Holiday rentals and lettings in Sligo

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday rental in Sligo?
• Holiday rentals and lettings in Sligo: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Sligo: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Sligo?

• Town-centre self-catering: Sligo town is compact, so cottages, flats and family houses sit within a short walk of the Garavogue riverside, the pubs and the shops.
• Coast and countryside on the doorstep: Strandhill and Rosses Point are ten minutes away, with Lough Gill and north Sligo close behind.
• Guests rate the town highly: our best-reviewed Sligo lettings sit at 10.0+, praised for warm hosts and walkable riverside locations.
• Best time to visit: May to September brings the longest days and warmest sea, while autumn delivers the biggest Atlantic swell.
• Things to do: climb Knocknarea, surf at Strandhill, walk Carrowmore and follow Yeats to Drumcliffe.

Sligo town keeps things refreshingly simple. You will find bright flats above the shops on O'Connell Street, terraced townhouses a few steps from the Garavogue, and larger family homes with gardens on the edges of town, many of them in the same tradition as the holiday cottages and holiday homes found across the west of Ireland. Almost everything is within walking distance of the centre. Most places come well equipped for a self-catering holiday.

• Enclosed gardens and patios for long summer evenings
• Turf or log stoves for damp Atlantic afternoons
• Drying space and storage for wetsuits, boards and boots
• Reliable Wi-Fi for remote workers and rainy-day films
• Private parking, useful for touring the Wild Atlantic Way

Book early for July and August, when the surf schools and festivals fill the town.

What are the best areas to stay in Sligo?

For a first visit, stay in Sligo town centre and walk everywhere. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests consistently mention how easy Sligo is to enjoy on foot. Reviews of our town-centre lettings pick out the short walk along the Garavogue into the pubs and restaurants, the welcome from local hosts, and the comfort of coming back to a warm kitchen after a windy day on the beach. Several of our best-rated homes sit at 10.0+, with visitors praising the tidy gardens, the parking and the honest local tips.

Here are our top-rated holiday rentals and lettings from the past year:

1. St. Edwards Overlook - Walk to Sligo Town! - 10.0+: A bright two-person flat with its own yard in Sligo town, praised for the easy stroll into the centre.
2. Garavogue Villa - At The River And Steps To Town - 10.0+: A four-person house beside the Garavogue in Sligo, with a garden and the riverside walk on the doorstep.
3. St. Edwards Hill-Downtown Style + Classic Elegance - 10.0+: A four-person chalet with a yard in Sligo, valued for its quiet setting and quick walk to the shops.

Sligo, or Sligeach, is the county town in the north-west of Ireland, set on the Garavogue between Benbulben and the Atlantic.

✈️What is the best way to get to Sligo?

Driving gives you the most freedom, because the beaches and megalithic sites are spread across the county. Here are the most common ways to get to the town:

• Car: The N4 runs from Dublin through Mullingar, Longford and Carrick-on-Shannon to Sligo, a journey of roughly two and a half hours. From Galway the N17 takes about two hours. Parking in the centre is metered and paid in euro (€), and most lettings outside the core streets include a space, which makes day trips along the Wild Atlantic Way straightforward.
• Train: Irish Rail runs direct services from Dublin Connolly to Sligo Mac Diarmada station, taking a little over three hours and calling at Longford, Dromod and Boyle. The station sits a five-minute walk from the town centre, so a car-free stay works well if you are basing yourself in town and using local buses or taxis for the beaches.
• Plane: Ireland West Airport Knock is the closest airport, about an hour's drive south on the N17, with flights from several UK cities. Dublin Airport is larger and roughly two and a half hours away by road or coach. Hire cars are available at both, and Bus Éireann runs coach services from Dublin into Sligo bus station.

