Planning a Trip to Inishmore

Renting a bike is not for anyone so if you’re not comfortable doing it don’t. I haven’t been on a bike in a long time and when I was in Amsterdam, I was going to rent one and decided against it after seeing how fast people ride them. Pay attention to your gut feeling and go with that. A day trip to Inishmore is all you need.

We stayed overnight and loved it. We walked everywhere we wanted to go. We love to walk.

On the second day, it was pouring so we decided to take a cab to the airport. (We flew instead of taking the ferry.)

Kilronan is a pretty compact town, and you can walk just about everywhere. Getting out to the fort would require a bike, ebike, horse cart, or van/taxi. The airport is also a long hike. I'd recommend spending the night, since it's a totally different place when the crowd thins out. If you want to dump the car early, another plan would be to return it in Galway and use the shuttle/ferry combo from Galway to Rossaveal to Kilronan which docks right in Kilronan town.

A few months ago we spent 4 nights in Galway and one day we drove to the airport, took the first flight to Inishmore and returned on the last flight of the day. If you want to go for the day only you could fly there and take the last ferry back to give yourselves more time. There were 4 of us, mid-60’s, and hubby and I hadn’t been on a bike for many years. We rented electric bikes, which I was so grateful for because the island has a lot of hills. I wouldn’t recommend a bike if you feel uncomfortable about it. It was a bit frightening at times on the narrow roads.

A taxi from Galway to the airport would be quite expensive I imagine. There is a shuttle from Galway that can be taken.

If we end up staying for a night, can you recommend a good centrally located B&B?

For our second trip to Inishmore, in September 2019, we stayed at the Seacrest B&B (Website aranaccommodations.com ), and would stay there again. That trip, we rented a car in Galway, drove to the Connemara airport and parked there for 2 days, and flew to and from Inishmore on Days 1 and 2. We took a van trip on Day 1, which included a stop for climbing to Dun Aengus fort, followed by the driver taking us on a guided hike to The Wormhole. It absolutely poured driving rain with sideways wind most of Day 2, and we hunkered down at the B&B, with no desire to get drenched. The weather cleared in time for our afternoon flight back to mainland Ireland, while ferries were still prevented from sailing, due to rough seas. We had that rental car for another two weeks, touring more of Ireland.

For our first trip, back in June 2012, and me in my early 60’s, we rented bicycles and rode in pouring rain (note the common theme?) from Galway to the ferry port, way beyond the airport, and took a ferry to Inishmore. The clearing weather was nice on the island, but it was very challenging riding - steep climbs on hills, as noted in a prior post. We stayed at an amazing thatched hut lodging mentioned in the Rick Steves guidebook, but it’s no longer a B&B, so we found the Seacrest for our second visit. It rained as we departed that lodging on Day 2 of our first trip, and weather cancelled all morning ferries that day. We were able to get a small ferry that barely had room for our bikes, after the seas smoothed out in the afternoon. Flying is definitely the easiest way to transfer to and from Inishmore, unless you’re trying to bring along bikes.

I highly recommend spending one night on the island. I’d discourage you from trying to get around by bike. Use a van and driver - one will be easy to find and hire. And/or stroll around the small area of the harbor of the Kilronan main town, And hope for decent weather.

We stayed at Clai Ban B&B in 2019. It's practically next door to Joe Watty's, the place to go for music. Short walk uphill from the town center.

We hadn't been on bikes in years but we did it on the Aran Islands and loved it. We took it slow and were by ourselves most of the time. It was terrific. Why don't you try renting a bike at home and see how you like it.

There is no need to drive between Galway and the airstrip. Aer Arran has a shuttle bus (it's a cool, slightly funky) old heritage bus, they shuttle you between town and their airstrip, IIRC it was €10 per person, each way. Quick, convenient, fun. Compare that with the cost of renting that car for the days that you actually won't be using it.

If your west coast trip ends in Galway, when you reach Galway, return your rental car upon arrival there, since you will no longer have any need for it.

Take the Aer Arran shuttle to the airport. Fly to Inish Mor. Spend a night or two on the island. Anything in/around town will be walkable (to get further out, away from town, you will want some other form of transport, bike, pony cart, shuttle, taxi). Ask at your B&B for help arranging that. For airport transport, Aer Arran has a van on Inish Mor they use to drop you in town, or at your accommodations, no charge for that. Arrange for them to pick you up to get back to the airport. Fly back to the mainland. Take the shuttle bus back to Galway.

You book the Galway-to-airport shuttle bus ticket from Aer Arran, when you reserve your flight ticket. Couldn't be easier.

Don't drive back to Dublin, it's a fairly boring drive. Instead, take a bus (coach) or train back to Dublin.

Finishing (or starting) the west coast part of your trip in Galway/the Aran Islands gets you extra efficiency: you can take public transportation across the middle of Ireland (between Galway and Dublin, either way). You don't have to waste your money paying to rent that car (and paying to park it) for days when you are on the island and have no use for a car that's on the mainland. It simplifies things, too. You'll save the cost of 2-3 days car rental (not insignificant these days), and it'll be easy as pie.

“For airport transport, Aer Arran has a van on Inish Mor they use to drop you in town, or at your accommodations, no charge for that. Arrange for them to pick you up to get back to the airport.” We used this shuttle in August and I believe it was €7 round trip.

Andrea, I stand corrected.

When I was there (2019), they did charge for the bus from Galway to the airstrip (IRC, €10 roundtrip). Once we landed on Inshmore and hopped off the plane, there was a van waiting with an open door and a driver beckoning us; I don't believe we were charged anything for the dropoff at our BnB just outside of town, nor for the ride back to the airport two days later. Things change, YMMV.

Thanks for the great information! Based on this it looks doable to spend a night in Inishmore.
I just have 2 more things to work out.

1) Storing our luggage: We have already booked a B&B in Galway (4 nights). If we cancel the last night there I'm not sure the owner will be willing to let us store our large luggage there for our day and one night in Inishmore. (We would just use carry-on bags for the flight). What are options for storing luggage?

2) Finding lodging in Inishmore: The few places I've checked are not available for July 4, the night we would be there. Is a list available of most of the B&B's on the island that I could check on?

I hope we can make this work and appreciate your help!

Bob

I wouldn't worry too much about the Galway B&B getting angry. Your plans changed. You now want 3 nights instead of 4, ask to change the reservation. No big deal if you do it soon (don't wait until the last minute).

Most B&Bs won't mind you stashing your bags there while you go off an a side trip. That's what we did. At our Galway B&B we did a "triage" on our belongings, downsizing to small daypack size bags for our 2 nights on Inishmore. Owner of our B&B was happy to store our large bags there, we came back and picked them up once we had returned and picked up our rental car. Easy, no issues or drama at all.

Don't know of a single source for accommodations on the island. Try booking.com and airbnb, most places will probably be listed there. On the Aer Arran website, they list a few places, too.

The island gets a lot of day-trippers in high season but make no mistake: it is not a major tourist destination, and few people spend the night. This is a feature not a bug. But it means that options for accommodations and food are limited, best to book early and manage your expectations.

If you haven’t exhausted the Accommodation availability on Inishmore, you can search on https://www.discoverireland.ie/ .

Besides staying in the small main town, Kilronan, you callus also consider the village farther northwest on the island, Kilmurvy.