Portnoo: Coast, Golf and Farm-to-Fork Experiences

Portnoo combines a striking Atlantic setting with golf by the sea, distinctive culinary events and a wood-fired sauna experience. Choose what you want to shape your stay from a range of very different experiences: sweeping views across the bay, a day on the links course or a booked visit to Portnoo Market Garden.

Coast and views around Portnoo

Narin & Portnoo Links extends out to sea on a peninsula. From there, views stretch across Gweebarra Bay. The course features prominent dunes with wild grasses, as well as both a rocky coastline and a sandy beach. This landscape gives links golf its coastal character; it also offers a contrast between open sea, sandy shore and rugged rock.

Portnoo Pier offers a different perspective: this small, peaceful harbour looks out over the Atlantic and nearby Inishkeel Island. If you want to associate your stay above all with coastal scenery, these viewpoints have distinct characters: at the links course, the peninsula, bay and dunes take centre stage; at the pier, the view is of the harbour, the Atlantic and Inishkeel.

Golf by the sea

Narin & Portnoo Links is a scenic 18-hole links course. Golf has been played here since 1905; visitors and societies are welcome, and the course is suitable for year-round golf. Golf is therefore a defining part of what the area offers, not just an occasional feature of the landscape. If you want golf to be the focus of your trip, this is a clear reason to choose Portnoo as your holiday destination: its coastal setting and play on an 18-hole links course are both part of Portnoo’s appeal.

Portnoo Market Garden and farm-to-fork

Portnoo Market Garden brings together regenerative farming, seasonal produce and culinary skill through special farm-to-fork events. These include multi-course tasting menus prepared by renowned guest chefs. Ingredients come from Portnoo Market Garden and local regenerative or organic farms. These events therefore put both the origin of the food and its culinary preparation centre stage.

Online booking is required for a visit to Market Garden; tickets are not sold at the entrance on the day. Guided tours take place on selected dates throughout the year. Outside scheduled tour dates, the busy working farm is not open to the public. So if you want to plan a tour or a farm-to-fork experience, be sure to check the specific date and book in advance.

Sauna at Narin Beach

Inishkeel Sauna combines traditional sauna sessions with refreshing dips in the sea at Narin Beach in Portnoo. The wood-fired experience is designed for relaxation, rejuvenation and socialising by the sea. It offers a different focus from golf or culinary events: here, sauna and sea come together in one experience. When deciding whether Portnoo is right for you, you can consider whether you would rather plan your trip around sporting activities, seasonal cuisine or a coastal break.

Which holiday rental is right for your stay?

When looking for a holiday rental in Portnoo, you can use the focus of your trip as a guide when choosing where to stay.

Explore more places

You can also explore Gweedore, Laghy, Stranorlar, Burtonport, Ballyshannon, Glencolumbkille, Letterkenny and Dungloe.

For the broader travel overview: County Donegal.