west-coast route is less a road trip than a lifestyle, so pick a chapter: the Ring of Kerry for lakes and lamb-blocked lanes, Connemara for bog and mountain, Clare for the Cliffs of Moher dropping 200 metres into the Atlantic. Distances are short but the stopping is compulsive — pubs, harbours, sudden beaches. May and September give the best light without the coach traffic. Budget double the driving time Google suggests; the detours are the point.
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