West Coast Review

Hello,

My wife, 11-yr old and I are coming to Ireland for a month in June and July.  We're flying in and out of Shannon, have a car, and will stay on the west coast.  We'll be in Miltown Malbay the last week, so I need to figure out what to do for the first 3+...

Our interests:
* Good food (we're vegetarian)
* Outdoors and history
* Meeting locals
* Playing in sessions or other informal venues (we're intermediate players, not experts)
* Avoiding the most touristed areas and/or finding out of the way, unique experiences

Any comments on this itinerary of about 3 nights in each place going south to north?
Killarney --> National Park, recover from jetlag
Kenmare --> Ring of Beara (avoid Ring of Kerry)
Dingle --> because we play a song "The Lonesome Road to Dingle"
Ennis --> recommended as a less traveled, music rich town
Galway --> two separate friends have lived there and liked it
Aran Islands --> just stumbled on the idea
Donegal --> recommended, but don't know much
Miltown Malbay --> Willie Clancy summer school (have registered and have housing; bringing instruments)

1. Any substitutes to consider near these places or as an alternative?
2. Any reason to reverse the order and go north to south?
3. Any specific things we should do or see that aren't standard guidebook fare?
4. Best site for finding accommodations?  

Thanks for any thoughts...

Hi Mike,

Thanks for reaching out, your trip sounds great as does your itinerary. 

As you are traveling the west coast, I would recommend looking at our page on the Wild Atlantic Way which can give you ideas about where to go, as well as what to see in the areas you already have in your itinerary. I would also suggest looking at Ireland Guide which has a dedicated section to all the vegetarian restaurants in Ireland, which can be filtered by location, as well as trad connect which will show you all trad session locations and times in all the counties. 

For some ideas that aren't standard guidebook fare - I would recommend Slieve League if you are going to Donegal, it isn't recommended at much as the Cliffs of Moher, but in my opinion equally as breath-taking. You can also include Glenveagh National Park if this is of interest to you. Donegal is a great county, whilst not as touristy as some of the other counties, you will meet lots of locals as-well-as have an array of vegetarian restaurants, trad sessions, attractions, and some of the best beaches in Ireland. 

Check out our accommodation page which can be filtered by location to suit your itinerary. 

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions and I will be glad to answer. 

Cathaoir