Aran Islands Info..

bren82

Hi All,

A few of us are considering a weekend away to the Aran Islands but we havent a clue of really.

Whats the best way to get there? Can anyone recommend the best place to say and is there only b&bs or is there any small style hotels. I also heard camping can be good.

Any do's or not to do's?????

Basically any information would be greatly appreciated..

Atlantic Dawn

There's 3 islands to go to Inis Mor is the largest and most commercialised, perhaps the best place to go for a first time visitor. Inis Oirr is the next most populated, Inis Meain is the quitest of the 3. If camping make sure you have permission from the land owner as there's no offical camp sites on either island, perhaps camping on the beach would suit you. If you intend staying in a B&B or hotel it is essential that you prebook as space can be limited as there's only small hotels and B&B's.

Quickest way to get there is by plane, cost €45 return www.aerarannislands.ie, takes around 7 minutes, however if it was me I would take one of the ferries from www.aranislandferries.com €25 return. Ferry allows you to take bikes and no luggage restriction, as the planes are quite small you are limited in what you can bring.

Bring cash with you, there are no ATMs on any of the islands and laser cashback/credit cards may not be accepted everywhere.

bren82

Thanks for the detailed reply it was really helpful. This may be a stupid question but when you get the ferry across can you bring you car or is it just a foot ferry??

Also can anyone recommend a hotel plus is there many activities to do?

rebel105

Hi there,

Inis Oirr or Inis Mor are probably your best bet depending on what your looking for. I've only been to Inis Oirr and that's the one that most people seem to recommend as Inis Mor is a good bit bigger so you can't walk everywhere so you don't have the same island feel.

Check out this link - http://www.inisoirr-island.com/accommodation.html

We stayed at Tigh Uí Chatháin a B&B about 10-15mins walk from the Pier. (Although the owners were really nice and picked us up and dropped us to the ferry) The ferry is just a passenger one, if you go to Inis Oirr you get this from Doolin (note - don't buy in Doolin, you get cheaper tickets at the pier and there's plenty parking there too). There is a campsite on Inis Oirr also which is quite near the pier and the pubs.

Atlantic Dawn

bren82 wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed reply it was really helpful. This may be a stupid question but when you get the ferry across can you bring you car or is it just a foot ferry??

Also can anyone recommend a hotel plus is there many activities to do?

You can't bring your car on the ferries. There is a cargo ferry which will bring it from Galway but this only does the run a couple of times a week and will not take passengers, you leave your car down to them and it arrives to the island a couple of days later, suitable for islanders not much use to tourists. Far more practical to bring bikes or rent them there to get around.

rainbowdash

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

There's 3 islands to go to Inis Mor is the largest and most commercialised, perhaps the best place to go for a first time visitor. Inis Oirr is the next most populated, Inis Meain is the quitest of the 3. If camping make sure you have permission from the land owner as there's no offical camp sites on either island, perhaps camping on the beach would suit you. If you intend staying in a B&B or hotel it is essential that you prebook as space can be limited as there's only small hotels and B&B's.

Quickest way to get there is by plane, cost €45 return www.aerarannislands.ie, takes around 7 minutes, however if it was me I would take one of the ferries from www.aranislandferries.com €25 return. Ferry allows you to take bikes and no luggage restriction, as the planes are quite small you are limited in what you can bring.

Bring cash with you, there are no ATMs on any of the islands and laser cashback/credit cards may not be accepted everywhere.

There is a campsite on Inis Oirr, its behind the beach and €10 per tent per night.

The ferry from Doolin to Inis Oirr is €15 Return.