County Donegal- The Coolest Place On The Planet

County Donegal, in northwestern Ireland, was given this title by a 2017 poll that predicted it would become a tourist hotspot in the coming year. On a week-long journey across the Wild Atlantic Way, Shweta Mehta Sen discovered that they were referring to a lot more than just the weather.

- Shweta Mehta Sen

There’s a nip in the air as a dozen of us, from as many different countries, undertake the short walk from Dublin’s Mespil Hotel to a seafood specialty restaurant called Matt The Thresher. It’s incredibly hard to get a table here, I’m told. Till five years ago, this wasn’t the case. Then, Michelle Obama paid them a visit on her trip here, and their fortunes changed overnight.

Ed Sheeran’s ‘Galway girl’ is playing softly in the background. It couldn’t have been timed better, as our server walks over with a large platter of Galway oysters – a specialty of the restaurant, and the best in the city, if locals are to be believed. Rounds of crab donuts and fish pie follow in quick succession, because a good night of rest is in order. We’re going to be on the road, driving across County Donegal and spending five nights in as many towns before returning to Dublin.

Early the next morning, the charming Rob Rankin of Vagabond Tours arrives to pick us up in what he calls ‘The Vagatron’. Rankin’s a self-made man – he started giving small group tours in 2002 to tourists who wanted to venture into lesser-known parts of the country and pick experiences that aren’t typically favoured by tourists. Vagabond now has a fleet of custom-built 4x4 Land Rovers and Mercedes vans, and in 2012, also launched Driftwood Tours. The latter is tailored to suit the needs of travellers who are less outdoorsy and prefer to soak in the scenery and culture at a slower, less strenuous pace.