Tour Reviews
Great bike trip to explore and experience the beautiful Donegal coast and countryside. Well organized, comfortable lodging and Ireland by Bike always available to communicate with us, as needed, while we’re on our cycle trip
It was wonderful! The itinerary was perfect. We did almost every “extra” element. The weather was … kind of a constant companion on the trip. It was a constant presence. We were soaked for a part of every day. One minute it was raining and blowing 30 mph, the next the sun was out (and still blowing 30 mph), then the rainbows, then a brief rain shower, then sun again. But it was enjoyable! If we’d been in a car, we probably would have said “It was terrible, rained the whole time,” and would have missed all the wonderful nuances. We did not really try to stay dry. We just got wet and dried off again, wearing quick-dry pants and lightweight rain jackets with wool layers underneath and lightweight wool socks and quick-drying running shoes on our feet. Seamus was wonderful. We had a minor illness that required medical attention and walked into the doctors office in Carrick unannounced and they worked us into their schedule immediately! Amazing. $50 euros later we were on our way. Best seafood chowder was the tea house at the Glen Colm Cille history museum. Studio Donegal in Kilcar not to be missed. Best spontaneous visit was with Kathleen Meehan, a lady in her house with a handmade sign “Handmade Sweaters: Open” near Mukross Head, where we visited for a half hour. Best side quest was the rocks at St. John’s Point lighthouse, which were chock full of fossils. We loved the side trip to Port. Coolest pub was Nancy’s bar in Ardara. Best meal was probably the Indian place in Donegal Town, Chandpur. We loved every part of this trip! Thanks, Nora and Seamus!
We had a great bike trip going on the highlights of Donegal. The booking, payment, and organization was very straightforward and detailed, which made things very simple. Congrats to Seamus and Nora for such a smooth process. The E bikes were ideal for this trip with the significant elevation gains. It was also very nice to be on bike trails for a portion of the trip and the vast majority of vehicles on the secondary roads were very cautious drivers and friendly. The E bikes had no problems with the distance and were of very high-quality. Accommodations were nice and the transfer of luggage worked smoothly. We couldn’t say enough, kind words about the Irish people that we met, and it made travelling very easy when sometimes the weather in this area of Ireland was not very accommodating. Fortunately, the scenery and the people make up for a little rain and wind! 5 star trip and organization. Highly recommend.
Wonderful. The bike routes were very well planned out. We were very rarely on main roads. The accomadations were all comfortable and the hosts were all generous and helpful. Seamus was awesome with local flair and explained why we should go to certain spots and why certain spots could be avoided if needed. Thank you for an incredible adventure in such a beautiful country.
Excellent experience with Ireland by Bike: organisation of the trip was very good. The bikes, the accommodations, the itinerary and the routes were all in line with our expectations ! Thank you to Nóra and Séamus for their professionalism and kindness ! Will not hesitate to recommend Ireland by Bike if you want to visit a quiet part of Ireland !
Traveled solo. Looking for an independent adventure with enough support to make it easy and fun. This was perfect
Wonderful Donegal experience! A perfectly organized bike trip, very professional staff, great bikes (my daughter and I had the regular ones), detailed route descriptions and welcoming/comfortable accomodations. A truly magical experiience!
We did this bike tour in august en had a great time. We cycled with a group of six friends. Two on their own racing bikes, four on an electric bike from Ireland by bike. We rode through wonderful landscapes, the routes were sometimes challenging, mostly very doable. The number of kilometers of cycling per day was not too much and not too little. Most of the time we had sunny weather, the accommodation managers were friendly and hospitable and we received extensive instructions from Seames on the first day. Seamus also handed out a booklet with information about the history of Ireland, tips for eating out and additional options for things to do along the way and in the places we stayed. Everything was well organized. We had an intensive and carefree holiday.
Great. Good service, nice accommodations and a wonderful route. But dont underestimate how hard the trips are. You need to be in good shape to enjoy the trip on a hybrid bike. I had to change to e-bike after 4 days. With which Ireland by Bike was very flexible and helpful
We had a great time. The weather was mostly perfect, the accommodations were very nice, the roads and the route directions were spot on. We would definitely take another trip with Ireland by Bike!!! Thanks for everything!