🥗Where to eat in Sligo?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Flipside, Serious Burgers Sligo is the best rated restaurant in Sligo. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Emma recommends the Coach Lane Restaurant @ Donaghy's Bar in Sligo: upstairs from a proper old bar, it does generous Sligo Bay seafood and steaks, and the welcome is as good as the food.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

The sweet spot is May to September, when the days are long, the sea is at its warmest and the beaches, festivals and boat trips are all running. Autumn is the surfers' season, with the biggest Atlantic swells arriving from September, while winter is quiet, cheap and made for stoves and long walks.

Spring (March to May)

• Best for: Walkers and history lovers, before the summer crowds arrive.
• Weather: Cool and changeable, with bright, breezy days and frequent showers.
• Atmosphere: Calm and local, with the beaches almost to yourself.

Summer (June to August)

• Best for: Families, beach days, surf lessons and festival-goers.
• Weather: Mild and often sunny, rarely hot, with very long evenings.
• Atmosphere: Busy and cheerful, with music spilling out of the pubs.

Autumn and winter (September to February)

• Best for: Surfers, storm-watchers and anyone after a quiet break.
• Weather: Wet and windy, mild by Irish standards, with dramatic skies.
• Atmosphere: Snug and unhurried, with turf fires and trad sessions.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Sligo local expert, the team at Garavogue Villa - At The River And Steps To Town recommends coming to visit the riverside path that runs from the door towards Doorly Park and Hazelwood. It is a flat, easy walk with herons on the water and Cairns Hill above you, and it links the town to Lough Gill in under an hour. Go early, then double back for breakfast in town. You can read more about local tips on the team's page.

1. Climb Knocknarea to Queen Maeve's cairn
2. Surf and soak at Strandhill
3. Walk the tombs at Carrowmore
4. Follow Yeats to Drumcliffe and Benbulben
5. Take to the water on Lough Gill

1. Climb Knocknarea to Queen Maeve's cairn

   The flat-topped hill west of town is Sligo's signature walk. A well-made path climbs steadily for about forty minutes to the huge unopened cairn on the summit, said to hold Queen Maeve of Connacht. From the top you can see the whole sweep of Sligo Bay, Strandhill below, Benbulben to the north and the Ox Mountains inland. Wear boots, take a windproof layer, and please add nothing to the cairn. It is easily the best hour you will spend in Sligo.

2. Surf and soak at Strandhill

   Strandhill, or An Leathros, is one of Ireland's best-known surf villages, ten minutes from the town centre. The beach is not for swimming, but the surf schools here have been teaching beginners for decades and the breaks work year-round. Afterwards, sink into a hot seaweed bath looking out at the Atlantic, then take your chips down to the dunes. The village strip has coffee, bakeries and live music, and the airport runway doubles as a fine sunset viewpoint.

3. Walk the tombs at Carrowmore

   On a low plateau between town and Strandhill, Carrowmore is one of the largest and oldest megalithic cemeteries in Europe, with around thirty surviving monuments spread across working farmland. The visitor centre explains the site and the reconstructed central tomb, Listoghil, before you wander the fields on foot. Allow a couple of hours, and combine it with the smaller Carrowkeel tombs in the Bricklieve Mountains to the south if the weather holds.

4. Follow Yeats to Drumcliffe and Benbulben

   This is W.B. Yeats country, and the poet is buried in the churchyard at Drumcliffe, or Droim Chliabh, under the famous epitaph and the great limestone bulk of Benbulben. There is a round tower, a high cross, a tea room and a bookshop on the same site. From there the Benbulben Forest Walk gives a level five-kilometre loop beneath the cliffs, and the road continues to Lissadell House and the big-wave headland at Mullaghmore.

5. Take to the water on Lough Gill

   Fifteen minutes east of town, Lough Gill is the lake Yeats made famous with the Lake Isle of Innisfree. Waterbus trips run from Doorly Park and Parke's Castle in season, reading the poem as they pass the island. Anglers come for salmon, trout and pike, while walkers have the Hazelwood sculpture trail and the shoreline paths at Slish Wood. Kayaks and paddleboards are easy to hire, and the wooded shores stay sheltered when the coast is wild.