Everyone in Donegal English Language School was delighted to hear that Ireland has been named fifth on Lonely Planet’s list of countries you need to visit in 2015

The influential guide has called us «the real deal» and we were particularly happy to see that they even compared the Wild Atlantic Way to California’s Pacific Coast Highway and Australia’s Great Ocean Road,

The guide goes on to say that «Ireland is stunningly scenic, its traditions – music, dance, whiskey and beer – firmly intact and the cosmopolitan, contemporary Irish are just as friendly and welcoming as their forebears were known to be.»

The Lonely Planet guide is hugely influential so hopefully being included in this list will see a major boost to tourism around the country over the next 12 months and beyond.

Here the full list of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 countries for 2015:

1. Singapore
2. Namibia
3. Lithuania
4. Nicaragua
5. Ireland
6. Republic of Congo
7. Serbia
8. The Philippines
9. St Lucia
10. Morocco