Loved our Donegal tour! Séamus and Nora couldn’t have been nicer and made us feel welcome right away. The accommodations were perfect. The amount riding each day was perfect-far but not too far-plenty of time for exploring side roads and coffee and lunch-and taking lots of pictures. The scenery was stunning and varied. We loved the wide open spaces-we definitely went on some roads “less traveled”. Definitely recommend an e-bike. Ireland has some hills!
Our Donegal cycle trip with Ireland By Bike was fantastic! Séamus and Nóra went out of their way to help us get to the starting point and made sure all the details were taken care of. Wonderful accommodations and well planned, beautiful routes every day. We would love to do it again or take another one of their tours. Very highly recommend. We had our own bikes, but they have great looking e-bike and standard bike options. Donegal is a special place and Ireland By Bike makes it all the more special to visit.
We really enjoyed the bike routes, fantastic and varied scenery. Accommodation was very comfortable and more than met our needs. Seamus and Nora were excellent tour operators, responded quickly to inquiries and provided lots of helpful information and suggestions for getting the most out of our trip. We had bike issues and Seamus had us fixed up and back on the road quickly. Highly recommend!
Donegal Bike Tour was a Highlight!
“We had a truly wonderful biking experience in Donegal Co with Ireland by Bike. The bikes are perfect for the terrain and very well maintained. The routes were magical – always on quiet backrounds with fabulous scenery. So many “Wow!” moments were had. The written notes and instructions, along with maps and a GPS meant we never got lost and we had some information that made everything just that much more interesting. We were in Ireland for 2 weeks, and this week of cycling was our Highlight in so many ways. Thank you Seamus and Nora for an excellent trip. Christine and Brian Vancouver, Canada”
Great Experience.
My husband and I completed Donegal Coastal Tours in August 2024. We highly recommend Ireland by Bike with Seamus and Nora. We never got lost using GPS and written instructions. Both were up to date and accurate. The roads were frequently single lane with little traffic. The scenery was spectacular. We enjoyed the challenge of the hills but would recommend ebikes if you don’t regularly ride hills. Accommodations were comfortable and well located. Seamus or Nora responded quickly to all questions.
Delightful Donegal by E-bike
“Our e-bike tour will go down as one of the best holiday experiences we have had! The trip was well organized right from the point of arriving in Donegal town to handing our bikes back in Letterkenny. It was great knowing that our luggage and accommodation were sorted out while we were off exploring each day. The routes available were excellent and long enough to fill in the day without being overwhelmed by too many kms. We did all of the ‘extra’ routes will minimal difficulty each day. The bikes were well maintained and it was good to know that Seamus was just a phone call away if there were problems.”
Posted to Website via Regiondo Booking Software
Spectacular cycling experience
“Our group thoroughly enjoyed the cycling through Donegal County. The trip brought us to beautiful beaches, lovely towns and over stunning geography. The e-bikes were a must for us ‘flatlanders’- but we all were able to still get a good workout. Seamus and Nora were easy to connect with- highly recommend Ireland by Bike.”
Posted to Website via Regiondo Booking Software
Donegal Coastal Treasures e bike tour
“The Donegal coastal treasures tour was about as good as it gets. Very comfortable accommodations everywhere Shamus and Nora were both welcoming and helpful. When a chain broke Shamus was there in 20 minutes to fix it. I would highly recommend this tour and we are seniors. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The weather helped too. I loved Donegal Peggy and Doug.”
Wonderful trip along quiet roads in beautiful Donegal!
“We rode 4 days of the Highlights of Donegal Tour that Seamus crafted for our limited time. It was awesome. The routes kept us away from cars on small roads surrounded by sheep literally everywhere but more so with our eyes on the endless natural beauty of Ireland. We really enjoyed being able to enjoy our pace unbothered by cars. Seamus was super helpful setting us up with bikes, bags, locks, Garmin devices with directions and a guidebook. The small homes we stayed in had delightful hosts with local knowledge and history to share as well as tasty breakfasts! Overall, Seamus made everything easy for us to simply enjoy our exploration of Donegal. The best part of the trip – meeting the Irish – such a friendly, lovely, kind and fun lot! I recommend this trip with Seamus 100% and would like to do it again to see more of Donegal as we only rode 4 of 7 days.”
