7 Of The Best B&Bs And Hotels In Buncrana In 2024

There’s some charming B&Bs and hotels in Buncrana that make for a great seaside break.

A small, scenic town in Donegal, Buncrana sits close to Lough Swilly on the magnificent Inishowen peninsula.

Popular with visitors for its idyllic coastal locale, Buncrana is one of the most quaint towns in the area and it’s the perfect base for exploring Inishowen.

Below, you’ll find the best B&Bs and hotels in Buncrana, with a bit of something to suit most budgets.

The best hotels in Buncrana

Now, when it comes to Buncrana hotels, one tends to be better-known than the rest – I’m talking, of course, about the Inishowen Gateway Hotel.

However, there are plenty of other mighty places to stay in Buncrana, if you either 1, can’t get a room at the Gateway Hotel or 2, fancy seeing what other accommodation Buncrana has to offer.

1. The Inishowen Gateway Hotel

Although there’s plenty of hotels in Inishowen, one tends to draw the crowds like no other – the Gateway. This is a lovely three-star hotel situated right next to the sea.

It’s one of the few hotels with a pool in the area and it boasts a mix of rooms, from a standard double and a family room right the way up to a master suite.

Food and drink wise, you have the Lough View Bar that overlooks the golf course and the Peninsula Restaurant, too. There’s also pub grub on offer in the Lough View Bar.

This is one of the most popular hotels in Buncrana for good reason and it has racked up rave reviews online over the years. It’s also widely regarded as one of the top family hotels in Ireland.

2. The Harbour Inn 

The Harbour Inn is a contemporary 30 bedroom, family run hotel in Buncrana. Located up on the hillside with views across the stunning sands of Lough Swilly, this is a fine place to kick-back for a night or 2. 

The rooms here are bright, spacious and each has a comfy, homely feel. You’ve your pick of large family rooms, twins or doubles (there’s also wheelchair accessible rooms).

There’s a bar and restaurant on-site with a popular A La Carte menu. There’s also live entertainment ever Saturday.

This is another of several Buncrana hotels that has amassed impressive reviews online (4.6/5 from 534 Google reviews and 9.3/10 out of 1,005 reviews on Booking.com).

3. Lake of Shadows Hotel

The Lake of Shadows is one of the more unique hotels Buncrana has to offer. This boutique hotel sits in central Buncrana and has been in operation for more than 30 years.

Beloved by locals and visitors alike, this hotel boasts heritage, elegance and comfort. There’s single, double, twin, triple and family rooms available and each is decorated in a contemporary style.

If you mosey on down to the Lake Bar and Bistro you’ll find a menu packed with freshly prepped food made from locally sourced ingredients.

The hotels is a stone’s throw from many of the best things to do in Buncrana, from the beautiful Buncrana Beach to the town’s various walks.

More excellent places to stay in Buncrana

Now that we have the various Buncrana hotels out of the way, it’s time to see what else the town has to offer.

Below, you’ll find some very fancy guesthouses, some budget B&Bs and some quirky accommodation in Buncrana.

1. St Columbs House

St Columbs House is a gorgeous, fully-restored 6 bedroom period home this is a perfectly positioned with bags of character and panache.

Finely placed for dropping into the towns restaurants and a stone’s throw from many of Inishowen’s top attractions, this is a grand little place to base yourself.

The interior of St Columbs is arguably far more impressive than the various hotels in Buncrana and the reviews online are sublime!

2. Caldra B&B

A huge family B&b, Caldra is within walking distance of the town and its many restaurants and pubs.

A great base for enjoying this stunning part of Donegal, guests can enjoy a delicious Irish breakfast each morning. For the hosts at Caldra, hospitality is clearly everything!

Room-wise, there’s deluxe doubles, twin rooms and a deluxe family room. There’s also a full Irish breakfast served up each morning.

3. The Central

A special place located at the heart of Buncrana Main Street and close to plenty of wild walks and sandy beaches, The Central is another B&B worth checking out. 

The rooms are squeaky clean and, by the looks of them, at a quality that would exceed the standard you’d get in many of the Buncrana hotels.

Review, wise the Central packs a punch, too. At the time of writing, it’s rated 8.6/10 from ‎144+ reviews on Booking.com.

4. Town Clock Guesthouse

Last up in our Buncrana accommodartion guide is the Town Clock Guesthouse, located smack bang on Upper Main Street.

There’s 9 rooms here (twins or doubles) and the property is a short ramble from the beach as well as Swan Park.

They’ve an Italian restaurant on-site (Bella Forno) and you also have heaps of other places to eat right on your doorstep.

What Buncrana accommodation have we missed?

I’ve no doubt that we’ve unintentionally left out some brilliant places to stay in Buncrana from the guide above.

If you have a place that you’d like to recommend, let me know in the comments below and I’ll check it out!”

FAQs about Buncrana hotels and B&Bs

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘What are good places to stay in Buncrana for families?’ to ‘Where’s the cheapest?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.