Aran Island

We are planning a trip late September and wanted to go to Aran Islands. We plan to stay in Doolin and or Galway for a couple nights and wondered about a day trip. We'd like to stay within walking distance of ferry.
What do you recommend?
Thanks Suzanne

Hello Suzanne, 

September is a great time of year for a trip to the Aran Islands, and I'd love to help you find the right place to stay! Are you looking for accommodation on one of the Aran Islands, or in Doolin or Galway?

The Aran Islands are quite small, so you'll always be quite close to the ferry terminal. Take a look at the available recommended places to stay here. 

The Atlantic View B&B and the Doolin Inn are both located within a 15 minute walk from the Aran Islands Ferry from Doolin. If you'd like to take the ferry from Ros a' Mhil Harbour (Galway City), you can try and find accommodation in that area. 

Are you looking to visit all of the Aran Islands while you're here? :)  

Hi Suzanne

Welcome to the forum :)  We would be happy to help you make a plan to visit the Aran Islands from Doolin.  I will assume you are not familiar with the islands and give you a bit of background information, so  bear with me if I am telling you things you already know!


There are 3 islands - Inis Mor, Inis Meain and Inis Oirr.  From Doolin, you can visit any of the islands, the closest is Inis Oirr (15 minutes sailing on the new Star of Doolin) and the farthest away is Inis Mor (approx 1 hour 20 minutes each way. I have more information in a post here on why you can't get to all 3 islands in 1 day (basically they are too far apart)  and a bit more detail on each island in this post.

We recently took a special Irish visitor to Inis Oirr and Inis Mor - Ryan Tubridy, who is an Irish broadcasting celebrity.  You might enjoy the little video we put together of his trip with us -



You can also combine the island day trip with a return sailing below the Cliffs of Moher, where you can see these amazing iconic cliffs from sea level, looking up at all the tiny people at the top!

The sailing times and trip options are available here, but let me know if you have any further questions, I'd be happy to help.  Enjoy planning your adventure :)

All the best, Joan

Hi, thanks for information, our plan now is to take Doolin ferry to Inis Mor for the day trip. Are we able to just book day we arrive or do you require pre booking only? We will stay in Doolin for 2 nights to enjoy the area as well. Can hardly wait!
Suzanne

Good morning Suzanne
Great, now you've decided you can do some proper planning :) 
There is lots to do on this island, of course, the trip to Dun Aengus has to be done - our blog here has some background history on the famous fort


Check out Gabriel's Aran Island Goat Farm and Joe Watty's pub for some great food.

The Inis Mor ferry is very popular, and there is only 1 boat each day for day trips, so we always recommend pre-booking to guarantee your spot.  This link will take you straight to the booking page 
If you plan on driving to the ferry port, you can follow these directions
There is a large car park at the pier, but it does get busy and we recommend getting to the pier at least 30 minutes before departure time - you can pay in advance for your parking to Clare County Council here

I hope this helps!  
See you in Doolin :)
Joan

Hi Suzanne,

It's lovely to hear that you have finalized your itinerary regarding your trip to Inis Mor!

Big thanks as always to Joan for all her help and advice on the transport side of things and some suggestions on what to see and do during your time on the island.

What else have you planned to see and do during your time in and around the Galway and Doolin area?

Hi Suzanne,

How are you?

I hope you had a great time while in Ireland. Did you get the chance to go to Inis Mor?