An Active 1-Day Waterford Itinerary (Hikes, Waterfalls, Food + Scenic Drives)

This article is sponsored by Ford Ireland

If you’re after an active 1-day Waterford itinerary, you’ve found it (my feet are still sore…!).

This is our second road trip in the All-Electric Ford Mustang Mach-E.

On the first spin, we spent 24 hours in Wicklow, and did the day in well under one charge.

For this trip, there was about twice as much driving involved, so a little bit more planning was needed.

Some quick need-to-knows about this Waterford itinerary

Although this Waterford road trip is fairly straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable.

1. Start and finish point

We’re starting and finishing this in North Dublin, but you can kick-it off from wherever you are, just adjust the order of the stops if you need to.

2. The early bird…

In order to beat the crowds to our first stop (parking can be an issue), we hit the road early and arrived for 07:00. You can start your day later, if you fancy, but an early start will pay dividends if you’re following this itinerary.

3. Planning for charging pit-stops

We’re doing this Waterford road trip in the All-Electric Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD extended range model. We left Dublin with a 78% battery, which was more than enough to get us to our first 3 – 4 stops, but we planned in a charge in Dungarvan to get us home.

Stop 1: Coumshingaun Lough

The Coumshingaun Lough hike isn’t one to be underestimated, and good prep and planning is needed if you’re going to do it.

The car park here fills up quickly on fine days, which is why it’s worth getting here nice and early before the crowds arrive.

The entire trail (tackle it clockwise) takes between 3.5 and 4.5 hours to complete, depending on pace, and there’s some tricky sections.

All-in-all this is a strenuous hike, but the reward is arguably one of the finest views in Ireland (see our guide to this trail). Hiking boots are a must for this one along with good navigational experience.

Stop 2: Mahon Falls

Our second stop on our 1-day Waterford road trip takes us 15 minutes up the road to Mahon Falls. Now, you’re likely beat after the hike, but this is a worthy (and handy) pre-lunch ramble.

You’ll find a little car park right next to the falls and it’s an easy 20 minute walk from there to the base of the waterfall along a gravel path.

There’s a more strenuous walk here but, for this itinerary, we’re going to mosey on up to it and soak up the views for a bit before heading on our merry way.

Stop 3: The Comeragh drive

Our next stop is Dungarvan for a charge and for lunch, but we’re going to take the scenic route to get there.

Now, if I had stuck ‘Dungarvan’ into the Mustang Mach-E’s connected navigation from Mahon Falls it’ll likely have taken me back the road I came. However, if you continue up the hill from the waterfall car park, you’ll be treated to a very scenic drive.

This is a section of the much longer Comeragh Drive and takes you through one of the most overlooked corners of the country. Care is needed here as the roads are very narrow and you’ll share them with sheep in places.

Stop 4: A charge and lunch in Dungarvan

The 25-minute/22km spin to Dungarvan was made all the easier by the Mustang Mach-E’s Connected Navigation which displays the route on a 15.5 inch touchscreen.

When we got to the town for lunch, we planned to charge up the Mustang Mach-E for the rest of the journey. So, we plugged the car in to a public charger and made a beeline for the 2 Sisters on Grattan Square.

If you’re here over the coming months give the Brunch Stack (breaded halloumi, fried chorizo, sweet potato hash browns, soft fried eggs and chill jam) a bash – it’ll make your belly happy!

We left the car in charge for 1 hour and 5 minutes over lunch. This was a 50kw charger. We started with a 26% charge and left with 80% in the battery.*

Stop 5: The mighty Copper coast

Our next stop in the Mustang Mach-E was the Copper Coast and, as you can see from the photo above, the sun was blazing.

We drove from Dungarvan and aimed for Tankardstown Copper Mine and then followed the coast back towards the town (this is a small section of the Copper Coast).

The beauty of this route is that you don’t really need to plan any stops – you just stumble along them… constantly.

This stretch of coastline is arguably one of the most unappreciated in the country, and it’s well worth dedicating a day to!

Stop 6: Beaches galore

The Copper Coast is home to some of the best beaches in Ireland, and you’ll encounter many of them between Tankardstown Copper Mine and Dungarvan.

Three to lookout for are Bunmahon Beach (there’s a nice walk up to a viewpoint if you park in the town), Ballydowane Beach and Trá na mBó.

On a sunny day this stretch of coastline really is hard to beat. These were our last stops of the day before hitting the road home.

We still had a good 70% battery left in the Mustang Mach-E, which was more than enough to get us back home.

Wrapping up our Waterford road trip

We squeezed an awful lot into this 1-day Waterford itinerary but, after the initial drive to Coumshingaun from Dublin, there wasn’t a huge amount of driving needed.

There’s plenty to see and do reasonably close together in this part of Ireland and, thanks to the Mustang Mach-E’s generous range, you don’t need to worry too much about charging pit-stops. A quick charge over our lunch is all we needed to top up the battery.

If you’re struggling to plan out a Waterford itinerary, 1-day or otherwise, just shout in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help!

Check out more about the All-Electric Ford Mustang Mach-E on Ford.ie.

*Charge power can decrease with increasing state of charge. Actual charge times and charge speeds can vary based on different factors (e.g. Weather, temperature, driving behaviour, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion-battery, used charging infrastructure.