Fanad Head Lighthouse
Fanad Head Lighthouse
4.5
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Fanad Head Lighthouse, one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses, is located within the Donegal Gaeltacht on the wild and windswept Fanad peninsula. Join us on a guided tour while taking in the spectacular scenery and exploring the wonderful natural world around us! Learn about the role of the lighthouse and the lives of the light-keepers in our visitor centre or enjoy a unique getaway staying in one of the lighthouse keeper's houses!
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Fanad Head Lighthouse and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
1 within 3 miles
See what travelers are saying
- Gary ABangor, United Kingdom47 contributionsSimply Stunning!Fanad Head Lighthouse is stunning. We were fortunate to stay with friends for 2 nights and the accomodation and views along with the welcome by John were top class. Whether you stay or just visit this place is a must see!Gary, a chara Thank you so much for your wonderful review - please do come back and stay again!Written June 23, 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited December 2022Written December 15, 2022
- Patrick D2 contributionsMagical Lighthouse AdventureWe had an absolute blast visiting this charming lighthouse in Donegal! Yvonne, our guide, was a treasure trove of knowledge and made the experience so enjoyable. The stunning views were like a dream. The gift shop staff were incredibly warm and made our visit extra special, encouraging us to speak our "cúpla focal" and offering tips "as Gaeilge"! The tour was just the right length, leaving us with happy hearts and lots of fascinating information. Nature lovers and history buffs, this is a delightful destination!Visited July 2023Written July 21, 2023
- ErosEdinburgh, United Kingdom1,383 contributionsStunning settingabout the history and workings. Cost 10 euro. Fanad Lighthouse is set in a stunning location and the Lighthouse tour is well worth taking. We had an entertaining talk from Kevin about the history and workings of the lighthouse. Cost is 10 euro.Visited July 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten August 14, 2023
- Time2judgeDrogheda, Ireland237 contributionsA must visitThe three of us planned a visit to Fanad Lighthouse today. Excellent value and lots to learn about the importance of the lighthouse to Ireland. Our guide was JOHN, who is an excellent guide with great knowledge, thankyou JOHN. If we find the gold bars that went missing we will be back. A fascinating view about all lighthouse's and the commission of lighthouses. There is also a great little shop beside the lighthouse for coffee after the visit.Visited September 2023Traveled with familyWritten September 7, 2023
- IrelandIrishcailiniDublin, Ireland69 contributionsExcellent tour & guide KevinHighly recommended tour of Fanad Lighthouse. It had history, engineering , statistics and the best of all old stories from the locals. I loved going up the steps to the top of the lighthouse as well as learning about the different ship wrecks. Kevin the tour guide was outstanding and captured my attention. He answered all our questions and it was great having a local guy doing the tour. Well done to Kevin and I’ve already recommended the tour and Kevin to others.Visited October 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten October 15, 2023
- colmk8916 contributionsGreat Tour. Surpassed all expectations!!!We did a tour while on a weekend break in North Donegal. It was a great experience. Our guide Oisin was fantastic. He was friendly, informative and couldn't have been more helpful. Learned about the history and importance of lighthouses, not only in Donegal but around Ireland while experiencing the amazing and unique views around the lighthouse. The highlight was the climb to the top of the Tower. The tour also includes a short virtual reality experience and a listening experience. Great value for money. A nice coffee shop at the car park also. Highly recommended and thanks again to Oisin.Visited November 2023Traveled with familyWritten November 29, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
420 reviews
Excellent
312
Very good
85
Average
18
Poor
3
Terrible
2
Ups-up
Dublin, Ireland1,111 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
Follow the ease of COVID19 Lockdown this the first away from home experience.
For the time being the guided tours are not functioning but the management of Fanad Head Lighthouse allowed us to self explore their lighthouse museum. Quite interesting history and surroundings were able to capture due to the clear whether. Very beautiful place with easy access. I would highly recommend this place to visit.
For the time being the guided tours are not functioning but the management of Fanad Head Lighthouse allowed us to self explore their lighthouse museum. Quite interesting history and surroundings were able to capture due to the clear whether. Very beautiful place with easy access. I would highly recommend this place to visit.
