Log Cabins & Lodges in County Donegal

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a log cabin in County Donegal?
• Log Cabins & Lodges in County Donegal: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring County Donegal: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in County Donegal?

• Timber cabins and rural lodges: Expect wood-lined interiors, wood-burning stoves, decking that faces the weather and, on a handful of properties, a sauna or hot tub.
• A small, seasonal segment: Cabins and lodges are a modest slice of Donegal's self-catering stock, so the wider choice of houses and cottages is worth keeping open.
• Bases across the county: Inishowen, Fanad, Gaoth Dobhair and the area around Donegal Town each open up a different stretch of coast and hill.
• Consistently well reviewed: Our best-rated Donegal stays sit at 9.8+, praised for quiet, parking, mountain views and generous hosts.
• Seven ways to fill your days: Climb Errigal, sail the Arranmore ferry, walk to Glenevin Waterfall and watch for the northern lights.

Timber cabins and rural lodges sit at the quieter end of Donegal's self-catering stock, usually one storey, wood-lined and set on their own patch of field or forest edge. The practical details are what decide most bookings:

• Wood-burning stoves and well-insulated timber walls for the colder months
• Full kitchens, useful when the nearest village shop is a drive away
• Decking or a covered porch facing the hills, the lough or the sea
• Off-road parking, essential on Donegal's narrow boreens
• Pet-friendly rules on a good share of rural properties

What are the best areas to stay in County Donegal?

Gaoth Dobhair and the Derryveagh foothills suit anyone here for the hills, with Errigal and Glenveagh both close by. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Reviews of Donegal self-catering come back to the same things: how dark and quiet the nights are, how much easier a car park and a drying space make a walking holiday, and how readily hosts point you to the beach or the trailhead that is not in any guidebook. Our best-reviewed properties in the county sit at 9.8+, with mountain and sea views mentioned again and again.

Here are our top-rated places to stay in County Donegal from the past year:

1. 4-bedroom House-Letterkenny-Privategarden-Sleeps 7 - 9.9+: A seven-sleeper near Letterkenny with a privatee garden, mountain views and parking, handy for shops and the Derryveagh hills.
2. Dunfanaghy - Sea Views- in village - parking - 9.8+: A sea-view house for four in Dunfanaghy, in the village with its own parking and a well-equipped kitchen.
3. Mary Naoise Holiday Home - 9.8+: Room for seven near Glenties, with a garden, Wi-Fi and parking, a practical base for west Donegal walking.

County Donegal occupies Ireland's north-west corner, a Republic of Ireland county of quartzite peaks, Gaeltacht villages, sea cliffs and long empty strands facing the open Atlantic.

🥗Where to eat in County Donegal?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Blas@thegateway is the best rated restaurant in County Donegal. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Aisha recommends the Tí Linn Café in County Donegal: it sits at the Sliabh Liag Cliffs Centre in Teelin, opens daily from nine, and its homemade soup, sandwiches and warm scones are exactly what a windswept cliff walk calls for.

1. Climb Mount Errigal
2. Sail beneath the Sliabh Liag cliffs
3. Walk to Glenevin Waterfall
4. Spend a day at Portsalon Beach
5. Watch for the northern lights on Inishowen
6. Take the ferry to Arranmore Island
7. Find Boyeeghter Bay on Rosguill

1. Climb Mount Errigal

   Errigal is Donegal's highest peak at 751 metres, a cone of pale quartzite that turns pink in low sun and is visible from half the county. The usual route from the car park on the R251 takes around three hours there and back, steep and loose near the top but not technical. The reward is a summit ridge with Glenveagh, the Poisoned Glen and the Atlantic all in view. Go in settled weather and carry proper boots.

2. Sail beneath the Sliabh Liag cliffs

   Most visitors see Sliabh Liag from the viewpoint above, but boat trips leaving Teelin pier show the cliffs the way they were meant to be seen, close to 600 metres of rock rising straight out of the water. Skippers point out sea caves, nesting seabirds and the old signal tower on the ridge, and dolphins are a regular sight in summer. Sailings run from spring to autumn and depend entirely on the swell, so book flexibly.

3. Walk to Glenevin Waterfall

   A flat, well-surfaced path leads up the Glenevin Valley near Clonmany on Inishowen, crossing timber bridges and passing picnic tables before ending at a 12-metre waterfall in a wooded gorge. It takes about twenty minutes each way and suits every age and pair of shoes, which makes it the ideal outing on a day when the high ground is buried in cloud. There is a car park and a small café at the entrance.

4. Spend a day at Portsalon Beach

   Portsalon, on the Fanad peninsula, is one of Donegal's Blue Flag beaches and regularly named among the finest in the world. A mile of pale sand curves along Ballymastocker Bay, with the hills of Inishowen across the water and a golf links behind the dunes. The water is properly cold, but the paddling is safe, the sunsets are extraordinary, and the descent to the beach on the Knockalla coast road is worth the drive on its own.

5. Watch for the northern lights on Inishowen

   The Inishowen peninsula reaches further north than anywhere else in Ireland and has almost no light pollution, which makes it one of the country's better places to catch the aurora borealis. Clear northern horizons matter more than anything, so aim for the coast between Malin and Culdaff, wrap up, and give it until well after 11pm. Even on a quiet night the Milky Way over the sea is worth the wait.

6. Take the ferry to Arranmore Island

   The crossing from Burtonport takes around 25 minutes and lands you on Arranmore, a Gaeltacht island of roughly 500 people where Irish is still spoken every day. Walk the cliff loop on the northern side, look for the lighthouse and the sea arches, and stop for a pint in a pub where a session can start without warning. Day returns are straightforward, though many visitors wish they had stayed the night.

7. Find Boyeeghter Bay on Rosguill

   Known locally as Murder Hole Beach despite the gentlest of settings, Boyeeghter Bay is reached only on foot, across about twenty minutes of dune and grazing land from the Melmore Head road on the Rosguill peninsula. There are no facilities and swimming is genuinely dangerous, but the horseshoe of sand between two headlands is one of the most photographed spots in the north-west. More log cabins across Ireland put similar coastline within reach.