The route can be split into two sections. The first heads out of Limerick from the N18 bypass at Ballykeeffe and along the south side of the Shannon estuary towards Tarbert, where the N67 comes in from the ferry.
The second section heads inland through County Kerry, via Listowel, and comes to a roundabout junction with the old road, the R878. From here the N69 heads down a bypass route to Ballingowan Roundabout where it ends at a junction with the N21 and R875.