Written July 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ashmonman
Monaghan, Ireland178 contributions
Jan 2022 • Family
Drove out when staying in letterkenny, the weather was great for the 90 minutes we were there.We called to the shop and were met by a very friendly lady and got tickets at 10 euro each that gives you a guided tour to the top of the lighthouse, you can purchase a 4 euro ticket that gets you on to the grounds and the base of the lighthouse. We met another friendly helpful girl in the first building inside the gate and then headed for tge tour. Our guide I think Kevin was his name took us on a very informative tour of the lighthouse, we finished up with coffee and buns bake in the shop, definitely a must if in Donegal
Written January 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zulujasp
Westport, Ireland118 contributions
May 2022 • Friends
Highly recommend this place - we are doing the WAW and called in along the way.
Plenty of parking and you can get your entrance tickets from the little shop at the entrance. The shop is small but does great coffees (hot chocolate was very nice!) and has some quality souvenirs to take home.
On our way upto the lighthouse we met the very lovely and absolutely hilarious Teresa!.
She was a true pleasure to meet and talk to. We learnt some Irish and she told us facts about Fanad lighthouse as well as other lighthouses along the coast.
We reluctantly left Teresa and went into the lighthouse itself. It is well set out and has really nice displays of old radios, documents, records of past near misses and ship disasters. The story of Gold Bars destined for America and Canada - secretly hidden within another White Star ship that ultimately sunk and lost many lives was really sad but fascinating at the same time.. especially when it seems over 20 bars still in the ocean!
Lots to see inside as well as a walk to the top off the lighthouse.
If you are in the area - I would definitely recommend coming here.. the views are fantastic as are the staff!..
Thank you Teresa 'tChifidh me thu'..
Plenty of parking and you can get your entrance tickets from the little shop at the entrance. The shop is small but does great coffees (hot chocolate was very nice!) and has some quality souvenirs to take home.
On our way upto the lighthouse we met the very lovely and absolutely hilarious Teresa!.
She was a true pleasure to meet and talk to. We learnt some Irish and she told us facts about Fanad lighthouse as well as other lighthouses along the coast.
We reluctantly left Teresa and went into the lighthouse itself. It is well set out and has really nice displays of old radios, documents, records of past near misses and ship disasters. The story of Gold Bars destined for America and Canada - secretly hidden within another White Star ship that ultimately sunk and lost many lives was really sad but fascinating at the same time.. especially when it seems over 20 bars still in the ocean!
Lots to see inside as well as a walk to the top off the lighthouse.
If you are in the area - I would definitely recommend coming here.. the views are fantastic as are the staff!..
Thank you Teresa 'tChifidh me thu'..
Written May 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FH
31 contributions
Sep 2022
We had a week in Dunree View, booked for 2020 then rescheduled twice because of covid. The admin staff were very helpful and responsive about the rescheduling. When we arrived, the staff we met were John, Kevin,Eoghan , all very friendly and helpful (also the ladies in the shop but we didn't get their names). The tour was brilliant (scary steps!!) .
Accommodation was great, very clean. To open the bedroom door and be looking out over the sea was fantastic. The bed was the most comfortable ever. The kitchen/living room was comfy and cosy and we thoroughly enjoyed our evenings there after being out by the sea all day. It's so peaceful - all you can hear is the roar of the sea.
If you're staying a week like we did, make sure to do a big shop - we flew into Derry on a Sunday afternoon and only just made it to Tesco as it was closing, so only had time to grab essentials, and the local shops are a drive away and very limited in what they sell.
There's a great walk over the hills from a lane opposite the pub - there are no signposts telling you there's a walk, it looks like you're walking into someone's farm!
The only things that could improve our stay was if the cafe did food, just basic e.g. soup for lunchtime.
Fantastic stay overall. Would give it more than 5 stars if I could!
Accommodation was great, very clean. To open the bedroom door and be looking out over the sea was fantastic. The bed was the most comfortable ever. The kitchen/living room was comfy and cosy and we thoroughly enjoyed our evenings there after being out by the sea all day. It's so peaceful - all you can hear is the roar of the sea.
