Aran Islands ferries

Any other advice for the Aran Islands would
Be welcome! Thank you so much for you help/)

I have not be to Inisheer.

On our trip we went to Inishmore, spent 3 days and 2 nights there, and we loved it. 3 days/2 nights was perfect for us, and a very fast-paced trip. Inishmore was one of the highlights of a trip that was awesome throughout (so, making the Highlights Reel means it was pretty damn good).

Inishmore has a lot of special things for a small, seemingly empty island. I would recommend skipping the ferry altogether and taking the short (literally, 10 minute) flight instead, both ways. Flying isn't terribly expensive, and it effectively "buys" you part of an extra day, over the s-l-o-w ferry. That extra time on the island is golden, because you can get there hours ahead of all the ferry day-trippers (inbound), and/or allows you to stay later after they all leave on the ferry (outbound). If you arrange it so you arrive on the first flight of the day, and depart on the last one, it effectively gets you the equivalent of almost one more full usable day there (and that time is without the day-trippers around...). One more reason to fly rather than taking the ferry: the plane is TINY, and they fly LOW (seriously tiny, and incredibly low -- just 500 feet). The flight itself is absolutely thrilling (or absolutely terrifying, depending on your tastes...personally, I'd do it again just for the ride; YMMV).

Western Ireland is lovely. Enjoy your trip!

Great information, David. Can you tell us where to get information about flying there please? Does the plane leave from Dublin, or somewhere else?

Details on their website, right here: Aer Arann

The plane leaves from their own little airstrip just outside Galway (I believe their bus from town center to their airport and back is 5€ each way; book the bus with your flight ticket).

Tip: Request the front right seat when you check in (where the copilot sits -- if you're lucky, you get to be the copilot -- best view in the world...please don't touch the controls). It puts getting an upgrade to Business Class to shame...

Thank you so much -- one more question. We have friends that recommended the ferry because you can add the Cliffs of Mohr to the ferry ride and they said it was beautiful. Can you see them from the air? Also, how do you recommend visiting the Cliffs of Mohr? I am really wanting to do the flight now based on your post-- so any advice on the best way to see/visit the Cliffs of Mohr?

Thanks David!

M., will you have a car?

I know that most people go to Inishmore which has more things to do and see, more tourist amenities, and is larger. It is the more popular choice probably for good reason. However, Inisheer is also lovely, haunting, and also worth visiting if you enjoy scenic walking or biking in relative solitude. You can walk the whole island in several hours encountering few other tourists. There are some pubs and shops. I had lunch at a wonderful bakery restaurant where everything is home baked and mostly home grown, At least from Doolin, Inisheer was a shorter ferry ride.

For viewing the Cliffs of Moher, the ferry ride beneath the cliffs is supposed to be very nice. I had mistakenly been told that the Cliffs ride was an add-on option with the ferry I booked but it turned out not be true, so if you take a ferry in order to add on the Cliffs, be sure you choose one that does continue on to the cliffs. Walking some or all of the cliff walk, away from the vistors' center crowds, is a good way to visit the Cliffs. Without a car, you can walk (partially uphill) for about 2 hours from Doolin to the visitor center and take a bus back to Doolin, or do the reverse. If the cliff walk shuttle bus is operating, you can take it to the Hagshead parking lot near Liscanoor and walk (slighly downhill) to the visitor center to pick up a bus to Doolin. With a car, you can park at the visitor center, or Hagshead, walk for 2 hours of great scenery, and then bus back to your car. The walk in any direction has multiple points of stunning scenery. In contrast, people i met who had only viewed the Cliffs with the crowds near the visitor center had a disappointing experience.

@M - No, you will not see the Cliffs of Moher from the short flight to Inishmore (The CoM are quite a long distance away). Remember, the plane makes the hop to Inishmore at just 500 feet altitude -- that's REALLY low -- think, just above the treetops (if there were trees...there aren't). The crossing is over water.

Two things about those cliffs...

If you are headed for Dingle and the southwest of Ireland after the Arann Islands, you can stop along the way for a look at the CoM -- from the top of them -- that's where most people see them from, and it's a good view of them.

That said (and this may seem like blasphemy to some)...sure the Cliffs of Moher are impressive. I'm glad we stopped to have a look at them. But honestly...Ireland has a LOT of cliffs, and while the CoM are very well optimized to allow large numbers of tourists to see them safely and comfortably (from the top), I thought the cliffs on Inishmore were far better, far more interesting. My spouse and I had the Cliffs of Inishmore all to ourselves. We shared the Cliffs of Moher with several thousand other vistitors. CoM = paved walkways, huge parking lots, many tour buses, bathrooms, gift shops, waist-high barriers at the cliff edges...it's set up for mass tourism. CoI = no walkways, no parking lot, it's a good slog up a gravel path, then a long walk across weird, uneven rocky ground, but the cliffs go on for miles and there are few other people around, you are alone...no barriers at all, watch your step or fall to a spectacular and grisly death on the rocks below, no toilets, no gift shops, etc. Wild, rugged, potentially deadly, completely spectacular...my kind of place. :) But...not a good place if you have mobility issues, bad knees, etc. If you want it carefully managed for your comfort, head to the CoM. If you want it wild and rough, the cliffs on Inishmore will deliver (as long as you can manage the rough ground and don't kill yourself there).

Read through this previous thread: West Ireland sights for seniors

That thread was specifically about options for the mobility-challenged, and there's discussion on Inishmore versus CoM, but there's also a link to some photos showing the cliffs on Inishmore, it'll give you a good idea of what to expect there.

I did not do a boat tour in that part of Ireland, so have no input on viewing cliffs from the ferry or other boat. Agree with the post above, if you do go to the Cliffs of Moher (from above), it's probably worth walking up or down along them for some distance to get away from the crowds. No need to worry about that in Inishmore (just worry about going over the edge...).

We took the ferry about 8 years ago, and the itinerary was supposed to include a detour past the cliffs on the way back, so maybe that's what you heard about. BUT the water got choppy so that detour was canceled. Just FWIW.

You sound like you're leaning toward flying anyway, which might be a good idea since you won't have to worry about choppy water. However, if you DO take the ferry, just know that the 2 or 3 companies that go are all pretty much the same. Same prices, same departure point, etc. Jump on the first one that has enough room for your group.

Have a wonderful time!

Thank you for the input -- I am not a huge fan of crowds...so I like the flight option to the Island. I like the off the beaten path places to see. So -- thank you everyone for your input! Much appreciated.