Highlights of Donegal Tour
“This self guided tour around Donegal was truly a lovely experience. Seamus met us at the beginning and gave us all our navigation tools and answered all of our questions. We rode manual bikes which were sturdy and reliable but heavier than we are used too. This made for an excellent workout up the hills. We loved the option to add mileage to our day or to skip it if the weather wasn’t favorable. The GPS was invaluable. It beeped as soon as you made a wrong turn. It was also nice to have the listed directions and also the maps to cross reference. The scenery was 10/10 and the people we met along the way were all lovely. The accommodations were nice and clean. We went the last week of May and it seemed to us that significantly more things open up in June which might give more options for eating and evening activities. I love this self guided bike tour format. Being on our own time was so great. I will definitely recommend this tour to friends. Thank you Seamus and Nora.”
Take the time and enjoy
“I didn’t realise that I needed to order a e-bike for a e-bike tour; only afterwards once I was given a manual bike – so I missed that detail. Never fair an upgrade occurred on the first day of our tour and I’m so pleased that I did – thank you Sameus. Our small group took all of the extra trips and given the weather we had – we enjoyed the whole tour – we were prepared with strong wet weather gear. Some of the tour legs were hilly and the e-bike came into its own; I did train for cycling prior to the tour – two people in our group although fit – did not train on a bike and were able to cope. We had contact with Sameus but only messaged when we had slight battery trouble not too much of an issue. Would do another e-bike tour after this experience and would recommend the Highlights of Donegal Tour.”
Posted to Website via Regiondo Booking Software
A cycling trip to remember forever
I enjoyed everything about the Donegal Coastal Treasures Bike Tour with Ireland-by-Bike, from the fantastic cycling routes, beautiful scenery in Donegal County, wonderful B&Bs, and the kindness/helpfulness of the B&B hosts, to the quality of our bicycle rentals, friendly atmosphere everywhere we went, and most of all, to our wonderful cycling tour hosts/operators, Seamus and Nora. They were wonderful and went above and beyond to ensure our cycling adventure was fun, enjoyable and safe. I would highly recommend the Donegal Coastal Treasure Bike Tour to anyone who is considering it.
Best we could have hoped for!
“We were extremely happy with the services provided by Seamus and Nora. As visitors to this beautiful country, we were made comfotable and never felt silly asking questions or for guidance. We would highly recommend this bike company to any other travellers. They are knowledgeable and went out of their way to make use feel comfortable and safe on our journey. The accomodations chosen were also top notch.”
Highlights of Donegal Bike Tour – Amazing!
“Excellent tour. Great accommodations and the sites were well prepared for cyclists. Safe storage for bikes and the breakfasts were a good start to our cycling days. The routes were unique and fun. Minimal vehicle traffic, roads were safe and interesting and it was always fun dodging an occasional sheep along the way. Also, on our last morning, Nora and Seamus notified us that the weather could be challenging with high winds and rain. We choose to accept their offer to transfer us by vehicle to our last accommodation. This was greatly appreciated. I will definitely recommend “Ireland by Bike” tours to our friends. It was the highlight of my Ireland trip.”
Excellent routes, bikes and lodging! Just what we needed!
“We had a wonderful trip. The first day was very wet, so pack rain gear just in case. We were warm enough and enjoyed it all nonetheless. The routes were great bike-able roads with little traffic. The accommodations were friendly B & B’s with locals who know the area well. The bikes worked great! I recommend the e-bike on this trip if you have any dislike of steep hills. The hills are all short, but some are quite steep. I regularly ride 20 miles on hilly roads and used the e-bike and was glad. The information packet helped us find sites of interest along the way, at our own pace. Each day was a unique experience, with something new and different to discover.”