If you're staying a week like we did, make sure to do a big shop - we flew into Derry on a Sunday afternoon and only just made it to Tesco as it was closing, so only had time to grab essentials, and the local shops are a drive away and very limited in what they sell.
There's a great walk over the hills from a lane opposite the pub - there are no signposts telling you there's a walk, it looks like you're walking into someone's farm!
The only things that could improve our stay was if the cafe did food, just basic e.g. soup for lunchtime.
Fantastic stay overall. Would give it more than 5 stars if I could!
Written September 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BGillman-202
Dublin, Ireland54 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
This is a simple little stop with great views of the surrounding cliffs and the light house. Well worth the 40 minutes to stop. It is pay to enter and get some pics from the lighthouse which I think is worth the entry fee.
Written August 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annon
Coleraine, UK16 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
We were at the lighthouse today and bought a ticket to see around it. We were given two options to buy a ticket to see around it ourselves or do a guided tour. We were not interested in a tour so bought the cheaper tickets. We were not told that if you don’t have a guided tour you can’t go to the top and only told this information by the red haired useless tour guide who took the tour at 4.30 on Friday 19th August who has the personality of a wet sponge. He was most unhelpful and told us even if we had paid extra we couldn’t go because our son was too young. So we had to go back home with our son screaming his head off because he didn’t get up to the top. A heads up from the staff would have been nice so we could have explained to him beforehand.
Written August 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting Fanad Lighthouse - it doesn't appear that you had a great experience!
I do find it hard to believe that our staff in the Visitors Centre did not mention that as your son is under 1.2m tall, he would not be allowed to go to the top of the Lighthouse. This is something that is said repeatedly throughout the day and is also noted on our website.
When the two options were given to you regarding the types of tours, it would have been made very clear that 'Self-guided' entitles you to visit the grounds and exhibition spaces only - again this is also noted on our website.
I don't think that personal attacks against anyone, especially a loyal, much-valued and popular member of our staff helps advance the conversation.
Thanks for your feedback - we will take it into consideration.
Written August 22, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Myles D
11 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
We were enchanted with our guided tour of this magnificent Lighthouse. Tour guide Eimear provided a most interesting narrative on the background of this 1817 structure. The weather was good on the day so the views were magnificent. Fanad Peninsula is most attractive!
Written October 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
n0ggin
Aberdeen, UK53 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Our guide was a young local who was full of interesting facts, information and anecdotes about life in the lighthouse old days and how it all integrates in todays hi tech world. He was just excellent. It’s a fair distance from anywhere to get there but we’ll worth the effort. Really good cafe as well. The last bit of acccess up to the light is steep and probably not for everyone
Written August 31, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cathe M
Niagara Falls, Canada138 contributions
Jul 2022
A trip to Fanad Head Lighthouse should be on your bucket list the ability to be able to see the inside of a lighthouse with knowledgeable guides is to be recommended. The views from the lighthouse were spectacular. When we were leaving, we met with a family staying at the lighthouse for a week, maybe if we go back, we will stay here.
Written September 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Triggz
Antrim, UK21 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
Visited the lighthouse today, I have been a few times with friends on our motorbikes, beautiful roads up to the lighthouse but never had the pleasure of a tour.
Make sure and grab a coffee on the way to your tour. There are a few options, full guided or self tour, definitely worth the extra to go to the top.
The tour guide that took us was fantastic, I never got his name, red haired lad, very pleasant, very informative, and went above and beyond with his offers to help our group.
Make sure and take the time to read all the information on the ground floor, the history and stories are amazing. Then you get to see the lighthouse. You get to imagine all of the history as you climb the stairs. You can actually feel yourself step back in time.
My family thoroughly enjoyed our visit. A credit to the staff. Thank you for giving us this memory
Make sure and grab a coffee on the way to your tour. There are a few options, full guided or self tour, definitely worth the extra to go to the top.
The tour guide that took us was fantastic, I never got his name, red haired lad, very pleasant, very informative, and went above and beyond with his offers to help our group.
Make sure and take the time to read all the information on the ground floor, the history and stories are amazing. Then you get to see the lighthouse. You get to imagine all of the history as you climb the stairs. You can actually feel yourself step back in time.
My family thoroughly enjoyed our visit. A credit to the staff. Thank you for giving us this memory
Written August 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vorrei sapere se si vuole passare tre giorni dirmendo nel Faro quando è possibile in che stagione e quali sono i costi?
RIPATAVicenza
Vicenza, Italy142 contributions
Purtroppo non ho idea dei costi e de periodo di apertura al pubblico del faro.Suggerisco di inoltrare la richiesta direttamente sul loro sito. Tutte le persone che abbiamo incontrato lassù sono state particolarmente gentili e disponibili. Il posto è stupendo, per lo meno in estate ... buona vacanza!
Annette B
9 contributions
Is it necessary to purchase tour tickets in advance? We will be visiting this September. Thanks!
DublinMerlin
Dublin15 contributions
No you can buy at the visitor centre when you arrive during season or off season at the entrance to the lighthouse. there won't be a queue it's not that kind of exhibit
226Hia226
5 contributions
How long are the tours roughly?
Craig T
Roseburg, OR393 contributions
The tours are 30 to 45 minutes. You do get to go up in the lighthouse tower, plus look around the grounds.
We stayed at the lighthouse (they have two units they rent out) for two nights. As part of us staying at the light house, the tour was included. Sour our tour may have been a little different than the regular tour that offered.
You can make reservations to stay at the lighthouse. A little spendy, but if you get nice weather the views and sunsets/sunrises are great.
Is this suitable for a buggy?
ainemc80
sligo, Ireland37 contributions
Not suitable for a buggy and i couldnt imagine you being able or allowed carry a baby or small child up the stairs.
Sandi Lee W
Covina, CA10 contributions
Steps to top?
Fergus G
Whitegate, Ireland9 contributions
Very steep and narrow .. approx 60 .. but open to correction
TraceySue H
Woodstock, NY25 contributions
How much time should you allow to tour the lighthouse?
ccmacni
17 contributions
I would allow about 90 mins for it.
Honest John
Galway, Ireland45 contributions
if staying at the light house are there accessible pubs/shops in the area?
Mia
Bangor, UK40 contributions
There is a pub up the road from the lighthouse. It's called the lighthouse tavern. Lovely and friendly welcome, also serves food.
lilymaisie
24 contributions
is there a picnic area and place to but tea coffees etc
thebanger
Glasgow, UK23 contributions
Yes there is a van selling tea and coffee at a good price
Jozef196353
Drogheda, Ireland16 contributions
Godziny i dni otwarcia. Czy wstęp jest płatny?
EimearTS
Letterkenny
Hi Jozef1963,
We are now opened 7 days a week. Tours are from 10.00am- 5.15pm. They are on every half hour.
Full guided tours are €8.00.
Concession Tickets are €5.00
I hope you find this useful.
Go raibh maith agat,
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingFanad Head Lighthouse - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Fanad Head Lighthouse
- Hotels near Fanad Head Lighthouse:
- (0.03 mi) Fanad Head Lighthouse
- (4.64 mi) Portsalon Luxury Camping
- (9.38 mi) Ballyliffin TownHouse Boutique Hotel
- (7.05 mi) Rosguill Holiday Park
- (9.80 mi) Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort
- Restaurants near Fanad Head Lighthouse:
- (0.51 mi) Lighthouse Tavern
- (9.68 mi) The Narrow Quarter Bistro and Coffee House
- (9.51 mi) Nancy's Barn Ballyliffin
- (9.95 mi) Fisk Seafood Bar
- (8.68 mi) The Singing Pub
- Attractions near Fanad Head Lighthouse:
- (6.02 mi) Mamore Gap
- (6.96 mi) Tullagh Bay Equestrian Centre
- (7.80 mi) Glenevin Waterfall
- (6.34 mi) Fort Dunree Military Museum
- (1.37 mi) Great Pollet Sea Arch
Fanad Head Lighthouse Information
Excellent Reviews | 312 |
|---|---|
Very Good Reviews | 85 |
Fanad Head Lighthouse Photos | 567 |